“Lawlāka Mā Khalaqtu al-Aflāk” – Authenticity and Scholarly Verdict

Source: Fatāwā ‘Ilmiyyah (Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām), Vol. 2, p. 49

❖ The Question​

Is it correct to say that if the Prophet ﷺ had not been created, Allāh would not have created the universe? Please explain in detail.

Answer​

Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ‘alā Rasūlillāh. Ammā ba‘d:

1. The Phrase and Its Status​

The statement:


"لولاک لما خلقت الأفلاک"
“O Prophet! If you had not been, I would not have created the heavens (and earth).”


has no authentic basis in any recognised ḥadīth collection.

• Imām al-Ṣaghānī (d. 650H) declared it fabricated (mawḍū‘).

References:

• al-Mawḍū‘āt al-Ṣaghānī, p. 78
• Tadhkirat al-Mawḍū‘āt by Muḥammad Ṭāhir al-Fattanī, p. 86
• al-Fawā’id al-Majmū‘ah by al-Shawkānī, p. 326
• al-Asrār al-Marfu‘ah by Mullā ‘Alī al-Qārī, p. 385
• Kashf al-Khafā’ by al-‘Ajlūnī, ḥadīth no. 2123
• al-Āthār al-Marfu‘ah by ‘Abd al-Ḥayy al-Lakhnawī, p. 40

Some later scholars like al-‘Ajlūnī and Mullā ‘Alī al-Qārī said the “meaning is correct”, but approving the meaning without solid evidence is not justified when the text is fabricated.

2. Other Related Fabricated Narrations​

a. Narration by al-Daylamī​

“Jibrīl came to me and said: O Muḥammad! If you had not been, I would not have created Paradise, and if you had not been, I would not have created Hell.”
(al-Asrār al-Marfu‘ah, p. 288; Kanz al-‘Ummāl, 11/431, ḥadīth 32025; Kashf al-Khafā’, 1/45, ḥadīth 91; Firdaws al-Akhbār, 5/338, ḥadīth 8095)


This report is without a valid chain and therefore fabricated.

b. Narration in al-Sunnah by al-Khallāl​

“O Muḥammad! If you had not been, I would not have created Ādam.”
(al-Sunnah, p. 237, ḥadīth 273)


This is also without a chain and thus fabricated.

c. Narration in Ibn ‘Asākir’s Tārīkh​

“If you had not been, I would not have created the world.”
(al-Asrār al-Marfu‘ah, p. 288; Tārīkh Dimashq, 3/296–297; al-Mawḍū‘āt by Ibn al-Jawzī, 1/288–289; al-La’ālī al-Maṣnū‘ah, 1/272)


Ibn al-Jawzī’s verdict:


“This is a fabricated ḥadīth without doubt.”


The narrators (Abū al-Sakīn, Ibrāhīm ibn al-Yasa‘, Yaḥyā al-Baṣrī) are all weak, with Yaḥyā al-Baṣrī labelled a liar by Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal and al-Fallas.

d. Narration in al-Mustadrak by al-Ḥākim​

“O Ādam! If not for Muḥammad ﷺ, I would not have created you.”
(al-Mustadrak, 2/615, ḥadīth 4228)


Criticism:

• Al-Dhahabī: “Fabricated; ‘Abd al-Raḥmān is weak.” (Talkhīṣ al-Mustadrak, 2/672)
• Al-Ḥākim himself admits that ‘Abd Allāh ibn Muslim al-Fiharī narrated fabricated reports.

e. Another narration in al-Mustadrak​

“If not for Muḥammad ﷺ, I would not have created Ādam, nor Paradise, nor Hell.”
(al-Mustadrak, 2/615, ḥadīth 4227)


Reasons for weakness:

• Al-Dhahabī: “I think it is fabricated upon Sa‘īd.”
• ‘Amr ibn Aws is majhūl (unknown).
• Sa‘īd ibn Abī ‘Arūbah had memory confusion (ikhtilāṭ).
• Both he and Qatādah were mudallis, and their narrations here are ‘an‘anah (lacking explicit hearing).

3. Qur’ānic Principle​

The Qur’ān clearly states the purpose of creation:


﴿وما خلقت الجن والإنس إلا ليعبدون﴾
“I have not created jinn and mankind except to worship Me.”
(Sūrah al-Dhāriyāt: 56)

Conclusion​

• All versions of “Lawlāka…” and similar wordings are fabricated and have no basis in authentic Sunnah.
• These attributions are false and amount to fabricating statements against Allāh and His Messenger ﷺ.
• The purpose of creation is explicitly defined by Allāh in the Qur’ān – worship of Him alone.

ھذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب