Was the Prophet ﷺ Created from Divine Light? Qur’an & Sunnah Response

First Argument

In Furqan-e-Hameed, the Lord of the Worlds says:

قَدْ جَاءَكُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ نُورٌ وَكِتَابٌ مُبِينٌ

Indeed, there has come to you from Allah a light and a clear Book.

Answer:

The question arises that Barelvi scholars consider the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ as light, indeed as the personal light of Allah. They issue fatwas declaring those who call the Prophet ﷺ a human being as disrespectful and blasphemous. They ignore such clear and decisive evidence of the Prophethood’s humanity. What is their argument? Where have they stumbled? Allah Almighty has given a fundamental answer in the Holy Quran as follows:

هُوَ الَّذِي أَنْزَلَ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ مِنْهُ آيَاتٌ مُحْكَمَاتٌ هُنَّ أُمُّ الْكِتَابِ وَأُخَرُ مُتَشَابِهَاتٌ ۖ فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ زَيْغٌ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ مَا تَشَابَهَ مِنْهُ ابْتِغَاءَ الْفِتْنَةِ وَابْتِغَاءَ تَأْوِيلِهِ ۗ وَمَا يَعْلَمُ تَأْوِيلَهُ إِلَّا اللَّهُ

It is Allah who has sent down the Book upon you, in it are verses that are precise—they are the foundation of the Book—and others are allegorical. As for those in whose hearts is deviation, they follow the allegorical verses seeking discord and seeking an interpretation suitable to them, but no one knows its true interpretation except Allah.
The main point is that troublemakers, with a specific purpose, claim something to divert people from the true beliefs and present this claim in an attractive form so that the apparent words allure the masses towards them. Who is wise to abandon the issue proven by hundreds of clear and decisive verses of the Quran and build the edifice of their belief on an unclear argument? Reflect sincerely on this noble verse.

Second Answer:

Most commentators consider Noor (light) to be an attribute of the Clear Book (Kitab Mubeen) and interpret the waw (and) as a conjunctive explanatory particle. The reasons for this are as follows: The mention of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, has already occurred at the beginning of this verse, which starts as:

يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ قَدْ جَاءَكُمْ رَسُولُنَا

If Noor and Kitab Mubeen were two separate things, then in the following verse instead of يهدي به الله, يهدي بهما الله should have appeared.
One verse of the Quran explains another; the meaning of the Holy Quran is very clear as Allah Almighty says:

وَأَنْزَلْنَا إِلَيْكُمْ نُورًا مُبِينًا

We have sent down to you a clear light, that is, the Holy Quran.
From this blessed verse, it becomes clear that Allah Almighty has called the Quran Noor (light).
At another place, He says:

وَاتَّبِعُوا النُّورَ الَّذِي أُنْزِلَ مَعَهُ

And follow the light which We have sent down with you, O Messenger.
In this blessed verse, Noor is also referred to as the Quran, and the mention of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, is separate from Noor.
Further, He says:

فَآمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَالنُّورِ الَّذِي أَنْزَلْنَا

So believe in Allah and His Messenger and the light which We have sent down.
In this blessed verse, it is also clarified that the light sent down upon the Messenger, peace be upon him, is the Quran.
Similarly, Allah Almighty has also called the Torah Noor, as He says:

قُلْ مَنْ أَنْزَلَ الْكِتَابَ الَّذِي جَاءَ بِهِ مُوسَىٰ نُورًا وَهُدًى لِلنَّاسِ

Who revealed the Book which Moses brought, a light and guidance for the people.
Likewise, the Gospel is also called Noor, as Allah Almighty says:

وَآتَيْنَاهُ الْإِنْجِيلَ فِيهِ هُدًى وَنُورٌ

We gave Jesus the Gospel, in which was guidance and light.
From the above Quranic verses, it is established that in this blessed verse, Noor refers to the Holy Quran and other heavenly books, while Allah Almighty has clearly declared the humanity of the Messenger, peace be upon him.
The third answer is that people’s minds have firmly accepted that Noor and Kitab Mubeen are two things because of the waw (and), although in the Holy Quran, in many places, there is a waw in between and the mention is of the same thing.
As Allah Almighty says:

طس ۚ تِلْكَ آيَاتُ الْقُرْآنِ وَكِتَابٍ مُبِينٍ

These are verses of the Quran and the Clear Book.
However, Quran and Kitab Mubeen are not two but one thing. If someone considers Quran and Kitab Mubeen as two, then this is due to his ignorance.
At another place, He says:

الر ۚ تِلْكَ آيَاتُ الْكِتَابِ وَقُرْآنٍ مُبِينٍ

These are verses of the Book and the Clear Quran.
Here too, Kitab and Quran Mubeen are the same, not separate. In the first verse, Kitab Mubeen is conjoined with Quran, and in the verse under discussion, Kitab Mubeen is conjoined with Noor. Therefore, Noor refers to the Holy Quran, and in the other verse, Quran Mubeen is conjoined with Kitab, and both mean the same. This proves that Noor and Kitab Mubeen both refer only to the Holy Quran.
In the Quran, O diving man, O Muslim man,
May Allah grant you a renewal of character.

Hafizur Rahman Qadri’s Second Argument and Its Response:

Hazrat Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) asked, O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), when Allah Almighty created the universe, what was created first? The Master of the Two Worlds, the Manifest Light, replied:
O Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him), Allah Almighty created the light of your Prophet from His own Light before all things.

Response:

This narration is not authentic for several reasons.
No well-known chain of narration has been found. The hadith scholar Allama Nasiruddin Al-Albani, may Allah have mercy on him, stated in the margin of Mishkat that its chains of narration are not known.

This narration is attributed to the author Abdul Razzaq, but this narration is not present in his works. For details, see Monthly Al-Hadith, Volume Number, Issue Number 5, pages 17 to 20: The story of the forged part and the scholars of Rabbaniah.
Abdul Razzaq had become blind and used to accept narrations by oral transmission; he also narrated many rejected narrations, as Hafiz Ibn Adi mentioned

. Imam Ahmad said that some people narrated Musnad narrations from Abdul Razzaq which are not found in his books.

This narration also contradicts authentic hadiths because authentic hadiths indicate that the pen was created first. For example, Ubadah bin Samit, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: Indeed, the first thing Allah created was the pen. He commanded it to write. It asked: What should I write? He said: Write what will happen until the Day of Judgment. So it wrote everything that would happen until eternity.

And in a hadith in Muslim, it is mentioned that Allah wrote the decrees of creation fifty thousand years before creating the heavens and the earth, and His Throne was upon water.

Furthermore, this narration contradicts texts that state Adam was created from clay, Iblis from fire, and angels from light, as mentioned in the Qur’an:

والله خلق كل دابة من ماء

Allah alone created every living thing from water.
My brothers: The majesty and grandeur of Allah’s light are such that even Musa (Moses), peace be upon him, could not witness this light. The personal light of Allah cannot be witnessed in this world. If the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, were part of Allah’s personal light, then no human in the world would have the power to see him.
The correct understanding is that the Prophet, peace be upon him, was from the descendants of Adam, peace be upon him, although he was the son of Abdullah and the offspring of Abdul Muttalib. His lineage traces back to Adam, peace be upon him. This proves that the narration claiming he was created from Allah’s light is false. Moreover, his father’s name was Abdullah, meaning “servant of Allah,” and the son of a servant is also a servant. Although the Prophet’s status was higher than the lights, this is the understanding to be grasped.
This narration is completely contrary to Qur’anic verses and authentic hadiths because it implies that the light of the Prophet, peace be upon him, originated from Allah’s light, making him a part of the Divine Essence, which is blatant ingratitude and denial of Allah, as Allah says in the Qur’an:

وَجَعَلُوا لَهُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ جُزْءًا ۚ إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لَكَفُورٌ مُبِينٌ

And He made from among His servants a portion. Indeed, man is clearly ungrateful.

It is universally accepted that the Prophet, peace be upon him, was a human being, the son of a human being. Lady Amina and Abdullah were also human, and human birth does not occur from Allah’s light but from the sperm of parents, as Allah states in the Qur’an:

إِنَّا خَلَقْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ أَمْشَاجٍ

We created man from a mixed sperm-drop.
Ahmad Raza Khan Barelvi also acknowledged that the Prophet, peace be upon him, was created from clay, not light. Khan Sahib wrote a hadith stating that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: “I, Abu Bakr, and Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, were created from the same clay and will be buried in it.”

According to Ahmad Raza Khan Barelvi, this hadith is proof that the Prophet, peace be upon him, was created from clay. Mufti Ahmad Yar Khan Naeemi Barelvi also acknowledged the humanity of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, as he wrote in one phrase of جاء الحق that we also say in the creed that the Prophet was a human being.

I ask: If calling him a human being is disrespect and disbelief, then why did Barelvi scholars endorse this disrespect and disbelief?
Mufti Amjad Ali Barelvi wrote in his famous book Bahar Shariat that the Prophet, peace be upon him, is called a human being to whom Allah sent revelation for guidance. All prophets were human beings.

In summary, this narration has no basis or coherence; it is a completely fabricated and forged narration without any chain of narration. It contradicts the Qur’an and authentic hadiths entirely because authentic hadiths prove the humanity of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and the Qur’an also confirms this, as we have cited evidence at the beginning. Therefore, this narration is not the speech of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and is rejected due to its contradiction with authentic hadiths and the Qur’an.
May Allah grant us the ability to adopt beliefs according to the Qur’an and authentic hadiths. آمين

Qadri Sahib’s Third Argument and Its Response:

Hafizur Rahman Qadri Sahib writes about the age of Jibrael (peace be upon him). He says that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) asked, “O Jibrael, how old are you?” He replied, “O Messenger of Allah, I do not know my age, but in the fourth veil, a star rises after seventy thousand years, and in my life, I have seen it more than a thousand times. You can estimate my age yourself.” Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “O Jibrael, that star was my own light.”

Response:

The truth is that this entire story is a fabrication. It is never proven from any authentic chain of narration that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said this. The author has also transmitted this narration without a chain. No reliable hadith scholar has narrated this narration in any authentic book of hadith. Therefore, this narration is false. It is not a hadith of the Prophet; it is a slander and false accusation against the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him). The condition of our Muslims is such that writers blindly copy what is written in Urdu magazines into their books without verification, and others adopt such statements as their belief without investigation and start considering such things as religion. This is a great tragedy.
A nest built on a fragile branch will be unstable.

Qadri Sahib’s fourth argument and its answer:

Some individuals say that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, is a human being and not light because light cannot be human. However, in the Holy Quran, Allah Almighty has stated that: Angel Gabriel, peace be upon him, came to the chamber of Maryam, peace be upon her, in the form of human clothing.

وَتَمَثَّلَ لَهَا بَشَرًا سَوِيًّا

He appeared before her in the form of a healthy man.

Answer:

Humanity is of two types: one is real and genuine, the other is metaphorical and apparent. In real humanity, the essence and necessities do not change, such as eating and drinking, happiness and sorrow, sleep and wakefulness, health and illness, marital life, clothing, residence, trade, travel, and so on. The metaphorical apparent humanity is when the original light takes human form and appears in human clothing, then it does not have the real racial and genuine human necessities and desires. Reflect and judge fairly whether you think the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is real genuine human or metaphorical apparent.

For example, angels came to Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) in human form. As mentioned in the Holy Quran:

هَلْ أَتَاكَ حَدِيثُ ضَيْفِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْمُكْرَمِينَ ‎﴿٢٤﴾‏ إِذْ دَخَلُوا عَلَيْهِ فَقَالُوا سَلَامًا ۖ قَالَ سَلَامٌ قَوْمٌ مُّنكَرُونَ ‎﴿٢٥﴾‏ فَرَاغَ إِلَىٰ أَهْلِهِ فَجَاءَ بِعِجْلٍ سَمِينٍ ‎﴿٢٦﴾‏ فَقَرَّبَهُ إِلَيْهِمْ قَالَ أَلَا تَأْكُلُونَ ‎﴿٢٧﴾‏ فَأَوْجَسَ مِنْهُمْ خِيفَةً ۖ قَالُوا لَا تَخَفْ ۖ وَبَشَّرُوهُ بِغُلَامٍ عَلِيمٍ

Have you heard the news of Ibrahim’s honored guests? When they came to him, they greeted him with peace, and he returned the greeting. Seeing them as strangers, he went home and brought a roasted fat calf and placed it before them, saying, “Why do you not eat?” In his heart, he felt fear of them. They said, “Do not fear.” They also gave glad tidings of a wise son.

The luminous angels came to Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) in human guise. Despite being a prophet, Ibrahim could not recognize them until they themselves clarified. Moreover, even if the luminous beings come in human form, they do not eat food. From this, it is understood that if the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had come in the guise of luminous humanity, he would neither eat nor drink, nor marry, nor have children.

As for calling Hazrat Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) “Dhul-Nurayn” (the possessor of two lights), this is not established from any Hadith. However, if it is said in the sense of the light of guidance due to the daughters of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), then there is no harm. But to say نور من نور الله that he was light in the sense of birth, parents, or in-laws is incorrect; he was not light but a human being. It is unclear why people do not accept this reality, which is clearly stated in the Holy Quran:

وَهُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ مِنَ الْمَاءِ بَشَرًا فَجَعَلَهُ نَسَبًا وَصِهْرًا ۗ وَكَانَ رَبُّكَ قَدِيرًا

And it is He who created man from water, then made him a relative by lineage and marriage. And your Lord is capable of all things.

In summary, I have proven through references from the Quran and Hadith that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and all the noble prophets (peace be upon them) were real, genuine, racial, personal, natural human beings—men, humans, servants. Whoever, after hearing so many evidences from the Quran and Hadith, still believes in the نور من نور الله of the Prophet (peace be upon him) denies these evidences from the Quran and Hadith. Whoever denies what the reality of the Prophet is, is misguided because Allah Almighty has explained the reality of the Prophet in the Quran, and the Prophet himself has clearly introduced himself and declared that he is a human being like you.

And Allah Almighty has also commanded in the Quran to say that I am a human being like you.

Look at my heart, see my loyalty,
Judge fairly, O Lord, by seeing God,
Is there any journey from this world someday or not,
And is there any fear or danger of the Day of Judgment or not.

Remove stubbornness, obstinacy, and hatred from your heart and consider calmly that we only present before you what is proven by Allah’s Quran and the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). And we hold beliefs accordingly, which were the beliefs of the noble companions of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah be pleased with them). We present this true belief to our other Muslim brothers in service. May Allah Almighty grant us all the ability to adopt beliefs according to the Quran and Hadith. آمين