   In relation to the cosmos, it is clear that Maimonides' God stands as first cause and source for all existence. Far less, clear, however, is Maimonides' precise understanding of what God's role as “first cause and source for all existence”—His role, that is, as Creator—amounts to. (For an overview of key Arabic creation terms at play in Maimonides’ Islamic milieu as well as in his Jewish Neoplatonic context, the reader is well-served to consult the Encyclopaedia of Islam entries on ibdā‘, khalq, ḥudūth al-‘alām; see too Altman and Stern on Neoplatonic creation terms in Israeli’s lexicon (including also al-ikhtirā‘) and their relation to Greek and Islamic text traditions, including al-Kindi (Almann and Stern 1958; see Israeli’s Book of Definitions 66-68, with comments at 68-74).