Creation of the Light of Muhammad

Creation of the Light of Muhammad

This version of the Islamic creation myth of the Light of Muhammad is from the Naqshbandi Sufi tradition and is sourced from Hajjah Amina Adil's Muhammad: The Messenger of Islam. The book draws heavily on Sufi sources written in Ottoman Turkish. The creation myth contains various Gnostic themes and motifs.

Creation of the Light of Muhammad

The Light

One day Ali, karam Allahu wajhahu, the cousin and son-in-law of the Holy Prophet asked, “Oh Muhammad, both my parents shall be my ransom, pray tell me what the Lord Almighty created before all other beings of creation?”

This was his blissful reply:

Verily, before your Lord made any other thing, He created from His own Light the light of your Prophet, and that Light rested haithu mashaAllah, where Allah willed it to rest.

And at that time there existed aught else-not the Preserved Tablets, not the Pen, not Heaven nor Hell, not the Angelic Host, not the heavens nor the earth; there was no sun, no moon, no star, no jinn nor man nor angel–none was as yet created, only this Light.

Then Allah – glorified be He – by divine decree willed the Creation to be.

He therefore divided this Light into four parts.

1. From the first part He created the Pen,
2. from the second the Tablets,
3. from the third the Divine Throne.

Shahada

Now it has become known that when the Lord had created the Tablets and the Pen, the Pen had on it 100 nodes, the distance between 2 nodes being that of 2 years wayfaring.

The Lord then commanded the Pen to write, and the Pen asked, “Oh Lord, what shall I write?”

The Lord said, “Write: la ilaha illAllah, Muhammadan Rasulullah.” (Shahada)

Thereupon the Pen exclaimed, “Oh, what a beautiful, great name is that of Muhammad that it is to mentioned in one with Thy hallowed Name, oh Lord.”

The Lord then said, “Oh Pen, mind your manners! This name is the name of My Beloved, from his Light I have created the Throne and the Pen and the Tablets; you, too, are created from his Light.

Had it not been for him, I would not have created a single thing.”

When Allah Almighty had spoken these words, the Pen split in 2 from awe of the Lord, and the place from which its speech issued became blocked, so that to this very day its nib remains cloven in 2 and clogged up, so it does not write, which is the sign of this great divine secret.

Therefore, let no one fail in veneration and honoring of the Holy Prophet, or become lax in following his shining example, or contravene the noble custom he has taught us.

Basmala

Then again the Lord commanded the Pen to write.

“What shall I write, oh Lord?” asked the Pen.

The Lord of the Worlds then said, “Write that which will be until the Day of Judgment!”

Said the Pen, “Oh Lord, with what shall I begin?”

Said the Lord, “With these words you shall commence: Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim.”

In perfect respect and deference, the Pen then set out to write these words upon the Tablets, and it completed writing them in 700 years.

When the Pen had written these words, the Almighty spoke and said, “It has taken you 700 years to write three of My Names; the Name of My Majesty, My Mercy and My Compassion.

These blessed words I have made as a present to the nation of My Beloved Muhammad.

By My Majesty I pledge that whenever any servant from this nation pronounces the words of the Bismillah with a pure intention,

I will write 700 years of countless reward for this servant,

and 700 years of sins I will erase.”

Division of the Light

4. Now, the fourth part of this Light I have again divided into four parts:

1. from one part I have created the Throne-bearing Angels (hamalat al-`Arsh);
2. from the second I have created the Kursi, the Divine court (the upper Heaven supporting the Divine Throne, the `Arsh);
3. from the third I created all the other heavenly angels;
4. and the fourth part I have partitioned once more into four:

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1. from its first part I made the skies,
2. from its second I made the earths,
3. from its third I made the Jinn and the fire.
4. Its fourth part I have again divided into four parts:

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1. from one part I made the light upon the faces of the believers;
2. from the second part I made the light within their hearts, imbuing them with knowledge of the divine;
3. from the third the light upon their tongues which is the light of Tawhid (the Unity of Allah),
4. and from the fourth part I made the different lights of the soul of Muhammad.

The soul of Muhammad

This lovely soul came into being 360,000 years before the creation of the world, and it was shaped most beautifully and made of incomparable matter.

Its head was made from guidance,

its neck from humility,

its eyes from modesty,

its forehead from closeness (to Allah),

its mouth from patience,

its tongue from truthfulness,

its cheeks from love and admonition,

its belly from abstemiousness and other worldliness,

its feet and knees from following the straight path,

and its noble heart was filled with mercy.

This much-honored soul was taught with mercy and equipped with all manner of wondrous powers.

It was given its message and its prophetic qualities were installed.

Then the Crown of Divine Proximity was placed upon its blessed head,

eminent and exalted above all else,

embellished with Divine Pleasure

and given the pure, holy name of Habibullah (Beloved of Allah).

The 12 Veils

After this the Lord Almighty, blessed be He, created 12 Veils.

1. The first of these was the Veil of Power within which the Prophet’s soul remained for 12,000 years, reciting Subhana rabbil-’ala (Glory be to my Lord, the Lofty).
2. The second was the Veil of Grandeur in which he was veiled for 11,000 years, saying, Subhanal ’Alim al-Hakim (Glory be to my Lord, the All-Knowing, the Wise).
3. 10,000 years he remained shrouded in the (third) Veil of Kindness, saying Subhana man huwa da’im, la yaqta (Glory to Him who is perpetual, who never ends).
4. The fourth veil was the Veil of Mercy, therein the noble soul remained for 9,000 years, praising Allah, saying: Subhana-rafi’-al-`ala (Glory be to the Elevated, the High).
5. The fifth veil was the Veil of Bliss, and therein he remained for 8,000 years, glorifying the Lord and saying, Subhana man huwa qa’imun la yanam. (Glory to Him who is ever existent, who sleeps not).
6. The sixth veil was the Veil of Munificence; he remained enfolded in it for 7,000 years, praising, Subhana-man huwal-ghaniyu la yafqaru (Glory be to Him who is rich, who never grows indigent).
7. Then followed the seventh veil, the Veil of Rank. Here the enlightened soul remained for 1,000 years, praising the Lord and saying: Subhana man huwal Khaliq-an-Nur (Glory to Him who is the Creator, the Light).
8. Next, He veiled him in the eighth veil, the Veil of Guidance where he remained for 5,000 years, praising Allah and saying, Subhana man lam yazil wa la yazal (Glory to Him whose existence does not cease, who does not vanish).
9. Then followed the ninth veil, which was the Veil of Prophethood where he stayed for 4,000 years, glorifying the Lord: “Subhana man taqarrab bilqudrati wal-baqa” (Glory to Him who draws nigh to His Omnipotence and Immortality).
10. Then came the Veil of Eminence, the tenth veil where this enlightened soul remained for 3,000 years, reciting praises on the Creator of all Causes, saying, “Subhana dhil-’arshi ‘amma yasifun” (Glory be to the Owner of the Throne, above all else attributed to Him).
11. The eleventh veil was the Veil of Light. There he remained for 2,000 years, praying, “Subhana dhil-Mulk wal-Malakut” (Glory to the Lord over the heavenly and earthly Kingdoms).
12. The twelfth veil was the Veil of Intercession, and there he remained for 1,000 years, saying “Subhana-rabbil-’azhim” (Glory to my Lord, the Sublime).

Creation of the Beloved

Thereafter the Lord created a tree which is known as the Tree of Certainty.

This tree has four branches.

He placed this blessed soul upon one of its branches, and it continued to praise Allah for 40,000 years,

saying, Allahu dhul-Jalali wal-Ikram (Allah, Possessor of Might and of Kindness).

After it had thus praised Him with many and varied praises, the Almighty created a mirror, and He placed it so as to face the soul of Habibullah, and commanded his soul to gaze into this mirror.

The soul looked into the mirror and saw itself reflected as possessing the most comely and perfect form.

He then recited 5 times, Shukran lillahi ta’ala (thanks be to Allah, Exalted be He),

and fell down in prostration before his Lord.

He remained in each sajda for 100 years, saying:

1. Subhanal-aliyyul-azhim, wa la yajhalu (Glory be to the High, the Sublime, who ignores nothing)
2. Subhanal-halim alladhi la yu’ajjalu (Glory be to the Mild One who hastens not)
3. Subhanal-jawad alladhi la yabkhalu (Glory be to the Generous who is unstinting)

Therefore the Causer of all Being obliged the nation of Muhammad to perform sajda (prostration) 5 times a day – these 5 prayers in the course of one day and night were a gift of honor to the nation of Muhammad.

From the Light of Muhammad

Next the Lord created a lamp of green emerald from the Light, and attached it to the tree by a chain of light.

Then He placed the soul of Muhammad inside the lamp and commanded it to praise Him with the Most Beautiful Names (Asma al-Husna).

This it did, and it began to recite each one of the Names for 1,000 years.

Sweat

When it reached the Name ar-Rahman (the Merciful), the gaze of Mercy fell upon it and the soul began to sweat from modesty.

Drops of sweat fell from it, as many as there were to be prophets and messengers, each drop of rose-flavored sweat turning into the soul of a prophet.

They all assembled around that lamp in the tree, and the Almighty addressed the soul of the Prophet Muhammad, “See here this multitude of prophets whom I have created from the pearl-like drops of your sweat.”

Obeying this command, he gazed upon them, and as the light of the eye enfolds the object, so the souls of all these prophets were suddenly engulfed in the light of Muhammad, and they cried, “Oh Lord, who has wrapped us in light?”

The Lord answered them, “This is the Light of My Beloved Muhammad, and if you will believe in him and confirm his prophetic message, I will grant you the honor of prophethood.”

Thereupon all the souls of the prophets declared their belief in his prophethood, and the Lord said, “I bear witness to your acknowledgment,” and they all assented.

As it is declared in the Holy Quran: And when God took compact with the Prophets: That I have given you of Book and Wisdom; then there shall come to you a Messenger confirming what is with you–you shall believe in him and you shall help him; do you agree? He said.

And do you take My load on you on that condition?

They said, ‘We do agree.’

God said, ‘Bear witness so, and I shall be with you among the witnesses.’ (The House of Imran, 3:75-76)

Then this pure, holy soul took up its recital of the Most Beautiful Names again.

When it came to the Name al-Qahhar, its head began to sweat once more from the intensity of His Divine Majesty and Awe, and from these beads of sweat the Almighty created the souls of the blessed angels.

From the sweat on his face, the Almighty created the Throne and the Divine Court, the Tablets and the Pen, the sun, the moon and the stars.

From the sweat of his chest He created the scholars, the martyrs and the righteous believers.

From the sweat on his back were made the Bayt-al-Ma’mur (the heavenly house), the Kabatullah (the Kaba), and the Bayt-al-Muqaddas (the Haram of Jerusalem), and the Rauda-i-Mutahhara (the Tomb of the Holy Prophet at Madinah), as well as all other mosques in the world.

From the sweat on his brows were made the souls of all the believers,

and from the sweat of his lower back (the coccyx) were made the souls of all the unbelievers, fire worshippers and idolaters.

From the sweat of his feet was made all the ground from east to west, and all that is within it.

From every drop of sweat the soul of one believer or unbeliever was created.

That is the reason the Holy Prophet is referred to as “Abu Arwah”, Father of Souls.

All these souls gathered round the soul of Muhammad, circling round him with praise and glorification for 1,000 years;

then the Lord commanded these souls to look at the soul of Muhammad.

The souls all obeyed.

Those Who Gazed at the Soul of Muhammad

Now,

those among them whose gaze fell upon his head were destined to become kings and heads of state in this world.

Those who gazed at his forehead became just chiefs.

Those who gazed at his eyes would become hafiz of the Word of Allah (i.e. one who commits it to memory).

Those who saw his eyebrows became painters and artists.

Those who saw his ears were to be of those who accept admonition and advice.

Those who saw his blessed cheeks became performers of good and reasonable works.

Those who saw his face became judges and perfumers,

and those who saw his blessed lips became ministers.

Whoever saw his mouth was to be of those who fast much.

Whoever looked at his teeth would be of comely appearance,

and whoso saw his tongue was to become the ambassador of kings.

Whoever saw his blessed throat was to become a preacher and mu’adhdhin (who calls the adhan).

Whoever looked at his beard was to become a fighter in the way of Allah.

Whoever looked at his upper arms was to become an archer or a diver in the sea,

and whoever saw his neck became a merchant and a trader.

Whoso saw his right hand became a leader,

and who saw his left hand became a dispenser (who holds the scales and measures out provisions).

Whoso looked at the palms of his hands became a generous person;

whoso looked at the backs of his hands became a miser.

Whoso saw the inside of his right hand became a painter;

who saw the fingertips of his right hand was to be a calligrapher,

and who saw the tips of his left hand would be an ironworker.

Whoso saw his blessed chest would be of the learned, ascetic and scholarly.

Whoso saw his back would be a humble person and obeying the laws of the Shari’a.

Whoso saw his blessed sides would be a warrior.

Whoever looked at his belly would be of the contented ones,

and whoever looked at his right knee would be of those who perform ruk’u and sujud.

Whoever looked at his blessed feet became a hunter,

and who saw the bottom of his soles became one of those who take to the road.

Who saw his shadow were to become singers and saz (lute) players.

All those who looked but saw nothing were to become unbelievers, fire worshippers and idolaters.

Those who didn’t look at all were to become those who would declare themselves to be gods, such as Nimrod, Pharoah and his ilk.

The souls line up

Now all the souls lined up in four rows.

1. In the first row stood the souls of the prophets and messengers, on whom be peace;
2. in the second row were placed the souls of the holy saints, the Friends of God;
3. in the third row stood the souls of the believing men and women;
4. in the fourth row stood the souls of the unbelievers.

All these souls remained in the world of spirits in the presence of Allah Almighty until their time had come to be sent into the material world.

No one but Allah Almighty knows how much time elapsed from the time of the creation of the Prophet Muhammad’s blessed soul to his descent from the spiritual world into his physical form.

Jibra'il

It is narrated that the Holy Prophet Muhammad asked the angel Jibra'il, “How long is it since you were created?”

The angel answered, “Oh Rasulullah, I don’t know the number of years,

all I know is that every 70,000 years a tremendous light shines forth from behind the Canopy of the Divine Throne;

since the time of my creation this light has appeared 12,000 times.”

“Do you know what this Light is?” asked Muhammad.

“No, I don’t know,” said the angel.

“It is the light of my soul in the world of the spirit,” replied the Holy Prophet.

Consider then, how immense a number it must be if 70,000 is multiplied by 12,000!

Descriptions of the Prophets of God

Descriptions of the Prophets of God (from Anwar-al-‘Ashiqin by Ahmet Bijan)

Adam (1)

Let it be known that in the time of Adam, the first man and the first Prophet, judgment was pronounced according to the following procedure: after a sacrificial offering was made, one had only to wait.

If a fire came down from Heaven to consume the sacrifice, the claimant was in the right;

if, however, he was wrong, no fire came down to consume his sacrificial offering, and thereby he was judged.

Adam (2)

Now it should be known that each of the prophets was distinguished by attributes from the attributes of Allah, and that emanations of His holy names were manifested in them and that each became known by an unmistakable spiritual flavor and a distinct revelation.

Therefore, Adam was the original model, as it were, both in his physical form and his spiritual composition, and Allah willed it so that Adam became the father of mankind.

As regards Adam’s inner truth and spiritual reality, it is from the light of the name of Allah’s essence, and this is His proper name: Allah.

His mind and heart are from the light of 2 divine attributes:

one of them is the Merciful (ar-Rahim),

and one is the Compassionate (ar-Rahman),

inasmuch as Allah Almighty has spoken:

And for Mercy I have created you, oh Adam!

Therefore Adam was distinguished from both high and low through mercy.

Adam’s self was created from the light of Allah’s action.

Al-Badi’, the Creator, the Originator, whereby the singularity of Adam’s creation is indicated:

he was made unlike and not resembling any other created being:

he is the original specimen.

Seth

When Seth was given to Adam as a “gift of God”, he was made to resemble his father in form.

As regards Seth’s inner truth and spiritual reality, it is made from the light of the Name of divine essence,

and it is the name: Malik, the owner,

inasmuch as Seth became the owner of the world after his father Adam.

His mind and heart are from the light of the divine attribute: al-Barr, the Pious, the Good,

and for that Seth was extremely good and compassionate towards his parents.

Allah sent Seth to Adam and Hawa to make up for the loss of their beloved son Habil (Abel).

Seth’s self was from the light of 2 divine actions:

one was al-Jami’, the Gatherer,

the other: al-Mughni, the Enriched, the Independent,

for after his father it was Seth in whom was gathered all the perfection of mankind,

thus he can be said to be rich and independent of all but Allah Almighty.

Summary

Summary or alternative account

As Muhammad was of Light, his station in the Lord’s Presence was an exalted one.

His inner truth is of the truth of all truths,

and his name is the greatest name, it combines all divine names and attributes within itself.

His spiritual reality is from the light of the divine essence itself.

His mind is from the light of the names of the divine essence.

His heart is from the light of all the divine attributes combined.

His self is from the light of the names of all divine actions.

The Qutb-al-Muhaqqiqin, the most eminent of those who verify, Sayyidina ‘Ali, has said:

Before the Lord Almighty created the divine throne and the divine court, Heaven and Hell, the worlds and the skies, He created the light of our Prophet Muhammad.

He created his soul 324 years before He created the soul of Adam.

12 Veils

Thereafter Allah Almighty created 12 veils, namely the veils of:

1. power
2. grandeur
3. kindness
4. mercy
5. bliss
6. munificence
7. high station
8. guidance
9. prophecy
10. eminence
11. awe
12. intercession

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1. Thereafter the Prophet’s soul remained wrapped in the veil of power for 12,000 years;
2. and for 11,000 years it remained within the veil of grandeur.
3. For 10,000 years it remained in the veil of kindness;
4. for 9,000 years in the veil of mercy;
5. for 8,000 years in the veil of bliss;
6. for 7,000 years in the veil of munificence;
7. for 6,000 years in the veil of high station;
8. for 5,000 years in the veil of guidance;
9. for 4,000 years in the veil of prophethood;
10. for 3,000 years in the veil of eminence;
11. for 2,000 years in the veil of awe;
12. and for 1,000 years his soul remained in the veil of intercession.

After this it stayed on the divine throne for 6,000 years.

Prophet’s soul

Thereafter the Lord Almighty took the Prophet’s soul and brought it to the offspring of Adam’s loins.

From Adam’s loins it passed to Seth, from Seth to Idris and from Idris to Nuh.

Thus it was transferred all the way down to Abdullah bin Abdul-Muttalib.

Finally it came to this world in the city of Mecca.

Tree and mirror

It is reported that the Lord Almighty created a tree from the light of him who is the pride of the world.

This tree had 4 branches, and it was called the tree of certainty.

The light of Muhammad was manifested as a veil made of white pearls.

It was placed upon this tree shaped as a peacock, and there it remained for 1,000 years, steeped in the remembrance of Allah Almighty.

Then the Lord created the mirror of modesty and placed it opposite the peacock.

When the peacock looked into the mirror, he beheld a most beautiful face and form in it, and it became shamed before its glorious aspect, and prostrated itself 5 times.

Therefore, 5 daily prayers became incumbent upon us, from that prostration.

Sweat

The Lord Almighty trained His gaze upon that light once more.

From shame, that light began to perspire under the gaze of the Almighty.

From the sweat upon his brow, the Almighty then created the angels.

From the sweat upon his face, He created the throne, the divine court, the tablets and the pen, the sun, the moon and the stars.

From the sweat upon his breast, He created the prophets and the messengers, the holy martyrs and the men of knowledge, and those of righteousness.

From the sweat on his feet He then created the worlds and what is contained within them, up to the lowest of all stations of Hell and what is in it.

Light of the Prophets

Then the Lord Almighty spoke: “Oh Muhammad, look before you!”

Muhammad did so and he saw that all was replete with light.

The light before him was the light of Abu Bakr.

The light behind him was the light of ‘Umar.

The light to his right was the light of ‘Uthman,

the light to his left was the light of ‘Ali, may Allah be well pleased with them all.

Then the light of Muhammad began to praise the Lord for 70,000 years.

After this, the souls of the prophets were created.

When Allah had created the souls of the prophets, they all spoke La ilaha illAllah, Muhammad-ur-Rasulullah.

Lamp

Then Allah created a lamp.

He placed the soul of Muhammad upon this lamp in the very same shape he was to appear in this world, and he was as if in prayer.

The souls of all the prophets performed tawaf (circumambulation) around the soul of Muhammad for 200,000 years.

Then the Lord ordered them to look at Muhammad.

The souls then gazed upon him.

Whoever gazed upon his head became a king in this world.

He whose gaze fell upon his forehead became one of the just.

He who espied his chest became a man of learning.

In brief, whichever part of his blessed body the soul cast its gaze upon, it was endowed with just such an art or craft as corresponded to that member.

Prayer

Thereafter Allah Almighty commanded the people to perform their ritual prayer in the shape of the name “Ahmed أحمد”.

That is to say:

the prayer position of qiyam (standing upright) resembles the Arabic letter ‘alif أ’.

The ruk’u (bending from the waist) resembles the letter ‘ha ح’,

the sajda (prostration) resembles the letter ‘mim م’,

and the final position of jalsa (kneeling) resembles the letter ‘dal د’.

(In Arabic the name Ahmad contains these consonants: alif, ha, mim, dal).

Then the Lord Almighty created the prophets resembling in their forms the shape of the name “Muhammad محمد”.

The head is round, like the letter ‘mim م’.

The 2 hands resemble the letter ‘ha ح’,

the belly again resembles a ‘mim م’,

and the feet resemble a ‘dal د’.

Conclusion

And now, oh ye desirous of learning divine secrets!

I will now put forth to you the circumstances of the birth of the Holy Prophet,

his mission and the revelation of the Quran and its holy words,

by the leave of the Almighty Lord, Allah.

See also

• Naqshbandi creation myth
• Mi'raj

References

• Hajjah Amina Adil. 2002. Muhammad: The Messenger of Islam. Washington, DC: Islamic Supreme Council of America. ISBN 9781618429131.

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