`Abd al-Husayn Rejects the Hadith Regarding the Age of Nabi Adam `alayh al-Salam

‘Abdul Hussain Rejects the Hadith Regarding the Age of Prophet Adam ‘alayh al Salam

On page 177, ‘Abdul Hussain says: “His hadith is as follows,

إذ خلق الله آدم فمسح ظهره فسقط من ظهره كل نسمة هو خالقها الى يوم القيامة أمثال الذر ثم جعل بين عيني كل إنسان منهم وبيصاً – أي بريقاً – من نور ثم عرضهم على آدم فقال آدم فقال آدم من هؤلاء يا رب؟ قال: ذريتك فرأى آدم رجلا أعجبه وبيص ما بي عينيه فقال يارب؟ من هذا؟ قال هذا ابنك داود،قال آدم: كم جعلت له من العمر ؟ قال: ستين سنة ، قال: يا رب زده من عمري أربعين سنة حتى يكون عمره مائة سنة ، فقال الله إذن يكتب ويختم فلا يبدل فلما انقضى عمر آدم جاءه ملك الموت لقبض روحه قال آدم : أو لم يبق من عمري أربعون سنة قال له ملك الموت أولم تجعلها لابنك داود ؟ قال فجحد فجحدت ذريته!

When Allah created Prophet Adam ‘alayh al Salam, he passed his hand over his back. As a result, all the beings who were going to be created up until the Day of Qiyamah fell from it in the form of tiny particles. Then Allah placed between the eyes of each human a spark of illumination.

Then, He presented them before Prophet Adam ‘alayh al Salam who asked, “Who are these people, O my Rabb?”

Allah replied, “They are your progeny.”

Prophet Adam ‘alayh al Salam saw a man whose spark between his eyes impressed him. Thus, he said, “O my Rabb, who is this?”

He replied, “He is your son, Dawood.”

Prophet Adam ‘alayh al Salam asked, “How many years of life did You allocate for him?”

Allah replied, “Sixty years.”

Prophet Adam ‘alayh al Salam said, “O my Rabb, add forty years from my age to his, so that he may live for a hundred years.”

Allah replied, “It will be written and sealed. Thereafter, it will not change.”

When the lifespan of Prophet Adam ‘alayh al Salam came to an end, the angel of death appeared before him to remove his soul. Prophet Adam ‘alayh al Salam said, “Do I not have forty years left from my lifespan?”

The Angel of Death replied, “Did you not give that to your son, Dawood?”

He denied it. Consequently, his progeny also denied (matters).^[1]

Our comment: Your infallible Imam also narrated this hadith, just as Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu narrated it. A lengthy hadith is recorded in Tafsir al ‘Ayyashi. Abu Hamzah al Thumali reports from Imam al Baqir rahimahu Llah:

إن الله تبارك وتعالى: فمسح على ظهر آدم ثم صرخ بذريته وهم ذر قال فخرجوا كما يخرج النحل من كورها فاجتمعوا فقال يا آدم هؤلاء ذريتك أخرجتهم من ظهرك لآخذ عليهم الميثاق -إلى أن قال – قال أبو جعفر (ع) ثم عرض الله على آدم أسماء الأنبياء وأعمارهم . قال فمر آدم باسم داود النبي (ع) فاذا عمره أربعون سنة فقال يا رب ما أقل عمر داود وأكثر عمري ؟! يارب إن أنا زدت داود من عمري ثلاثين سنة فانفذ ذلك له وأثبتها له عندك وأطرحها من عمري ، قال ثبت الله لداود من عمره ثلاثين سنة ولم يكن له عند الله مثبتا ومحى من عمر آدم ثلاثين سنة وكانت له عندالله مثبتا فقال أبوجعفر (ع) فذلك قولى: { يَمْحُو اللّٰهُ مَا يَشَآءُ وَ يُثْبِتُ وَعِنْدَهُ أُمُّ الْكِتَبِ } قال: يمحو الله ماكان عنده مثبتا لآدم وأثبته لداود ما لم يكن عنده مثبتا قال فلما دنى عمر آدم هبط عليه ملك الموت ليقبض روحه ، فقال له آدم يا ملك الموت قد بقى من عمري ثلاثون سنة ، وقال له ملك الموت ألم تجعلها لابنك داود النبي واطرحتها من عمرك حيث عرض الله عليك أسماء الأنبياء من ذريتك وعرض عليك أعمارهم وأنت يومئذ بوادي الروحاء ؟ فقال آدم يا ملك الموت ما أذكر هذا ، فقال له ملك الموت يا آدم لا تجهل ألم تسأل الله أن أثبتها لداود ويمحوها من عمرك فاثبتها لداود في الزبور ومحاها من عمرك من الذكر ؟ قال فقال آدم فاحذر الكتاب حتى أعلم ذلك قال أبوجعفر (ع) وكان آدم صادقاً لم يذكر ولم يجهل جود الألفاظ قال أبوجعفر (ع) فمن ذلك اليوم أمر الله العباد أن يكتبوا بينهم إذا تداينوا وتعاملوا إلىأجل مسمى لنسيان آدم وجحود ما جعل على نفسه

Allah, the Most Blessed and Exalted… then he massaged the back of Adam. Then he called out to his progeny, who were the size of a dust particle. They began emerging in the same way as bees emerge from their hives. Then they gathered. Allah said, “O Adam, these (people) are your progeny. I extracted them from your back so that I could take from them the promise…”

Imam al Baqir said, “Then Allah presented to Adam the names of the Prophets along with their lifespans. Adam came across the name of Dawood and found his lifespan to be a mere forty years. Thus, he requested, ‘O my Rabb, how short is the lifespan of Dawood and how lengthy is my lifespan! O my Rabb, I wish to donate thirty years of my lifespan to him, so allow him to have it. Establish it in your records for him and remove it from my lifespan.’ Allah added thirty years to the lifespan of Dawood from Adam, whereas it was not previously established by Allah and Allah removed thirty years from the age of Adam which was previously recorded for him.”

Imam al Baqir said, “That is the meaning of the statement of Allah, ‘Allah eliminates what He wills or confirms, and with Him is the Mother of the Book.’^[2] Allah eliminated that which he had confirmed for Adam and he confirmed for Dawood that which was not previously confirmed for him.

When the end of Adam’s life drew close, the Angel of Death descended to remove his soul. Adam said to him, ‘O Angel of Death, thirty years of my life are outstanding!’

The angel replied, ‘Did you not grant them to your son, Dawood, and remove them from your lifespan when Allah presented to you the names of the Prophets from your progeny as well as their ages? You were at the valley of al Rawha on that day.’

Adam replied, ‘O Angel of Death, I do not remember this.’

The Angel of Death said to him, ‘O Adam, do not be ignorant. Did you not ask Allah to confirm them for Dawood and eliminate them from your lifespan, due to which he confirmed it for Dawood in the Psalms and eliminated them from your age?’

Adam replied, ‘Bring the book, so that I may be convinced.’”

Imam al Baqir said, “Adam was honest. Neither was he lying nor was he acting ignorant.”

Imam al Baqir further said, “From that day onwards, Allah ordered the servants to record in written form when they loan out money and do dealings which involve a stipulated date, as Adam forgot and denied that which he had taken upon himself.”^[3]

Al Majlisi states in Bihar al Anwar:

أقول قد مضت الأخبار في ذلك في أبواب قصص آدم وفي بعضها أنه زاد في عمر داود عليه ستين سنة تمام المائة ، وهو أوفق بسائر الأخبار، والله أعلم

I say, the narrations concerning this have already passed under the chapters of the stories of Adam. Some of them state that he added sixty years to the lifespan of Dawood, bringing it to a total of one hundred years. This is corroborated by all the narrations. Allah knows best.[4]

NEXT⇒ ’Abdul Hussain Rejects the Hadith: “Musa and Adam’s Debate”

^[1] Mustadrak al Hakim, 2/325.

^[2] Surah al Ra’d: 39.

^[3] Al Burhan, 2/301; al La’ali, 1/92-94; al Anwar al No’maniyyah, 4/201,202-1/231; Qisas al Ambiya’, pg. 381; Anwar al Wilayah, pg. 530; Bihar al Anwar, 14/8, 9, # 8; Tafsir Nur al Thaqalayn, 3/464; Furu’ al Kafi, 2/348-349; Mulla Sadra: Tafsir al Qur’an al Karim, 1/333; Kanz al Daqa’iq, 5/133.

[4] Bihar al Anwar, 14/10.

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