Prophet Muhammad: A Divine Mercy for the Worlds

The First Manifestation in Ahadith

Numerous ahadith indicates that the first manifestation of God is the light of Muhammad and Ale Muhammad and all the rest are created in honour of them. Note that the light of Muhammad is an expression for his essence and spirit which is before the creation of matter.

• Jabir ibn Abdullah said, “I asked the Messenger of Allah what was the first that God created? The prophet replied, “Light of your prophet O Jabir. God created him and then from him created every good.” Behar 15:24

• Jabir ibn yazid narrated from Imam Baqir (a.s), “O Jabir. Verily the first that God created was Muhammad and his pure family. Those who guide and are guided. They were the spirits of light before the mighty hand of God.` Jabir said I asked the Imam what he meant by the spirits of light? The Imam replied, ‘Shadow of the Light`”. Al Kafi 1:442 It seems the meaning of the shadow of the Light refers to the fact that God is “The Light` as is refers to in Ayatul Noor and the spirit of Muhammad is His shadow and His first Mansifestation.

• Jabir ibn Abdullah narrated from the prophet, “The first that the Almighty God created was my light who created it from His Light and it derived from the glory of His greatness. Then that light approached circulating by the might until it reached the Glory of the Greatness in seventy thousand years and then prostrated for God in glorification. Then from that light the light of Ali gushed out and so my light was encompassing by the Glory and the light of Ali was encompassing by the Might.” Behar 25:22

Imam Baqir (a.s), “O Jabir. Verily the first that God created was Muhammad and his pure family. Those who guide and are guided. They were the spirits of light before the mighty hand of God.` Jabir said I asked the Imam what he meant by the spirits of light? The Imam replied, ‘Shadow of the Light`”. Al Kafi 1:442

• Abu Thar al Ghifari in a long hadith in description of the journey of ascension narrated from the prophet, “I said O angels of my Lord. Do you know us as we deserved to be known? They said, ‘O prophet of God. How don`t we know you and you are the first creation of God, He created you as the spirits of light from His Light in a light from the sublimity of His Dignity and the sublimity of His Kingdom and the sublimity of His Honourable Face.” Behar vol15:8

• Imam Ali (a.s) said,

“Surely the Almighty God created from the light of Muhammad twenty oceans of light. In every ocean there is knowledge that none other than God knows about… Surely the light of Muhammad was sent down from the ocean of dignity so he came down to the ocean of patience then to the ocean of reverence then to the ocean of humbleness then to the ocean of satisfaction then to the ocean of loyalty then to the ocean of forbearing then to the ocean of piety… Until it went through twenty oceans. When it exited from the last ocean the Almighty God said ‘O My friend and the master of My messengers and the first of My creation and the last of My messengers, you are the intercessor on the day of gathering.` Thus the light prostrated then he stood up and from that light many drops dropped that they numbered 124000 drops. So the Almighty God created from every drop of his light a prophet.” [Behar 57:200]

^{* Author: Sheikh Mansour Leghaei}