The Shadowless Prophet

Sayyidina Muhammad
‫ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ‬
---

We are living in a world of uncertainty and misconceptions. Some people are

posing questions that attack the very roots of our beliefs about Allah Almighty
and the Prophet ‫ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ‬, attempting to create doubt in the minds of the
unsuspecting Muslims.

Quote:

Wahabi/Salafi

^Wahabi

Quote Wahabi says:

“I have not come accross a good reasoning as yet. There have been stories and concepts like
a concept that Prophet did not have a shadow.

Now this is kind of weird, its not possible that Prophet did not have a shadow and the
world didn't know of it.

Like all the non-muslim honest historians very clearly know that Huzoor was Honest, and
True in chanracter and behavior, (Sadiq and Ameen).

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How did historians know about the honesty and truth of the Prophet, of course they
travelled and did their research.

And then imagine a man who does not cast a shadow in sun it would be the news of the
news to the mankind and those who managed to know that He was honest and true would
certainly also know and "Document" that this Honest and True man did not also have a
shadow.

You see brother such flasehood makes me think the way not to believe any argument
brought forward by you people on this topic."

[End of Quote]

---

Today misguided intellectuals tried to heap insults on the luminous personality of the
Prophet ‫ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ‬by questioning the extent of his knowledge whereas the
commentators of the Holy Qur'an maintain that in terms of knowledge, the Messenger of
Allah ‫ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ‬is the sun and all the other prophets are planets orbitting about him.

The majority of scholars of Islam maintain that the Prophet's knowledge constitutes of
what was, what is and what will be. Others deny that Allah created him as light and a
source of light.

Now another group has sprung up, seeking recognition by using scientific knowledge as the
basis for Iman (faith). Anything contrary to their understanding of science is discarded
from their principles of faith.

In this world there are two types of blind folk--those who are born without sight;
and those who have vision, but refuse to see the light.

It is to educate this group that the Holy Prophet ‫ ملسو ﻩيلع ﻩللا ىلص‬had said:

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"Where science ends, my Religion begins".

---

Miracles of Earlier Prophets

The Holy Qur'an speaks of many miracles which are beyond the imagination of those who
are tied to the cudgels of science, as they cannot be explained through scientific exposition.

Some examples of these are:-

1. According to science, the quality of fire is to burn. Yet, when Sayyidina Ibrahim (as) was
hurled into it at the command of Nimrud, not a single hair of this great Prophet of Allah
was destroyed.

2. Scientific data explains that iron can only melt under great heat, yet this same iron
melted in the hands of Sayyidina Dawud (as).

3. Leprosy, blindness, etc. according to science are virtually incurable illnesses, yet a mere
touch of the blessed hand of Sayyidina `Isa (as) cured the victims of these. Even more
incredible is the restoration of the eyesight of Sayyidina Ya`qub (as) by touching the shirt
of Sayyidina Yusuf (as).

Can these people who are influenced by the new innovators in religion, the
Wahabi/Salafi movement, deny the veracity of these miracles?

If these are possible, then why is it difficult to accept the miracle that the Holy
Prophet ‫ ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ‬did not possess a shadow?

Do they have any conclusive proof from a single hadith to prove the contrary?

On the contrary, there is authenticated proof from the ahadith of the Prophet ‫ﻩللا ىلص‬
‫ ملسو ﻩيلع‬and from the writings of great and authentic scholars of Islam which show
beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Messenger of Allah ‫ ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ‬did not possess a
shadow.

From Hadith
Hadith 1: Sayyidina Hakeem Tirmidhi in his book Nawaadirul-Usool narrates
from Sayyidina Zakwaan , a close Companion of the Prophet ‫ ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ‬, the
following Hadith: "The shadow of the Prophet ‫ ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ‬could not be seen in the
brightness of the sun, nor in moonlight".

Hadith 2: Allamah Ibn al-Jawzi in his Kitabul-Wafa narrates a hadith from

Sayyidina Abdullah ibn Abbas the cousin of the Prophet ‫ ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ‬in which

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he said: "The Messenger of Allah had no shadow, not while standing in the sun, but the
brilliance of his light (nur) surpassed the rays of the sun; nor while sitting before a burning
light, but his luminous light excelled the lustre of the light".

Hadith 3: Imam Nasafi in his Tafseer Madaarik narrates from Sayyidina

Uthman ibn Affan , the son-in-law of the Prophet that he said to the Prophet ‫ﺻﻠﻰ‬
‫ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ‬: "Allah Almighty does not let your shadow fall on the ground, so that no foot of
man can fall on it".

Hadith 4: Imam Jalaludeen Suyuti in his Khasaa'is al-Kubra narrates from Ibn
Saba: "This is also a unique feature of the Prophet ‫ ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ‬that his shadow did not
touch the ground, because he was light (nur), and when he used to walk in the sunshine his
shadow could not be seen."

From Scholars
Having read the words of those who had lived with the Prophet ‫ ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ‬and had
closely watched his every action, we shall now turn to some great scholars of Islam, whose
writings are considered most authentic in Islamic affairs. Pay heed to these to dispel any
doubts that you may have regarding the subject. All these great scholars firmly believed
that the Prophet ‫ ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ‬did not possess a shadow.

Qadi Iyad (radiyallahu ta'ala anhu):

Imam Qadi Iyad in his Ash-Shifa states:"The Prophet ‫ ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ‬did not possess a
shadow in the brightness of the sun or in the moonlight, because he was light (nur)".

Imam Ahmad Qastalani (radiyallahu ta'ala anhu)

Imam Ahmad Qastalani states in Al-Mawahibul-laduniyya: "That the Prophet ‫ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ‬
‫ وﺳﻠﻢ‬did not possess a shadow in the brightness of the sun or moonlight is proven from the
ahadith of Tirmidhi of Ibn Zakwaan and Ibn Saba."

Shaykh Abdul Haq Muhaddith Dehlvi (radiyallahu ta'ala anhu)

Shaykh Abdul Haq Muhaddith Dehlvi states in Madaarij an-nubuwwah: "The Prophet's
‫ ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ‬shadow did not appear in sunshine nor in moonlight".

Mawlana Jalaluddin Rumi (radiyallahu ta'ala anhu)

Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi in his Mathnawi states: "Let alone the Prophet ‫ ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ‬,
even if an ordinary servant of the Prophet ‫ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ‬reaches the stage of inner
mortality (baqa), then like the Prophet ‫ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ وﺳﻠﻢ‬, his shadow too disappears"

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Hazrat Hakeem Tirmidi (radiyallahu ta'ala anhu) in his book "Nawaa Da Rul Usool"
narrates a tradition from Hazrat Zakwaan (radiyallahu ta'ala anhu). "The shadow of
the Holy Prophet (Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallam) could not be seen in the brightness of the
sun, nor in moonlight."

Seyedena Abdullah Ibn Mubarak and Haafiz Ibn Jouzi narrate from Hazrat
Abdullah Ibn Abbas (radiyallahu ta'ala anhu): "The Holy Prophet (Sallal Laahu Alaihi
Wasallam) did not possess a shadow, neither in the brightness of the sun, nor in the
brightness of a light, but His brightness used to overpower the brightness of the sun and
the brightness of a light."

Imaam Nasafi in his Tafseer Madaarik Shareef narrates from Hazrat Usman Ibn Uthman
(radiyallahu ta'ala anhu) Hazrat Usman said to the Holy Prophet (Sallal Laahu Alaihi
Wasallam) that "Almighty Allah does not let your shadow fall on the ground, so that no
man's foot can be placed on it."

Hazrat Imam Suyutwi (radiyallahu ta'ala anhu) in his "Khasaai's Kubra"narrates from

Ibn Saba (radiyallahu ta'ala anhu)

"Ibn Saba has stated that this is also a unique feature of the Holy Prophet(Sallal Laahu
Alaihi Wasallam) that his shadow should not touch the ground, because he was Nur, and
when he used to walk in the sunshine his shadow could not be seen.”

Some scholars have said that this phenomenon proves the tradition in which the Holy
Prophet (Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallam) once supplicated to the Almighty Allah: "O Allah
make me Nur(light)" The above traditions quite categorically prove that the belief that the
Holy Prophet (Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallam) did not have a shadow is not mere here say
but a fact proven from tradition.

Indeed there will be some who will completely refute the traditions, but we
should remember that this belief is an accepted fact in every generation of the scholars of
Islam as we shall shortly see.

The Belief of the Preceding Great Scholars

Imaam Jalaludeen Suyutwi (radiyallahu ta'ala anhu) states: "The statement which
has been made about the Holy Prophet (Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallam) not possesing a
shadow, even in the brightness of the sun or in the moonlight, the reason thereof being
that he was nur (light).

Allama Shahabudeen Khafaaji (radiyallahu ta'ala anhu) states: For reasons of

respect and greatness of the Holy Prophet(Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallam) shadow should
not touch the ground, although it is in the shadow of the Holy Prophet(Sallal Laahu Alaihi
Wasallam) that all mankind sleeps, what is more startling than this. Indeed for this the
Quranic injunction is sufficient which states that the Holy Prophet(Sallal Laahu Alaihi

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Wasallam) is a perspicious light and indeed by not having a shadow it does not mean he is
not also bashr (a human being).

Imaam Allama Ahmed Qastalaani (radiyallahu ta'ala anhu) states: "It has been
stated that the Holy Prophet (Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallam) did not posses a shadow in the
brightness of the sun or in the moonlight as narrated by Tirmidi stated by Ibn Zakwaan.
Ibn Saba has stated that the Holy Prophet (Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallam) was nur(light)
when he used to walk in the sunshine or moonlight his shadow did not appear.

Allama Husain Ibn Muhamed Dayaar Bakri (radiyallahu ta'ala anhu) states: "The
Holy Prophet (Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallam) shadow should not appear on the earth
neither was it seen in the sunshine nor in the moonlight."

Imam Allama Ibn Hajar makki (radiyallahu ta'ala anhu) states: "To substantiate
that the Holy Prophet (Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallam) was nur, is that his shadow should
not appear in the sunshine nor in the moonlight. For indeed shadow emanates from that
which is dense and the Almighty Allah created him from all that is pure of density, he was
created as pure nur(light) because of which his shadow should not appear."

Allama Sulayman Jamal (radiyallahu ta'ala anhu) states: "The Holy Prophet (Sallal
Laahu Alaihi Wasallam) shadow should not appear in sunshine nor in the moonlight."

Imaam Rabbani Mujaddid Alif Saani (radiyallahu ta'ala anhu) states: "The Holy
Prophet (Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallam) did not posses a shadow. The reason being that in
the Aalme Shahaadat everything's shadow is much more lighter than that material, and it
is the greatness of the Holy Prophet (Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallam) that nothing is lighter
than him so how can he have a shadow."

Allama Shaikh Mohamed Tahir states: "Among the names of the Holy Prophet
(Sallal Laahu Alaihi Wasallam) one is also nur and its uniqueness is that his shadow should
not appear when he used to walk in the sunshine or moonlight."

Imamul Aarifeen Moulana Jalaaludeen Rumi (radiyallahu ta'ala anhu) states:

"When a fakir reaches the stage of inner mortality, then like the Holy Prophet (Sallal Laahu
Alaihi Wasallam) his shadow disappears."

Zakwan (a ta’bi’i) (radiyallahu ta'ala anhu) narrates that “the shadow of the Messenger
of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) did not show in the sun nor did it became
apparent in the moonlight.”

(Recorded by al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi (and not the famous Hadith master Imam Abu
Eisa al-Tirmidhi) in his Nawadir al-Usul. See: al-Khasa’is al-Kubrah of Imam Suyuti,
1/164)

Qadhi Iyadh al-Maliki states: “The statement which has been made regarding the
Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) not possessing a shadow in the

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brightness of the sun or in the moonlight, is due to the fact that he was light (nur).” (al-
Shifa, p. 462, no. 1126)

“Some of the Prophet’s Companions were given to see this light as even brighter than both
the sun and moon, for when they walked with him they noticed that he cast no shadow on
the ground.” (al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi)

Allamah Imam Nasafi (radiyallahu ta'ala anhu) writes: Hazrat Uthman

(radiyallahu ta'ala anhu) came to the Holy Prophet (sallallahu `alaihi wasallam) and
said, "Allah did not put your shadow on the Earth in case someone trod upon
it". (Tafseer-e-Madarik)

Hazrat Hakeem Tirmizi narrates from Hazrat Zakwaan Tabi'ee (radiyallahu ta'ala
anhu): "The shadow of the blessed Prophet (sallallahu `alaihi wasallam) didn't show in the
sun nor did it became apparent in the moonlight". (Khasaais-e-Kubra)

Imam ibn Hajar Makki al-Haytami (radiyallahu ta'ala anhu)

Imam Haytami writes: "He became light to the extent that if he walked in sunlight or
moonlight he did not have a shadow. The reason is that shadows pertain only to dense
bodies whereas he has been purified by Allah from all the bodily attributes of denseness
and he has turned him into light unadulterated and pure, and entirely devoid of shadow."
(Sharh Qaseedah Hamziyyah, Afdalul Qurra)

Imam Burhanuddin al-Halabi (radiyallahu ta'ala anhu)

Imam Halabi writes:"If he walked in sunlight or in moonlight he had no shadow because

he was light." (Seerat-ul-Halbiyah)

Imam Rabbani Mujaddid-e-Alfi Thaani (radiyallahu ta'ala anhu)

Imam Rabbani writes: "Indeed the Prophet (sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam) did not have a
shadow. This is because in this world, the shadow of a being is always more fine than the
actual being itself and in this universe, there is nothing more fine than the Prophet
(sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam), hence, how could it be possible that he possessed a shadow"?
(Maktubaat Shareef)

Shah Abdul `Azeez Muhaddith-e-Dehlwi (radiyallahu ta'ala anhu)

Shah Abdul `Azeez writes concerning the Shadowless Prophet (sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam):

"His (sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam) shadow did not fall upon the Earth". (Tafseer-e-
`Azeezi)

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Imam Qazi Ayaaz in his ASH-SHIFA states: "The Holy Prophet Sall Allahu alaihi
wa Aalihi wa Sallim did not possess a shadow in the brightness of the sun or in
the moonlight, because he was Noor (light)".

Imam al-Zurqani also states that Imams Ibn al-Jawzi and Abd Allah ibn al-
Mubarak have reported on the authority of Sayyiduna Abd Allah ibn Abbas (Allah be
pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) did not
have a shadow. (See: Sharh al-Zurqani, 7/200)

--------------------------

The following quote of Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi is presented so that our Deobandi
brothers can take a second glance at their beleifs regarding the Prophet (sallallahu 'alaihi
wasallam) in light of their Imam's quote:

Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi writes,

"The Prophet was made of Noor. All things apart from Noor have a shadow and because
of the Prophet's Nooraniyat (light), he did not possess a shadow".
(Imdad-us-Sulook)

Those Deobandis who revere and honour Maulana Gangohi should inspect their creed and
thereafter alter it so that it is in line with the above quotation of his.

Dear Muslims! In light of the aforementioned, we must not consider ourselves to be from
the minority when believing the Dear Prophet (sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam) to be Noor and
shadowless. Rather, it is those who deny the light of the Prophet (sallallahu 'alaihi
wasallam) who are from the minority and have arisen with their beliefs recently. Our belief
in the Noor-e-Muhammadi is as old as Islam whereas the belief that the Prophet
(sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam) is a normal human being like any other is an innovation.

"It’s not a question of believing or not believing. If one sees "the reason" one would
definitely believe also.

Source:
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Last Accessed:
Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Source: http://salafiaqeedah.blogspot.com/2010/12/shadowless-prophet.html