Is the Following a Hadith, “I was a hidden treasure, and I wished to be known, so I created a creation, then made Myself known to them, and they recognized Me.”?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
Is the Following a Hadith, “I was a hidden treasure, and I wished to be known, so I created a creation, then made Myself known to them, and they recognized Me.”?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.
Some Sufis quote this often. However, it is not an established hadith. The theme is that the purpose of human creation is to recognize Allah through His worship. This is mentioned in the following verse: “Nor have I created jinn and man but to worship me” [Quran, 51;56]. Mujahid (Allah have mercy on him) says the commentary of ‘but to worship me’ is to come to recognize and know me.
Complete Narration
The complete narration is as follows: Allah (Most High) said, “I was an unknown treasure, and I wished to be recognized. So, I created the creation and introduced them to me, and they recognized me”.
This narration is a fabrication. Ibn Taymiyya, Zarkashi, Sakhawi, and Ibn Hajar (Allah have mercy on them all) agree that this statement has no basis. One should, therefore, abstain from quoting it.
[Sakhawi, Al-Maqasid al-Hasana]
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I pray this helps answer your question.
“حديث: كُنْتُ كَنْزًا لا أُعْرَفُ، فَأَحْبَبْتُ أَنْ أُعْرَفَ فَخَلَقْتُ خَلْقًا، فَعَرَّفْتُهُمْ بِي فَعَرَفُونِي ، قال ابن تيمية: إنه ليس من كلام النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم، ولا يعرف له سند صحيح ولا ضعيف، وتبعه الزركشي وشيخنا”.
(االمقاصد الحسنة ,لباب الأول، حرف الكاف، ص:521، رقم: 838، ط: دار الكتاب العربي – بيروت)
“والمشهور على الألسنة: كُنْتُ كَنْزًا لا أُعْرَفُ، فَأَحْبَبْتُ أَنْ أُعْرَفَ فَخَلَقْتُ خَلْقًا، فبه عرفُونِي”.
(کشف الخفاء ومزیل الإلباس حرف الكاف، ج:2، ص:132،رقم: 2016 ط:مكتبة القدسي – القاهرة)
”(وما خلقتُ الجنّ والإنس إلاّ ليعبدون ) … وقال مجاهد : إن المعنى : إلاّ ليعرفوني. قال الثعلبي : وهذا قولٌ حسنٌ؛ لأنه لو لم يخلقْهم لما عرف وجودُه وتوحيدُه” .
(فتح القدیر للشوکاني سورة الذاريات، ج:5، ص:110، ط: دار ابن كثير)
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel has received traditional education in various countries. He started his schooling in the UK and completed his hifz of the Quran in India. After that, he joined an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied secular and Aalimiyya sciences. Later, he traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, and other Middle Eastern countries to further his education. Mawlana has served as an Imam in the Republic of Ireland for several years and taught the Quran and other Islamic sciences to both children and adults. He also worked as a teacher and librarian at a local Islamic seminary in the UK for 12 years. Presently, he lives in the UK with his wife and is interested in books and gardening.
