Sahl al-Tustari: Adam Created from Light of Muhammad

 بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

يا نبي سلام عليك

In the history of this Muslim Ummah several men appeared who had a major impact on it through their writings, ideas and activities. Certainly, not all of them were positive from an orthodox Sunni perspective. We might begin by mentioning the earliest such figures, namely, Ibn Saba and Jahm bin Safwan, who undoubtedly had a major impact on at least some sections of this Ummah. But these two heresiarchs did not leave behind anything in their own writing, nor do any Muslims today celebrate their legacy or claim them as their own.

This is not so with men like Ibn Hazm, Ibn Sina, Ghazali, Ibn Arabi, Ibn Taymiyah, Suhrawardi and a few others. From my point of view, all of these men were controversial to say the least with the exception of Hujjat al-Islam, Imam al-Ghazali, may Allah have mercy on him, who was surely an orthodox Sunni and a defender of the Faith from heresy.

Ibn Sina spread neoplatonic ideas, Ibn Arabi introduced the concept of wahdat al-wujud, which may be characterized as a type of acosmism, while Suhrawardi founded the so-called Ishraqi school or illuminationism.

Many traditional Sunnis have incorporated the ideas of Ibn Arabi, particularly wahdat al-wujud, into their metaphysics and theology. However, I am more cautious of doing so, and prefer the course of those Sunni-Maturidi theologians and scholars who were highly critical of Ibn Arabi and his ideas. This tendency was best epitomized in the persons of at-Taftazani, Ala-ud-din al-Bukhari, Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi, Mulla Ali Qari and many others.

The classical Maturidis, based in Transoxiana and Khorasan, did not teach or accept the ideas of Ibn Arabi, such as Wahdat al-Wujud, Nur Muhammadi and al-Haqiqat al-Muhammadiyyah. With regard to the concept of Nur Muhammadi, that the primordial Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, is light from which Allah created the rest of creation, it appears that the foundation for such a concept comes from the great saint Sahl at-Tustari, may Allah be pleased with him.

Commenting on the Ayah:

وَاِذۡ اَخَذَ رَبُّکَ مِنۡۢ بَنِیۡۤ اٰدَمَ مِنۡ ظُہُوۡرِہِمۡ ذُرِّیَّتَہُمۡ وَاَشۡہَدَہُمۡ عَلٰۤی اَنۡفُسِہِمۡ

When thy Lord brought forth offspring from the loins of the sons of Adam, He made them witnesses against their own souls

(Surah 7, Ayah 172)

Sahl at-Tustari says:

فالأول محمد صلّى الله عليه وسلّم لأن الله تعالى لما أراد أن يخلق محمداً صلّى الله عليه وسلّم أظهر من نوره نوراً فلما بلغ حجاب العظمة سجد لله سجدة فخلق سبحانه من سجدته عموداً عظيما كالزجاج من النور أي باطنه وظاهره فيه عين محمد صلّى الله عليه وسلّم فوقف بين يدي رب العالمين بالخدمة ألف ألف عام بطبائع الإيمان وهو معاينة الإيمان ومكاشفة اليقين ومشاهدة الرب فأكرمه الله تعالى بالمشاهدة قبل بدء الخلق بألف ألف عام

The first is Muhammad, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him, for when Allah, Exalted is He, wanted to create Muhammad, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him, He made appear a light from His light, and when it reached the veil of divine majesty it prostrated before Allah, and from that prostration Allah created an immense crystal-like column of light, that was inwardly and outwardly translucent, and within it was the essence of Muhammad, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him. Then it stood in service before the Lord of the Worlds for a million years with the essential characteristics of faith, which are the visual beholding of faith, the unveiling of certainty and the witnessing of the Lord. Thus He honored him with this witnessing, a million years before beginning the creation.

 آدم صلوات الله عليه خلقه من نور محمد عليه السلام وخلق محمداً صلّى الله عليه وسلّم يعني جسده من طين آدم عليه السلام

ذرية آدم وإن الله عزَّ وجلَّ خلق المريدين من نور آدم وخلق المرادين من نور محمد صلّى الله عليه وسلّم

Adam, blessing of Allah be upon him, Allah created him from the light of Muhammad*, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him. And He created Muhammad, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him, that is, his body, from the clay of Adam, peace be upon him.

The progeny of Adam. Allah, Mighty and Majestic is He, created the seekers (muridun) from the light of Adam, and He created the divinely-sought (muradun) from the light of Muhammad, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him (Tafsir at-Tustari, Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah, pp.68-69)

*Note: In their translation of the Tafsir of Sahl at-Tustari, Annabel and Ali Keeler say in footnote 38 of chapter 7 (Surat al-Araf): “All the MSS (Z515 f. 48b, F638, f. 23b and F3488, f. 222a) have the words Muhammad alayhi al-salām, instead of qāla alayhi al-salām in the printed edition.”

Thus, based on the reliable manuscripts, we can conclude that Sahl at-Tustari taught that Adam was created from the Light of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. The doctrine of the primordial Light of Muhammad is certainly accepted and taught by the great mystic Sahl at-Tustari, and likewise, Adam and the children of Adam were created by Allah from the Light of Muhammad.

However, this is not precisely the same idea that is now termed Nur Muhammadi or Haqiqat al-Muhammadiyyah associated with Ibn Arabi and the Akbari school.