Question
A s salaam alaikum, i hope that you are well. I have posted a hadith that is circulating in some parts of the internet. However, i am able to find a reference a nd would like to know the reference and the authenticity of the hadith below. Jazakhallah
Once the Prophet (PBUH) appeared to the gathering of the companions. He noticed
that all of them were in deep thinking. So he asked, "What's the matter?" " We are thinking of the creation of Allah."
" Very well, think of Allah's creations, but not about how He might have come first lest it should inject bizarre thoughts."
Then the Prophet (PBUH) said, "Let it be known to you, (pointing at west horizon) t here's a white Earth there. Sun is 40 times brighter there. There exists a creation o f Allah, none of them have ever gone astray."
The companions said, "Where's Satan then, to them?" " They do not know of creation of Satan."
" Are they humans? Children of Adam?"
" No," the Prophet (PBUH) replied, "they even don't know of Adam
Answer:
ﺑﺴﻢ اﷲ اﻟﺮﺣﻤﻦ اﻟﺮﺣﯿﻢ
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
This hadith is mentioned in Ihyaa ul Uloom Al- Deen of Imam Ghazali in the chapter of *Tafakkur*.1 My teacher, who specialized in Hadith, told me that this narration seems to be a combination of two Hadiths; the first portion of the Hadith, regarding pondering over the creation of Allah ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ, is da’eef (weak), and the remainder of the Hadith is da’eef jiddan (extremely weak).
However, the translation of the Hadith which you have provided does not appear to be accurate in terms of matching the original Arabic.
Only Allah knows best
Written by Maulana Mohammad Ahsan Osmani Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah Darul Ifta Birmingham
1 Ihyaaul Uloom Al-Deen: v. 4, p. 563 (Maktaba Rasheedia)