WHAT WAS THE FIRST THING ALLAH CREATED? WAS IT WATER OR THE LIGHT OF MUHAMMAD AND HIS FAMILY, PEACE BE UPON THEM?

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad and hasten their reappearance.

O Allah, send Your eternal and everlasting curse upon their enemies, especially Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Hafsa, and Aisha.

Our esteemed Sheikh, a mujahid in the path of Lady al-Zahra (peace be upon her), I kindly request your response to these important questions. We eagerly await your swift reply, as I am in urgent need of clarification.

The Second Reviver, [Muhammad] al-Shirazi (may Allah elevate his noble status), states in his book Fiqh al-ʿAqāʾid that the first thing Allah created was water (as I have understood from my reading in the section on immaterial existence). The late Sayyid (may Allah sanctify his soul) also mentions the light of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). However, from his response (may Allah sanctify his soul), it appears that water was created first.

What is your esteemed opinion regarding what the late scholar (may Allah sanctify his soul) stated? Which was created first—water or the light of Muhammad and his family (peace and blessings be upon them all)?

We request your prayers.

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In His Name, Exalted Be His Names

Peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you.

Our view is that the first creation of Allah, the Exalted, was the light of the Prophet and his family (peace be upon them). We have previously discussed this matter in theological lessons, where we explained that the narrations stating that the first creation was water refer specifically to the realm of tangible material existence, such as the earth, the heavens, and all that is within and between them. This interpretation is supported by narrations that describe the emergence of creation from water, which are centered on the material world.

As for the narrations that state the first creation was the intellect (ʿaql), they are to be understood in the context of cognition and perception. However, even the intellect was preceded by something else, as narrated by al-Mufid from Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him):

خلق الله تعالى العقل من أربعة أشياء؛ من العلم والقدرة والنور والمشية بالأمر، فجعله قائما بالعلم دائما في الملكوت

"Allah created the intellect from four substances: knowledge, power, light, and will by command, and He made it exist through knowledge, enduring in the divine kingdom." [1]

On the other hand, the narrations that affirm the first creation was the light of the Prophet and his family (peace be upon them) do not contain any contextual restriction. There is no doubt that their light preceded all other creations and all possible existences. For instance, intellect itself was created from light, which means that the existence of light preceded it. Since the essence of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) is luminous in nature, it follows—when considering the relevant narrations—that their light preceded and had primacy over the intellect. Among the narrations supporting this are:

The report cited by Ibn Abi Jumhur al-Ahsa’i, in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) states:

أول ما خلق الله نوري

"The first thing Allah created was my light." [2]

• And the narration that been reported by al-Ṣadūq, in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) states:

لأن أول ما خلق الله عز وجل خلق أرواحنا فأنطقنا بتوحيده وتحميده ثم خلق الملائكة، فلما شاهدوا أرواحنا نورا واحدا استعظموا أمرنا فسبّحنا لتعلم الملائكة أنّا خلقٌ مخلوقون

"The first thing Allah, the Almighty, created was our spirits. He then caused us to speak in His oneness and praise, then created the angels. When they beheld our spirits as one light, they were awestruck by our station, so we engaged in glorification so that the angels would know that we are created beings." [3]

• And the well-known hadith from Jabir binʿAbdullah, who said:

  قلت لرسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله: أول شيء خلقه الله تعالى ما هو؟ فقال: نور نبيك يا جابر، خلقه الله ثم خلق منه كل خير

"I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): 'What was the first thing that Allah created?' He replied: 'The light of your Prophet, O Jabir. Allah created it, then from it, He brought forth all goodness.'” [4]

Numerous corroborating narrations convey the same meaning.

May Allah increase your insight and protect you from the trials of this time. Peace be upon you.

References

[1] Al-Ikhtisas, Sheikh Al-Mufid, Page 244

[2] ʿAwālī al-Laʾālī , Ibn Abi Jumhur, Volume 4, Page 99

[3] ʿIlal al-Sharāʾiʿ, Shaykh As-Saduq, vol. 1, p. 5

[4] Biḥār al-Anwār, Al-ʿAllāma al-Majlisī , Volume 15, Page 24

﷽

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