The prophecy of Adam, peace be upon him, and his message
Selections from the Book The Story of The Beginning of Creation and The Creation of Adam, peace be upon him …
Written by Dr. Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi...
Episode (92)
Whoever examines the verses regarding the story of Adam (peace be upon him) will find that Allah called upon Adam multiple times, spoke to him directly, and taught him all the names while he was in Paradise. He warned him against eating from that tree and cautioned him about Satan and his enmity towards him. After committing the sin, Adam promptly repented, inspired by Allah. He and his wife called upon their Lord, seeking forgiveness and pardon. This alone is sufficient to establish his prophethood while he was in Paradise; he was a prophet acting under the guidance of Allah. Then, after his expulsion from Paradise, Allah chose him as a Messenger to convey the message to his descendants.
Evidence of this includes:
1- Allah Almighty says: {Indeed, Allah chose Adam and Noah and the family of Abraham and the family of ʿImran over the worlds – (33) Descendants, some of them from others. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing. (34)} [Ali 'Imran: 33-34]. The term 'chose' refers to selection and preference, which, in the terminology of the Holy Quran, means prophethood and messengership.
2- Allah also says: {And indeed they are, to Us, among the chosen and outstanding.} [Sad: 47]. Also, His saying: {Allah chooses from the angels messengers and from the people. Indeed, Allah is Hearing and Seeing.} [Al-Hajj: 47]. It is agreed upon that the intended meaning of this choosing refers to prophethood, thus the choosing of Adam (peace be upon him) is a proof of his prophethood. He is, by consensus, the father of mankind and also the father of the prophets.
3- Among the evidence for the prophethood of Adam (peace be upon him) is Allah's saying in Surah Taha: {Then his Lord chose him and turned to him in forgiveness and guided [him].} [Taha: 122]. The choosing here refers to his selection as a prophet and messenger, and it does not mean that he was chosen merely for repentance, as some interpreters have suggested. This is because Allah distinguished between repentance and choosing by placing one after the other; such conjunction implies a distinction. The meaning is that Adam received Allah’s mercy after he had disobeyed Him, so Allah chose him for the mission, accepted his repentance, and guided him to the straight path.
4- Among the evidence for the prophethood of Adam (peace be upon him) is that when the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was taken up to the highest heavens, he passed through each heaven, and in each heaven, he encountered a prophet. Among those he met was Adam in the lowest heaven, and he did not pass by anyone else during that journey except the prophets. This indicates that Adam (peace be upon him) is one of these prophets, and indeed one of the foremost among them, as he was the first to be visited before other prophets due to being the father of mankind and the first of the prophets.
5- Another piece of evidence for the prophethood of Adam (peace be upon him) is that on the Day of Resurrection, people in the gathering place will seek intercession from the prophets with Allah. They will approach Adam first, then Noah, then Abraham, then Moses, then Jesus, and finally Muhammad (peace be upon them all). The common factor among these whom they seek intercession from is that they are all prophets.
6- Among the evidence for the prophethood of Adam (peace be upon him) is the story of the confusion (the event of the two sons) when each of his sons presented an offering to Allah, as established in His saying: {And recite to them the story of Adam's two sons, in truth, when they both made an offering [to Allah], and it was accepted from one of them but was not accepted from the other.} [Al-Ma'idah: 27]. This indicates that there was a divine law known to them, which they had learned from their father Adam. Allah informed them that the acceptance of the offering from one of the two disputants was a sign of his rightful claim in the matter. Allah Almighty said: {Said [the former], "Indeed, Allah only accepts from the righteous [who fear Him].} [Al-Ma'idah: 27]. This is from the unseen, which can only be known through revelation from Allah.
As for Adam being a prophet, this is unanimously established without doubt. It is transmitted without disagreement, and above that, he is one of the twenty-five mentioned in the Book of Allah, among those whose stories Allah has narrated to us. The various sects of Muslims have agreed to count Adam (peace be upon him) among the prophets and messengers. Their books on creed related to this topic are replete with mentions of this. They have transmitted the knowledge of their successors from their predecessors across all eras and in all regions. This has been evidenced previously, as established by the explicit statements of the Book of Allah and the clear indications of the prophetic tradition.
- Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi, The Story of The Beginning of Creation and The Creation of Adam, peace be upon him, pp. 689-672.
- The Story of Adam, Abu Bakr, p. 91.
For further information and review of the sources for the article, see:
The Book of The Story of The Beginning of Creation and The Creation of Adam, peace be upon him on the official website of Sheikh Dr. Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi:
