Adab al-Mufrad

Benefits and Issues:
➊ Allah, the Exalted, created Adam (alayhis salam) with His own hand. He honored and dignified him to the extent that He commanded the angels to prostrate before him. The chain of prophets and messengers was continued in his progeny. Likewise, in terms of creation, Adam (alayhis salam) was made the most complete and in the best form. The form and appearance that was granted to him is so perfect that it is not possible for anyone to create a human more beautiful than him. The statement of Allah, the Exalted, is: ﴿لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْاِنْسَانَ في اَحْسَن تَقْوِیْم﴾ “We have certainly created man in the best of stature.” Therefore, supplicating for the disfigurement of this form is extremely reprehensible.

➋ What is the meaning of “ala suratihi” (“upon his image”)? The first meaning is the one we have already mentioned while translating the hadith, and this is the preferred meaning. In this case, the pronoun in “suratihi” refers to the person of Adam (alayhis salam). An objection is raised here that “Allah created Adam upon his image” seems meaningless and is a redundant statement, which is not needed. Imam Ibn Hibban rahimahullah, while answering this objection, has stated: Allah, the Exalted, created all animals whose bodies grow through the process of procreation, and they are born after passing through the stages of creation such as the sperm-drop (nutfah), the clinging clot (‘alaqah), the lump of flesh (mudghah), etc. Allah, the Exalted, kept Adam (alayhis salam) free from all these conditions and created him with special care. This is also supported by a narration in the two Sahihs:

((Allah created Adam upon his image, his height being sixty cubits...))
“Allah, the Exalted, created Adam (alayhis salam) in his special form, such that his height was sixty cubits...” (Al-Ihsan bi Tartib Sahih Ibn Hibban: 8/12,13)

The second meaning that has been given is that “Allah, the Exalted, created Adam (alayhis salam) upon His own image.” This meaning is, in several respects, less preferred:

1. This would entail resemblance (tashbih), which is disbelief, and the statement of Allah, the Exalted, is: “There is nothing like unto Him.” (Laysa kamithlihi shay’)
2. In “ala suratihi,” the pronoun, as a principle, should refer to the nearest antecedent, which is the word “Adam,” not the word “Allah.”
3. The narration in which the words “ala surat al-Rahman” (“upon the image of the Most Merciful”) appear is munkar (rejected), as Shaykh al-Albani rahimahullah has discussed in detail in Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Da‘ifah, no. 1176.

➌ From another narration, it is understood that one who curses in this manner is also cursing our master Adam (alayhis salam), because every human’s face, in any case, resembles that of Adam (alayhis salam).