There is a really beautiful thing.
There was a very long period of time,
in which God had created only his beloved, Muhammad (s).
When Did God Become The Creator?
You see, there are two things.
One is contemporary, and the other ancient.
Hadis means 'new' and qadeem means 'old'.
The boundaries of qadeem (old) are up till
when God had not manifested his person nor his attributes.
When he was a hidden treasure,
‘kunto kanzan makhfiya’,
that is ancient.
And then, when he manifested his person, his attributes, his names
and as a result of that manifestation, many of God's attributes were manifested,
his person is ancient, and what has been manifested is hadis (new).
Even God's attribute of creatorhood is hadis (new).
When he had not created creation,
[that aspect] of him is ancient.
Try to understand what I am saying.
The moment your child is born is when you shall become a father.
Is it possible that you are a father prior to the birth of your child?
Is that possible?
So, when are you given the title of a father?
When your child is born.
So, the attribute of fatherhood and the child are equal in age.
For as long as you do not have a child, you are not a father.
If I ask you, can I trust you to answer intellectually?
God says in the Qur'an,
'maa kaana Muhammadun aba ahadim mir rijaalikum'
'And Muhammad the Messenger of God, is father to none of you men'.
So, what does this mean?
Whereas, history is witness to the fact that the Prophet (s) had two boys,
Qasim and Ibrahim. We know this, right? Or not?
It has been narrated in the traditions, right?
The Prophet (s) had two sons who passed away.
But God is saying that the Prophet (s) is not a father.
He does not hold the title of ‘father’.
‘Maa kaana Muhammadun
aba ahadim mir rijaalikum
wa laakir Rasool Allahi wa Khataman Nabiyeen (but (he is) the Messenger of Allah, and the Seal of the Prophets)
wa kaanal laahu bikulli shai'in’,
and then 'God is all-knowing’.
What is it that God ‘all-knowing’ about?
God is all-knowing, it is you who thinks that the Prophet (s) is a father.
But if God says that the Prophet (s) is not a father to any man,
then they probably weren't,
you never went into the depths of this statement.
You thought God said it just like that
but it is the truth, isn’t it?
You never tried to decrypt this statement of God.
The Prophet (s) had two sons, Ibrahim and Qasim, yet God says that the Prophet (s) was father to no man.
So, it could either mean that the traditions that state the Prophet (s) had two boys are wrong
it could mean this.
Or it could mean that the two boys that were born did not have anything to do with the Prophet (s).
Or it could mean this.
And if they were related to the Prophet (s) and the Prophet (s) did have two sons, then who knows why God is saying that?
Now, that would be very controversial, wouldn't it?
And God can't make a statement that is controversial
because God has proclaimed in the end,
‘wa kaanal laahu bilkulli shai’in - God is all-knowing’
and you don’t know anything.
You can only say what did and didn’t occur by reading the narrations.
However, God knows everything.
God also knows about the two that were born and whether or not they had a relation and with whom.
So, qadeem (ancient) is something that did not have evolution
whereas the attributes of God which were manifested are hadis (new).
Now, when Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani (ra) said
that he was rendered an ancient secret by God,
it means that God rendered upon Shaikh Abdul Qadir Jilani (ra)
something that is from his ancient person and from the ancient era.
What is ancient?
Something that predates creation.
Everything before creation is the ancient era,
and the new era is all that exists from the moment of creation.
It’s just these minor details and if you understand them, it would solve all your problems.
For example, I asked you that if you do not have any children, can you still be called a father?
So, when God had not created any creation, was he a creator at that time too?
If you think he was a creator then too, then where was the creation?
So, if you are to ponder for a while and you stimulate your mind,
then you'll find that the age of creation is equivalent to the age of the title of creatorhood.
Neither is older or younger in age.
God became the creator when the creation was created,
when there was no creation, he was not the creator.
When he was not the creator, then what was he?
He was God.
And once creation was created, he became creator too.
So, God's person is ancient, and his title of creator is new.
La Ilaha Illa Allah
This has both the ancient and the new.
In the Kalima, it is God’s person that is ancient and the rank of creator is new.
There is a really beautiful thing.
So beautiful.
It is the romance of Prophet Muhammad (s).
There was a very long period of time,
in which God had created only his beloved, Muhammad (s).
In that time, he was the creator of only Muhammad (s).
In that long period of time,
he was the creator of Muhammad (s), alone.
And this is his romance.
No other human’s worship was part of God’s creatorhood at the time.
He was the sole creator of one single creation.
Muhammad (s).
For a very long period of time.
Due to this, there were ranks created.
For a vast expansion of time,
he was the creator of Muhammad (s) alone.
In that time period, he was not the creator of anyone else.
Why not?
God had not created anyone else in that time period.
And then, after a very long time elapsed - a very long time.
How long?
Such a long time had passed that
perhaps this thought crossed the mind of the Prophet (s)
that he is the only creation of God
and there shall not be any other.
Then, there was a spiritual revolution
and God created three types of souls
which are referred to as ‘Sabiqoon’ by the Qur’an.
They were the souls of qurb (proximity), mohabbat (love) and jalwa (manifestation).
Now, God became the creator of these souls
but the boundary was expanded.
The era in which he was the creator of Muhammad (s) alone
came to an end.
This will help you understand the Qur’an better, so pay attention to what I am saying.
So, there was a period of time
when he was the creator of Muhammad (s) alone.
Then, another separate period of time began
in which he became the creator of the three types of souls.
Although, these are the secrets of sainthood,
they are not supposed to be told.
So, another era began.
Another time slot
in which God is the creator of the three types of souls.
If God says something in this new time slot,
what he says shall be the same for the inhabitants of this time.
The era in which God speaks,
his speech shall be for the inhabitants of that era
even if the creation of the previous eras are included
although what God is saying is for them.
So what people think is for them, they will believe it is also applies on Muhammad (s),
although he comes from a different era.
The era in which God created Muhammad (s),
he created no one else, this is the requirement of the Oneness of God.
This is the requirement of Prophet Muhammad’s (s) love.
This is the requirement of the messenger-hood of Muhammad (s).
For instance, I told you all a few days ago
that the manifestation of God that was witnessed by the Prophet (s)
was not seen by anyone else.
That topic is linked to this topic.
Otherwise, what was the point?
What would have been the exclusivity of the Prophet (s)?
The divine manifestation witnessed by the Prophet (s)
is confined to the person of the Prophet (s).
Now, there was the second era
in which God created the souls of qurb, mohabbat and jalwa.
This era went on for a long time,
so long in fact that they also believed that God is only their creator
and that’s the only reason why God had created the universe.
There was no other movement.
The souls of qurb, mohabbat and jalwa were quietly busy with their own tasks.
Some were enjoying the proximity to God,
some were enjoying the divine manifestations
while some were enveloped in God’s love.
There was no mischief.
God needed some kind of mischief and corruption in the world,
he wanted there to be fights.
That’s when he decided to create us.
Then he created another three types of souls.
The first type was those he showed the luxuries of paradise to,
the second was those he showed the luxuries of the world to
and the third was those who chose neither;
they have a suspended fate.
These souls have their own era.
The feelings for the creator that Prophet Muhammad (s) has,
they cannot travel outside of their era;
no one knows nor can know the emotions borne in the heart of Muhammad (s) for the creator.
The souls that were created in the second era,
their feelings for the creator are reserved for their era,
it cannot travel outside and no one [else] knows about it.
Then another set of souls was created in the third era;
this era has the most wretched people.
This is why God said in the Qur’an,
'Indeed, we created the majority for hell, and that majority is from the humans and the djinns’.
This applies solely to the people of this era.
This is not for the first and second eras [of creation].
So how ever these souls [of the third era] feel for their creator, it is confined to them.
Now, these are the three different episodes in which God created,
then God created the world and sent humans into it.
Then God sent humans and in order to guide humanity, he sent the souls from the second episode of creation as prophets.
The souls of qurb, mohabbat and jalwa,
the souls of the second episode [of creation] rendered guidance to the people of the third episode,
in the guise of prophets, saints and fakirs - all such personalities came from the second era.
And then in the end,
the one from the very first episode, Muhammad (s) was sent as mercy for the entire universe, the entire cosmos by God.
The reason why Islam has a completely different vibe as compared to the other religions;
Christianity is also a religion established by a Messenger,
Judaism is also a religion established by a Messenger.
Their respective books have also been sent by God.
The exclusivity of Islam is that it was bestowed with the leadeship of Prophet Muhammad (s).
And the Prophet’s (s) concept of creator is unique, no one else can have the same
because the Prophet (s) is from the era in which God was the creator of Muhammad (s) alone.
So, when Islam was adorned by the prosperous person of the Prophet (s), it was revolutionised.
Such elevated personalities were born in Islam.
And their concept about God and worshipping God is unparalleled.
So what can be said?
[All that I have explained thus far], puts into question, whether [God's] status of creatorhood is ancient or new.
If we then speak about creatorhood,
the concept of creatorhood that the Prophet (s) has rendered to human beings
is greater than the concept of creatorhood that Jesus and Moses rendered to people.
Because what these messengers brought was the concept of the second episode,
whereas what the Prophet (s) taught was from the foremost and superior episode.
Therefore, no one else can worship the creator in the way that the Prophet (s) has taught.
No one else can worship in that manner,
which?
The one taught by the Prophet (s)
because the Prophet (s) taught the concept of the creator which was the personal inheritance of the Prophet (s).
No one else has that concept of the creator.
No one else was involved in this experience with the Prophet (s).
I hope you understand this topic of ‘hadis’ and ‘qadeem’.
So, we find that the concept of creatorhood that you will learn from the Qur'an and the narrations,
from the books of the saints is not the same as the one you will experience when you reach the feet of the Prophet (s).
This is why Allama Iqbal said,
'Gain access to the person of Muhammad (s), for the person of Muhammad is in fact the religion.
If you are unable to gain access to the Prophet (s), then your religiosity is as good as Abu Lahab's'.
‘Ba Mustafa ba rasaan - gain access to the person of Muhammad (s)...’
‘ke deen hama oost - for the person of Muhammad is in fact the religion…’
Islam is the person of Muhammad (s).
‘Agar boo na raseedi to tamam boo lahab eest
(If you are unable to gain access to the Prophet (s), then your religiosity is as good as Abu Lahab's)’.
So, to acquire the person of the Prophet (s) is equivalent to acquiring the creator.
If you do not gain access to his feet, you have obtained nothing
even if you remain engaged in your salah, your recitations of the Qur’an, fasts and hajj.
How can you bring the concept, the emotions for the creator
that only the Prophet (s) has experienced?
It can only be rendered by the Prophet (s).