Some People
object to the verses of al-Burda by Imam al-Busiri:
Verse 52. wa kullu ayin ata al-rusulu al-kiramu biha /
fa innama ittasalat min nurihi bihimi
And every
single sign brought by the noble Prophets was theirs only in connection to his
light,
Verse 53. fa innahu shamsu fadlin hum kawakibuha /
yuzhirna anwaraha li al-nasi fi al-zulami
For verily he is a sun of perfection
of which they are the moons bringing its light to people in the midst of
darkness.
Their objection
is based on their known abhorrence of referring to the Prophet as
"Light," although Allah Himself refers to him as "light"
three times in the Glorious Qur’an:
· "From
Allah has come to you a Light and a Book manifest." (5:15)
· "The
likeness of His light is as a niche wherein is a Lamp (the lamp in a glass, the
glass as it were a glittering star) kindled from a Blessed Tree, an olive that
is neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil well-nigh would shine, even
if no fire touched it; Light upon Light." (24:35)
· "O
Prophet! Truly We have sent you as a Witness, a Bearer of glad tidings, and a
Warner, and as one who invites to Allah by His leave, and as a Lamp spreading
Light." (33:45-46)
Thus Allah
Himself calls the Prophet explicitly: a Lamp, a Lamp inside a niche, a Light,
and again a Lamp spreading light (sirajan
muniran). This specific knowledge that the Prophet is the spring-well of
all other light in the world is by no means new, rather it is inherited from
the Sahabas themselves as established by the following lines of the poet,
Hassan ibn Thabit, as quoted by Ibn Hisham on the last page of his Sirat Rasulillah:
He was the light and the brilliance we followed. He was
sight and hearing second only to Allah....
By Allah, no woman has conceived and given birth. To one
like the Apostle, the Prophet and guide of his people.
Nor has Allah created among his creatures, One more
faithful to his sojourner or his promise than he who was the source of our light.[1][95]
`Ali al-Qari
said in his Sharh al-Shifa (1:505) in
commenting upon the Prophet's title "as a Lamp spreading Light" (33:
46):
“Muhammad... is
a tremendous light and the source of all lights, he is also a book that gathers
up and makes clear all the secrets... sirajan
muniran means a luminous sun, because of His saying: "He hath placed
therein a great lamp and a moon giving light" (25:61). There is in this verse an indication that
the sun is the highest of the material lights and that other lights are
outpourings from it: similarly the Prophet is the highest of the spiritual lights
and other lights are derived from him by virtue of his mediating connection and
pivotal rank in the overall sphere of creation. This is also inferred from the
tradition: "The first thing Allah created is my light."”
Commenting upon
the same verse al-Khazin says in his Tafsir:
“Allah extended
[amadda] the light of discernment [basira] through the light of Muhammad's
prophethood just as He extends the light of eyesight [basar] through the light of the sun; Allah called him a lamp and
not a sun, because it is impossible to take anything directly from the light of
the sun, but it is possible to take many lights from the lamp.”
Allah therefore
caused this madad or light of
discernment to issue from the Prophet and extend to all.
Al-Qastallani
(d. 923) in his al-Mawahib al-laduniyya
(ed. al-Shami, 2:583), quoted Ibn Marzuq commenting on Busiri's lines:
“He [al-Busiri]
means that every miracle that every messenger has brought, surely was only
because it was an extension to each one of them of the light of Muhammad, may
Allah bless him and give him peace. How beautiful is his saying "surely
was theirs only in connection to his light" for it suggests that his
light, may Allah bless him and give him peace, always remained unchanged in
him, and nothing of it was decreased. Had he said, "surely it was part of
his light", then it could have been imagined that he distributed it to
them, and that perhaps nothing of it remained for him. All the signs given each
one of them was only theirs through his light, may Allah bless him and give him
peace, because he is a sun of excellence, and they are the planets of that sun
which convey its lights to humankind in the darkness. The planets are not
shining by themselves, but they receive light from the sun, so that when the
sun is absent they show the light of the sun. Similarly, the Prophets before
his existence used to show his excellence, so that whatever lights appeared at
the hands of the messengers other than him, it was only from his outpouring
light and vast extension (madad),
without decreasing anything of it.”
`Irbad ibn Sarya relates that the Prophet said:
"Verily I was written in Allah's Presence as the Seal of Prophets
while verily Adam was still kneaded in his clay." (Narrated by Ibn Hibban
in his Sahih, and al-Hakim in his Mustadrak.)
The Prophet also said:
“I was a Prophet while Adam was still between the spirit and the body.”
Tirmidhi narrated it and said it hasan
sahih, and it is authenticated by al-Hakim 2:609 as sahih, and also narrated by Ibn Abi Shayba in his Musannaf 14:292, and al-Bukhari in his Tarikh 7:374.
Imam Taj ad-Din Subki said:
“It has been said that Allah created the spirits before the bodies, and
the Prophet's reference to his prophecy in the hadith, "I was a Prophet
while Adam was still between the spirit and the body” may be a reference to his
blessed spirit and to the Reality of Realities (haqiqat al-haqa'iq). Our minds fall short of knowing such a
Reality, but its Creator knows it, and also those to whom He extends a madad of light from Him [man amaddahu bi nurin ilahi]. Allah
brings to existence whichever of these realities that He likes in the time that
He pleases. As for the reality of the Prophet, it is most likely that it was
before the creation of Adam, and Allah gave it its prophetic attribute upon its
creation; therefore already at that time, he was the Prophet.” (Quoted by
Suyuti in Hawi li al-Fatawi, and by
Qastallani at the beginning of his Mawahib
al-laduniyya 1:31-32.)
There is a
further confirmation of the relation of the light of the Prophet to that of the
rest of creation in the ahadith comparing Prophetic knowledge to the light of
the stars in the darkness of night. Ana relates that the Prophet said:
"The simile of the scholars of knowledge (al-`ulama') on the earth is the stars in the sky by which one is
guided in the darkness of the land and the sea. When the stars are clouded
over, the guides are about to be lost." Ahmad narrated it in his Musnad (3:157 #12606) with a chain
containing Rishdin ibn Sa`d who is weak. However, it is confirmed by the hadith
in Muslim and Ahmad narrated by Abu Musa al-Ash`ari whereby the Prophet said:
“The stars are
trust-keepers for the heaven, and when the stars wane, the heaven is brought
what was promised (i.e. of the corruption of the world and the coming of the
Day of Judgment); and I am a trust-keeper for my Companions, so when I go my
Companions will be brought what was promised them (i.e. of fitna and division); and my Companions are trust-keepers for my
Community, so when they go my Community will be brought what was promised to
you (i.e. following hawa and vying
for dunya).”
Explanation of
the Prophet's name "light" (nur):
There are three
verses in the Qur'an which mention the Prophet as a light.
· Allah said:
"From Allah has come to you a Light and a Book manifest." (5:15)
Qadi `Iyad
said:
“He [the Prophet] was named a Light because of the clarity
of his case and the fact that his Prophecy was made manifest, and also because
of the illumination of the hearts of the believers and the knowers of Allah
with what he brought.”
Suyuti in Tafsir al-Jalalayn, Fayruzabadi in the Tafsir Ibn `Abbas entitled Tanwir al-miqbas (p. 72), Shaykh
al-Islam Imam Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, the Mujaddid of the sixth century, in his Tafsir al-kabir (11:189), Qadi Baydawi
in his Tafsir entitled Anwar al-tanzil, al-Baghawi in his Tafsir entitled Ma`alim al-tanzil (2:23), Imam al-Shirbini in his Tafsir entitled al-Siraj al-munir (p. 360), the author of Tafsir Abi Sa`ud (4:36), and Thana'ullah Pani Patti in his Tafsir al-mazhari, (3:67) said:
“What is meant
by a Light is: Muhammad, Blessings
and peace upon him.”
Ibn Jarir
al-Tabari in his Tafsir jami` al-bayan
(6:92) said:
“There has come to you a Light from Allah:
He means by the Light: Muhammad, Blessings and peace upon him, by means of whom
Allah has illuminated the truth, brought forth Islam, and obliterated idolatry.
Therefore he (the Prophet) is a light for those who have been enlightened by
him and by his exposition of truth.”
Al-Khazin in
his Tafsir (2:28) similarly says:
“There has come to you a Light from Allah means:
Muhammad, Blessings and peace upon him. Allah called him a light for no other
reason than that one is guided by him (Muhammad) in the same way that one is
guided by light in darkness.”
Al-Nasafi in
his commentary entitled Tafsir al-Madarik
(1:276) and al-Qasimi in his Mahasin
al-ta'wil (6:1921) similarly say:
“There has come to you a Light from Allah:
this is the light of Muhammad, Blessings and peace upon him, because one is
guided by him. Similarly he has been called a lamp (siraj).”
Imam Ahmad
al-Sawi similarly said in his super-commentary on Tafsir al-Jalalayn (1:258):
“There has come to you a Light from Allah:
that Light is the Prophet, Blessings and peace upon him. He was named a light
because he enlightens the sight and guides it to the correct path; and also
because he is the root of every light whether material or spiritual.”
We will return
to the latter statement below insha Allah.
Sayyid Mahmud
al-Alusi in his commentary entitled Tafsir
Ruh al-Ma`ani (6:97) similarly says:
“There has come to you a Light from Allah:
that is, an immense light which is the Light of Lights and the Elect among all
Prophets, Blessings and peace upon him.”
Isma`il
al-Haqqi in his supercommentary on Alusi entitled Tafsir ruh al-bayan (2:370) similarly said:
“There has come to you a Light from Allah and
a Book that makes all things manifest: It is said that the meaning of the
former is the Messenger, Blessings and peace upon him, and the latter is the
Qur'an... The Messenger is called a Light because the first thing which Allah
brought forth from the darkness of oblivion with the light of His power was the
light of Muhammad, Blessings and peace upon him, as he (the Prophet) said: The
first thing Allah created is my light.” This narration is addressed below.
Of particular
note is the fact that the Mu`tazilis insisted that the Light in verse 5:15
referred only to the Qur'an and not to the Prophet. Alusi said in the
continuation of the passage quoted above: “Abu `Ali al-Jubba'i said that the
light concerns the Qur'an because the Qur'an discloses and brings forth the
paths of guidance and certitude. al-Zamakhshari [in al-Kashshaf 1:601] also contented himself with this explanation.”
Further elaboration on these two sources is given by Shah `Abd al-`Aziz
al-Multani in his al-Nabras (p.
28-29): “al-Kashshaf proclaims itself
Father of the Mu`tazila... Abu `Ali al-Jubba'i is the Muhammad ibn `Abd
al-Wahhab of the Mu`tazila of Basra." The similarity of the Mu`tazila with
the Wahhabis and "Salafis" of modern times is pointed out by Imam
Kawthari in many places in his Maqalat,
where he shows that as in the case of the Mu`tazila, the Wahhabis' denial of
the characteristics of the awliya'
camouflages a denial of those of the Prophets.
There is a
notable explanation among Ahl al-Sunna
which ascribes the meaning of the Prophet to both the Light and the Book.
Al-Sayyid al-Alusi said in Ruh al-ma`ani
(6:97):
“I do not
consider it far-fetched that what is meant by both the Light and the Manifest
Book is the Prophet, the conjunction being in the same way as what was said by
al-Jubba'i [in that that both the Light and the Book were the Qur'an]. There is
no doubt that all can be said to refer to the Prophet. Perhaps you will be
reluctant to accept this from the viewpoint of expression (`ibara); then let it be from the viewpoint of subtle allusion (ishara).”
Al-Qari said in
Sharh al-shifa' (1:505, Mecca ed.):
“It has also been said that both the Light and the Book
refer to Muhammad, because just as he is a tremendous light and the source of
all lights, he is also a book that gathers up and makes clear all the secrets.”
He also said (1:114, Madina ed.): “And what objection is there to predicate
both nouns to the Prophet, since he is in truth an immense Light due to the
perfection of his appearance among all light, and he is a Manifest Book since
he gathers up the totality of secrets and he makes evident all laws,
situations, and alternatives.”
· Allah said:
“The likeness of His light is as a niche wherein is a Lamp (the lamp in a
glass, the glass as it were a glittering star) kindled from a Blessed Tree, an
olive that is neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil wellnigh would
shine, even if no fire touched it; Light upon Light.” (24:35)
Suyuti said in al-Riyad al-aniqa:
Ibn Jubayr and Ka`b al-Ahbar said: "What is meant by
the second light is the Prophet because he is the Messenger and the Expositor
and the Conveyor from Allah of what is enlightening and manifest." Ka`b
said: "Its oil wellnigh would shine because the Prophet wellnigh would be
known to the people even if he did not say that he was a Prophet, just as that
oil would send forth light without a fire."
Ibn Kathir
comments on this verse in his Tafsir
by citing the report through Ibn `Atiyya whereby Ka`b al-Ahbar explained
Allah's words: yakadu zaytuha yudi'u wa
law lam tamsashu nar as meaning: "Muhammad is nearly manifest as a
Prophet to people, even if he did not declare it."
Qadi `Iyad said
in al-Shifa' (English p. 135):
Niftawayh said
regarding the words of Allah: "Its oil almost gives light when no fire has
touched it" (24:35): "This is the likeness that Allah has made of His
Prophet. He said that the meaning of the ayat
was that this face almost indicated his Prophethood even before he had received
the Qur'an, as Ibn Rawaha said:
Even if there
had not been clear signs among us, His face would have told you the news."
Among those who
said that the meaning of mathalu nurihi
-- the likeness of His Light -- is the Prophet Muhammad, upon him blessings and
peace:
Ibn Jarir
al-Tabari in his Tafsir (18:95), Qadi
`Iyad in al-Shifa', al-Baghawi in Ma`alim al-Tanzil (5:63) in the margin
of al-Khazin, from Sa`id ibn Hubayr and al-Dahhak, al-Khazin in his Tafsir (5:63) Suyuti in al-Durr al-manthur (5:49), Zarqani in Sharh al-mawahib (3:171), al-Khafaji in Nasim al-riyad (1:110, 2:449),
Al-Nisaburi in Ghara'ib al-Qur'an (18:93) said:
"The Prophet is a light and a light-giving lamp."
Al-Qari in Sharh al-shifa' said:
“The most
apparent meaning is to say that what is meant by the light is Muhammad.”
· Allah said:
"O Prophet! Truly We have sent you as a Witness, a Bearer of glad tidings,
and a Warner, and as one who invites to Allah by His leave, and as a Lamp
spreading Light." (33:45-46)
Qadi al-Baydawi
said in his Tafsir:
“It is the sun due to His saying: We have made the sun a
lamp; or, it could be a lamp.”
Ibn Kathir
states in his Tafsir:
“His saying: and a light-giving lamp,
that is: your status shows in the truth you have brought just as the sun shows
in its rising and illuminating, which none denies except the obdurate.”
Raghib
al-Asfahani in al-Mufradat (1:147)
said:
“The word [lamp] is used for everything
that illumines.”
Al-Zarqani in Sharh al-mawahib (3:171) said:
“He was named lamp because from the one
lamp take the many lamps, and its light is no wise diminished.
`Abd Allah ibn Rawaha al-Ansari -- the
great-grandson of the poet Imru' al-Qays -- said of the Prophet:
“law lam takun fihi ayatun
mubina, lakana manzaruhu yunabbi'uka bi al-khabari”
“Even if there
were not, concerning him, clear and evident, signs, yet the sight of him would
have told you the news.”
Ibn Hajar
narrated it in al-Isaba (2:299) and
said: "This is the most beautiful verse of poetry by which the Prophet was
ever praised." Ibn Sayyid al-Nas said of him in Minah al-madh (p. 166):
He was killed
as a martyr on the day of Mu'ta in Jumada 8 before the conquest of Mecca. On
that day he was one of the commanders. He was one of the poets who did good and
who used to fend off harm from Allah's Messenger. It was concerning him and his
two friends Hassan (ibn Thabit) and Ka`b (ibn Zuhayr) that was revealed the
verse: "Except those who believe and do good deeds and remember Allah
abundantly." (The Poets 26:227).
Hisham ibn `Urwa narrated from his father that the latter said: I
never saw anyone more aggressive or faster in his poetry than `Abd Allah ibn
Rawaha. I heard Allah's Messenger say to him one day: "Recite some poetry
appropriate to the moment, while I look at you." He rose up then and there
and said:
inni tafarrastu fika al-khayra
a`rifuhu, wallahu ya`lamu anna ma khanani al-basaru
anta al-nabiyyu wa man yuhramu
shafa`atahu, yawma al-hisabi laqad azra bihi al-qadaru
fa thabbat allahu ma ataka min
hasanin, tathbita musa wa nasran kalladhi nusiru
I foresee for you immense good, of this I am certain.
Allah knows that my sight never betrayed me.
You are the Prophet, and whoever is deprived of your intercession
On the Day of Reckoning, his destiny is disgrace.
May Allah make firm all the good that He gave you, With a
firmness like Musa's and the same victory.
Upon hearing this the Prophet said to him: "And you also,
may Allah make you firm, O Ibn Rawaha." Hisham ibn `Urwa continued: Allah
indeed made him firm with the staunchest firmness. He died as a martyr, and
Paradise was opened for him and he entered it.
Ibn Abi al-Dunya cited from Abu al-Darda' that he
used to say, after Ibn Rawaha's death:
"O Allah,
I seek refuge in You lest my maternal uncle `Abd Allah ibn Rawaha should loathe
me when I meet him." Suyuti mentioned it in Sharh al-sudur (p. 265).
As an attribute
of Allah it is Dhu al-Nur which means
the Creator of light and the Illuminator of the heavens and the earth with His
lights, as well as the illuminator of the hearts of the believers with
guidance. Nawawi said in Sharh Sahih
Muslim, in his commentary on the Prophet's du`a which begins: "O
Allah, you are the light of the heavens and the earth and yours is all
praise..." (Book of Salat
al-musafirin #199):
The scholars
said that the meaning of "You are the light of the heavens and the
earth" is: You are the One who illuminates them and the Creator of their
light. Abu `Ubayda said: "Its meaning is that by Your light the dwellers
of the heavens and the earth obtain guidance." al-Khattabi said in his
commentary on Allah's name al-Nur:
"It means the One by Whose light the blind can see and the lost can be
guided, whence Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth, and it is
possible that the meaning of al-Nur
is: Dhu al-nur, and it is incorrect
that al-Nur be an attribute of
Allah's Essence, for it is only an attribute of action (sifatu fi`l), that is: He is the Creator of light." Others
said: "The meaning of the light of the heavens and the earth is: The disposer
of their sun and moon and stars."
Ibn `Umar narrated that the Prophet said: "Allah the Exalted
created creation in a darkness (fi
zulmatin); then He cast upon them from His Light. Whoever was touched by
that Light, he is guided, and whoever was missed by it is misguided. Therefore
I say that the Pen is dry (and all is) in Allah's foreknowledge."
Narrated by Tirmidhi with a good chain in the Sunan (hasan), Ahmad in two places in his Musnad, Tabarani, al-Hakim in his Mustadrak, and Bayhaqi in the Sunan
al-kubra. Ibn `Arabi al-Maliki in his commentary on Tirmidhi entitled `Aridat al-ahwadhi (10:108) confirmed
the latter's grading and comments on the hadith: "It is clear from it that
each one receives of that Light to the extent of what he has been granted out
of the general and the specific... in the heart and in the limbs."
The above
hadith and its explanation by Qadi Ibn al-`Arabi show that the characteristic
of Believers is light, and the Prophet is the first of the Believers and the
one who can be more than anybody else characterized as light -- including the
angels who are formed of light -- and only someone deficient in their belief
would deny that he was assuredly the first and the foremost of all creation to
be touched by Allah's light when He cast it, to an extent in which no angel, no
Prophet, and no jinn rivals him.
The above
brings to light the pitfalls of the literalism of Ibn Taymiyya when he claimed
in his essay on tasawwuf in Majmu`at
al-fatawa (11:94, 18:366) that the Prophet could not possibly be made of
light on the grounds that human beings are created from earth into which the
spirit is blown, while angels alone are created from light. To support his
view, he cites the hadith from `A'isha in Muslim whereby the Prophet said:
"The
angels were created from light, the jinn
from smokeless fire, and Adam from what was described to you (i.e. in the
Qur'an)."
However, to
deduce from the above that a human being can never be characterized as a light
is precisely what Iblis presumed when he disobeyed Allah on the pretence that
smokeless fire is a nobler and higher element than earth. Furthermore, it
contradicts the authentic hadith of Ibn `Umar narrated by Tirmidhi instead of
elucidating it as would be required for a correct and comprehensive
understanding of the subject.
The correct
view is that Prophets are a brand of human beings superior to the angels with
respect to the light and the other gifts bestowed on them by Allah, whether
general or particular, in their hearts or in their limbs, to use Ibn al-`Arabi
al-Maliki's language. This is explicated by Qadi `Iyad in al-Shifa' (English p. 277-278) with regard to the Prophets' angelic
inward qualities:
“Prophets and Messengers
are intermediaries between Allah and His creation. They convey His commands and
prohibitions, His warning and threat to His creatures and they acquaint them
with things they did not know regarding His command, creation, majesty, power
and His Malakut. Their outward form,
bodies and structure are characterized by the qualities of men as far as
non-essential matters such as illnesses, death and passing away are concerned
and they have human traits.
But their souls
and inward parts have the highest possible human qualities, associated with the
Highest Assembly, which are similar to angelic attributes, free of any
possibility of alteration or evil. Generally speaking the incapacity and
weakness connected with being human cannot be associated with them. If their
inward parts had been human in the same way as their outward, they would not
have been able to receive revelation from the angels, see them, mix and sit
with them in the way other mortals are unable to do.
If their bodies
and outward parts had been marked by angelic attributes as opposed to human
attributes, the mortals to whom they were sent would not have been able to
speak with them as Allah has already said. Thus they have the aspect of men as
far as their bodies and outward parts are concerned, and that of angels in
respect of their souls and inward parts.”
It is doubtful
that Ibn Taymiyya did not understand the aspects of the question elaborated by
Qadi `Iyad. In fact, after denying that Prophets are made of light like the
angels, Ibn Taymiyya goes to state the known position of Ahl al-Sunna that Prophets -- chief among them the Seal of Prophets
-- manifest a rank not reached by the angels:
Allah manifests
some of His Power and Wisdom through righteous human beings, saints and
prophets, which He does not manifest through the angels, for He combines in the
former group qualities which are scattered among other creation. Thus He
creates the man's body from the Earth and his spirit from the Highest Company,
and this is why it is said, "Man is a microcosm, and a copy of the greater
Universe."
Muhammad is the
Chief of the Children of Adam, the Best of Creation, the noblest of them in the
sight of Allah. This is why some have said that "Allah created the
Universe due to him," or that "Were it not for him, He would have
neither created a Throne, nor a Footstool, nor a heaven, earth, sun or
moon." However, this is not a hadith on the authority of the Prophet...
but it may be explained from a correct aspect.
Ibn Taymiyya
goes on to elaborate his proofs for the truth of the saying that Allah created
the Universe due to the Prophet, and we have quoted the continuation of his
discourse above, in the chapter on the names Muhammad and Ahmad
(#1-2).
The Companion
`Abd al-Rahman ibn `Awf recited the following poetry about the Prophet:
ala anna khayra al-nasi fi
al-ardi kullihimi, nabiyyun jala `anna shukuka al-tarajjumi
nabiyyun ata wa al-nasu fi
`unjuhiyyatin, wa fi sadafin fi zulmati al-kufri mu`timi
fa aqsha`a bi al-nuri al-mudi'i
zalamahu, wa sa`adahu fi amrihi kullu muslimi
Verily, the best of all humankind on the earth is a Prophet who
removed from us the doubts of scepticism,
A Prophet who came while people were wrapped in haughtiness and
in the pitch-black darkness of the night of disbelief:
Whereupon he dispelled this darkness with abundant light and in
this matter he was helped by each of those who submitted.
Ibn Sayyid al-Nas narrated it in Minah al-madh (p. 176).
The Prophet's uncle al-`Abbas ibn `Abd
al-Muttalib said to him: "O Messenger of Allah, I wish to praise
you." The Prophet replied: "Go ahead -- nay, may Allah adorn your
mouth with silver!" He said:
Before you came
to this world you were blessed in the shadows and in the repository (i.e.
loins) in the time when they (Adam and Eve) covered themselves with leaves.
Then you
descended to the earth, neither as a human being, nor as a piece of flesh, nor
as a clot, but as a drop that boarded the ark when the flood destroyed the
eagle and the rest of the idols:
A drop that progressed from the loins to the wombs in the
succession of the worlds and the heavens
Until the Preserver of All made your immense honor issue in the
highest summit of the line of Khindif.
And then,
when you were born, a light rose over the earth until it illuminated the
horizon with its radiance.
We are in
that illumination and that original light and those paths of guidance -- and
thanks to them pierce through.
Ibn Sayyid al-Nas narrated it with his isnad through al-Tabarani and al-Bazzar in Minah al-madh (p. 192-193), also Ibn Kathir in al-Sira al-nabawiyya (ed. Mustafa `Abd al-Wahid 4:51), and `Ali
al-Qari in his Sharh al-Shifa' (1:364)
says it is narrated by Abu Bakr al-Shafi`i and Tabarani, and cited by Ibn `Abd
al-Barr in al-Isti`ab and Ibn
al-Qayyim in Zad al-ma`ad.
The Companions
many times compared the Prophet to a light or a harbinger of light,
particularly a sun and a moon, chief among them his poet, Hassan ibn Thabit
al-Ansari:
tarahhala `an qawmin faddalat
`uqulahum
wa halla `ala qawmin bi nurin
mujaddadi
and he dawned on a people with a light made new.
mata yabdu fi al-daji al-bahimi jabinuhu
yaluhu mithla misbahi al-duja al-mutawaqqidi
Whenever his forehead emerged in pitch-black darkness
it would shine like the blazing luminary of dark night.
Bayhaqi
narrated the two verses in Dala'il
al-nubuwwa (1:280, 302). The latter verse is also narrated Ibn `Abd al-Barr
in al-Isti`ab (1:341) and al-Zarqani
in Sharh al-mawahib (1:91). Hassan
also said, as we have already quoted above:
Nor has Allah created among his
creatures
One more faithful to his
sojourner or his promise
Than he who was the source of our light.[2][96]
Abu `Ubayda ibn
Muhammad ibn `Ammar ibn Yasir said: I said to al-Rubayyi` bint Mu`awwadh:
"Describe for me Allah's Messenger." She replied:
"If you saw him you would say: The sun is rising."
Bayhaqi
narrates it with his isnad in Dala'il al-nubuwwa (1:200), and Haythami
in Majma` al-zawa'id (8:280) says
that Tabarani narrates it in al-Mu`jam
al-kabir and al-Awsat and that
its narrators have been declared trustworthy.
Ka`b ibn Malik
said:
"I greeted the Prophet and there was lightning in his
face. Whenever the Prophet was happy, his face would be illuminated as if it
were a piece of the moon."
Bukhari and
Muslim narrated it, as well as Ahmad in his Musnad.
Bayhaqi in Dala'il al-nubuwwa (1:301)
relates these descriptions of the Prophet by the Companions and others:
When the Prophet left Mecca and emigrated to Madina his aunt,
`Atika bint `Abd al-Muttalib, recited the following -- although, Bayhaqi said,
she still followed the religion of the Quraysh:
`aynayya juda bi al-dumu`i
al-sawajimi,`ala al-murtada kal-badri min ali Hashimi
My eyes have overflowed with streaming
tears shed, for the Uniquely Chosen One, the Full Moon of the House of Hashim.
Abu Bakr al-Siddiq described the Prophet thus:
aminun mustafa li al-khayri
yad`u, ka daw'i al-badri zayalahu al-zalamu
A trustworthy one, chosen, calling to
goodness, Resembling the light of the full moon set off from darkness.
While `Umar
would recite the following:
law kunta min shay'in siwa
basharin, kunta al-mudi'a li laylat al-badri
If you were anything other than a human being, You would be the
light in the night of a full moon.
Bayhaqi
narrated the above in Dala'il al-nubuwwa
(1:301-302) and relates that `Umar added after saying the above: "The
Prophet was like this, and no one other than he was like this." See the
complete text of `Atika bint `Abd al-Muttalib's praise below (#545-550).
Jami` ibn
Shaddad said: One of our men was called Tariq. [al-Qari: "This is Ibn
Shihab Abu `Abd Allah al-Muharibi, a Companion who narrated from the Prophet.]
He related that he had seen the Prophet at Madina and the Prophet had asked:
"Do you have anything with you to sell?" We replied: "This
camel." The Prophet said: "How much?" We said: "So many wasqs [about 240 double-handed scoops]
of date." He took its rein and went to Madina. Tariq and his companion
said: "We have sold to a man and we do not even know who he is!" One
of the women with us said: "I will guarantee the price of the camel. I saw
the face of a man like the full moon. He will not cheat you." In the
morning, a man brought us the dates and said: "I am the messenger of the
Messenger of Allah. He bids you eat of these dates and weigh until you have
full weight." We did so.
Qadi `Iyad
narrates it in al-Shifa' (English p.
135). Suyuti in Manahil al-safa (p.
114 #515) and al-Qari in Sharh al-shifa' (1:525)
refer it to al-Bayhaqi.
Ibn `Abbas related that the Prophet said while in prostration:
"O Allah, place light in my heart, light in my hearing, light in my sight,
light on my right, light on my left, light in front of me, light behind me,
light above me, light below me, and make light for me," or he said:
"Make me light." Salama said: I met Kurayb and he reported Ibn Abbas
as saying: "I was with my mother's sister Maymuna when the Messenger of
Allah came there, and then he narrated the rest of the hadith as was narrated
by Ghundar and said the words: "Make me light," beyond any doubt.
Muslim narrates
it in his Sahih, book of Salat al-musafirin. Imam Ahmad in his Musnad also narrates it with a strong
chain, but with the reverse order of the first narration cited above, resulting
in the wording: "... and make me light," or he said:
"Make light for me." Ibn Hajar in Fath
al-bari (1989 ed. 11:142) mentions a narration in Ibn Abi `Asim's Kitab al-du`a which states: "And
grant me light upon light" (wa
hab li nuran `ala nur). There are many sound narrations of this hadith
mentioning other parts of the Prophet's person. Ibn Hajar states that Abu Bakr
ibn al-`Arabi numbered the items for which the Prophet supplicated for light in
himself at twenty-five in the totality of the sound narrations of that hadith.
Among them are:
Light in the
Prophet's heart, Light in the Prophet's tongue, Light in the Prophet's hearing,
Light in the Prophet's eyesight, Light in the Prophet's six directions: right,
left, front, back, above, and below, Light in the Prophet's soul, Light in the
Prophet's chest, Light in the Prophet's sinew, Light in the Prophet's flesh,
Light in the Prophet's blood, Light in the Prophet's hair, Light in the
Prophet's skin, Light in the Prophet's bones, Light in the Prophet's grave,
"Enhance light for me.", "Give me abundant light.",
"Give me light upon light.", "Make me light."
The Prophet
first appeared to his mother in the form of a light that lit the world for her
until she could see the palaces of Syria from her place in Mecca:
`Irbad ibn
Sariya and Abu Imama said that the Prophet said: " I am the supplication
of my father Ibrahim, and the good tidings of my brother `Isa. The night I
was delivered my mother saw a light that lit the castles of Damascus so
that she could see them."
It is narrated
by al-Hakim in his Mustadrak
(2:616-617), Ahmad in his Musnad
(4:184), and Bayhaqi in Dala'il al-nubuwwa
(1:110, 2:8). Ibn al-Jawzi cites it in al-Wafa'
(p. 91, ch. 21 of Bidayat nabiyyina
sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam), and Ibn Kathir in Mawlid rasul Allah and his Tafsir
(4:360). Haythami cites it in Majma`
al-zawa'id (8:221) and said Tabarani and Ahmad narrated it, and Ahmad's
chain is fair (hasan). See for
Ahmad's complete text Bisharatu `Isa
(#454).
Ibn Ishaq in
his history of the early Muslims narrates something similar in a longer form as
related in Ibn Hisham's epitome entitled Sirat
Rasul Allah (Dar al-wifaq ed. 1/2:166):
Ibn Ishaq said:
Thawr ibn Yazid related to me from one of the scholars, and I do not reckon it
is other than Khalid ibn Ma`dan al-Kala`i, that a small group of the Prophet's
Companions said to him:
"O
Messenger of Allah, tell us about yourself." He replied: "Yes. I am
the supplication of my father Ibrahim, and the good tidings of my brother `Isa,
and my mother saw, when she delivered me, that a great light issued from her
and lit the castles of Syria for her. I was nursed by the Banu Sa`d ibn
Bakr. While I was with a brother of mine besides our dwellings, feeding the
sheep, two men came to me wearing very white clothes and carrying a contained
of gold filled with snow. Then they took me and they opened my chest, removed
my heart, opened it, and removed from it a black clot which they threw away.
Then they washed my heart and my chest with the snow until they purified them.
Then one of them said to the other: Weigh him against ten of his Community. He
did, and I outweighed them. Then he said: Weigh him against a hundred of his
Community. He did, and I outweighed them. Then he said: Weigh him against a
thousand of his Community. He did, and I outweighed them. Then he said: Leave
him, for by Allah if you weighed him against all of his Community he would
outweigh them. [Tabari added:] Then they hugged me close to their chests and
kissed my head between the eyes and said: O Beloved, do not fear, verily if you
knew the good that is to take place through you, you would be pleased.
It is also
related by Tabari in his History. Thawr ibn Yazid and Khalid ibn Ma`dan are
trustworthy narrators from whom Bukhari and many others took hadith.
Qadi `Iyad said
in his book al-Shifa', in the chapter
on the nobility of the Prophet's lineage:
Ibn `Abbas said
that the spirit of the Prophet was a light in front of Allah two thousand years
before he created Adam. That light glorified Him and the angels glorified by
his glorification. When Allah created Adam, he cast that light into his loins.
Suyuti said in Manahil al-safa (p. 53 #128): "Ibn
Abi `Umar al-`Adani relates it in his Musnad."
In Takhrij ahadith sharh al-mawaqif
(p. 32 #12) Suyuti cites it with the wording: "The Quraysh were a light in
front of Allah." Ibn al-Qattan in his Ahkam
(1:12) narrates it in the following form, although `Abd Allah al-Ghimari in Irshad al-talib rejects the latter as a
forgery:
`Ali ibn
al-Husayn from his father from his grandfather said that the Prophet said:
"I was
a light in front of my Lord for fourteen thousand years before He created Adam."
Something
similar is narrated by Imam Ahmad in his Fada'il
al-Sahaba (2:663 #1130), Dhahabi in Mizan
al-i`tidal (1:235), and al-Tabari in al-Riyad
al-nadira (2:164, 3:154). Related to the above are the following reports:
`Amr ibn `Abasa said that the Prophet
said: "Verily, Allah created the spirits of His servants two thousand
years before He created His servants. Then whichever among them recognized each
other came close, and whichever did not, stayed apart."
Suyuti in Takhrij ahadith sharh al-mawaqif (p. 31
#10) says that Ibn Mandah narrated it, while Haytami in his Fatawa hadithiyya says that it is
extremely weak.
Ibn `Abbas
explained taqallubak -- "your
translation" -- in the verses "[Your Lord] Who sees you when you
stand, and your translation among those who prostrate themselves"
(26:218-219), as "your descent through the loins of your ancestors."
It is narrated from Ibn `Abbas by al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak (2:338) and is the explanation retained by Ibn
Mardawayh, al-Razi, Suyuti, and others.
Al-Shahrastani
in his Kitab al-milal wa al-nihal
(2:238) said: "The light of Muhammad went from Ibrahim to Isma`il.
Then that light passed through all his children, until it arrived at `Abd
al-Muttalib... and with the blessing of this light Allah repelled Abraha's
harm" (wa bibarakati dhalik
al-nur dafa` allahu ta`alaa sharra Abraha).
Suyuti cites
the above in several of his books, such as Masalik
al-hunafa' (p. 40-41) which we translated below under the attribute Karim al-tarafayn (#485), also his al-Duruj al-munifa (p. 16) and his al-Ta`zim wa al-minna (p. 55), all three
of which were written to show the bases
on which the Prophet's two parents are considered to be in Paradise by the
majority of the scholars.
Al-Zuhri narrated:
`Abd Allah ibn
`Abd al-Muttalib was the most handsome man that had ever been seen among the
Quraysh. One day he went out and was seen by a an assembly of the women of
Quraysh. One of them said: "O women of the Quraysh, which among you will
marry this youth and catch thereby the light that is between his eyes?"
For verily there was a light between his eyes. Thereafter Amina bint
Wahb ibn `Abd Manaf ibn Zuhra married him, and after he joined her she carried
Allah's Messenger.
Al-Bayhaqi
narrated it in Dala'il al-nubuwwa
(1:87). Tabari in his Tarikh (2:243),
Ibn al-Jawzi in al-Wafa' (p. 82-83,
ch. 16 of Abwab bidayati nabiyyina),
and Ibn Hisham narrated something similar but on the authenticity of which they
raise doubt (cf. Guillaume trans. p. 68-69):
It is alleged a
woman of Banu Asad who was the sister of Waraqa ibn Nawfal proposed to `Abd
Allah, but he married Amina bint Wahb instead and consummated his marriage.
Then he left her presence and met the woman who had proposed to him. He asked
her why she did not make the proposal that she made to him the day before; to
which she replied that the light that was in him the day before had left him,
and she no longer had need of him... She said: "When you passed me there
was a white blaze between your eyes and when I invited you refused me and went
to Amina, and she has taken it away."
It is related that Jabir ibn `Abd Allah said to the Prophet:
"O
Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you, tell me of
the first thing Allah created before all things." He said: "O
Jabir, the first thing Allah created was the light of your Prophet from His
light, and that light remained (lit.
"turned") in the midst of His Power for as long as He wished, and
there was not, at that time, a Tablet or a Pen or a Paradise or a Fire or an
angel or a heaven or an earth. And when
Allah wished to create creation, he divided that Light into four parts and from
the first made the Pen, from the second the Tablet, from the third the Throne,
[and from the fourth everything else]."
The judgments
on this narration vary greatly among the scholars. Their words are listed below
under the alphabetical listing of their names.
`Abd al-Haqq
al-Dihlawi (d. 1052) the Indian hadith scholar cites it as evidence in Madarij al-nubuwwa (in Persian, 2:2 of
the Maktaba al-nuriyya edition in Sakhore) and says it is sahih
(sound and authentic).
`Abd al-Hayy
al-Lucknawi (d. 1304) the Indian hadith scholar cites it in his al-Athar al-marfu`a fi al-akhbar al-mawdu`a
(p. 33-34 of the Lahore edition) and says: "The primacy (awwaliyya) of the Muhammadan light (al-nur al-muhammadi) is established
from the narration of `Abd al-Razzaq, as well as its definite priority over all
created things."
`Abd al-Razzaq
(d. 211) narrates it in his Musannaf
according to Qastallani in al-Mawahib
al-laduniyya (1:55) and Zarqani in his Sharh
al-mawahib (1:56 of the Matba`a al-`amira edition in Cairo). There is no
doubt as to the reliability of `Abd al-Razzaq as a narrator. Bukhari took 120
narrations from him, Muslim 400.
`Abidin (Ahmad
al-Shami d. 1320), the son of the Hanafi scholar Ibn `Abidin, cites the hadith
as evidence in his commentary on Ibn Hajar al-Haytami's poem al-Ni`mat al-kubra `ala al-`alamin.
Nabahani cites it in his Jawahir al-bihar
(3:354).
`Ajluni
(Isma`il ibn Muhammad d. 1162) in his Kashf
al-khafa' (1:265 of the Maktabat al-Ghazali edition in Beirut) narrates the
hadith in its entirety from Qastallani in his Mawahib.
Alusi
(al-Sayyid Mahmud) in his commentary of Qur'an entitled Ruh al-ma`ani (17:105 of the Beirut edition) said: "The
Prophet's being a mercy to all is linked to the fact that he is the
intermediary of the divine outpouring over all contingencies [i.e. all created
things without exception], from the very beginnings (wasitat al-fayd al-ilahi `ala al-mumkinat `ala hasab al-qawabil),
and that is why his light was the first of all things created, as stated in the
report that "The first thing Allah created was the light of your Prophet,
O Jabir," and also cited is: "Allah is the Giver and I am the
Distributor." [See al-Qasim
#261.] The Sufis -- may Allah sanctify their secrets -- have more to say on
that chapter." Alusi also cites the hadith of Jabir as evidence in another
passage of Ruh al-ma`ani (8:71).
Bakri (Sayyid
Abu al-Hasan Ahmad ibn `Abd Allah, d. 3rd c.) in his book al-Anwar fi mawlid al-nabi Muhammad `alayhi al-salat wa al-salam
(p. 5 of the Najaf edition) cites the following hadith from `Ali: "Allah
was and there was nothing with Him, and the first thing which He created was
the light of His Beloved, before He created water, or the Throne, or the
Footstool, or the Tablet, or the Pen, or Paradise, or the Fire, or the Veils
and the Clouds, or Adam and Eve, by four thousand years."
Bayhaqi (d.
458) narrates it with a different wording in Dala'il al-nubuwwa according to Zarqani in his Sharh al-mawahib (1:56 of the Matba`a al-`amira in Cairo) and
Diyarbakri in Tarikh al-khamis
(1:20).
Diyarbakri
(Husayn ibn Muhammad d. 966): He begins his 1,000-page history entitled Tarikh al-khamis fi ahwal anfasi nafis with the words: "Praise be to
Allah Who created the Light of His Prophet before everything else," which
is enough to disprove al-Ghumari's exaggerated claim that "anyone who
reads it will be convinced that the hadith is a lie." Then Diyarbakri
cites the hadith as evidence (1:19 of the Mu'assasat Sha`ban edition in
Beirut).
Fasi (Muhammad
ibn Ahmad d. 1052) cites it as evidence in Matali`
al-masarrat (p. 210, 221 of the Matba`a al-taziyya edition) and says:
"These narrations indicate his primacy (awwaliyya)
and priority over all other creations, and also the fact that he is their cause
(sabab)."
Ghumari (`Abd
Allah) in his Irshad al-talib al-najib
ila ma fi al-mawlid al-nabawi min al-akadhib (p. 9-12 of the Dar al-furqan
edition), commenting on Suyuti's words (quoted below) whereby the hadith has no
reliable chain: "This shows great laxity on the part of Suyuti, which I
thought him to be above. First, the hadith is not present in `Abd al-Razzaq's Musannaf, nor in any of the books of
hadith. Secondly : the hadith has no chain of transmission to begin with.
Thirdly: he has not mentioned the rest of the hadith. It is mentioned in
Diyarbakri's Tarikh, and anyone who
reads it will be convinced that the hadith is a lie about the Messenger of
Allah." This exaggerated conclusion is disproved by the fact that
Diyarbarkri himself does not consider it a lie since he cites the hadith in the
first words of his book.
Gilani (Shaykh
`Abd al-Qadir, d. 561) in his book Sirr
al-asrar fi ma yahtaju ilayh al-abrar (p. 12-14 of the Lahore edition)
said: "Know that since Allah first created the soul of Muhammad sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam from the
light of His beauty, as He said: I created Muhammad from the light of My Face,
and as the Prophet said: The first thing Allah created is my soul, and the
first thing Allah created is the Pen, and the first thing Allah created is the
intellect -- what is meant by all this is one and the same thing, and that is
the haqiqa muhammadiyya. However, it
was named a light because it is completely purified from darkness, as Allah
said: There has come to you from Allah a Light and a manifest Book. It was also
named an intellect because it is the cause for the transmission of knowledge,
and the pen is its medium in the world of letters. The Muhammadan soul (al-ruh al-muhammadiyya) is therefore
the quintessence of all created things and the first of them and their origin,
as the Prophet said: I am from Allah and the believers are from me, and Allah
created all souls from me in the spiritual world and He did so in the best
form. It is the name of the totality of mankind in that primordial world, and
after its creation by four thousand years, Allah created the Throne from the
light of Muhammad himself sallallahu
`alayhi wa sallam, and from it the rest of creation." This book has
now been translated by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi as The Secret of Secrets (Cambridge: Islamic Texts Society, 1994).
Halabi (`Ali
ibn Burhan al-Din, d. 1044) cites it as evidence in his Sira (1:31 of the Maktaba Islamiyya edition in Beirut) and then
states: "It provides evidence that he is the root of everything that
exists (in creation) and Allah knows best."
Haqqi (Isma`il,
d. 1137) cites it as evidence in his Tafsir
entitled Ruh al-bayan and says:
"Know, O person of understanding, that the first thing Allah created is
the light of your Prophet... and he is the cause for the existence of
everything that was brought to existence, and the mercy from Allah upon all
creatures... and without him the higher and the lower worlds would not have
been created." Yusuf al-Nabahani mentions it in his Jawahir al-bihar (p. 1125).
Haytami (Ahmad
ibn Hajar d. 974) states in his Fatawa hadithiyya
(p. 247 of the Baba edition in Cairo) that `Abd al-Razzaq narrated it, and
cites it in his poem on the Prophet's birth entitled al-Ni`mat al-kubra `ala al-`alamin (p. 3).
Ibn al-Hajj
al-Abdari (Muhammad ibn Muhammad d. 736) in his book al-Madkhal (2:34 of the Dar al-kitab al-`arabi in Beirut) cites it
from al-Khatib Abu al-Rabi` Muhammad ibn al-Layth's book Shifa' al-sudur in which the latter says: "The first thing
Allah created is the light of Muhammad, blessings and peace upon him, and that
light came and prostrated before Allah. Allah divided it into four parts and
created from the first part the Throne, from the second the Pen, from the third
the Tablet, and then similarly He subdivided the fourth part into parts and
created the rest of creation. Therefore the light of the Throne is from the
light of the Prophet, the light of the Pen is from the light of the Prophet,
the light of the Tablet is from the light of the Prophet, the light of day, the
light of knowledge, the light of the sun and the moon, and the light of vision
and sight are all from the light of the Prophet."
Isma`il
al-Dihlawi (Shah Muhammad, d. 1246), one of the leaders of the
Wahhabi-influenced Deobandi school in the Indo-Pakistani Subcontinent in one of
his booklets entitled Yek rawzah (p.
11 of the Maltan edition) says: "As indicated by the narration: The first thing Allah created was my Light."
Jamal (Sulayman
d. 1204) cites it as evidence in his commentary on Busiri entitled al-Futuhat al-ahmadiyya bi al-minah
al-muhammadiyya (p. 6 of the Hijazi edition in Cairo).
Gangowhi
(Rashid Ahmad) a leader of the Wahhabi-influenced Deobandi school of India and
Pakistan in his Fatawa rashidiyya (p.
157 of the Karachi edition) said that the hadith was "not found in the
authentic collections, but Shaykh `Abd al-Haqq (al-Dihlawi) cited it on the
basis that it had some grounding of authenticity." Actually Shaykh `Abd
al-Haqq not only cited it but he said it was sound (sahih).
Jili (`Abd
al-Karim, b. 766) in his Namus al-a`zam
wa al-qamus al-aqdam fi ma`rifat qadar al-bani sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam
cites it as evidence. Nabahani relates it in his Jawahir al-bihar (see below).
Kharputi (`Umar
ibn Ahmad, d. 1299) in his commentary on Busiri entitled Sharh qasidat al-burda (p. 73 of the Karachi edition).
Maliki
al-Hasani (Muhammad ibn `Alawi) in his commentary on `Ali al-Qari's book of the
Mawlid entitled Hashiyat al-Mawrid
al-rawi fi al-mawlid al-nabawi (p. 40) said: "The chain of Jabir is
sound without contest, but the scholars have differed concerning the text of
the hadith due to its peculiarity. Bayhaqi also narrated the hadith with some
differences." Then he quoted several narrations establishing the light of
the Prophet.
Nabahani (Yusuf
ibn Isma`il) cites it as evidence in al-Anwar
al-muhammadiyya (p. 13), in his Jawahir
al-bihar (p. 1125 or 4:220 of the Baba edition in Cairo), and in his Hujjat Allah `ala al-`alamin (p. 28).
Nabulusi (`Abd
al-Ghani d. 1143) says in his Hadiqa
al-nadiyya (2:375 of the Maktaba al-nuriyya edition in Faysalabad):
"The Prophet is the universal leader of all, and how could he not be when
all things were created out of his light as has been stated in the sound
hadith."
Nisaburi
(Nizamuddin ibn Hasan, d. 728) cites it as evidence in elucidation of the verse:
"And I was ordered to be the first of the Muslims" (39:12) in his Tafsir entitled Ghara'ib al-Qur'an (8:66 of the Baba edition in Cairo).
Qari (Mulla
`Ali ibn Sultan, d. 1014) cites it in full in his book al-Mawlid al-rawi fi al-mawlid al-nabawi (p. 40), edited by Sayyid
Muhammad `Alawi al-Maliki. He also said in his Sharh al-Shifa, in commenting upon the Prophet's title "as a
Lamp spreading Light" (33: 46): "Muhammad... is a tremendous light
and the source of all lights, he is also a book that gathers up and makes clear
all the secrets... sirajan muniran
means a luminous sun, because of His saying: "He hath placed therein a
great lamp and a moon giving light" (25:61). There is in this verse an indication that the sun is the highest
of the material lights and that other lights are outpourings from it: similarly
the Prophet is the highest of the spiritual lights and other lights are derived
from him by virtue of his mediating connection and pivotal rank in the overall
sphere of creation. This is also inferred from the tradition: "The first
thing Allah created is my light."" (Sharh al-Shifa 1:505)
Qastallani
(Ahmad ibn Muhammad, d. 923) narrates it in his al-Mawahib al-laduniyya (1:55 of the edition accompanied by
Zarqani's commentary).
Rifa`i (Yusuf
al-Sayyid Hashim) cites it as evidence in Adillat
Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama`a al-musamma al-radd al-muhkam al-mani` (p. 22):
`Abd al-Razzaq narrated it.
Suyuti in al-Hawi li al-fatawi, in the explanation
of Sura al-Muddaththir: "It has
no reliable chain"; and in Takhrij
ahadith sharh al-mawaqif: "I did not find it in that wording."
Thanwi (Ashraf
`Ali), a leader of the Wahhabi-influenced Deobandi school in the Indian
Subcontinent, in his book Nashr al-tib
(in Urdu, p. 6 and 215 of the Lahore edition) cites it as evidence on the
authority of `Abd al-Razzaq, and relies upon it.
Zarqani in Sharh al-mawahib cites it (1:56 of the
Matba`a al-`amira edition in Cairo) and refers it to `Abd al-Razzaq's narration
in his Musannaf.
Zahir (Ihsan
Ilahi), a leader of the Wahhabi-influenced Deobandi school and declared enemy
of the Barelwi school of Ahl al-Sunna
in Lahore, India, in his book Hadiyyat
al-mahdi (p. 56 of the Sialkut edition) says: "Allah began His
creation with the Muhammadan light (al-nur
al-muhammadi), then He created the Throne over the water, then He created
the wind, then He created the Nun and the Pen and the Tablet, then He created
the Intellect. The Muhammadan Light is therefore a primary substance for the
creation of the heavens and the earth and what is in them... As for what has
come to us in the hadith: The first thing which Allah created is the Pen; and:
The first thing which Allah created is the Intellect: what is meant by it is a
relative primacy."
Anas relates
that the Prophet said:
"The
simile of the scholars of knowledge (al-`ulama')
on the earth is the stars in the sky by which one is guided in the darkness of
the land and the sea. When the stars are clouded over, the guides are about to
be lost."
Ahmad narrated
it in his Musnad (3:157 #12606) with
a chain containing Rishdin ibn Sa`d who is weak. However, it is confirmed by
the hadith in Muslim and Ahmad narrated by Abu Musa al-Ash`ari whereby the
Prophet said: "The stars are trust-keepers for the heaven, and when the
stars wane, the heaven is brought what was promised (i.e. of the corruption of
the world and the coming of the Day of Judgment); and I am a trust-keeper for
my Companions, so when I go my Companions will be brought what was promised
them (i.e. of fitna and division);
and my Companions are trustkeepers for my Community, so when they go my
Community will be brought what was promised to you (i.e. following hawa and vying for dunya)."