The Creation of Ādam in one instant without evolution and chance: His lifespan, his height and his intelligence.

Part 1:

Archeologists, scientists and historians in our times are continually looking into ancient cultures and societies so as to understand the lives of our forefathers, even if what reaches them is only a minute insight. The truth is that what they attain from the archeological record is tainted and unclear and they find it difficult to gain a true insight into the lives of the people who passed away thousands of years ago. As for Revelation that is sent down to the Prophets and Messengers – then it contains true historical records of the ancient peoples. These stories are pure and clear and detailed in many different ways and free from conjecture and taint. That is because Revelation is sent down from the Lord of creation from whom nothing is hidden whether it be in the heavens or earth.

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَخْفَىٰ عَلَيْهِ شَيْءٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِي السَّمَاءِ

هُوَ الَّذِي يُصَوِّرُكُمْ فِي الْأَرْحَامِ كَيْفَ يَشَاءُ ۚ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ

“Truly, nothing is hidden from Allāh, in the earth or in the heavens. He it is Who shapes you in the wombs as He wishes. None has the right to be worshipped but He, the Almighty, the All-Wise.” (Āli-Imrān: 5-6)

Much of the knowledge of the past and the beginnings of creation cannot be obtained except through Revelation. From that which cannot be known except through Revelation is this hadīth of the Messenger (ﷺ) wherein we find the story of our father, the father of mankind, Ādam (`alaihis-salām). These stories are not only found in the Qur’an and hadīth but also large aspects of them are recorded in what remains of the Gospels and Torah that was revealed to the People of Book.

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم لَمَّا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ آدَمَ مَسَحَ ظَهْرَهُ فَسَقَطَ مِنْ ظَهْرِهِ كُلُّ نَسَمَةٍ هُوَ خَالِقُهَا مِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِهِ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَ عَيْنَىْ كُلِّ إِنْسَانٍ مِنْهُمْ وَبِيصًا مِنْ نُورٍ ثُمَّ عَرَضَهُمْ عَلَى آدَمَ فَقَالَ أَىْ رَبِّ مَنْ هَؤُلاَءِ قَالَ هَؤُلاَءِ ذُرِّيَّتُكَ فَرَأَى رَجُلاً مِنْهُمْ فَأَعْجَبَهُ وَبِيصُ مَا بَيْنَ عَيْنَيْهِ فَقَالَ أَىْ رَبِّ مَنْ هَذَا فَقَالَ هَذَا رَجُلٌ مِنْ آخِرِ الأُمَمِ مِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِكَ يُقَالُ لَهُ دَاوُدُ فَقَالَ رَبِّ كَمْ جَعَلْتَ عُمْرَهُ قَالَ سِتِّينَ سَنَةً قَالَ أَىْ رَبِّ زِدْهُ مِنْ عُمْرِي أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً فَلَمَّا انْقَضَى عُمْرُ آدَمَ جَاءَهُ مَلَكُ الْمَوْتِ فَقَالَ أَوَلَمْ يَبْقَ مِنْ عُمْرِي أَرْبَعُونَ سَنَةً قَالَ أَوَلَمْ تُعْطِهَا ابْنَكَ دَاوُدَ قَالَ فَجَحَدَ آدَمُ فَجَحَدَتْ ذُرِّيَّتُهُ وَنَسِيَ آدَمُ فَنَسِيَتْ ذُرِّيَّتُهُ وَخَطِئَ آدَمُ فَخَطِئَتْ ذُرِّيَّتُهُ قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ وَقَدْ رُوِيَ مِنْ غَيْرِ وَجْهٍ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم

Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said: “When Allāh created Ādam He wiped his back and every person that He created among his offspring until the Day of Resurrection fell out of his back. He placed a ray of light between the eyes of every person. Then He showed them to Ādam and he said: ‘O Lord! Who are these people?’ He said: ‘These are your offspring.’ He saw one of them whose ray between his eyes amazed him, so he said: ‘O Lord! Who is this?’ He said: ‘This is a man from the latter nations of your offspring called Dawud.’ He said: ‘Lord! How long did You make his lifespan?’ He said: ‘Sixty years.’ He said: ‘O Lord! Add forty years from my life to his.’ So at the end of Ādam’s life, the Angel of death of came to him, and he said: ‘Do I not have forty years remaining?’ He said: ‘Did you not give them to your son Dawud?'” He said: “Ādam denied, so his offspring denied, and Ādam forgot and his offspring forgot, and Ādam erred, so his offspring erred.” (At-Tirmidhee no. 3356)

At-Tirmidhee said: This hadīth is hasan-saheeh, and is reported from Abu Hurairah through more than one route. There occurs in another narration:

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم  ” لَمَّا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ آدَمَ وَنَفَخَ فِيهِ الرُّوحَ عَطَسَ فَقَالَ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ فَحَمِدَ اللَّهَ بِإِذْنِهِ فَقَالَ لَهُ رَبُّهُ يَرْحَمُكَ اللَّهُ يَا آدَمُ اذْهَبْ إِلَى أُولَئِكَ الْمَلاَئِكَةِ إِلَى مَلإٍ مِنْهُمْ جُلُوسٍ فَقُلِ السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكُمْ . قَالُوا وَعَلَيْكَ السَّلاَمُ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ . ثُمَّ رَجَعَ إِلَى رَبِّهِ فَقَالَ إِنَّ هَذِهِ تَحِيَّتُكَ وَتَحِيَّةُ بَنِيكَ بَيْنَهُمْ . فَقَالَ اللَّهُ لَهُ وَيَدَاهُ مَقْبُوضَتَانِ اخْتَرْ أَيَّهُمَا شِئْتَ قَالَ اخْتَرْتُ يَمِينَ رَبِّي وَكِلْتَا يَدَىْ رَبِّي يَمِينٌ مُبَارَكَةٌ . ثُمَّ بَسَطَهَا فَإِذَا فِيهَا آدَمُ وَذُرِّيَّتُهُ فَقَالَ أَىْ رَبِّ مَا هَؤُلاَءِ فَقَالَ هَؤُلاَءِ ذُرِّيَّتُكَ فَإِذَا كُلُّ إِنْسَانٍ مَكْتُوبٌ عُمْرُهُ بَيْنَ عَيْنَيْهِ فَإِذَا فِيهِمْ رَجُلٌ أَضْوَؤُهُمْ أَوْ مِنْ أَضْوَئِهِمْ . قَالَ يَا رَبِّ مَنْ هَذَا قَالَ هَذَا ابْنُكَ دَاوُدُ قَدْ كَتَبْتُ لَهُ عُمْرَ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً . قَالَ يَا رَبِّ زِدْهُ فِي عُمْرِهِ . قَالَ ذَاكَ الَّذِي كَتَبْتُ لَهُ . قَالَ أَىْ رَبِّ فَإِنِّي قَدْ جَعَلْتُ لَهُ مِنْ عُمْرِي سِتِّينَ سَنَةً قَالَ أَنْتَ وَذَاكَ . قَالَ ثُمَّ أُسْكِنَ الْجَنَّةَ مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ ثُمَّ أُهْبِطَ مِنْهَا فَكَانَ آدَمُ يَعُدُّ لِنَفْسِهِ . قَالَ فَأَتَاهُ مَلَكُ الْمَوْتِ فَقَالَ لَهُ آدَمُ قَدْ عَجِلْتَ قَدْ كُتِبَ لِي أَلْفُ سَنَةٍ . قَالَ بَلَى وَلَكِنَّكَ جَعَلْتَ لاِبْنِكَ دَاوُدَ سِتِّينَ سَنَةً فَجَحَدَ فَجَحَدَتْ ذُرِّيَّتُهُ وَنَسِيَ فَنَسِيَتْ ذُرِّيَّتُهُ . قَالَ فَمِنْ يَوْمِئِذٍ أُمِرَ بِالْكِتَابِ وَالشُّهُودِ ” . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ غَرِيبٌ مِنْ هَذَا الْوَجْهِ . وَقَدْ رُوِيَ مِنْ غَيْرِ وَجْهٍ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم مِنْ رِوَايَةِ زَيْدِ بْنِ أَسْلَمَ عَنْ أَبِي صَالِحٍ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم .

Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said:

“When Allāh created Ādam, He breathed the soul into him, then he sneezed and said: ‘All praise is due to Allāh (alhamdulillāh).’ So he praised Allāh by His permission. Then His Lord said to him: ‘May Allāh have mercy upon you (yarhamakallāh) O Ādam. Go to those angels, to that gathering of them sitting, and say: “As-salāmu `alaikum”. So they responded “Wa ‘alaikas-salām wa rahmatullāh”. Then he returned to his Lord, He said: ‘This is your greeting and the greeting of your children among each other.’ Then Allāh said to him – while His Two Hands were closed – ‘Choose which of them you wish.’ He said: ‘I chose the right My Lord.’ And both of the Hands of my Lord are right, blessed. Then He extended it, and there was Ādam and his offspring in it. So he said: ‘What are these O my Lord?’ He said: ‘These are your offspring?’ Each one of them had his age written between his eyes. But among them there was a man who was the most illuminating of them – or among the most illuminated of them. He said: ‘O Lord! Who is this?’ He said: ‘This is your son Dawud, I wrote forty years for him.’ He said: ‘O Lord! Add to his age.’ He said: ‘That is what I have written for him.’ He said: ‘O Lord! Give him sixty of my years.’ He said: ‘So you shall have it.’ The Messenger said: “Then, he resided in Paradise as long as Allāh willed, then he was cast from it, so Ādam was counting for himself. So the Angel of death came to him, and Ādam said to him: ‘You are hasty, one-thousand years were written for me.’ He said: ‘Of course! But you gave sixty years to your son Dawud.’ So he rejected, and his offspring rejected, and he forgot, and his offspring forgot. So ever since that day, mankind was commanded that affairs be written and witnessed.” (At-Tirmidhee, no. 3694)

At-Tirmidhee said: This hadīth is hasan-ghareeb from this route, however it is reported through other routes from Abu Hurairah from the Prophet (ﷺ); from the narration from Zaid Ibn Aslam from Abu Saalih from Abu Hurairah from the Prophet (ﷺ).

Shaikh Al-Albānee (rahimullāh) declared both narrations to be authentic.

Allāh the Most High created Ādam, in the best form and in the most complete fashion, not like those without knowledge claim that he evolved from other animals or from seeds and uni-cellular organisms. Rather, Allāh created him in a single instant, intelligent and complete, with the ability to comprehend what was being said to him and the ability to respond accordingly.

So after the soul was blown into him, he sneezed, and said, “Alhamdulillāh (all praise is due to Allāh)”, so Allāh responded: “May Allāh have mercy upon you O Ādam.” Then Allāh requested him to go to a gathering of Angels who were seated and to give them the greeting of salutations, “As-salāmu `alaikum (peace be upon you).” And they responded to that with a better salutation. Allāh then informed him that this was to be his greeting and the greeting of his offspring between themselves. So Ādam could walk from the start, and speak, sneeze, think, and understand conversation. This is the belief of the Muslims and all the People of the Book (i.e. the Jews and Christians). Allah stated in the Qur’an:

وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ إِنِّي جَاعِلٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً ۖ قَالُوا أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَن يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ الدِّمَاءَ وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ ۖ قَالَ إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

“And meantion when your Lord said to the angels, “Indeed, I will make upon the earth mankind’s succession generation after generation.” They said, “Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood, while we declare Your praise and sanctify You?” Allāh said, “Indeed, I know that which you do not know.”

وَعَلَّمَ آدَمَ الْأَسْمَاءَ كُلَّهَا ثُمَّ عَرَضَهُمْ عَلَى الْمَلَائِكَةِ فَقَالَ أَنبِئُونِي بِأَسْمَاءِ هَٰؤُلَاءِ إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ

“And He taught Ādam the names – all of them. Then He showed the created beings to the angels and said, “Inform Me of the names of these, if you are truthful.”

قَالُوا سُبْحَانَكَ لَا عِلْمَ لَنَا إِلَّا مَا عَلَّمْتَنَا ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْعَلِيمُ الْحَكِيمُ

“They said, “Exalted are You; we have no knowledge except what You have taught us. Indeed, it is You who is the Knowing, the Wise.”

قَالَ يَا آدَمُ أَنبِئْهُم بِأَسْمَائِهِمْ ۖ فَلَمَّا أَنبَأَهُم بِأَسْمَائِهِمْ قَالَ أَلَمْ أَقُل لَّكُمْ إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ غَيْبَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَأَعْلَمُ مَا تُبْدُونَ وَمَا كُنتُمْ تَكْتُمُونَ

“He said, “O Ādam, inform them of their names.” And when he had informed them of their names, He said, “Did I not tell you that I know the unseen [aspects] of the heavens and the earth? And I know what you reveal and what you have concealed.”

So, we see in this hadīth the great attention Allāh gave to His servant Ādam (`alaihis-salām). Allāh said to him after Ādam sneezed: “May Allāh’s mercy be upon you O Ādam!” And whoever Allāh Himself shows mercy to indicates His concern for that creation, His preservation and protection over them and His enobling of them. For this reason Allāh accepted the repentance of Ādam when he disobeyed Him:

وَقُلْنَا يَا آدَمُ اسْكُنْ أَنتَ وَزَوْجُكَ الْجَنَّةَ وَكُلَا مِنْهَا رَغَدًا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمَا وَلَا تَقْرَبَا هَٰذِهِ الشَّجَرَةَ فَتَكُونَا مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ

“And We said: O Ādam, dwell, you and your wife, in Paradise and eat therefrom in [ease and] abundance from wherever you will. But do not approach this tree, lest you be among the wrongdoers.”

فَأَزَلَّهُمَا الشَّيْطَانُ عَنْهَا فَأَخْرَجَهُمَا مِمَّا كَانَا فِيهِ ۖ وَقُلْنَا اهْبِطُوا بَعْضُكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّ ۖ وَلَكُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ مُسْتَقَرٌّ وَمَتَاعٌ إِلَىٰ حِينٍ

“But Satan caused them to slip, and removed them from that [condition] in which they had been. And We said: Go down, [all of you], as enemies to one another, and you will have upon the earth a place of settlement and provision for a time.”

Shaitān was the avowed enemy.

Part 2:

There occurs in a hadīth in Saheeh Muslim:

عَنْ أَنَسٍ، أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ  ” لَمَّا صَوَّرَ اللَّهُ آدَمَ فِي الْجَنَّةِ تَرَكَهُ مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ أَنْ يَتْرُكَهُ فَجَعَلَ إِبْلِيسُ يُطِيفُ بِهِ يَنْظُرُ مَا هُوَ فَلَمَّا رَآهُ أَجْوَفَ عَرَفَ أَنَّهُ خُلِقَ خَلْقًا لاَ يَتَمَالَكُ

Anas reported Allāh’s Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: “When Allāh fashioned Ādam in Paradise, He left him for as long as He willed to leave him there. Then Iblis roamed around him to see what actually this creature was and when he found him hollow from within, he recognised that Ādam had been created with a disposition that he would not have control over himself.” Muslim no. 2611. So Shaitān caused Ādam to slip, so he sought forgiveness, as Allāh stated in the Qur’an:

فَتَلَقَّىٰ آدَمُ مِن رَّبِّهِ كَلِمَاتٍ فَتَابَ عَلَيْهِ ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ

“Then Ādam received from his Lord [some] words, and He accepted his repentance. Indeed, it is He who is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful.”

So Allāh, the Most High, pardons and overlooks our shortcomings, and He provides us with powerful certainty and Imān. He protects us from our enemies and He gives us strength.

Allāh legislated for Ādam whilst he was still in Paradise, and for his offspring that they are to say “Alhamdulillāh” when they sneeze and that the one who is listening is to say upon hearing that, “yarhamakallāh.” And the salutation of “As-salāmu `alaikum” is the greeting of the children of Ādam when they meet each each other. `Abdullah bin `Amr narrated:

عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو، أَنَّ رَجُلاً، سَأَلَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَىُّ الإِسْلاَمِ خَيْرٌ قَالَ

تُطْعِمُ الطَّعَامَ، وَتَقْرَأُ السَّلاَمَ عَلَى مَنْ عَرَفْتَ وَمَنْ لَمْ تَعْرِفْ

A person asked Allāh’s Messenger (ﷺ). “What deeds in Islam are best?” He replied, “To feed the poor and greet those whom you know and those whom you don’t know.” Bukhārī no. 28.

Part 3:

Allāh’s Messenger (ﷺ) informed us that our Lord wiped the back of Ādam (`alaihis-salām) and every person that He created among his offspring until the Day of Resurrection fell out of his back. Then Allāh said to him – while His Two Hands were closed – ‘Choose which of them you wish.’ He said: ‘I chose the right My Lord.’ And both of the Hands of the Lord are right, blessed. Then He extended it, and there was Ādam and his offspring in it. Allāh created from the offspring of Ādam, a group for Paradise and a group for Hell.

أَنَّ عُمَرَ بْنَ الْخَطَّابِ، سُئِلَ عَنْ هَذِهِ الآيَةِ، {  وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِنْ بَنِي آدَمَ مِنْ ظُهُورِهِمْ }  .

فَقَالَ عُمَرُ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم سُئِلَ عَنْهَا فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ” إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ خَلَقَ آدَمَ ثُمَّ مَسَحَ ظَهْرَهُ بِيَمِينِهِ فَاسْتَخْرَجَ مِنْهُ ذُرِّيَّةً فَقَالَ خَلَقْتُ هَؤُلاَءِ لِلْجَنَّةِ وَبِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ يَعْمَلُونَ ثُمَّ مَسَحَ ظَهْرَهُ فَاسْتَخْرَجَ مِنْهُ ذُرِّيَّةً فَقَالَ خَلَقْتُ هَؤُلاَءِ لِلنَّارِ وَبِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ يَعْمَلُونَ ” . فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ فَفِيمَ الْعَمَلُ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ” إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِذَا خَلَقَ الْعَبْدَ لِلْجَنَّةِ اسْتَعْمَلَهُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ حَتَّى يَمُوتَ عَلَى عَمَلٍ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ فَيُدْخِلَهُ بِهِ الْجَنَّةَ وَإِذَا خَلَقَ الْعَبْدَ لِلنَّارِ اسْتَعْمَلَهُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ حَتَّى يَمُوتَ عَلَى عَمَلٍ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ فَيُدْخِلَهُ بِهِ النَّارَ “

Abu Dawood reported: Muslim ibn Yasar al-Juhani said: When Umar ibn al-Khattab was asked about the verse “When your Lord took their offspring from the backs of the children of Ādam..” Umar said: Allāh’s Messenger was asked about, so he responded: “Allāh created Ādam, then passed His right hand over his back, and brought forth from it his offspring, saying: “I have created these for Paradise and these will do the deeds of those who go to Paradise.” He then passed His hand over his back and brought forth from it his offspring, saying: “I have created these for Hell, and they will do the deeds of those who go to Hell.

A man asked: What is the good of doing anything, Messenger of Allāh? The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said: “When Allāh creates a servant for Paradise, He employs him in doing the deeds of those who will go to Paradise, so that his final action before death is one of the deeds of those who go to Paradise, for which Allah will bring him into Paradise. But when He creates a servant for Hell, He employs him in doing the deeds of those who will go to Hell, so that his final action before death is one of the deeds of those who go to Hell, for which Allah will bring him into Hell.” Abu Dawood, 4703.

The verse referred to in this hadīth is:

وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِن بَنِي آدَمَ مِن ظُهُورِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ ۖ قَالُوا بَلَىٰ ۛ شَهِدْنَا ۛ أَن تَقُولُوا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِنَّا كُنَّا عَنْ هَٰذَا غَافِلِينَ

“And [mention to them] when your Lord took from the children of Ādam, from their loins, their descendants and made them testify upon themselves, [saying to them], “Am I not your Lord?” They said, “Yes, we have testified.” This is lest you should say on the day of Resurrection, “Indeed, we were of this unaware.” [Al-A`rāf 7:172]

Those who believe in Allāh, worship Him and obey Him are those who were brought forth for Paradise; and those who disbelieve in Allāh, do not worship Him alone and disobey Him, then they are the ones brought forth for the Hellfire.

Ādam (`alaihis-salām) saw his offspring that was to come after him and Allāh placed between the eyes of each one of them a light as if he saw their lifespans written between their eyes. Then he saw a man who had a beautiful light so asked about him. He was informed that this man is from his offspring who will come towards the end of the nations, and his name is Dawood. His lifespan is to be 60 years; and there occurs in a narration that his lifespan is to be 40 years, but 60 years is more correct. Ādam (`alaihis-salām) considered this to be too little for Dawood so he asked his Lord to increase his lifespan, but he was told that is the lifespan that has been written for him. So Ādam requested that years be taken from his life so that 100 years could be completed for his offspring, Dawood.

What is apparent from the hadīth is that Allāh taught Ādam that his lifespan was to be 1000 years. So when 960 years had passed of his life, the Angel of death came to him to take his soul, but Ādam contested with the Angel and rebuked him for coming for his soul too early, since his lifespan was supposed to 1000 years. What is apparent from the hadīth is that Ādam counted what remained and realised he had more years remaining. So the Angel of death reminded him that he had gifted the remaining years to Dawood. So Ādam refused that, and that was because he’d forgotten what had taken place nearly a thousand years earlier. Thereafter, the offspring of Ādam (`alaihis-salām) inherited that trait from him, and they would refuse like he refused, and forget things like he forgot. And for this reason Allāh commands with writing and with witnesses. Allāh wrote and had it witnessed so that it could be presented to those who deny and those who forget.

Part 4:

Further Benefits:

1. Allāh created Ādam and fashioned him perfectly and completely right from the beginning of his existence. And this rebuts what is claimed by the misguided and ignorant people that he was created deficient, or was evolved from something lesser and incomplete in body and intellect, and then over a long period of time he became complete. Shaikh Ibn `Uthaimeen (rahimahullāh) makes the point in his Sharh Usoolil-Imān that all created things, from the first to the last must have had a creator that created them. A being or soul cannot create itself, neither can it be created by coincidence, luck or chance. It is not possible for a created being or a soul to create itself because a thing cannot create itself, due to the fact that before its existence it was nothing, non-existent, therefore how can it be a creator? Sheer coincidence and chance cannot create because every occurrence must have something or someone causing its occurrence. Additionally, the existence of creation in such an unprecedented and ordered manner; the coordination between the various created beings and bodies, the harmony and union that is necessitated between the causes and consequences, and between the created beings and objects completely remove the idea that the creation came into being by mere random coincidence and chance! That is because coincidence and chance cannot place order into things from the outset. How can the whole of creation be ordered by itself during its chance existence and development? Therefore, if it is not possible for the creation to create itself [because something that did not exist cannot create] and this immensely complex creation [of the heavens and earth and the life within it] did not, and could not come about by chance or coincidence. Therefore it is determined with certainty, that it it must have a creator, and He is Allāh, the Lord of all the worlds. Indeed Allāh, the Most High, has mentioned this rational and unequivocal proof in His saying:

أَمْ خُلِقُوا مِنْ غَيْرِ شَيْءٍ أَمْ هُمُ الْخَالِقُونَ

“Were they created by nothing, or were they themselves the creators?” (At-Toor: 35)

Meaning that they were not created without a creator and neither did they create themselves. So by this it is determined without any doubt that Allāh, the Most  Blessed and Most High, is their Creator. When Jubayr Ibn Mut’im as a non-Muslim heard Allāh’s Messenger (ﷺ) recite Sūrah At-Tūr and he reached the verse:

أَمْ خُلِقُوا مِنْ غَيْرِ شَيْءٍ أَمْ هُمُ الْخَالِقُونَ

أَمْ خَلَقُوا السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ ۚ بَل لَّا يُوقِنُونَ

أَمْ عِندَهُمْ خَزَائِنُ رَبِّكَ أَمْ هُمُ الْمُصَيْطِرُونَ

أَمْ لَهُمْ سُلَّمٌ يَسْتَمِعُونَ فِيهِ ۖ فَلْيَأْتِ مُسْتَمِعُهُم بِسُلْطَانٍ مُّبِينٍ

“Were they created by nothing, or were they themselves the creators? Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Rather, they are not upon any certain belief. Or are with them the treasures of your Lord? Or are they the tyrants with the authority to do as they like? Or have they a stairway [to heaven], by means of which they listen to the talk of the angels? Then let their listener produce some manifest proof.” (At-Tūr: 35-38)

Jubayr (radiyallāhu `anhu) said: “My heart almost flew out of by chest out of happiness, and that was the first time that Imaan had settled in my heart.” (Al-Bukhārī)

Returning back to Ādam (`alaihis-salām): Allāh’s Messenger (ﷺ) informed us that the height of Ādam was sixty cubits which is equivalent to 27.5 metres. After the passing away of Ādam, his offspring continued to decrease in height until they settled as they are today. On the Day of Judgement however, the believers will be entered into Paradise upon their original form just as Allāh created Ādam (`alaihis-salām). Allāh’s Messenger  (ﷺ) said:

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ  ” خَلَقَ اللَّهُ آدَمَ عَلَى صُورَتِهِ، طُولُهُ سِتُّونَ ذِرَاعًا، فَلَمَّا خَلَقَهُ قَالَ اذْهَبْ فَسَلِّمْ عَلَى أُولَئِكَ النَّفَرِ مِنَ الْمَلاَئِكَةِ جُلُوسٌ، فَاسْتَمِعْ مَا يُحَيُّونَكَ، فَإِنَّهَا تَحِيَّتُكَ وَتَحِيَّةُ ذُرِّيَّتِكَ. فَقَالَ السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكُمْ. فَقَالُوا السَّلاَمُ عَلَيْكَ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ. فَزَادُوهُ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ، فَكُلُّ مَنْ يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ عَلَى صُورَةِ آدَمَ، فَلَمْ يَزَلِ الْخَلْقُ يَنْقُصُ بَعْدُ حَتَّى الآنَ

“Allāh created Ādam in His image, He made sixty cubits (about 27.5 meters) in height. When He created him, He said to him, “Go and greet that group of angels sitting there, and listen what they will say in reply to you, for that will be your greeting and the greeting of your offspring.” Ādam said to them, “As-salāmu `alaikum (Peace be upon you).” They replied, “As-Salaamu alaika wa rahmatullaah (Peace and Allāh’s Mercy be on you).” So they increased with: “Wa rahmatullāh.”

The Prophet (ﷺ) added: “So whoever will enter Paradise, will be upon the form of Ādam, and the height of the children of Ādam has not ceased to decrease until now.” (Bukhārī no. 6277, Muslim no. 2841)

The Prophet (ﷺ) stated: “The best day upon which the sun rises is Friday, on that day Ādam was created; on that day he was entered into Paradise; on that day he was expelled from it and on that day the Hour will be established.” (Reported by Muslim)

Muslim reports from Abu Hurairah that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Ādam was created on the last hour of the day of Friday.”

Ibn Katheer (rahimahullāh) stated: Ibn `Abbās, Mujāhid and Ad-Dahhāk said: The length of those six days in Jannah was six thousand years – and that is the preferred opinion of Ibn Jareer.

This further proves what has already been stated that Ādam was created in complete human form from the outset, from the moment the soul was blown into him, just as Allāh said: “Allāh created Ādam in His image.” So Allāh did not change Ādam from one form into another, or from one creature into another.  The offspring of Ādam however are created into the wombs of their mothers as a drop of seminal fluid, then a clot of blood, then a morsel of flesh, then after the soul it blown into it, it moves to another stage:

عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه و سلم -وَهُوَ الصَّادِقُ الْمَصْدُوقُ-: “إنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ يُجْمَعُ خَلْقُهُ فِي بَطْنِ أُمِّهِ أَرْبَعِينَ يَوْمًا نُطْفَةً، ثُمَّ يَكُونُ عَلَقَةً مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ، ثُمَّ يَكُونُ مُضْغَةً مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ، ثُمَّ يُرْسَلُ إلَيْهِ الْمَلَكُ فَيَنْفُخُ فِيهِ الرُّوحَ، وَيُؤْمَرُ بِأَرْبَعِ كَلِمَاتٍ: بِكَتْبِ رِزْقِهِ، وَأَجَلِهِ، وَعَمَلِهِ، وَشَقِيٍّ أَمْ سَعِيدٍ؛ فَوَاَللَّهِ الَّذِي لَا إلَهَ غَيْرُهُ إنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ لَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ حَتَّى مَا يَكُونُ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهَا إلَّا ذِرَاعٌ فَيَسْبِقُ عَلَيْهِ الْكِتَابُ فَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ فَيَدْخُلُهَا. وَإِنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ لَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ حَتَّى مَا يَكُونُ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهَا إلَّا ذِرَاعٌ فَيَسْبِقُ عَلَيْهِ الْكِتَابُ فَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ فَيَدْخُلُهَا”.

On the authority of Abdullāh ibn Masood, who said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and he is the truthful, the believed, narrated to us, “Verily the creation of each one of you is brought together in his mother’s womb for forty days in the form of a nutfah (a drop), then he becomes an `alaqah (clot of blood) for a like period, then a mudghah (morsel of flesh) for a like period, then there is sent to him the angel who blows his soul into him and who is commanded with four matters: to write down his rizq (sustenance), his life span, his actions, and whether he will be happy or unhappy (i.e., whether or not he will enter Paradise). By the One, other than Whom there is no deity worthy of worship, verily one of you performs the actions of the people of Paradise until there is but an arms length between him and it, and that which has been written overtakes him, and so he acts with the actions of the people of the Hellfire and thus enters it; and verily one of you performs the actions of the people of the Hellfire, until there is but an arms length between him and it, and that which has been written overtakes him and so he acts with the actions of the people of Paradise and thus he enters it.” [Bukhari & Muslim]

Those who reject the creation of Ādam by Allāh are like unto Iblees who refused to prostrate to Ādam due to his arrogance and pride and seeing himself to be better. However, even Iblees accepted that Allah had created Ādam! “Iblees said: I am better than him, you created me from fire and you created him from clay.”

2. This narration affirms our belief in the Qadā and the Qadr (the Pre-Decree) of Allāh. Allāh knows through eternity and throughout each and every moment the affair of His creation: what was and what is to be in the future. He knows every single affair, He wrote everything that is to happen in the Preserved Tablet, He wills it to occur and He creates it. It is for this reason that Ādam was able to see his offspring after him; because Allāh had already decreed all the affairs, and written them a in Clear Book, the Lawh al-Mahfoodh fifty thousand years before the creation of the Heavens and Earth – such that it was apparent to Ādam the lifespans of his progeny from between their eyes.

3. We affirm the two Hands of Allāh, the Mighty and Majestic, and He closes them when He wishes, as and however He wishes without us likening Him to the creation (tamtheel) and without discussing “how” (takyeef). There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing and All-Seeing.

4. The virtue and excellence of the Prophet Dawood (`alaihis-salām), and the fact that the light between his eyes was bright is an indication of the strength of his faith.

5. The ability, skill and intelligence of Ādam (`alaihis-salām) to count and to calculate the differences between the years that he has lived and what remained – and to use that ability to dispute with the Angel of death that had come to take his soul.

6. This hadīth clarifies for us the age of Ādam (`alaihis-salām) that he lived for 1000 years and this corrects what is found in the Torah which states in Genesis 5:5 that he lived for 930 years. The hadīth also informs us concerning the lifespan of Dawood (`alaihis-salām), which was 60 years. Both the Torah (or that which remains of it) and Qur’aan inform us that the people of old would live much longer than people of later times, such as the lifespan of Nooh (`alaihis-salām) who called his people to worship Allāh for 950 years.

7. From the nature of the humans and the son of Ādam is to be resistant and forgetful.

8. The Sharee’ah legislates that dealings and agreements be written down and witnessed to avoid forgetfulness and denial.

9. The fact that early man, Adam and his offspring, including Noah, lived for many centuries is not disputed between the Muslims, Christians and Jews, except by those who have left the teachings of the scriptures and adopted modern-day theories, philosophies shrouded in pseudo-science which is rooted in conjecture and thoughts that are devoid of proofs and reason.

End.


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