[“Were It Not For You, I Would Not Have Created Creation.” ]
لولاك لولاك ما خلقت الأفلاك
Ibn Taymiyya on
“If not for Muhammad I would not have created you [Adam]”
Ibn Taymiyya said in his book “al-qaida al-jaleela fit- tawwasali wal-waseela”, with commentary of Dr. Rabi’a bin Hadi ‘Umayr al-Mudkhali, professor in the Islamic University of Madinah al-Munawwara, on page 166, para 493:
“…and like that is the hadith that is narrated by ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn Zayd ibn Aslam from his father from his grandfather from ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (ra), marfu’an and mawqufan ‘alayh, that when Adam (as) has committed the sin, he said, ‘O Lord! I ask you for the sake of Muhammad [bi haqqi Muhammad] to forgive me.’ He subhanahu wa ta’ala said, ‘How did you know Muhammad?’ He said, ‘because when you created me with Your Hands and blew into me from Your Spirit, I raised my head and I saw on the legs of Your Throne written, ‘laa ilaha ill-Allah Muhammadu Rasulullah’ so I knew You would not put next to your name except the one who is the most beloved to You.’ He said, ‘you have said the truth, O Adam, and if it were not for Muhammad, I would not have created you.'” [law laa Muhammadan maa khalaqtuk].
And Ibn Taymiyya continues:
“And this hadith is narrated by al-Haakim in his Mustadrak, from the hadith of ‘Abdillah bin Muslim al-FiHree, from Isma’il bin Salama. And Haakim said, ‘and it is the first hadith I have mentioned from ‘Abdur-Rahman in this book. And Haakim says that it is sahih. And it is related by Shaykh Abu Bakr al-Aajuri, in the book ‘ash-Shari’ah’ mawqufan on ‘Umar from hadith ‘Abdillah bin Isma’il bin Abi Maryam mawqufan from ‘Abdur Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam.”
And we see here that Ibn Taymiyya is here presenting a hadith that was verified and certified by al-Haakim as authentic [sahih] and that is the hadith which related from Allah that “If not for Muhammad I would not have created you [O Adam]”. And this opposes the many objections to such hadith like the similar hadith of Jaabir which is related about Allah that he said, “law laak maa khalaqtul khalq” – “If not for you [O Muhammad] I would not have created any of the Creation.”
Ibn Taymiyya now goes into a lengthy discussion of the authenticity of the hadith which he just stated was authentic according to al-Haakim.
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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 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.”