Adam (AS) is the first human and the first prophet. According to some Islamic narrations, after being expelled from paradise, Adam settled in Mecca. His repentance was accepted in Mecca, and he was the one who built the Kaaba. He was also the first to learn the rituals of Hajj from the Gabriel and performed the pilgrimage many times.

Lexicology

The name "Adam" is used in the Quran and the two Testaments to refer to the first human, and with slight variations, it is used in other Semitic languages such as Phoenician, Hebrew, Syriac, and Mandean. In addition to being a proper noun, it is also used as a generic term equivalent to the word "human."[1]

Creation

Abrahamic religions, as well as other religions and beliefs of Semitic people, narrate a relatively similar story of the creation and establishment of the first human. In the Quran (for example, Surah Al-Baqarah, verses 30-38; Surah Al-A'raf, verses 19-25) and the Old Testament,(Genesis: 1:26-30; 2:7.) the story of Prophet Adam, including the creation from clay, the formation of the body, and the infusion of the soul, is detailed. Different perspectives on each of these stages and various aspects, especially the concept of instantaneous or gradual creation, are discussed in various interpretations.[2]Some, based on scientific findings and certain narratives, argue that humans existed before Adam.[3]

Descent to Mecca

After Adam (AS) and his wife Hawwa (Eve) ate the forbidden fruit, they descended from paradise to Earth, accompanied by Satan. Various interpretations have been proposed regarding the type of paradise, the manner of descent, and the philosophy behind eating the forbidden fruit.[4]

In the Quran and the Torah, the exact location of the descent is not specified. In Islamic traditions, several perspectives on this matter have been presented. According to a narration attributed to Imam Ali (AS), Adam descended in the Sarandib region of India, and Hawwa descended in Jeddah.[5] Another report suggests that Adam descended on Mount Safa and Hawwa on Mount Marwah, with the naming of Safa commemorating Adam's title "Safi Allah" and the naming of Marwah related to the descent of this woman.[6] The more well-known account in traditions is that Adam and Hawwa descended in the land of Mecca.[7] Some also reconcile between these narratives, considering the descent to have occurred in two stages: first in Sarandib and then in Mecca.[8]

Descent of the Black Stone(حجر الأسود)

In some narratives, the descent of the Black Stone from paradise is mentioned along with the descent of Adam (AS).[9] Other accounts specifically attribute the descent of the Black Stone(حجر الأسود) to Adam(AS).[10]

Repentance of Adam in Mecca

Regarding the acceptance of Adam's repentance, it is mentioned that after the descent of Gabriel to the ka'ba, his light covered the entire sacred precinct. Then, Adam was instructed to perform the ritual bath on the Day of Tarwiyah, wear the ihram, and perform the circumambulation (tawaf) in Mina. Finally, in Arafat, he received words from Gabriel, uttering which his repentance was accepted, and from then on, he proceeded to perform the rest of the Hajj rituals.[11]

The Role of Adam in the Construction of the Ka'ba

The role of Prophet Adam (AS) in the construction of the Ka'ba depends on different views about the time of the Kaaba's origin, leading to variations in opinions. In some Shia and Sunni narrations, the existence of the Kaaba before Adam (AS) is mentioned,[12] and reports of angels performing the pilgrimage before Adam support this idea.[13] In some reports, the history of the Kaaba dates back more than 2000 years before the (دَحْو الارض)Earth's creation.[14]

Commentators often discuss these narratives in light of the verse {إِنَّ أَوَّلَ بَیتٍ وُضِعَ لِلنَّاسِ لَلَّذِی بِبَکةَ مُبَارَکا...} (Quran:3:96) and consider this verse as supporting those narratives.[15] In another category of narratives, Adam is considered the first founder of the Ka'ba, and also Jerusalem.[16] In a narration by Wahb b. Munabbih, Seth, the son of Adam, is introduced as the builder of the Ka'ba.[17]

Many scholars and interpreters, based on certain narrations, consider Prophet Abraham (AS) as the first founder of the Ka'ba,[18] not attributing any role to Adam in this regard. Some, considering the explicit mention in the Quran regarding Abraham's role in building the Ka'ba, do not find the narrations about Adam's role and his pilgrimage credible.[19] Some gather narratives about the construction of the Kaaba, suggesting that angels built it before Adam's descent, and later, Adam, then Seth, and finally, Abraham revived and reconstructed it.[20]

Hajj of Adam

In the book al-Kafi, which is one of the primary sources of Shia hadith, there is a dedicated section on the Hajj of Adam, and detailed explanations of his pilgrimage are mentioned in several narrations.[21] According to these narrations, the angel Gabriel taught Adam the rituals of Hajj step by step as follows:

1. Gabriel first took Adam to 'Arafat and instructed him to seek forgiveness during the evening. 2. Then, they went to Baitul Muqaddas (Jerusalem), where Gabriel recommended seeking forgiveness during sunrise. 3. Afterward, they went to Mina and performed the sacrifice, stoning the pillars, and performing the acts of Halq (shaving) and Taqsir (trimming). 4. Finally, the rituals of Tawaf, including the seven rounds of Tawaf and Tawaf of the Women, were taught to Adam. Gabriel (AS) assisted Adam in performing the acts of Halq, sacrifice, and other Hajj rituals.[22]

The number of Hajj rituals of Adam

There are differences regarding the number of Hajj rituals performed by Adam, including 30,[23] 40,[24] 70,[25] 700,[26] or 1000.[27] These numbers are typically mentioned in narrations from non-infallible sources or transmitted traditions.

Notes

  1. Jeffrey, Wāzhihāy-i dakhī dar Qurā-i Majīd, p. 106-107.
  2. Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, vol. 4, p. 143; vol. 16, p. 255.
  3. Sharīʿatī and others, Feasibility study of the proofs of the theory that Adam, peace be upon him, is the father of mankind, emphasizing verse 1 of Nisa, p. 164.
  4. Fakhr al-Rāzī, Al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr, vol. 3, p. 2-28; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, vol. 1, p. 126-154.
  5. Ṣadūq, ʿIlal al-sharāʾiʿ, vol. 2, p. 595; Maybudī, Kashf al-asrār, vol. 1, p. 151; Fakhr al-Rāzī, Al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr, vol. 3, p. 27; Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 11, p. 111; vol. 61, p. 274.
  6. Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, vol. 4, p. 190; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, vol. 1, p. 139.
  7. ʿAyyāshī, Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, vol. 1, p. 36-39; Ibn Abī l-Ḥātam, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿaẓīm, vol. 1, p. 88; Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, vol. 4, p. 190.
  8. Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, vol. 1, p. 150.
  9. Ṣadūq, Kamāl al-dīn, p. 294, 298; ʿIzz al-Dīn ʿAbd al-salām, Tafsīr al-ʿIzz al-Dīn, vol. 3, p. 289.
  10. Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, vol. 4, p. 185; Ṣadūq, ʿIlal al-sharāʾiʿ, vol. 2, p. 318.
  11. Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī, vol. 1, p. 44-45.
  12. Shāfiʿī, Musnad al-Shāfiʿī, p. 116; Ṣadūq, Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh, vol. 2, p. 250.
  13. Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, vol. 4, p. 194; Ṣadūq, Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh, vol. 2, p. 230; Suyūṭī, Al-Durr al-manthūr, vol. 1, p. 130.
  14. Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, vol. 4, p. 198; Bayhaqī, Sunan al-kubrā, vol. 5, p. 177.
  15. Ṭabarī, Jāmiʾ al-bayān, vol. 1, p. 762.
  16. Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, vol. 4, p. 188; Aynī, ʿUmdat al-qarī, vol. 15, p. 262; Suyūṭī, Sharḥ al-sunan al-nisāʾī, vol. 2, p. 33.
  17. Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, Al-Istidhkār, vol. 4, p. 185; Qurṭubī, Tafsīr al-Qurtubī, vol. 2, p. 122; Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī, Fatḥ al-bārī, vol. 6, p. 285.
  18. Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, vol. 4, p. 116; Ṭabarī, Jāmiʾ al-bayān, vol. 1, p. 763; Ibn Kathīr al-Dimashqī, Tafsīr al-Qurʾān al-ʿaẓīm, vol. 3, p. 226.
  19. Rashīd Riḍā, al-manār, vol. 1, p. 383.
  20. Ālūsī, Rūḥ al-maʿānī, vol. 4, p. 5.
  21. Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, vol. 4, p. 190-197.
  22. Kulaynī, Al-Kāfī, vol. 4, p. 196-197.
  23. Ṣadūq, ʿIlal al-sharāʾiʿ, vol. 2, p. 594.
  24. Thaʿālibī, Tafsīr al-thaʿālibī, vol. 1, p. 274; Baghawī, Tafsir al-Baghawī, vol. 1, p. 115; Ibn Athīr al-Jazarī, Al-Kāmil fī l-tārīkh, vol. 1, p. 38.
  25. Ṣadūq, ʿUyūn akhbār al-Riḍā, vol. 2, p. 220; Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa, vol. 24, p. 148; Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 10, p. 78.
  26. Ṣadūq, Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh, vol. 2, p. 229; Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa, vol. 11, p. 128.
  27. Ibn Khuzayma, Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzayma, vol. 4, p. 245;Ibn Abi al-Jumhūr, ʿAwālī al-liʾālī, vol. 2, p. 97; Muʿizzī Malāyirī, Jāmiʿ aḥādīth al-Shīʿa, vol. 10, p. 460.

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