To Know Your Self is to Know Allah

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   Assalamualaikum bro Abuayisha.

Thanks to your reply, I made the time to search whether this hadith is maudu' or not. And I learnt something today, Alhamdulillah!

According to the hadith scholars, it is maudu' however, it is quite a mushkil as to why many Sufi scholars quote this words in their books like Imam AlGhazali and Sheikh Abdul Qadir Al-Jailani. 

The reason was because, it may not be word for word narration, but more to the conveying of meaning as supported by Quranic verses. 

Quote from http://www.livingislam.org/k/khkr_e.html

Yes, the verse is a contrapositive proof of the truth of this saying.
There are several other verses to that effect. Al-Qari quotes ones of
them: {} (2:130); "meaning, he ignores his own soul so that he does not know its Lord." Al-Qunawi cited the verse { Say: the spirit is from my Lord, and you have been told little about it } (17:85). 

Another confirmation is in the verses { We shall show them Our portents on the horizons and within themselves } (41:53) and { We verily created man and We know what his soul whispers to him, and We are nearer to him than his jugular vein } (50:16).

Another confirmation - cited by Imam al-Nawawi in his Fatawa - is the hadith "Glory to You! I cannot sufficiently extol Your praise! Truly, You are just as You have glorified Yourself!" narrated from `A'isha and `Ali, Allah be well-pleased with them, in the Nine Books except al- Bukhari and al-Darimi.

This is all meaning-wise. As for Prophetic attribution, it remains
unestablished as the totality of the Ulema of hadith do not accept
authentication nor disauthentication of hadith on the sole basis of
kashf. "Otherwise," Mulla `Ali al-Qari said in his dictionary of
forgeries, "its meaning is firmly established." I.e. it is simply � not a hadith, but an aphorism which conforms with the Qur'an and Sunna.

Allahu 'Alam.

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Nur_Ilahi Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 19 January 2008 Status: Offline Points: 1031	Post Options Post Reply Quote Nur_Ilahi Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 29 May 2009 at 7:25am
	Assalamualaikum bro Abuayisha. Thanks to your reply, I made the time to search whether this hadith is maudu' or not. And I learnt something today, Alhamdulillah! According to the hadith scholars, it is maudu' however, it is quite a mushkil as to why many Sufi scholars quote this words in their books like Imam AlGhazali and Sheikh Abdul Qadir Al-Jailani. The reason was because, it may not be word for word narration, but more to the conveying of meaning as supported by Quranic verses. Quote from http://www.livingislam.org/k/khkr_e.html Yes, the verse is a contrapositive proof of the truth of this saying. There are several other verses to that effect. Al-Qari quotes ones of them: {} (2:130); "meaning, he ignores his own soul so that he does not know its Lord." Al-Qunawi cited the verse { Say: the spirit is from my Lord, and you have been told little about it } (17:85). Another confirmation is in the verses { We shall show them Our portents on the horizons and within themselves } (41:53) and { We verily created man and We know what his soul whispers to him, and We are nearer to him than his jugular vein } (50:16). Another confirmation - cited by Imam al-Nawawi in his Fatawa - is the hadith "Glory to You! I cannot sufficiently extol Your praise! Truly, You are just as You have glorified Yourself!" narrated from `A'isha and `Ali, Allah be well-pleased with them, in the Nine Books except al- Bukhari and al-Darimi. This is all meaning-wise. As for Prophetic attribution, it remains unestablished as the totality of the Ulema of hadith do not accept authentication nor disauthentication of hadith on the sole basis of kashf. "Otherwise," Mulla `Ali al-Qari said in his dictionary of forgeries, "its meaning is firmly established." I.e. it is simply � not a hadith, but an aphorism which conforms with the Qur'an and Sunna. Allahu 'Alam.
	Ilahi Anta Maksudi, Wa Redhaka Mathlubi - Oh Allah, You are my destination, Your Pleasure is my Intention.

abuayisha Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Muslim Joined: 05 October 1999 Location: Los Angeles Status: Offline Points: 5105	Post Options Post Reply Quote abuayisha Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 29 May 2009 at 10:20am
	"is simply � not a hadith, but an aphorism which conforms with the Qur'an and Sunna." Yeah, interesting, but the adage I'd use would be the reverse; whoever knows his Lord knows himself, and not, "whoever knows himself knows his Lord." This because once we begin to grasp an understanding of Allah's names and attributes, we can have a better appreciation for our own fragile and humble (self) being. Wa Allahu 'Alam - also.

EMMA Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Starter. Joined: 11 June 2014 Status: Offline Points: 1	Post Options Post Reply Quote EMMA Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 06 September 2014 at 4:42am
	Assalamu Alaikum , Here is an explanation to the above from a diff webpage. "This self is the same thing which has been given the name of 'Divine spirit'. To know this self means that man should be conscious of his dignity and nobility and should apprehend that his indulgence in any kind of meanness is far below his high position. He should realize his own sacredness so that the sacred, moral and social values may have a meaning for him." "Self-consciousness means that man should realize his real position in the world. He should know that he is not merely a terrestrial being. He has a reflection of Divine spirit in him. Man should know that he is ahead of the angels in cognition. He is free, has the power of choosing and willing, and is responsible for himself and others. His responsibility includes to improve the world and make it thrive. The Holy Qur'an says: "He has brought you forth from the earth and has made you husband it." (Surah Hud, 11:61) Man should know that he is a trustee appointed by Allah and that he has not gained superiority by chance. Hence it does not befit him to despotically acquire every thing for himself and think that he has no responsibility or duty."