Ibn Majah

1؎: The wording of the narration in Sahih Muslim is as follows: «ليس من الإنسان شئ إلا يبلى إلا عظما واحدا» "Everything of the human being will decay except for one bone." And in another narration, the wording is: «إن في الإنسان عظما لا تأكله الأرض أبدا فيه يركب يوم القيامة، قالوا: أي عظم هو قال: عظم الذنب» "There is a bone in the human being which the earth will never consume; on the Day of Resurrection, the creation will be reconstructed from it." The people asked, "O Messenger of Allah, which bone is that?" He said, "It is the tailbone (coccyx)." In Al-Mustadrak ‘ala al-Sahihayn and Musnad Abi Ya‘la, in the hadith of Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri radi Allahu anhu, it is stated: «قيل: يارسول الله! ما عجب الذنب؟ قال: مثل حبة خردل» "It was asked, 'O Messenger of Allah! What is the tailbone?' He replied, 'It is like a mustard seed.'" «عجب»: With the fathah on the ‘ayn and sukun on the jeem, and it is also called «عجم». It is a fine bone at the root of the spinal column; this is the tip of the tailbone, and it is the tip of the fine bone of the spine from all sides. In the marfu‘ hadith of Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri radi Allahu anhu, as narrated by Ibn Abi al-Dunya, Abu Dawud, and al-Hakim, it is stated that it is like a mustard seed. ‘Allamah Ibn al-Jawzi says that Ibn ‘Aqil said: Allah, Lord of Might and Majesty, has a secret in this, the knowledge of which is with Him alone, because the One who brings into existence from non-existence is not in need of anything to make the foundation of a new creation. It is possible that Allah has made it a sign for the angels so that they may resurrect every human being with his essence, and the angels will only know this in such a way that the bone of every person remains and exists, so that they may know that the souls are returned to their bodies through these components. And as for what is mentioned in the hadith: «ويبلى كل شئ من الإنسان» "Everything of the human being will decay," there is the possibility that what is meant is its annihilation, i.e., its components will be completely finished. There is also the possibility that what is meant is its melting and decomposition, so the known form will be lost and it will become like soil, then in its reconstitution it will return to its original state. According to some commentators of hadith, what is meant is the long duration of its persistence, not that the bone will never perish in essence. The wisdom in this is that this bone is the foundation of human creation, which is the hardest of all, like the foundation of a wall, and when it is harder, it will have greater lasting endurance. However, this is refuted because it is contrary to the apparent meaning, and there is no evidence for it. And the scholars say that this hadith is general, but what is meant specifically are the Prophets, because the earth will not consume their bodies. Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr included the martyrs with them, and Qurtubi included the muezzin who seeks reward. Qadi ‘Iyad says that the meaning of the hadith will be that every person will be consumed by the earth, but many bodies, such as those of the Prophets, will not be consumed by the earth. In the hadith, «إلا عجب ذنبه» is mentioned, meaning "only the tailbone will remain in the human body." The majority, considering the apparent meaning, say that the tailbone will neither decay nor will the earth consume it. Muzani, opposing this, said that «إلا» here is in the meaning of the conjunction "wa" (and), i.e., the tailbone will also become old. This meaning has been established by Farra’ and Akhfash; they say that «واو» comes in the meaning of «إلا». The unique and solitary opinion of Muzani is refuted by the explicit statement in the hadith as narrated by Hammam, that the earth will never consume it, and in the narration of A‘raj: «منہ خلق». This implies that it was the first to be created in man. The hadith of Salman radi Allahu anhu: «إن أول ما خلق من آدم رأسه» is not in contradiction, because reconciliation and harmonization between the two is possible in such a way that this refers to Adam alayhis salam, and the creation of the tailbone is first in the children of Adam, or the intent of Salman radi Allahu anhu’s statement is that the soul was breathed into Adam, not that his body was created. (See: Fath al-Bari 8/552-553, Hadith No. 4814)