As-Salaam alaikum,
Says Allahu Tabaraka Wa Ta'ala in ayat 56 of Surat Zariyaat of the Holy Qur'an (51:56):--
"I CREATED NOT THE JINN AND MANKIND EXCEPT THAT
THEY MIGHT WORSHIP ME."
In his Kitab al-Luma, Abu Nasr al-Sarraj (d. 378/988), may Allah be Merciful to him, reports the comment of Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him: the word 'worship' here means 'knowledge' (ma'arifa), so that the phrase ILLA LI-YA'BUDUNI (except that they might worship Me) becomes ILLA LI-YA'RIFUNI (except that they might know Me).
The very purpose of the creation of man thus comes to be equated with that knowledge of Allah which constitutes the most profound form of worship. This view dovetails with the Hadith-Qudsi frequently cited by Sufis: 'I WAS A HIDDEN TREASURE AND I LOVED TO BE KNOWN, SO I CREATED THE WORLD..'
We often hear the Hadith qudsi that Allah Ta’ala was a hidden treasure, what is the status of this Hadith?
Answer
The complete narration is as follows: (Allah Ta’ala said)
“I was an unknown treasure and I wished to be recognised. So I created the creation and introduced them to me, they recognised meâ€.
This narration is a fabrication. Hafiz Ibn Taymiyyah, ‘Allamah Zarkashi, ‘Allamah Sakhawi and Hafiz Ibn Hajar (rahimahumullah) are unanimous that this narration has no basis.
One should therefore abstain from quoting it.
(See Al Maqasidul Hasanah, Hadith: 838, Dhaylul La-alil Masnu’ah, hadith: 1028 and Al Masnu’, hadith: 232)
This cannot be undone and I am sure it will be greatly appreciated.
We apologise but you have been denied access to report posts in this thread. This could be due to excessively reporting posts and not understanding our forum rules. For assistance or information, please use the forum help thread to request more information. Jazakallah
