Advanced search
Visit
18065
Last Updated: 2010/04/06
Summary of question
Is it believed by the Shia that the creation of Adam was carried out by the hands of Imam Ali (as)?
question
There is a hadith that holds that Imam Ali (as) said that he created Prophet Adam (pbuh) with his own hands. Everyone believes in this, but I recently learned that the hadith isn't authentic. If that is the case then why do people believe in such a thing? Please tell me who has narrated this hadith? Is the narrator a reliable one?
Concise answer

If some people believe that Imam Ali (as) independently created Prophet Adam (pbuh), it will be against the Quran and considered shirk. Not to mention that the creation of Adam by the physical body (hands) of Imam Ali (as) doesn’t comply with existing realities, because his body was created after Prophet Adam’s and in a totally different time, making him one of Prophet Adam’s children and descendants.

Of course taking into consideration the fact that sometimes creation is done through the mediation of others, and there are hadiths that maintain that the light of the infallibles existed before the creation of Adam (pbuh), believing that his creation took place through the mediation of their light won't be shirk and in conflict with Islamic fundamentals, although such a belief itself isn't considered one of the fundamentals of the Shia school of thought, thus more research can be done on it.

Detailed Answer

What is for sure is that according to what one of the verses of the Quran clearly states, Allah (swt) created Adam (pbuh) with his own ‘hands’.[1] This verse and its content are accepted by all Shia scholars and interpreters, leaving no room for any doubt.

On the one hand, after doing a general search in our hadiths, a hadith identical to what you mentioned in your question wasn’t found, but in the future if we stumble upon such a hadith, we will discuss its authenticity and chain of narrators. Also, if you have the Arabic of the hadith, please send it to us so that we can give a more precise answer to your inquiry.

Anyhow, considering other hadiths and Quranic verses, we must say: keeping in mind the following premises, the creation of Prophet Adam’s (pbuh) earthly body through the light of the imams (as), of course with another explanation other than what might be common amongst people, is something possible and will not clash with the verse we mentioned either.

We would like to draw your attention to these premises:

1- According to the Shia and many of the Sunnis, Allah (swt) bears no material body allowing us to say He is made of different parts and consider Him similar to other beings and creatures. That’s why we can't take some Quranic verses that attribute physical parts such as a face[2], hand[3], foot[4], eye[5], ear[6], etc. to Him for their literal meaning and are actually figures of speech that have an inner meaning and must be interpreted as Allah’s (swt) knowledge, power, existence, etc. This is why for instance when it is said that Adam (pbuh) was created by the hand of Allah (swt), what is meant is that he was created by the power of Allah (swt).

2- In many cases, Allah (swt) attributes what others apparently have done themselves and with their own hands to Himself, for example, He says that He is the one who provides the people with ships[7], although we all know that it is man who builds the ship, not Allah (swt)!

Of course, since man’s power is in continuation and a part of Allah’s (swt), explaining such a verse and understanding its true meaning isn't difficult, and in a sense, man and everything he has made are in reality, a creation of Allah's (swt).[8]

3- According to some ahadith, the creation of the light of the imams (as) has taken place before the creation of Adam (pbuh). The prophet of Islam (pbuh) says: “When Prophet Adam (pbuh) was still amongst water and clay [hadn’t been created yet], I was a prophet.”[9] Similar to this hadith is another one that speaks of the chronological precedence of Imam Ali’s (as) imamate in relation to the creation of Adam (pbuh).[10] There are countless other hadiths that disclose the same meaning with different phrasings.

4- Imam Ali (as) was without a doubt one of the signs of Allah's (swt) might and power and because of this, he is called “The Hand of Allah” (ید الله). He himself in a hadith says: “أَنَا عَیْنُ اللَّهِ وَ أَنَا یَدُ اللَّهِ وَ أَنَا جَنْبُ اللَّهِ وَ أَنَا بَابُ اللَّهِ” (I am the eye of Allah, the hand of Allah, the side of Allah, and the path to Allah).[11]

Keeping all of the above in mind, if anyone believes that Prophet Adam (pbuh) was created by the hands of Imam Ali (as), it will mean that Allah (swt) created him through one of the manifestations of His power, meaning the light of Imam Ali (as) that was created from before, not that the physical body of Imam Ali (as) independently did such a thing.

On this basis, although the scale of belief in the matter you mentioned isn't as you put it, nevertheless, if anyone believes in it, it won't be in conflict with the accepted fundamentals of Islam, thus not causing those who might say so to be kafirs and mushriks.

At the same time, it can't be said that believing in Imam Ali (as) creating Prophet Adam (pbuh) with his own hands is something that can't be denied in the Shia school of thought, on the contrary, it can be questioned and researched about.

In the end, we would be grateful if you could send us the Arabic text of this hadith.



[1] Sad:75 “قالَ یا إِبْلیسُ ما مَنَعَکَ أَنْ تَسْجُدَ لِما خَلَقْتُ بِیَدَیَّ أَسْتَکْبَرْتَ أَمْ کُنْتَ مِنَ الْعالین”.

[2] Qisas:88 “کُلُّ شَیْ‏ءٍ هالِکٌ إِلاَّ وَجْهَه”.

[3] Ma’idah:64 بَلْ یَداهُ مَبْسُوطَتان ; Fath:10 “یَدُ اللَّهِ فَوْقَ أَیْدیهِم

[4] Qalam:42 “یَوْمَ یُکْشَفُ عَنْ ساق”.

[5] Taha:39 “وَ لِتُصْنَعَ عَلى‏ عَیْنی

[6] Ale-Imran:181 “لَقَدْ سَمِعَ اللَّهُ قَوْلَ الَّذین”; Mujadalah:1.

[7] Ibrahim:32 “وَ سَخَّرَ لَکُمُ الْفُلْکَ”.

[8] Saffat:96 “وَ اللَّهُ خَلَقَکُمْ وَ ما تَعْمَلُون

[9] Ahsa’i, Ibn Abi Jumhur, Awalil-La’ali, vol. 4, pg.121, hadith 200.

[10] Ibid, pg. 124, hadith 208 “کنت وصیا و آدم بین الماء و الطین”.

[11] Kuleini, Muhammad ibn Yaqub, Kafi, vol. 1, pg. 145, hadith 8.

Question translations in other languages
Comments
Number of comments 0
Please enter the value
Example : Yourname@YourDomane.ext
Please enter the value
Please enter the value

Thematic Category

Random questions

  • What is the meaning of self-consciousness according to the Holy Quran?
    17982 Exegesis 2015/04/18
    According to the Quran, self-consciousness means realization of one's own self through nourishing or nurturing and reviving one's own inner and inborn talents and potentialities followed by a profound understanding of the realities of the universe and divine attributes. Self-consciousness has various degrees and it is of ...
  • Is there a problem in paying off one's debt in the evening or after dark?
    7251 Laws and Jurisprudence 2009/03/12
    Continue... ...
  • Will a husband and wife, after leaving this world, live together in paradise?
    14652 Traditional 2009/10/22
    The specific conditions and details of how we will live in the next world are not completely known to anyone except the infallibles (masoomeen). With this in mind the relationship between a husband and a wife is something that is related to this world and pious women are ...
  • What is the meaning of mutawatir and ma'roof traditions?
    10523 Contextual study 2014/10/01
    For information about the meaning of mutawatir traditions and its various types, see index "the criterion for verbal, spiritual and ambiguous mutawatir traditions", question 2412. Ma'ruf Hadith Different definitions have been presented for Ma'ruf tradition: 1. A ma'ruf tradition is one whose text and it is content ...
  • How can I repent from an illegitimate sexual relationship I had with one whom I planned to marry?
    9030 Laws and Jurisprudence 2010/11/22
    Zina or fornication (in Islamic terms, which is the subject of certain Islamic laws) means for a man’s penis to enter the vagina or anus of a woman until the glans is completely enveloped without the two being married or at least ‘similar to married’ (“similar to married” ...
  • Is it permissible to eat chips containing porcine enzymes?
    8238 Laws and Jurisprudence 2012/01/19
    The grand maraji’ responded to this inquiry like this:The office of the grand Ayatullah Khamenei:In the case of the question it isn't permissible.The office of the grand Ayatullah Makarem Shirazi:It isn’t permissible.The office of the grand Ayatullah Safi Golpaygani:If ...
  • Please let me how to get rid of masturbation?
    10527 Practical 2015/01/05
    Sin is like a foul-smelling swamp full of sewage; the more one sinks into it, the less he senses its smell, because he actually loses his sense of smell and can't tell that he is drowning anymore. At the same time, anytime one makes a strong decision ...
  • Is the story of the wedding of Hadrat Qasim in Karbala true or false?
    31431 تاريخ بزرگان 2012/10/01
    One of the concocted stories regarding the epic of Ashura is the story of the marriage of Qasim bin Al-Hasan (as), a story which has no basis and which has not been related by any authentic and reliable sources. In addition, such a thing is not rationally ...
  • Do my feet become najis when I walk on wet pavement that a dog has walked on?
    10868 Laws and Jurisprudence 2008/07/21
    If rainwater or any other water gathers in a ditch and is less than kur (there is a difference of opinion on what amount is exactly kur, and there are different ways of measuring it, according to Imam Khomeini, one way is that if ...
  • What is the Sunni opinion on Bilal al-Habashi?
    14612 تاريخ بزرگان 2008/07/02
    What Sunni references say about the great sahabi, Bilal, is that he was freed by Abu Bakr, a resistant believer against the tortures of the Kuffar, the Prophet's Mu'adhin, and one of the Mujahidin (soldiers) of Islam in different battles alongside the Prophet (pbuh). After the Prophet's demise, he ...

Popular