Tarikh (al-Tabari) 59
The story of the creation of Adam (peace be upon him)
إِخْرَاجِ ذُرِّيَّةِ آدَمَ مِنْ ظَهْرِهِ وَأَخْذِ الْمِيثَاقِ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ قَالَ: "أَخَذَ اللَّهُ الْمِيثَاقَ مِنْ ظَهْرٍ آَدَمَ بِنُعْمَانَ - يَعْنِي عَرَفَةَ - فَأَخْرَجَ مِنْ صُلْبِهِ كُلَّ ذُرِّيَةٍ ذَرَأَهَا فَنَثَرَهُمْ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ كَالذَّرِّ، ثُمَّ كَلَّمَهُمْ قَبْلًا، قَالَ: أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ قَالُوا بَلَى شَهِدْنَا أَنْ تَقُولُوا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِنَّا كُنَّا عَنْ هَذَا غَافِلِينَ. وعَنْ أُبَيِّ بْنِ كَعْبٍ فِي قَوْلِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِنْ بَنِي آدَمَ مِنْ ظُهُورِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ ، قَالَ: جَمَعَهُمْ فَجَعَلَهُمْ أَزْوَاجًا ثُمَّ صَوَّرَهُمْ وَاسْتَنْطَقَهُمْ فَتَكَلَّمُوا ثُمَّ أَخَذَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْعَهْدَ وَالْمِيثَاقَ وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ قَالَ: فَإِنِّي أُشْهِدُ عَلَيْكُمُ السَّمَوَاتِ السَّبْعَ وَالْأَرْضِينَ السَّبْعَ وَأُشْهِدُ عَلَيْكُمْ أَبَاكُمْ آدَمَ أَنْ تَقُولُوا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ لَمْ نَعْلَمْ بِهَذَا، اعْلَمُوا أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ غَيْرِي، وَلَا تُشْرِكُوا بِي شَيْئًا، سَأُرْسِلُ إِلَيْكُمْ رُسُلِي يَذَكِّرُونَكُمْ عَهْدِي وَمِيثَاقِي، وَأُنْزِلُ عَلَيْكُمْ كُتُبِي، قَالُوا: شَهِدْنَا بِأَنَّكَ رَبَّنَا وَإِلَهَنَا لَا رَبَّ لَنَا غَيْرُكَ، فَرَفَعَ عَلَيْهِمْ آَدَمُ يَنْظُرُ إِلَيْهُمْ فَرَأَى الْغَنِيَّ وَالْفَقِيرَ وَالْحَسَنَ الصُّورَةَ وَدُونَ ذَلِكَ، فَقَالَ: يَا رَبِّ أَلَا سَوَّيْتَ بَيْنَ عِبَادِكَ، فَقَالَ: إِنِّي أَحْبَبْتُ أَنْ أُشْكَرَ، وَرَأَى [ آدَمُ ] الْأَنْبِيَاءَ فِيهِمْ مِثْلَ السُّرُجِ عَلَيْهِمُ النُّورُ، خُصُّوا بِمِيثَاقٍ أُخْرَى فِي الرِّسَالَةِ وَالنُّبُوَّةِ، وَهُوَ قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِنَ النَّبِيِّينَ مِيثَاقَهُمْ... إِلَى قَوْلِهِ... وَعِيسَى ابْنِ مَرْيَمَ وَكَانَ فِي تِلْكَ الْأَرْوَاحِ. أَخْبَرَنَا ابْنُ الْحُصَيْنِ، وعَنْ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ، أَنَّهُ قَالَ: "إِنَّ اللَّهَ -عَزَّ وَجَلَّ- خَلَقَ آَدَمَ ثُمَّ مَسَحَ ظَهْرَهُ بِيَمِينِهِ فَاسْتَخْرَجَ مِنْهُ ذُرَّيَّةً، فَقَالَ: خَلَقْتُ هَؤُلَاءِ لِلْجَنَّةِ وَبِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ يَعْمَلُونَ، ثُمَّ مَسَحَ عَلَى ظَهْرِهِ فَاسْتَخْرَجَ [مِنْهُ] ذُرَّيَّةً، فَقَالَ: خَلَقْتُ هَؤُلَاءِ لِلنَّارِ وَبِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ [يَعْمَلُونَ] ". فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ فَفِيمَ الْعَمَلُ؟ فَقَالَ: "إِنَّ اللَّهَ -عَزَّ وَجَلَّ- إِذَا خَلَقَ الْعَبْدَ لِلْجَنَّةِ اسْتَعْمَلَهُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ فَيَدْخُلُ بِهِ الْجَنَّةَ، فَإِذَا خَلَقَ الْعَبْدَ لِلنَّارِ اسْتَعْمَلَهُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ حَتَّى يَمُوتَ عَلَى عَمَلٍ مِنْ عَمَلِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ فَيُدْخِلَهُ بِهِ النَّارَ". وعَنِ [ابْنِ] عَبَّاسٍ، قَالَ: لَمَّا نَزَلَتْ آيَةُ الدَّيْنِ، قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: "إِنَّ أَوَّلَ مَنْ جَحَدَ آدَمُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ ، إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى لَمَّا خَلَقَ آدَمَ مَسَحَ ظَهْرَهُ فَأَخْرَجَ مِنْهُ مَا هُوَ ذَارٍ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ، فَجَعَلَ يَعْرِضُ عَلَيْهِ ذُرِّيَتَهُ، فَرَأَى فِيهِمْ رَجُلًا يَزْهَرُ، فَقَالَ: أَيْ رَبِّ مَنْ هَذَا؟ قَالَ: ابْنُكَ دَاوُدُ، قَالَ: أَيْ رَبِّ كَمْ عُمْرُهُ؟ قَالَ: سِتُّونَ عَامًا، قَالَ: أَيْ رَبِّ زِدْ فِي عُمْرِهِ، قَالَ: لَا إِلَّا أَنْ أَزِيدَهُ مِنْ عُمْرِكَ - وَكَانَ عُمْرُ آدَمَ أَلْفَ عَامٍ - فَزَادَهُ [مِنْ عُمْرِهِ] أَرْبَعِينَ عَامًا فَكَتَبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ بِذَلِكَ كِتَابًا، وَأَشْهَدَ عَلَيْهِ الْمَلَائِكَةَ، فَلَمَّا احْتُضِرَ آدَمُ وَأَتَتْهُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ لِتَقْبِضَهُ، قَالَ: إِنَّهُ قَدْ بَقِيَ مِنْ عُمْرِي أَرْبَعُونَ عَامًا، فَقِيلَ: إِنَّكَ وَهَبْتَهَا لِابْنِكَ دَاوُدَ، قَالَ: مَا فَعَلْتُ، فَأَبْرَزَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ الْكِتَابَ، وَأَشْهَدَ عَلَيْهِ الْمَلَائِكَةَ". وَقَدْ رَوَاهُ الْحَسَنُ بْنُ الْأَشِيبِ، عَنْ حَمَّادٍ فَزَادَ فِيهِ: "... ثُمَّ أَكْمَلَ اللَّهُ لآَدَمَ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ، وَأَكْمَلَ لِدَاوُدَ مِائَةَ سَنَةٍ". وهَذِهِ الْأَحَادِيثُ كُلُّهَا دَالَّةٌ عَلَى اسْتِخْرَاجِهِ تَعَالَى ذُرِّيَّةَ آدَمَ مِنْ ظَهْرِهِ كَالذَّرِّ ، وَقِسْمَتِهِمْ قِسْمَيْنِ ; أَهْلِ الْيَمِينِ، وَأَهْلِ الشَّمَالِ. وَقَالَ: هَؤُلَاءِ لِلْجَنَّةِ وَلَا أُبَالِي، وَهَؤُلَاءِ لِلنَّارِ وَلَا أُبَالِي. فَأَمَّا الْإِشْهَادُ عَلَيْهِمْ، وَاسْتِنْطَاقُهُمْ بِالْإِقْرَارِ بِالْوَحْدَانِيَّةِ فَلَمْ يَجِئْ فِي الْأَحَادِيثِ الثَّابِتَةِ، وَتَفْسِيرُ الْآيَةِ الَّتِي فِي سُورَةِ الْأَعْرَافِ، وَحَمْلُهَا عَلَى هَذَا فِيهِ نَظَرٌ وَاسْتَأْنَسَ الْقَائِلُونَ بِهَذَا الْقَوْلِ ; وَهُوَ أَخْذُ الْمِيثَاقِ عَلَى الذُّرِّيَّةِ وَهُمُ الْجُمْهُورُ بِمَا قَالَ الْإِمَامُ أَحْمَدُ بسنده عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ قَالَ: يُقَالُ لِلرَّجُلِ مِنْ أَهْلِ النَّارِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ: لَوْ كَانَ لَكَ مَا عَلَى الْأَرْضِ مِنْ شَيْءٍ أَكُنْتَ مُفْتَدِيًا بِهِ. قَالَ: فَيَقُولُ: نَعَمْ. فَيَقُولُ: قَدْ أَرَدْتُ مِنْكَ مَا هُوَ أَهْوَنُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ، قَدْ أَخَذْتُ عَلَيْكَ فِي ظَهْرِ آدَمَ أَنْ لَا تُشْرِكَ بِي شَيْئًا فَأَبَيْتَ إِلَّا أَنْ تُشْرِكَ بِي. أَخْرَجَاهُ مِنْ حَدِيثِ شُعْبَةَ بِهِ.
Translation
✧ THE EXTRACTION OF ADAM'S PROGENY FROM HIS BACK AND THE TAKING OF THE COVENANT On the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, from the Prophet ﷺ, who said: "Allah took the covenant from Adam's back at Nuʿmān—that is, ʿArafah—and brought forth from his loins every progeny He had created, and scattered them before Him like tiny ants. Then He spoke to them face to face, saying: 'Am I not your Lord?' They said: 'Yes, we bear witness,' lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection: 'Indeed, we were unaware of this.'" And on the authority of Ubayy b. Kaʿb regarding the saying of Allah, Mighty and Majestic: "And [mention] when your Lord took from the children of Adam—from their loins—their descendants" (Q 7:172), he said: "He gathered them and made them pairs, then He formed them and made them speak, and they spoke. Then He took from them the covenant and the pledge, and made them bear witness against themselves: 'Am I not your Lord?' They said: 'Yes, we bear witness,' lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection, 'We did not know of this.' He said: 'Indeed, I call upon the seven heavens and the seven earths to witness against you, and I call upon your father Adam to witness against you, lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection, "We did not know of this." Know that there is no god but Me, and do not associate anything with Me. I shall send to you My messengers to remind you of My covenant and My pledge, and I shall send down to you My books.' They said: 'We bear witness that You are our Lord and our God; we have no Lord other than You.' Then Adam was raised above them and looked at them, and he saw the rich and the poor, the handsome in form and those below that, and he said: 'O Lord, why did You not make Your servants equal?' He said: 'I love to be thanked.' And Adam saw the prophets among them like lamps, upon them light; they were singled out with another covenant regarding the message and prophethood. That is His saying, Exalted is He: 'And [mention] when We took from the prophets their covenant...' up to His saying: '...and Jesus, the son of Mary' (Q 33:7), and he was among those spirits. Ibn al-Ḥuṣayn informed us, and on the authority of ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb, from the Prophet ﷺ, that he said: "Indeed, Allah—Mighty and Majestic—created Adam, then wiped his back with His right hand and extracted from him a progeny, and said: 'I created these for Paradise, and they will act with the deeds of the people of Paradise.' Then He wiped his back and extracted [from him] a progeny, and said: 'I created these for the Fire, and they will act with the deeds of the people of the Fire.'" A man said: "O Messenger of Allah, then what is the point of deeds?" He said: "Indeed, when Allah—Mighty and Majestic—creates a servant for Paradise, He employs him in the deeds of the people of Paradise, and he enters Paradise by them; and when He creates a servant for the Fire, He employs him in the deeds of the people of the Fire until he dies upon a deed from the deeds of the people of the Fire, and He enters him into the Fire by it." And on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: When the verse of debt was revealed, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Indeed, the first to deny was Adam ﷺ. When Allah, Exalted is He, created Adam, He wiped his back and brought forth from him what He had created until the Day of Resurrection, and He began presenting his descendants to him. He saw among them a man shining brightly, and said: 'O Lord, who is this?' He said: 'Your son David.' He said: 'O Lord, how long is his lifespan?' He said: 'Sixty years.' He said: 'O Lord, increase his lifespan.' He said: 'No, unless I increase it from your lifespan'—and Adam's lifespan was one thousand years—so He increased it [from his lifespan] by forty years. Allah wrote a document for that and made the angels witness it. When Adam was nearing death and the angels came to take his soul, he said: 'There remain of my lifespan forty years.' It was said: 'You gave them to your son David.' He said: 'I did not do that.' Then Allah brought forth the document and made the angels witness against him." Al-Ḥasan b. al-Ashyab narrated it from Ḥammād and added: "...Then Allah completed for Adam one thousand years, and completed for David one hundred years." All of these hadiths indicate that Allah, Exalted is He, extracted Adam's progeny from his back like tiny ants, and divided them into two groups: the people of the right and the people of the left. He said: "These are for Paradise, and I do not care, and these are for the Fire, and I do not care." As for making them bear witness and making them speak with the acknowledgment of divine oneness, that has not come in the sound hadiths. The interpretation of the verse in Sūrat al-Aʿrāf (Q 7:172) and applying it to this is questionable. Those who hold this view—that is, that the covenant was taken from the progeny, and they are the majority—find support in what Imām Aḥmad narrated with his chain from Anas b. Mālik, from the Prophet ﷺ, who said: "It will be said to a man from the people of the Fire on the Day of Resurrection: 'If you had all that is on the earth, would you ransom yourself with it?' He will say: 'Yes.' Then He will say: 'I asked of you what was easier than that: I took from you in the back of Adam that you should not associate anything with Me, but you refused unless you associated with Me.'" Bukhārī and Muslim transmitted it from the hadith of Shuʿbah.
Grades by grader
No grade is recorded for this wording.