Majma al-Zawaid — Hadith 13747

Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates this saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "Indeed Allah Almighty created Sayyiduna Adam (peace be upon him) from dust, then made him into wet clay, then left him until he became altered, dark mud; then He created him and gave him his form. Then He left him until he became like ringing clay, like pottery." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) says: "Iblis passed by him and said: 'You have been created for some great matter.' Then Allah Almighty breathed into him of His spirit. The first thing in which the spirit ran was his sight and his nostrils, and he sneezed. Allah Almighty inspired him to praise his Lord, so he praised his Lord, and the Lord said: 'May your Lord have mercy on you!' Then Allah Almighty said: 'O Adam, go to that group (of angels) and say this to them, then see what they say.' So he came and greeted them with salam, and the angels said: 'Wa alaykas-salamu wa rahmatullah (and upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah).' Sayyiduna Adam (peace be upon him) returned to his Lord, and the Lord asked: 'What did they say to you?' though the Lord knew better what the angels had said to him in reply. Sayyiduna Adam (peace be upon him) said: 'O my Lord, when I greeted them with salam, they said: Wa alaykas-salamu wa rahmatullah.' The Lord said: 'O Adam, this is the particular greeting of you and your offspring.' Sayyiduna Adam (peace be upon him) said: 'O my Lord, what is meant by my offspring?' The Lord said: 'O Adam, choose one of the two Hands.' He said: 'I choose the right Hand of my Lord, and both Hands of my Lord are right.' Then Allah Almighty spread out His palm, and every one of his offspring who was to come into being was there in the palm of the Most Merciful." After this the narrator mentioned the complete hadith.
Abu Ya'la recorded it; its chain contains Isma'il bin Rafi'. Imam Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) said: he is thiqah (trustworthy) and muqarib al-hadith (fair in hadith), while the majority declared him da'if (weak). The remaining narrators of this report are the narrators of the Sahih.