Was the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) noor (light) or bashar (a human being)?.

Was Prophet Muhammad a "Noor" or "Bashar", and is it true that he had no shade even in light?.



Praise be to Allaah.





Our Prophet
Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is the leader of
all the sons of Adam, and he is a human being, one of the sons of Adam. He
was born from two parents, he ate food and married woman, he got hungry and
fell sick, and he felt joy and sorrow. One of the clearest signs of his
humanity is that Allaah caused him to die as He causes all souls to die, but
what distinguishes the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) from others is Prophethood and Revelation.


Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):


“Say (O
Muhammad): I am only a man like you. It has been revealed to me that your
Ilaah (God) is One Ilaah (God ___
i.e. Allaah)”


[al-Kahf
18:110]


The state of
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in his humanity
is the same as that of all the Prophets and Messengers. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):


“And We
did not create them (the Messengers, with) bodies that ate not food, nor
were they immortals”



[al-Anbiya’ 21:8]


Allaah
condemned those who wondered at the humanity of the Messenger (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him), as He says (interpretation of the
meaning):


“And
they say: Why does this Messenger (Muhammad) eat food, and walk about in the
markets (as we)…?”



[al-Furqaan 25:8]


It is not
permissible to overstep the mark with regard to what the Qur’aan states
about the message and humanity of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him). For example, it is not permissible to describe him
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) as being noor (light) or as
casting no shadow, or to say that he was created from light. Rather this is
a kind of exaggeration which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) forbade when he said: “Do not exaggerate about me as was
exaggerated about ‘Eesa ibn Maryam. Say: the slave of Allaah and His
Messenger.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6830.


Moreover it
is proven that the angels are the ones who were created from light, not any
of the sons of Adam. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: “The angels were created from light, and Iblees was created from
smokeless fire, and Adam (peace be upon him) was created from what has been
described to you.” Narrated by Muslim, 2996.


Shaykh
al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah
(458):


This
indicates that the well known hadeeth that is in circulation among people –
“The first thing that Allaah created was the light of your Prophet, O
Jaabir” – is false, and so are other similar ahaadeeth which say that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was created from
light. This hadeeth clearly indicates that the angels are the only ones who
are created from light, not Adam and his sons, so pay heed and do not be
negligent. End quote.


The Standing
Committee for Issuing Fatwas was asked the following question:


Here in
Pakistan the scholars of the Bareilawi sect believe that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cast no shadow, which indicates
that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was not
human. Is this hadeeth saheeh which says that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) had no shadow?


They
replied:


This view is
false and goes against the texts of the Qur’aan and the saheeh Sunnah which
indicate that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
was human and did not differ in his human make-up from other people. He had
a shadow like any other human. The Prophethood with which Allaah honoured
him did not alter the fact that he was human as Allaah created him, with a
father and mother. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):


“Say (O
Muhammad): I am only a man like you. It has been revealed to me that your
Ilaah (God) is One Ilaah (God ___i.e. Allaah)”


[al-Kahf
18:110]


“Their
Messengers said to them: We are no more than human beings like you”



[Ibraaheem 14:11]


With regard
to the report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) was created from the light of Allaah, this is a fabricated hadeeth. End
quote.


Fataawa
al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 1/464

See also
question no. 4509 and
6084.