The Meaning of God’s Creation of Adam in His Image (Part 1)
With my chain of authorities reaching up to the august shaykh, the Pillar of Islam, Muhammad ibn Ya’qub al-Kulayni (R) from a group of our Companions, from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid, from his father, from ‘Abd Allah ibn Bahr, from Abu Ayyub al-Khazzaz, from Muhammad ibn Muslim, who said: I asked Abu Jafar (A.S) concerning that which is narrated, that God created Adam (A) in His form (surah literally, form, image). He replied, “It is a form that was originated and created. He elected it and chose it over all the other different forms and attributed it to Himself, in the same way that He has attributed the Kaba and the Spirit (ruh) to Himself, saying: ‘My House (2:125, 22:26),’ and ‘I breathed into Him of My Spirit. (15:29, 38:72)’ [1]
Exposition
The tradition mentioned in the first part of this noble tradition was one which has been well-known all along since the times of the Imams (A.S) to our own times, and its has been continually cited in the books of the Shi’ah and the Ahl-al-Sunnah. Hazrat Baqir (A.S) has confirmed the authenticity of its origin while explaining its meaning.
However, there is a tradition reported by Shaykh Saduq in ‘Uyun akhbar al-Reza with his chain of authorities from the Eighth of the Imams (A.S) whose meaning is as follows: Hussein ibn Khalid says, “I said to Hazrat Reza (A.S), ‘O Son of the Messenger of God, the people narrate that the Messenger of God (A) said, “God created Adam in His own image.” ‘The Imam said, ‘God damn them! They have omitted the first part of the tradition. The Messenger of God (PBUH) passed by two men who were abusing each other. The Prophet heard one of them say to his companion, “May God disfigure your face and of everyone who looks like you!” Thereat the Messenger of God (PBUh) said, “O servant of God! Don’t say that to your brother, for God, Almighty and Glorious, created Adam in his (His) image.”‘[2]
On this basis, The Late Majlisi has ascribed the tradition of Imam Baqir (A.S) to taqiyyah (dissemblance), and he has also suggested the probability that this statement of the Imam might be based on the presumption of acceptance [of the authenticity or the apparent import of the tradition][ 3] Such a probability is very remote. That which is probable is that the tradition of Hazrat Reza (A.S) refers to the first tradition, where the meaning of “Adam” in the last part of the tradition where it states: Verily, God created Adam in His image.
May be that of the human species and the pronoun in على صورته refers to God, the Exalted. And Hazrat Reza (A.S) considering that the narrator was incapable of understanding the meaning of the hadith related the opening part of the tradition so that that person may imagine that ‘Adam’- means the father of the human race, with the pronoun in على صورته referring to that man; so take note.
And perhaps both the traditions are genuine in their origin and import, and the Messenger of God (PBUH) might have stated the noble tradition without any previous background-and that is the tradition whose explanation is given by Hazrat Baqir (A.S) and, on another occasion, he might have made the statement with that background and Imam Reza (A.S) diverted the discussion to the other hadith with a background due to the incapacity of the narrator in understanding its meaning. An evidence that supports this suggestion is that in some traditions there occur the word: على صورة الرØمان (in the image of the All-beneficent) [4] instead of على صورته and this is not consistent with the tradition of the ‘Uyun.
Moreover, even if it be assumed that this noble tradition is not authentic (in its import), its meaning is implicit in the noble traditions, as will be explained, God willing. Now we shall turn to explaining the meanings of the words of the noble tradition in next part.
Notes:
[601] Al-Kulayni, Usul al-Kafi i, 134 “kitab al-tawhid,” “bab al-ruh,” hadith 4.
[602] Al-Shaykh al-Saduq, ‘Uyun akhbar al-Rida, i, 119, bab 11, hadith 12. The text of the tradition is as follows:
[603] Al-Majlisi, Mirat al-’uqul, ii, 84, “kitab al-tawhid,” bab al-ruh, hadith 4.
[604] Sadr al-Muta’allihin, Tafsir al-Qur’an al-Karim, ii, 235; Ibn ‘Arabi, Futuhat al-Makkiyyah, ed.’Uthman Yahya, i, 78.
Taken from: Forty Hadith (An Exposition on 40 ahadith narrated through the Prophet [s] and his Ahl al-Bayt [A.S] By Imam Ruhullah al-Musawi Khomeini
