❖ Question:
Are the following two popular stories regarding the creation and marriage of Prophet Ādam (علیہ السلام) authentically established through any reliable Islamic source?
✦ Narration ❶: The Angels Sent to Collect Earth for Ādam’s Creation
This widely-circulated tale claims:
◈ Allah ﷻ sent a group of angels to earth to collect soil for the creation of Ādam (علیہ السلام).
◈ The Earth protested, saying: “Do not take anything from me, for mankind will sin and go to Hell, and I will suffer.”
◈ As a result, three angels returned empty-handed.
◈ Finally, ‘Izrā’īl (علیہ السلام) was sent, and due to his lesser mercy, he collected the soil.
Sources of This Story:
This tale is mentioned with minor variations in several tafsīr and historical works, including:
➊ Tafsīr Fatḥ al-ʿAzīz by Shāh ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Dehlawī (1/199)
➋ Tafsīr Rūḥ al-Bayān
➌ Tafsīr al-Khāzin (1/49) from Wahb ibn Munabbih
➍ Saʿīd ibn Manṣūr
➎ Ibn al-Mundhir
➏ Ibn Abī Ḥātim (from Abū Hurayrah – mawqūf)
➐ Ibn Jarīr
➑ al-Asmāʾ wa al-Ṣifāt by al-Bayhaqī (p. 261)
➒ Ibn ʿAsākir (from Ibn Masʿūd and others – mawqūf)
➓ Abū Shaykh (with ṣaḥīḥ isnād from Ibn Zayd – marfūʿ)
Also in:
✧ al-Durr al-Manthūr by al-Suyūṭī (1/115)
✧ Tafsīr al-Suddī from various narrators, mainly mawqūf
Evaluation by Hadith Scholars:
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr (Tafsīr, 1/99) comments:
“This chain leading to the Companions is well known in Tafsīr al-Suddī, but it contains many Isrā’īliyyāt (Judeo-Christian tales). Some parts may be insertions not originating from the Companions, or they may have taken them from earlier scriptures. And Allah knows best.”
❖ Verdict:
✔ This story originates from Isrā’īliyyāt (non-Islamic traditions).
✔ Since neither the Qur’ān nor authentic Sunnah verify or reject it, we adopt the scholarly principle:
“لَا نُصَدِّقُهُ وَلَا نُكَذِّبُهُ”
"We neither confirm nor deny it.”
✦ Narration ❷: The Marriage of Ādam (AS)
This tale asserts:
◈ At the time of Ādam’s marriage, Allah acted as the speaker, angels served as witnesses, and the nikāḥ was conducted between Ādam and his spouse.
Source:
➊ Tafsīr Fatḥ al-ʿAzīz (1/217):
“When Ādam married, he sent salutations upon Muhammad ﷺ and his family; the angels acted as witnesses and the marriage contract was performed between the two.”
❖ Verdict:
✔ This account is also rooted in Isrā’īliyyāt, not Qur’ān or Sunnah.
✔ Regrettably, many exegetical works have not remained free from such fabricated or speculative tales.
✔ These stories:
▸ Provide no real benefit to Islamic theology,
▸ Nor serve the purpose of Qur’ānic explanation.
Final Conclusion:
⟹ Both narrations —
① Angels’ visit to earth for soil
② The wedding of Ādam (AS) —
are based on Isrā’īliyyāt, and not authentically transmitted from Qur’ān or Sunnah.
❝لَا نُصَدِّقُهُ وَلَا نُكَذِّبُهُ❞
We neither affirm nor deny them.
ھذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
