Almiraj Sufi and Islamic Study Centre

Hadith an Nur - The Descent of Light

translated from the Arabic by Murshid F. A. 'Ali ElSenossi
Haqiqat al Muhammadiyyah -The Reality of Muhammad- is the light by which you can
distinguish Reality.
"The angels and the Spirit ascend unto Him in a Day, the measure whereof is (as)
fifty thousand years" Surah Ma'rij (The ways of Ascent) 70:4

The Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) said "The first thing Allah created was my spiri
t"
"The first thing that Allah created was the Intellect (Al 'Aql)"
And he said "The first thing that Allah created was the Pen (Al Qalam)"

One of the great companions of the Holy Prophet (may the peace and blessings of
Allah be upon Him), Jabir bin Abdullah, always asked questions concerning the de
eper knowledge of Islam. On this particular occasion, he inquired of the Holy Pr
ophet "What is the first thing that Allah created?" The Holy Prophet replied 'Th
e first thing that Allah created was the Light of Your Prophet, Oh Jabir'. Then
the Holy Prophet continued 'Then He created within that light all goodness and a
fter that, He created everything else. When He created that Luminous Light, He s
tood it before Him in the Station of Nearness (Maqam al Qurb) for 12,000 years.
This light He divided into 4 portions. From the first portion, He created the Th
rone. From the second portion He created the Pedestal. From the third portion, H
e created the Angels that carry the Throne and the Trustees of the Pedestal. The
fourth portion He then stood before Him in the Station of Love (Maqam al Hubb)
for 12,000 years.
From this fourth portion He created 4 more portions. From the first portion He c
reated the Pen, from the second He created the Lawh (tablet), from the third He
created Paradise. Then He stood the fourth portion before Him in the Station of
Fear (Maqam al Khawf) for 12,000 years.
From this portion, He created 4 more portions. From the first portion He created
the Angels, from the second He created the Sun, from the third He created the M
oon and all the celestial bodies. Then He stood the fourth portion before Him in
the Station of Hope (Maqam ar Rija') for 12,000 years.
From this portion, He again created 4 more portions. From one He created the Int
ellect ('Aql), from the second portion Knowledge and Gentleness, from the third,
Tawfiq (success). The fourth portion He stood before Him in the Station of Shyn
ess (Maqam al Haya') for 12,000 years. After 12,000 years, Allah turned His glan
ce upon this light. This look caused luminous beads of perspiration to appear up
on it. From each of these 124,000 drops of light, Allah created the Spirit of a
Prophet or Messenger. Then the Spirits of the Prophets exhaled. From this exhala
tion, Allah created all the Saints and the people who will be in perpetual happi
ness, the martyrs and those who are obedient from among the believers until the
Day of Judgement.
The Holy Prophet continued and said 'So the Throne and the Pedestal are from my
light. Paradise and every enjoyment and perpetual bliss is from my light. The An
gels of the Seven Heavens are from my light. The selected angelic beings are fro
m my light. The Sun and the Moon and all the celestial bodies from my light. Kno
wledge, Gentleness and Success, from my light. The spirits of the Messengers and
the Prophets, from my light. The martyrs and the conscious people from the resu
lt of my light.
Then Allah created 12 veils. That part of my light which is the fourth portion o
f the fourth portion, stood in every veil for 1,000 years. These veils are the v
eil of generosity, the veil of happiness, the veil of awe, the veils of mercy an
d kindness and knowledge, humbleness, dignity, gentleness (sakinah), patience an
d realisation, truthfulness. After worshipping Allah in every veil for a period
of 1,000 years, Allah caused the light to emerge and He placed it upon the Earth
. That light illuminates what is between the Easts and the Wests like a lantern
in the darkness of the night.
Then Allah created Adam from the Earth, took from that light and placed it withi
n his forehead. This light was transmitted to Seth and from him it passed from o
ne pure soul to another - from goodness to goodness until Allah transferred it t
o the loins of Abdullah bin Abd al-Muttalib. From him, it passed into the womb o
f my mother, Aminah. Then He brought me forth into this world. He made me the Ma
ster of the Messengers (Sayyid al Mursalin), Seal of the Prophets (Khatm an Nabi
yyin) and a mercy for all creations.
That is how the creation of your Prophet was accomplished, Oh Jabir. Thus said t
he Holy Prophet Muhamad (saw).

Note: The Holy Prophet Muhammad÷ mentions in this saying a series of time periods
totalling 12,060,000 years (5 x 12,000 + 12,000 X 1000) before the creation of A
dam. Taking into account the measure that Allah mentions in the verse of the Hol
y Qu'ran quoted at the top of this article - a period of earthly time roughly eq
uivalent to 220,095,000,000,000 years (22,095 billion) occurs from the creation
of the Light of Muhammad÷ to the creation of Adam. (12,060,000 multiplied by 365 d
ays by 50,000 years).

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8th Aoril, 2006

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