✦ The Prophethood of the Prophet ﷺ Before the Creation of Ādam عليه السلام: A Detailed Ḥadīth Review ✦
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Vol. 1 – Kitāb al-ʿAqāʾid, p. 178
People asked the Prophet ﷺ:
"When was Prophethood ordained for you?"
He ﷺ replied:
"When Ādam was between the soul and the body."
Sources: Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī, Dalāʾil al-Nubuwwah (al-Bayhaqī), al-Mustadrak (al-Ḥākim), Tārīkh Baghdād, etc.
Imām al-Tirmidhī graded it: ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ gharīb.
Maysarah asked the Prophet ﷺ:
"When were you written as a Prophet?"
He ﷺ replied:
"When Ādam was between the soul and the body."
Sources: Musnad Aḥmad, Kitāb al-Sunnah, Tārīkh al-Kabīr (al-Bukhārī), al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr (al-Ṭabarānī)
✔ This narration is authenticated (ṣaḥīḥ).
✔ Similar narrations are also reported from:
Kitāb al-Sunnah (Ibn Abī ʿĀṣim), Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah, Ṭabaqāt Ibn Saʿd, etc.
✔ Some are mursal, but serve as supporting evidence, strengthening the theme.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"I was written with Allah as the Seal of the Prophets, while Ādam was still kneaded in his clay."
Sources: Sharḥ al-Sunnah (al-Baghawī), Tafsīr al-Baghawī, Musnad Aḥmad, Dalāʾil al-Nubuwwah (al-Bayhaqī), Tārīkh Dimashq, al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr (al-Ṭabarānī)
✔ Though one chain is weak, the chain through Muʿāwiyah ibn Ṣāliḥ is ḥasan.
"I was the first of the prophets in creation and the last to be sent."
Dalāʾil al-Nubuwwah (Abū Nuʿaym), al-Kashf wa al-Bayān (al-Thaʿlabī), Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr
✘ The chain includes Saʿīd ibn Bashīr al-Azdī, who is weak.
Declared munkar al-ḥadīth by Ibn Numayr, al-Sājī, and others.
Shaykh al-Albānī also graded it weak. (al-Silsilah al-Ḍaʿīfah, Ḥadīth 661)
Ṭabaqāt Ibn Saʿd, in two separate chains, both weak:
These narrations establish that the Prophet ﷺ was ordained as a Prophet before the physical creation of Ādam عليه السلام. This affirms his pre-eminence in decree, though his biʿthah (mission) occurred later.
Imām al-Firyābī included this ḥadīth in his Kitāb al-Qadar, indicating its relation to Divine Preordainment.
✔ The Prophethood of the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ was decreed before Ādam’s creation,
✔ Supported by multiple ṣaḥīḥ and ḥasan narrations,
✘ While some narrations are weak, they do not undermine the issue, due to the presence of stronger chains.
والله أعلم بالصواب
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Vol. 1 – Kitāb al-ʿAqāʾid, p. 178
❖ Core Ḥadīth and Its Authenticity
➊ Ḥadīth of Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه:
People asked the Prophet ﷺ:
"When was Prophethood ordained for you?"
He ﷺ replied:
"When Ādam was between the soul and the body."
Sources: Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī, Dalāʾil al-Nubuwwah (al-Bayhaqī), al-Mustadrak (al-Ḥākim), Tārīkh Baghdād, etc.Imām al-Tirmidhī graded it: ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ gharīb.
➋ Ḥadīth of Maysarah al-Fajr رضي الله عنه:
Maysarah asked the Prophet ﷺ:
"When were you written as a Prophet?"
He ﷺ replied:
"When Ādam was between the soul and the body."
Sources: Musnad Aḥmad, Kitāb al-Sunnah, Tārīkh al-Kabīr (al-Bukhārī), al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr (al-Ṭabarānī)✔ This narration is authenticated (ṣaḥīḥ).
❖ Supporting Reports:
✔ Similar narrations are also reported from:
- ʿAbdullāh ibn Abī Sajdaʿ al-ʿAbdī رضي الله عنه
- The Tābiʿī ʿAbdullāh ibn Shaqīq
- The Tābiʿī ʿĀmir al-Shaʿbī
Kitāb al-Sunnah (Ibn Abī ʿĀṣim), Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah, Ṭabaqāt Ibn Saʿd, etc.✔ Some are mursal, but serve as supporting evidence, strengthening the theme.
➌ Ḥadīth of ʿIrbāḍ ibn Sāriyah رضي الله عنه:
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"I was written with Allah as the Seal of the Prophets, while Ādam was still kneaded in his clay."
Sources: Sharḥ al-Sunnah (al-Baghawī), Tafsīr al-Baghawī, Musnad Aḥmad, Dalāʾil al-Nubuwwah (al-Bayhaqī), Tārīkh Dimashq, al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr (al-Ṭabarānī)✔ Though one chain is weak, the chain through Muʿāwiyah ibn Ṣāliḥ is ḥasan.
❖ Review of Weak Narrations:
✘ Ḥadīth:
"I was the first of the prophets in creation and the last to be sent."
Dalāʾil al-Nubuwwah (Abū Nuʿaym), al-Kashf wa al-Bayān (al-Thaʿlabī), Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr✘ The chain includes Saʿīd ibn Bashīr al-Azdī, who is weak.
Declared munkar al-ḥadīth by Ibn Numayr, al-Sājī, and others. Shaykh al-Albānī also graded it weak. (al-Silsilah al-Ḍaʿīfah, Ḥadīth 661)✘ Report via Qatādah → al-Ḥasan → Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه:
Ṭabaqāt Ibn Saʿd, in two separate chains, both weak:- One chain includes ʿAbd al-Wahhāb ibn ʿAṭāʾ and Saʿīd ibn Abī ʿArūbah — both are mudallis.
- Another chain includes Abū Bilāl al-Rāsibī — a weak narrator.
❖ Key Aqīdah Point:
These narrations establish that the Prophet ﷺ was ordained as a Prophet before the physical creation of Ādam عليه السلام. This affirms his pre-eminence in decree, though his biʿthah (mission) occurred later.
Imām al-Firyābī included this ḥadīth in his Kitāb al-Qadar, indicating its relation to Divine Preordainment.❖ Conclusion:
✔ The Prophethood of the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ was decreed before Ādam’s creation,
✔ Supported by multiple ṣaḥīḥ and ḥasan narrations,
✘ While some narrations are weak, they do not undermine the issue, due to the presence of stronger chains.
والله أعلم بالصواب
