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23290: “Were it not for you, I
would not have created the universe.”
Quote:
“ Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah
(may Allah have mercy on him) was asked:
Is the hadeeth which some people
quote – “Were it not for you, Allah would not have created the Throne or the
Kursiy (lit. Footstool) or the earth or the heavens or the sun or the moon or
anything else” saheeh or not?
He replied:
Muhammad (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) is the leader of the sons of Adam (peace be upon him), and
the best and noblest of creation, hence some people say that Allah created the
universe because of him, or that were it not for him, Allah would not have
created the Throne or the Kursiy or the earth or the heavens or the sun or the
moon.
But this hadeeth that is narrated
from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is neither saheeh
(sound) nor da’eef (weak), and it was not narrated by any scholar in a hadeeth
from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Neither was it
known from the Sahabah/Companions (may Allah be pleased with them). Rather it
is the words of one who is unknown.” Full stop!
[End of Quote]?
[Majmoo’ al-Fatawa, 11/86-96.]
The Standing Committee was
asked:
Can it be said that Allah created the heavens and the earth for the purpose
of creating the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)?
What is the meaning of the hadeeth, “Were it not for you the universe would not have
been created,” and does this hadeeth have any basis?
They replied:
The heavens and the earth were not
created for the sake of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him), rather they were created for the purpose
which Allah mentions (interpretation of the meaning):
“It is Allah Who has created seven
heavens and of the earth the like thereof (i.e. seven). His Command descends
between them (heavens and earth), that you may know that Allah has power over
all things, and that Allah surrounds all things in (His) Knowledge.”
[65:12]
As for the hadeeth mentioned, it is
falsely attributed to the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) and has no sound basis. [Fatawa
al-Lajnah al-Daimah, 1/312 ]
Shaykh Ibn Baz was asked about this hadeeth and he said:
The answer is that this was
transmitted from the words of some of the common people who have no understanding.
Some people say that the world was created for
the sake of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) and were it not for Muhammad the world would not have been created
and mankind would not have been created.
This is false and has no basis, and these are corrupt words. Allah created the world so that He
would be known and worshipped. He created the world and He created mankind so
that His names and attributes, His power and knowledge, would be known and so
that He alone would be worshipped with no partner or associate, and so that He
would be obeyed – not for the sake of Muhammad or for the sake of Nooh or
Moosa or ‘Eesa or any other Prophet (peace be upon them all). Rather Allah
created the universe so that He alone would be worshipped, with no partner or
associate. [Fatawa Noor ‘ala al-Darb, 46.]
-------------------
Ibn Taymiyya explains (Majmu’ 11:95):
"These are fabricated report
attributed to the Prophet [s], but the meaning is sound if
understood and used correctly (as has been the practice of the scholars)."
“And it is possible to interpret [it] with a sound meaning, like His statement ([Allah] has made what is in the heavens and what is in the earth subservient to you), and His statement (And [He] has made the ships subservient to you, that they might run their course in the sea by His command, and He has made the rivers subservient to you.
And He has made subservient to you the sun and the moon pursuing their courses, and He has made subservient to you the night and the day.
And He gives you of all that you ask Him; and if you count Allah’s favors, you will not be able to number them) as well as other such verses that make it clear that [Allah] created all of creation for the sake of the children of Adam.
It is well known that Allah has a great authority over it besides [what we have mentioned about] it and a vastly greater [one], but He [has stated this to] let the children of Adam know what is in it for their benefit, and how perfect are His blessings upon them.
“…Since the best of the righteous ones from the children of Adam {A} is Muhammad {S}, creating him was a desirable end of deep-seated purposeful wisdom, more so than for anyone else, and hence the completion of creation and the fulfilment of perfection was attained with Muhammad…
“…The best of the children of Adam is Muhammad {S} - Adam and his children being under his banner.
He {S} said: “Truly, I was written as the Seal of the Prophets with Allah, when Adam was being kneaded in his clay”, that is, my prophethood was decreed and manifested when Adam was created before the breathing of the Spirit into him, just as Allah decrees the sustenance, lifespan, deeds and misery or happiness of the person, when He creates the embryo [but] before the breathing of the spirit in it.
“Since man is the seal and last of all creation, and its microcosm, and since the best of man is thus the best of all creation absolutely, then Muhammad - being the pupil of the eye, the axis of the mill, and the distributor to the collective - is as it were the ultimate purpose from amongst all the purposes of creation.
Thus it cannot be rejected if it is said “Due to him all of this
was created”, or that “Were it not for him, all this would not have been
created”. So if this statement [i.e. the fabricated report]
and others like it are thus explained according to what the Book and the Sunna
indicate, it is acceptable.
ويمكن أن يفسر بوجه صحيح كقوله. (سخر لكم ما في السماوات وما في الأرض)
وقوله: (وسخر لكم الفلك لتجري في البحر بأمره وسخر لكم الأنهار وسخر لكم
الشمس والقمر دائبين وسخر لكم الليل والنهار وآتاكم من كل ما سألتموه وإن تعدوا
نعمة الله لا تحصوها) وأمثال ذلك من الآيات التي يبين فيها أنه خلق المخلوقات لبني آدم
ومعلوم أن لله فيها حكما عظيمة غير ذلك [ص: 97 ] وأعظم من ذلك ولكن يبين لبني آدم ما
فيها من المنفعة وما أسبغ عليهم من النعمة.
فإذا قيل: فعل كذا لكذا لم يقتض أن لا يكون فيه حكمة أخرى. وكذلك قول القائل: لولا
كذا ما خلق كذا لا يقتضي أن لا يكون فيه حكم أخرى عظيمة بل يقتضي إذا كان أفضل
صالحي بني آدم محمد وكانت خلقته غاية مطلوبة وحكمة بالغة مقصودة [أعظم] من غيره
صار تمام الخلق ونهاية الكمال حصل بمحمد صلى اله عليه وسلم.
والله خلق السموات والأرض وما بينهما في ستة أيام وكان آخر الخلق يوم الجمعة وفيه خلق
آدم وهو آخر ما خلق خلق يوم الجمعة بعد العصر في آخر يوم الجمعة. وسيد ولد آدم هو
محمد صلى اله عليه وسلم - آدم فمن دونه تحت لوائه - قال صلى اله عليه وسلم (إني عند الله لمكتوب خاتم النبيين وإن
آدم لمنجدل في طينته) أي كتبت نبوتي وأظهرت لما خلق آدم قبل نفخ الروح فيه كما
يكتب الله رزق العبد وأجله وعمله وشقي أو سعيد إذا خلق الجنين قبل نفخ الروح فيه.
فإذا كان الإنسان هو خاتم المخلوقات وآخرها [ص: 98 ] وهو الجامع لما فيها وفاضله هو فاضل
المخلوقات مطلقا ومحمد إنسان هذا العين، وقطب هذه الرحى وأقسام هذا الجمع كان كأنها
غاية الغايات في المخلوقات فما ينكر أن يقال: إنه لأجله خلقت جميعها وإنه لولاه لما خلقت
فإذا فسر هذا الكلام ونحوه بما يدل عليه الكتاب والسنة قبل ذلك.
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Were
It Not For You, I Would Not
Have Created Creation
لولاك لولاك ما خلقت الأفلاك
Ibn Taymiyyah’s writings about venerating the Prophet tend to be eclipsed by
his more controversial thoughts and responsum. His exploration of the law
laaka theme,therefore,
helps to shed light on another aspect of his character often ignored or overlooked by
his admirers and detractors
alike.
In
the eleventh 11 volume of his Compendium of Legal Responses Ibn Taymiyyah,
(Majma‘ Fataawaa (Riyadh: Daar
al-‘alam al-Kutub, 1991), 11:96-98) he writes:
The superiority of our Prophet over the Angels was demonstrated
on the Night of the Ascension (laylat al-mi‘raaj) when he arrived at a
level where he could hear the ‘scratching of the pens’. He was now at a station higher than that of the Angels. Allah,
Exalted is He, displays some
of His tremendous power and amazing wisdom through righteous human beings,
vis-a-via the Prophets and Saints, in ways which He does not do so
through even the Angels.
For
He assembled in the former qualities that are dispersed throughout the other
types of creation.
So
Allah created man’s body of the earth, but his spirit was created from the
Highest Assembly (al-malaa’ al-a‘laa).
This is why it is said: ‘Man is a microcosm, but contains the
macrocosm’. Now Muhammad,
peace be upon him, is the master of humanity, the best of creation and the
noblest of them in Allah’s sight.
This is why it has been said
that, ‘Allah created the universe because of him’. Or ‘Were it not for him,
He would not have created the Throne, the Pedestal, the heaven, earth, sun or
moon’.
But
this is not a hadith of the Prophet, peace be
upon him: neither authentic nor weak.
It
was not related by any of those versed in the
Hadith discipline on the authority of the Prophet, peace be upon him. Nor is it known to have come from any of the
Companions.
In
fact, it
is not known who actually uttered it.
It
is possible, though, to explain it from a correct perspective, such as by Allah’s saying:
He has subjected to you whatever is in the heavens and the earth. 45:13
And
by His words: He subjected the ships to you
that they may run upon the sea at His command, and He subjected the rivers to
you. He subjected to you the sun and the moon, constant in their courses, and
subjected to you the night and the day. And gave you of all you ask Him; and if
you count the favours of Allah, you shall never number them. 14:32-34.
"There
are other passages similar to these, all of which clarify that Allah created
creation for humanity’s sake: even though it is known that Allah, in doing so,
had in mind an immense wisdom besides this and far greater than this.
Here,
though, He explains to humanity the benefits creation contains for them, and
how they are immersed in Divine favours. Thus when it is said, ‘He did such and such [for this or that reason]’ it
does not exclude the possibility of there being other wisdoms for the act.
Similarly,
the statement' :Were it not
for so and so, such and such would not have been created’, does not negate the
possibility of their being another higher wisdom behind the act. Instead it
implies that since the most pious of humanity is Muhammad, creating him
was a desirable end of deep-seated wisdom more so than for creating anyone
else, and that the completion of creation and the crown of its very
perfection only occurred with Muhammad, peace be upon
him...
Now
since man is the the seal of creation; the last of creation and its microcosm, then the best of them will also be the best of all creation
in the absolute sense.
Since Muhammad is the essence of humanity, the axis of creation and
the distributor of the collective, he is, as it were, the
ultimate purpose behind creation.
So an objection cannot be raised against the saying, ‘For him all was created’, or
‘Were it not for him creation would not have been created’.
Thus, if these or similar words are explained according to what the
Book or Sunnah indicate, they should be accepted.”
[Majma‘ Fataawaa (Riyadh: Daar
al-‘alam al-Kutub, 1991), Vol.11, page 96-98]
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[More Info: Here]
(Edited by ADHM)
