The Question of “Is Rasulullah
a ‘Bashar’ or ‘nur’” often crops up in the belief of many Muslims. Unfortunately,
a majority of the time we are presented with a false one dimensional
answer: either He is nur or He 
is bashar. The question as well as the answer
both signal a lack of understanding of Quranic teachings as well
as the Prophetic Personality. The question implies Rasulullah
is either a bashar OR nur – i.e. He
is one and not the other. This is impossible
since the Quran, the Sunnah and The Jama’ah teach us and convey
to us that Rasulullah
is BOTH nur and Bashar. To deny ANY one of these
attributes is going against the Quran and Sunnah as we shall see.
The Nur of The Holy Prophet
Muhammad 
·
Almighty Allah states in the Holy Quran:
"There has come to you a Light from
Allah, and a Manifest Book" (Qur’an 5:15).
in which the word Light has been explained by a number of classic
Qur’anic exegetes as follows:
Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti: "It is the
Prophet 
"
(Tafsir al-Jalalayn, 139).
Ibn Jarir al-Tabari: "By Light
He means Muhammad
, through whom Allah has illuminated the truth, manifested Islam,
and obliterated polytheism; since he is a light for whoever seeks
illumination from him, which makes plain the truth" (Jami‘
al-bayan, 6.161).
Fakhr al-Razi: "There are various
positions about it, the first being that the Light is Muhammad
, and the Book is the Qur’an " (al-Tafsir al-kabir,
11:194).
Al-Baghawi: "It means Muhammad
, or, according to a weaker position, Islam" (Ma‘alam
al-Tanzil, 2.228).
Qadi `Iyad: "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."
Al-Khazin: "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." (Tafsir
(2:28))
Al-Nasafi (Tafsir al-Madarik (1:276)) and Al-Qasimi
(Mahasin al-ta'wil
(6:1921)): "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: "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."
(Supercommentary on Tafsir al-Jalalayn (1:258))
Sayyid Mahmud al-Alusi: "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." Tafsir Ruh al-Ma`ani (6:97)
Isma`il al-Haqqi: "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." Tafsir ruh al-bayan (2:370) - 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: "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 The Ahle
Sunnah Wal Jama’ah 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."
And Qurtubi (Ahkam al-Qur’an , 6.118) and Mawardi
(al-Nukat wa al-‘uyun, 2.22) mention that interpreting
Nur as "Muhammad"
was also the position by the Imam of Arabic
grammar Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Zajjaj (d. 311/923).
·
Almighty Allah States in another ayat:
"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: 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." (al-Riyad
al-aniqa)
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 ash-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 : "The Prophet
is a light and a light-giving lamp." Ghara'ib al-Qur'an (18:93)
al-Qari: "The most
apparent meaning is to say that what is meant by the light is
Muhammad." Sharh al-shifa'
·
Almighty Allah States:
"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)
Ali al-Qari in commen-ting 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)
al-Khazin 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.”
Qadi al-Baydawi
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 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: "The word [lamp] is used for everything that illumines."
al-Mufradat (1:147)
al-Zarqani: "He was named
lamp because from the one lamp take the many lamps, and its
light is no wise diminished." Sharh
al-mawahib (3:171)
All the above clearly
shows that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) is Nūr and
that this is the belief held by the Jama’ah (Majority) of scholars
and the early generations of Islam.
As for the Prophet
(Allah bless him and give him peace) being a bashar or
‘human being’, there is no doubt of this, because it is Qur’an
and ‘aqida. Yet the Qur’an does not simply state that He
is a human being, but rather says,
"Say:
I am but a man like you who is divinely inspired that your
god is but One God" (Qur’an 18:10)
We tend to only
grasp the first part of this verse and deny the other part, but
it is infact the second part of the verse (“who is divinely inspired)
which presents the true Prophetic status and personality.
The following chapter
from Qadi Iyad’s Ash Shifa addresses this issue in a clear light:
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.
Is
The Light of The Holy Prophet (saw) From Allah Himself?
Here lies another
point of confusion – is The Prophet (saw) just a light or was
He (saw) made from Allah? To believe that the Prophet (saw) is
made from Allah is wrong and will commit the same mistake as the
Christians did with Jesus (as) and as the Hindus did with the
avatars.
The
Prophet (saw) is the Light of Allah, but of course He (saw) is
a created light. The phrase “nur allah” is an ascriptive (idafa)
construction and does not show that this Nur is an attribute of
Allah. The ascriptive construction in this case is a kind called
“idafa tashrif”, or an ‘ascription of ennoblement’, like the title Bayt Allah
‘The House of Allah’ for the Kaaba in Mecca, named this for its
nobility, not that Allah lives inside, much less that it is divine
attribute. Or like the she-camel that was sent to Thamud, which
was called in the Qur’an Naqat Allah ‘The She-Camel of Allah’
as an ascription of ennoblement; namely, because of its inviolability
in the Shari‘a of that time—not that it was ridden by Allah, or
was a divine attribute. These names are provided to express
their ennoblement and great status.
The Nur of The
Prophet (saw) From Hadith
· 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: "Ibn
Abi `Umar al-`Adani relates it in his Musnad."
Manahil al-safa (p.
53 #128)
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 - 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:
· 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) cites it as evidence in Madarij al-nubuwwa (in Persian, 2:2 of the Maktaba al-nuriyya
edition in Sakhore) and says it is is sahih
(sound and authentic).
`Abd al-Hayy al-Lucknawi (d. 1304) 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 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 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 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
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 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) of
the deobandi school in India, in 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) of Deobandi school of India 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 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 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), of
the 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), of
the Deobandi school in 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."
We cannot ever claim to know all
of the Prophet’s perfections (Allah bless him and give him peace),
only that Allah describes him in His book as ‘light’; while at
the same time, he had to be a human being in order that the Sacred
Law could be manifest, and the imperative of obeying it be binding
on every human being.
And Allah knows best.
Salaalaahu aláihi wa salaama Tasliman Kathira
(May
Allah Bless Him Abundantly)
Reference:
Shaykh Hisham Kabbani, Shaykh Nuh Ha Mim Keller
