To some, hadith i kanz (كنت كنزا مخفياً فأحببت أن أعرف فخلقت الخلق ; Kuntu kanzan makhfiyyan fa ahbabtuhu an u`rafa fa khalaqtu ‘l-khalq ; ie. I was a Hidden Treasure (and) I wanted to be known, so I created Creation) presents a pragmatic ideological and above all a theological quandary. To them the reconciliation between the hidden and manifest essential and ephemeral, temporal and eternal is an impossibility of highest order. To them apparent is real and transient seems eternal. The burden of this delusion cannot be placed entirely on their thought process, for man while conceiving a concept is estranged and constrained by invisible parameters. But one cannot do away from the reality on grounds that it is incomprehensible or unconventional for the populace. Whereas the above quoted hadith with its overtones in another Hadith that places the being of prophet prior to any other being is headache to many but there are others to whom this hadith is the alchemy of existence. This “ others ” includes almost all muslim metaphysicians, mystics and sufis. To this class Muhammad (SAW) is the essence of cosmic ontology. The absolute in its absoluteness is unknown as referred to in Hadith-i-Abuzar. It is only when absolute descends across various planes of existence like Hahoot, Yahoot , Lahoot etc. that man in his finitude comes in terms with the absolute not in its absoluteness but in its relativity. In this entire process, the process in which real becomes actual the “being” of Muhammad (SAW) plays an indispensible role. This is what Mirza Abdul Qadir Bedil has summarized inclusively in his couplet :
Chushad Husn e aqeedat jalva andesh
Muhammad Deed dar aaiana khwesh
This couplet makes reference to highly subtle and intricate phenomenon of existence. Imam Qustulani in his book “ Al Mawahibul Luduniya” has at length discussed this process of divine creative scheme. A contemporary scholar, Dr. Mehmood Ahmad Gazi in his book “ Mahazrati Seerat ” while discussing spiritual aspect of Seerah has made a passing but very pertinent reference to Ibn Arabi’s book “ Fatoohati Makkiyah”, thereby turning the attention of reader to the fact to which references in this article have been made.
In the history of Islamic mysticism there have been mystics who in their ecstasy uttered statements that amounted to blasphemy under the code of shariah. These statements were called Shatahat. But it is to be noted that all these Shatahat were god centered. This is to say that there were men who proclaimed “Ann al Haq” , but there has been none to proclaim “Ann-al-Muhammad” and imposters like Aswad Asni, Musailma Bin Kazab etc. who claimed their likelihood to the prophet met calamitous consequences. That is why a poet said
Ba Khuda Deewana bashad ba muhammad hushyaar baash
No body will deny the social functioning of prophet in human garb nor shall anybody import such metaphysical abstractions into the life of prophet that will turn his life into a mythological character. This process of inordinate metaphysical gymnastic will robe the institute of prophethood of its socio-cultural and pragmatic utility. But in any discourse that touches upon the “ essence ” of Muhammad (SAW) one should always bear in mind what the second Ali, Hazrat Mir Syed Ali Hamdani (RA) wrote in his “ Chahal Asraar”
Aqool e qudsiyaan gum gashta andar yak kham zulft
zamshat khakiyan anjacha sunjad aen maqalatiha
Amir Suhail Wani is a freelance columnist with bachelors in Electrical Engineering and a student of comparative studies with special interests in Iqbaliyat & mystic thought.