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I posted a question earlier and I got a reply that states a part of a Hadith:

Why do Shia care about Hussain and not Hasan?

Then the Lord, Almighty Allah said :"O My angels! O Residents of My Heavens, verily, I have not created the erected Sky, the stretched earth, the illuminated moon, the bright sun, the rotating planets, the flowing seas and the sailing ships, but for the love of these Five lying underneath the cloak

What does this hadith mean me?

Does it mean that God created the sky, moon, sun... etc. because he loves the Five?

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    Anyone have the link to this hadeeth? Or book name, hadeth number. Thanks
    – user263210
    Aug 11, 2014 at 8:12
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    the hadith is not quoted in major Shia hadith sources such as Kafi that have been translated to English. It shows up in a source in script that has been only recently published in Iran: Awalim al-Ulum by Sheikh Abdullah Bahrani.
    – infatuated
    May 14, 2015 at 6:40

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According to Muslim gnostic commentators, sufis or mystics, the first thing that Allah created was the light of the Holy Prophet. This idea is backed by various Islamic traditions a most notable one being a hadith by the Prophet that reads: "The first thing Allah created was my light."

This and many other hadiths with similar theme have been subject of interpretation and discussion among Muslim gnostics and philosophers. Muhy ed-Din Ibn Arabi who is arguably the most prominent Sufi/gnostic commentator has extensively discussed the implications of the idea of the existential precedence of the Holy Prophet's Light over creation.

Now when the theory of the existential precedence of the Prophet's Light is considered in conjunction with the theory of Emanationism -- another widely accepted theory by Sufis and Muslim meta-physicians which basically suggests that each level of creation emanates from the higher, preceding levels -- it follows that as Prophet Muhammad's light precedes every other created being according to the hadith, no other creation could've been created if the Prophet's Light had not been created first!

Also according to theory of Emanationism, the existential precedence of the Holy Prophet over the creation necessitates his superior merit, nobility and excellence over them all. That is the prophet is the first of creation, the best of creation and therefore the most beloved creation of Allah!

Now Shiites come in and cite a lot of traditions from the Holy Prophet and his special, most beloved family members that they define as the true Ahl al-Bayt, suggesting that they are also of the same holy primordial preceding substance of the Prophet, of the same 'light', upon whom other creations depend.

Now to conclude it all and answer your question, Allah loves all of His creation but loves the first and the best of them the most, and this explains why it would've been impossible for the universe to be created without the creation of the first and the most beloved beings to Allah. (As a side note, this impossibility is based on the governing laws of creation that emanate from the very Allah's existence).

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    @infatuated "and this explains why it would've been impossible for the universe to be created without the creation of the first and the most beloved beings to Allah." Impossible to who exactly?
    – Seeker
    Jun 18, 2014 at 11:42
  • @Seeker Impossible according to the governing laws of creation that come from Allah's existence Himself. So no implication as to an incapability on the part of Allah.
    – infatuated
    Jun 18, 2014 at 12:11
  • (Relevant meta discussion)
    – Bleeding Fingers
    Oct 9, 2014 at 22:06
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    This makes zero sense. Picturing the prophet in this way is like how the Christian started to make Jesus holy until they become praying to him and considered him god. The prophet is a human who was merly honered with the message of Islam to spread it.
    – Jack Twain
    Feb 1, 2015 at 7:48
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    @JackTwain, there are ample traditions suggesting primordial existence of Prophet's light and his Purified Ahlulbayt just as there are ones that warn us to be wary of deification of any of these holy individuals. Non therefore should be dismissed for the other. That Prophet was just a human also doesn't contradict the doctrine of primordial existence since humans are created in God's image and therefore can acquire many of His attributes by His grace; that's because among Divine attributes there are ones that are exclusive to Allah but great many ones that can be shared by creation as well.
    – infatuated
    Feb 3, 2015 at 5:27

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