Is the Hadith which has Prophet Adam making Tawassul with our Prophet authentic?
Quran
Hadith
Islamic Text
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ
In the Name of Allah Most Merciful Most Kind
Short Answer
No, the Hadith which has the Prophet Sayidina Adam making Tawassul with our blessed Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is not authentic. Rather Imam al-Dhahabi and Imam Ibn Hajr considered it a fabrication.
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو سَعِيدٍ عَمْرُو بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ مَنْصُورٍ الْعَدْلُ، ثنا أَبُو الْحَسَنِ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِسْحَاقَ بْنِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْحَنْظَلِيُّ، ثنا أَبُو الْحَارِثِ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مُسْلِمٍ الْفِهْرِيُّ، ثنا إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ مَسْلَمَةَ، أَنْبَأَ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ زَيْدِ بْنِ أَسْلَمَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ جَدِّهِ، عَنْ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: ” لَمَّا اقْتَرَفَ آدَمُ الْخَطِيئَةَ قَالَ: يَا رَبِّ أَسْأَلُكَ بِحَقِّ مُحَمَّدٍ لَمَا غَفَرْتَ لِي، فَقَالَ اللَّهُ: يَا آدَمُ، وَكَيْفَ عَرَفْتَ مُحَمَّدًا وَلَمْ أَخْلُقْهُ؟ قَالَ: يَا رَبِّ، لِأَنَّكَ لَمَّا خَلَقْتَنِي بِيَدِكَ وَنَفَخْتَ فِيَّ مِنْ رُوحِكَ رَفَعْتُ رَأْسِي فَرَأَيْتُ عَلَىَ قَوَائِمِ الْعَرْشِ مَكْتُوبًا لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ فَعَلِمْتُ أَنَّكَ لَمْ تُضِفْ إِلَى اسْمِكَ إِلَّا أَحَبَّ الْخَلْقِ إِلَيْكَ، فَقَالَ اللَّهُ: صَدَقْتَ يَا آدَمُ، إِنَّهُ لَأُحِبُّ الْخَلْقِ إِلَيَّ ادْعُنِي بِحَقِّهِ فَقَدْ غَفَرْتُ لَكَ وَلَوْلَا مُحَمَّدٌ مَا خَلَقْتُكَ. هَذَا حَدِيثٌ صَحِيحُ الْإِسْنَادِ وَهُوَ أَوَّلُ حَدِيثٍ ذَكَرْتُهُ لِعَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ زَيْدِ بْنِ أَسْلَمَ فِي هَذَا الْكِتَابِ. التعليق من تلخيص الذهبي: بل موضوع
Abu Saeed Amr bin Muhammad bin Mansour al-Adl informed us (saying), Abu al-Hasan Muhammad bin Ishaq bin Ibrahim al-Handali informed us (saying), Abu al-Harith Abdullah bin Muslim al-Fihri informed us (saying), Ismail bin Maslamah informed us (saying), Abd al-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam narrated from his father, from his grandfather, from Umar Ibn Al-Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: When Adam erred, he said: O Lord, I ask you, by the right of Muhammad that you forgive me. So Allah (Most High) said: O Adam, and how do you know Muhammad? I have not created him yet. He said: O Lord, when You created me with Your hand and breathed into me of Your Spirit, I raised my head and saw on the pillars of the throne written: There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. So I realised that you have not added anything after your name except the most beloved of creation to you. Then Allah (Most High) said: You have spoken the truth, O Adam. Indeed, he is the most beloved of creation to Me. Call upon Me by his right. Indeed, I have forgiven you. Had it not been for Muhammad, I would not have created you. This Hadith has a Sahih chain of narration. It is the first Hadith I have mentioned from Abd al-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam in this book. Imam al-Dhahabi said: Rather it is fabricated. (Mustadrak al-Hakim, 4228)
Tawassul is calling upon Allah (Most High) whilst mentioning someone or something beloved to Him. There are numerous proofs for the permissibility of Tawassul. However, the Hadith above is not amongst them. This Hadith which has Sayidina Adam making Tawassul using the name of our blessed Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is fabricated according to Imams al-Dhahabi and Ibn Hajr al-Asqalani.
Authenticity
As for Imam al-Dhahabi, I have included his comment after mentioning the Hadith above. He contradicts Imam Hakim and says it is a fabrication. As for Imam Ibn Hajr al-Asqalani, he went into more detail. He explains that Imam Hakim clearly made an error. Imam Hakim had identified Abd al-Rahman bin Zaid bin Aslam to be a fabricator, but still authenticated his Hadith.
ومن العجيب ما وقع للحاكم أنه أخرج لعبد الرحمن بن زيد بن أسلم. وقال بعد روايته: هذا صحيح الإسناد، وهو أول حديث ذكرته لعبد الرحمن. مع أنه قال في كتابه الذي جمعه في الضعفاء: عبد الرحمن بن زيد بن أسلم روى عن أبيه أحاديث موضوعة لا يخفى على من تأملها من أهل الصنعة أن الحمل فيها عليه. (النكت على كتاب ابن الصلاح)
Strangely al-Hakim narrated from Abd al-Rahman bin Zaid bin Aslam. And then said, after his narration: This chain is Sahih, and it is the first Hadith I have narrated from Abd al-Rahman. Despite him saying in his book in which he collected weak narrators: Abd al-Rahman bin Zaid bin Aslam narrated fabrications from his father. And it is not hidden from those in the field who contemplate that the burden is on him. (Imam Ibn Hajr al-Asqalani 852H, al-Nukat).
In the Nass above, Imam Ibn Hajr explains that Imam Hakim declared the narration of Sayidina Adam making Tawassul with our Prophet ﷺ Sahih, despite there being a fabricator in the chain. What is even more surprising is that Imam Hakim had said that the people in this field know this well. So, it is a clear error on his part to declare the narration Sahih.
Another narration
As we see from the evidence above, the narration of Sayidina Adam making Tawassul in the Mustadrak of Hakim is not authentic. However, some people claim that there is a narration in the collection of Ibn Bishran that is more authentic.
This claim may well be true, since that Sanad (chain of narrators) does not contain Abd al-Rahman bin Zaid bin Aslam in it. Although it does seem to have some other questionable narrators. Nevertheless the narration in Ibn Bishran’s Amali is very different to the narration in Hakim. So it does not make sense to raise it in our discussion.
أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو الْعَبَّاسِ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ الْكِنْدِيُّ , بِمَكَّةَ، ثنا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ جَعْفَرٍ الْخَرَائِطِيُّ، ثنا ابْنُ عُمَرَ بْنُ مُدْرَكٍ أَبُو حَفْصٍ، ثنا عَبْدُ الْمُؤْمِنِ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ الزَّعْفَرَانِيُّ , ثنا عَبْدُ السَّلامِ بْنُ حَرْبٍ الْمُلائِيُّ، عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ حَسَّانٍ، عَنِ الْحَسَنِ، قَالَ: لَمَّا أَصَابَ آدَمُ الْخَطِيئَةَ خَرَجَ هَارِبًا مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ , فَتَعَلَّقَ غُصْنٌ مِنْ أَغْصَانِ الْجَنَّةِ بِشعْرِهِ , فَنَادَاهُ اللَّهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى «إِلَى أَيْنَ يَا آدَمُ أَفِرَارًا مِنِّي؟» قَالَ: لا يَا رَبِّ وَلَكِنْ حَيَاءً مِنْكَ. (أمالي ابن بشران)
Abu al-Abbas Ahmad bin Ibrahim bin Ali al-Kindi informed us, in Mecca, that Muhammad bin Ja’far al-Kharaiti informed us (saying), Ibn Omar bin Mudrak Abu Hafs informed us (saying), Abd al-Mu’min bin Ali al-Zaafrani informed us (saying), Abd al-Salam bin Harb al-Mula’i informed us from Hisham bin Hassan, from al-Hasan who said: When Adam erred, he left fleeing Paradise. So a branch from the branches of Paradise hung to his hair. Then Allah Blessed and Exalted called him saying: Where to O Adam? Fleeing from me? He said: No O Lord. Rather shyness from you. (Amali Ibn Bishran, 1413).
Analysis
The narration above is not from our blessed Prophet ﷺ. Rather it is a narration from Imam Hasan (al-Basri). Therefore, it does not support the authenticity of Imam Hakims narration. Rather it is a proof against it. Since, it demonstrates that it was not the blessed Prophet ﷺ who said these words, rather they are attributable to Imam Hasan al-Basri.
Also, this narration from Imam Hasan al-Basri does not have the blessed Prophet Adam making Tawassul. Although this narration is speaking about the same incident, the wording is significantly different. Once again this becomes a proof against, and not for the narration in Hakim.
It seems like those who have claimed that the narration in Ibn Bishran supports the narration in Hakim have not researched sufficiently. In the article where this claim was made, the referencing was inadequate, and the Arabic text was unavailable. This indicates that the associated research was insufficient.
Love for the Prophet
This discussion once again demonstrates how some Muslims are failing to protect the words of the blessed Prophet ﷺ. Rather, they are assisting in attributing lies to the beloved Prophet ﷺ. Strangely, the same people often claim to be the people who have the deepest love for our Mubarak Prophet ﷺ.
Love for the Prophet ﷺ necessitates that we stand against fabrications attributed to him ﷺ. The Sahabah were cautious with Hadith narrations and scrutinised authenticity. They had the greatest love for the blessed Prophet ﷺ. For people to claim to love the blessed Prophet ﷺ but deviate from the way of the Sahabah is outrageous.
Conclusion
From the discussion above we can see that the narration in Hakim is not authentic. Rather it is fabricated. And the narration in Ibn Bishran does not support it, but it further degrades it. Thus, these narrations are not a proof for Sayidina Adam making Tawassul. Although there is an abundance of evidence elsewhere for the permissibility of Tawasul.
It is important to remind people that we do not need fabrications or dubious narrations to praise our beloved Prophet ﷺ. There is so much praise of the Prophet ﷺ in the Holy Quran and authentic Sunnah. So why do some Muslims turn to inauthentic narrations? It is counterproductive, since it may give the impression that we need to resort to such narrations to find praise of the blessed Prophet ﷺ.
And Allah Most High Knows Best.
–Answered by Shaykh Noorud-deen Rashid (06.10.24)