►Qastalani in Mawahib ul Laduniyah Volume 001, Page No. 71,
►Zurqani in Sharah Mawahib ul Laduniyah Volume 001, Page No. 89-91,
►Ajluni in Kashf al-Khafa (وقال : رواه عبد الرزاق بسنده عن جابر بن عبد اﷲ رضي اﷲ عنهما) Volume 001, Page No. 311, Hadith Number 827,
►Halabi in his Sirah Volume 001, Page No. 50,
►Ashraf Ali Thanvi in Nashar ut-Tib Volume 001, Page No. 13
Imam Ibn Hajr al-Haythami (rah)narrates in his Fatawa al Hadithiyyah:
فقد أخرج عبد الرزاق بسنده عن جابر بن عبد الله الأنصاري رضي الله عنهما قال: "قلت: يا رسول الله بأبي أنت وأمي أخبرني عن أوّل شيء خلقه الله قبل الأشياء؟ قال: يا جابر إن الله خلق قبل الأشياء نور نبيك محمد صلى الله عليه وسلّم من نوره فجعل ذلك النور يدور بالقدرة حيث شاء الله، ولم يكن في ذلك الوقت لوح ولا قلم ولا جنة ولا نار ولا ملك ولا سماء ولا أرض ولا شمس ولا قمر ولا إنس ولا جن، فلما أراد الله تعالى أن يخلق الخلق قسم ذلك النور أربعة أجزاء: فخلق من الجزء الأوّل القلم، ومن الثاني اللوح، ومن الثالث العرش، ثم قسم الجزء الرابع أربعة أجزاء: فخلق من الأول حملة العرش، ومن الثاني الكرسي، ومن الثالث باقي الملائكة
Undoubtedly Abdur Razzaq mentioned with his Sanad from Jabir ibn `Abd Allah who asked: "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]Reference
►Narrated by Imam Ibn Hajr al Haytami in Fatawa al Hadithiyyah Page No. 289
Note: Sheikh Abdul Haqq Muhadith Dhelvi (Rahimuhullah) said: The source of creation, universe and of Adam is Nur of Muhammad(Salallaho alaihi wasalam), hence
"IT HAS COME IN SAHIH HADITH THAT THE FIRST THING WHICH ALLAH CREATED WAS MY NUR!" [Madarij al Nabuwah, Volume No.2, Page No. 2]
Some people object that in hadith it has also come that first thing which Allah created was Al-Qalam (i.e. pen) and they cite the hadith in Tirimdhi as proof which states: أَوَّلُ مَا خَلَقَ اللهُ الْقَلَمُ (i.e. First thing which Allah created was the pen)
They say that hence Pen is the first creation therefore the hadith of Prophet (Peace be upon him) being first created Nur contradicts it.
This is their misconception because things have been first created according to their relative primacy, here is hadith from Sahih Bukhari which even proves Throne and Water to be created before Pen
كان اللهُ ولم يكُنْ شيءٌ غيرُه. وكان عرشُهُ على الماء
Translation: First of all, there was nothing but Allah, and (then He created His Throne). His throne was over the water [Translation by Muhsin Khan, Sahih Bukhari in English, Volume 4, Book 54, Number 414]After seeing this the deniers are dumbstruck and their own pseudo logic stands refuted because now there is even conflict between other Sahih ahadith regarding what was the first thing created! But the point is how to bring reconciliation?
Imam Badr ud-din Ayni (rah) gave a magnificent answer, he states in his Umdat al Qari, Sharh Sahih al Bukhari
روى أحمد والترمذي مصححا من حديث عبادة بن الصامت مرفوعاً أول ما خلق الله القلم ثم قال أكتب فجرى بما هو كائن إلى يوم القيامة واختاره الحسن وعطاء ومجاهد وإليه ذهب إبن جرير وابن الجوزي وحكى ابن جرير عن محمد بن إسحاق أنه قال أول ما خلق الله تعالى النور والظلمة ثم ميز بينهما فجعل الظلمة ليلاً أسود مظلماً وجعل النور نهاراً أبيض مبصراً وقيل أو ما خلق الله تعالى نور محمد قلت التوفيق بين هذه الروايات بأن الأولية نسبي وكل شيء قيل فيه إنه أول فهو بالنسبة إلى ما بعدها
Translation: Imam Ahmed and Imam Tirimdhi have narrated the Marfu hadith with Sahih Isnad from Ibada bin Samit (ra) which proves that Allah first created the Pen and then told it to write and It wrote everything which would happen till day of Judgement. Hassan, Ata and Mujahid have adopted this too, Ibn Jarir and Ibn Jawzi also have this Madhab whereas Ibn Jarir has narrated from Muhammad bin Ishaq that “ALLAH CREATED THE NUR AND DARKNESS PRIOR TO EVERYTHING” and then differentiated between them, There is also a saying that Allah first created
“THE NUR OF MUHAMMAD (PEACE BE UPON HIM)” so how could reconciliation be brought in these different narrations? I say that they could be reconciled by saying that everything has its “RELATIVE PRIMACY” and they are first in relevance to things which came after them. [Umdat al Qari, Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume No. 15, Page No. 109]
Mullah Ali Qari (rah) beautifully said:
الأوّل الحقيقي هو النور المحمدي على ما بينته في المورد للمولد
Translation: The first reality is the
“NUR-AL-MUHAMMADI” as I have mentioned in my book Al-Mawrid lil-Mawlid [Mullah Ali Qari in Mirqat, Sharh al Mishqaat (1/289), Published by Dar ul Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon]
Mullah Ali Qari (rah) also said:
والأوّلية من الأمور الإضافية فيؤوّل أن كل واحد مما ذكر خلق قبل ما هو من جنسه ؛ فالقلم خلق قبل جنس الأقلام ونوره قبل الأنوار وإلا فقد ثبت أن العرش قبل خلق السموات والأرض، فتطلق الأوّلية على كل واحد بشرط التقييد فيقال: أوّل المعاني كذا، وأوّل الأنوار كذا، ومنه قوله: «أوّل ما خلق الله نوري»، وفي رواية: «روحي» ومعناهما واحد، فإن الأرواح نورانية
Translation: Being first is amongst the matters of
“Idhafiyah” hence the interpretation will be done that these things (i.e. Qalam, Aql, Nur, Ruh, Arsh etc…) are first according to their own “JINS” hence Pen was created first in relevance to other Pens [Note: Here Mullah Ali Qari is beautifully explaining relative primacy] and the Nur [al-Muhammadi] was created prior to every other Nur. It is also proven that Arsh was created prior to heavens and earth and all this will be attributed towards one meaning as the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:
“The First thing which Allah created was my Nur” and It has also come in another report that
It was his “RUH” and both of them “HAVE SAME MEANING BECAUSE SPIRITS ARE CREATED FROM NUR[Mullah Ali Qari in Mirqat, Sharh al-Mishqaat (1/290), Published by Dar ul Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon]
So people who deny Muhammadan reality are first asked to pass a verdict of Kufr/Shirk upon Imam Badr ud-din Ayni (rah), Imam al-Qastallani (rah), Mullah Ali Qari (rah), Ibn Hajr al-Haythami (rah), Allama Alusi (rah) and many others, only then they can have a valid difference of opinion over this issue!
The hadith of Jabir bin Abdullah (rah) is further authenticated by another hadith which is Sahih and proves that Nur of Prophet (Peace be upon him) was created prior to Adam (a.s).
2) Abu Hurraira (ra) narrates from the Messenger of Allah (May Peace be upon him) that he said: When Allah created Adam (Peace be upon him) He informed him of his descendants, at this Adam (Peace be upon him) saw superiority of some over others, then he saw me towards the end in form of an
“ILLUMINATING NUR”(i.e. the Last of the Prophets to be sent) he (adam) said: O my Lord who is this? The Lord replied: This is your son Ahmed who is the first and the last and (on the Day of Judgment) he will be first to do intercession.
Reference
►Bayhaqi, Dala’il un Nubuwwah: Volume 005, Page No. 483
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