What did Ibn Kathir say about the creation of Adam?
The story of Adam's creation is the opening of human history. Ibn Kathir narrates it slowly, drawing on Qurʾan and authentic tradition, staying close to what revelation actually said.
10 passages from 4 books in the library
Ibn Kathir relates that Adam was uniquely created and honored by Allah, the first man and the father of humanity. The cited passages preserve the famous account of Adam and Moses disputing, where Moses said, 'Are you Adam whose sin expelled you from Paradise?' and Adam answered. Ibn Kathir notes the scholars' discussion of whether the Paradise Adam inhabited was the eternal Garden, and recounts his fall after he and his spouse covered themselves with its leaves, after which his Lord chose him, guiding and forgiving him through repentance.
Drawn from the classical sources below — in the scholars' own words.
The classical approach.
These passages are drawn from 4 books by Ibn Kathir, Imam al-Dhahabī, and Ibn al-Qayyim — part of the classical Sunni tradition that carries over a thousand years of reflection on the Qurʾān, the authentic Sunnah, and the consensus of the early community. Nothing below is a paraphrase. The words are the scholars' own, translated from the original Arabic manuscripts.
14th century · Bosra, Syria
Monumental history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, the world's most widely read Qurʾanic commentary, and the classical Stories of the Prophets.
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"ibn Abd al-Rahman. Al-Hafidh Abu Ya'la al-Mawsili narrated it in his Musnad from Umar ibn al-Khattab, May God be pleased with him. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, Moses, peace be upon him, said, O Lord, show us Adam who brought us and himself out of Paradise. So Adam, peace be upon him, was shown to him. Moses said, Are you Adam? Adam replied, Yes. Moses said, Are you the one whom Allah breathed of His Spirit into you, made the angels prostrate to you, and taught you all the names? Adam replied, Yes. Moses asked, What caused you to bring us and yourself out of Paradise? Adam responded, Who are you? Moses said, I am Moses. Adam said, Are you Moses of the children of"
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"in which all things are explained, and brought you close in private conversation, how long before Allah wrote the Torah? Moses answered, Forty years. Adam said, Did you find therein? And Adam disobeyed his Lord and went astray? Moses replied, Yes. Adam said, Then do you blame me for an action that Allah decreed for me to do before he created me by forty years? The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, Thus Adam argued and prevailed against Moses. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, Adam and Moses argued. Moses said to Adam, O Adam, you are the one who led your progeny into hell. Adam replied, O Moses, Allah chose you with his messages and his"
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"be upon him, said, So Adam defeated Moses in argument two times. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, Adam and Moses disputed, and Moses said, O Adam, you are the one whom Allah created with his hand and breathed into from his spirit, yet you led people astray and brought them out of Paradise. Adam replied, And are you Moses whom Allah chose with his word? Are you blaming me for an action which Allah had decreed for me before he created the heavens and the earth? He said, Thus Adam overcame Moses. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, Adam and Moses disputed, and Moses said, O Adam, you are our father. You disappointed"
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"him, said, Adam and Moses disputed, and Moses said, O Adam, you are our father. You disappointed us and expelled us from Paradise. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, Adam and Moses had a dispute. Moses said, O Adam, you are our father. You disappointed us and expelled us from Paradise. Adam replied, O Moses, Allah chose you with his word and wrote for you with his hand. Are you blaming me for a matter Allah had decreed for me forty years before he created me? Thus Adam overcame Moses."
14th century · Bosra, Syria
Monumental history Al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah, the world's most widely read Qurʾanic commentary, and the classical Stories of the Prophets.
More on Ibn Kathir →
· Provenance →
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"He reported that the prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, ''Moses, peace be upon him, said, ''O Lord, show us Adam who has removed us and himself from Paradise.'' Then Adam, peace be upon him, was shown to him. Moses said, ''Are you Adam?'' Adam replied, ''Yes.'' Moses said, ''Are you the one into whom Allah breathed his spirit, made the angels bow to you and taught you the names of all things?'' Adam replied, ''Yes.'' Moses asked, ''What caused you to remove us and yourself from Paradise?'' Adam replied, ''Who are you?'' Moses answered, ''I am Moses.'' Adam said, ''Are you Moses, the prophet of the children of Israel, whom Allah spoke to"
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"Did I precede the decree, or did the decree precede me?'' Moses acknowledged, ''No, rather the decree.'' Thus, Adam refuted Moses. In yet another account, Moses asks Adam, ''Are you Adam whom Allah created with his hand and whom he settled in his Paradise and made his angels prostrate to you, then you did what you did?'' Adam responds, ''O Moses, you are the one whom Allah spoke to and revealed the Torah upon.'' Moses confirms, ''Yes.'' Adam then asks, ''Do you find it written upon me before I was created?'' Moses admits, ''Yes.'' Thus, Adam refuted Moses."
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"the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful.'' Al-Hakim narrated through Sa'id Ibn Jubair from Ibn Abbas regarding the verse. Then Adam received from his Lord words, and he accepted his repentance. Adam asked, ''O Lord, did you not create me with your hands?'' The response was ''Yes.'' He continued, ''And blew into me of your spirit?'' Again the answer was ''Yes.'' Adam said, ''I sneezed and you said, ''May Allah have mercy on you and your mercy precedes your wrath.'' It was affirmed, ''Yes.'' Adam then asked, ''And you wrote for me that I would do this?'' The reply was ''Yes.'' Finally Adam asked, ''If I repent, will you return me to Paradise?'' The answer was ''Yes.''"
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"Moses admits, ''Yes.'' Thus, Adam refuted Moses. These narrations highlight the theological discussion between Adam and Moses, illustrating the concept of divine decree and human responsibility. It is narrated that Abu Huraira reported the messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said, ''Adam and Moses debated before their Lord, and Adam refuted Moses.'' Moses said, ''Are you the one whom Allah created with his hand, breathed into you from his spirit, made his angels prostrate to you, and settled you in his Paradise, then you brought mankind down to the earth because of your sin?'' Adam replied, ''Are you Moses, whom Allah selected with his message and his speech,"
13th–14th century · Damascus, Syria
Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ — the monumental biographical dictionary of Islamic scholarship, from the companions of the Prophet ﷺ through al-Dhahabī's own era. A working-scholar reference used for seven centuries.
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"I bear witness to what I heard with my own ears and what my heart retained from the Messenger of Allah, for I would not narrate falsely from him. He said: 'Abu Bakr is in Paradise, Umar is in Paradise, Ali is in Paradise, Uthman is in Paradise, Talha is in Paradise, Zubair is in Paradise, Abdur-Rahman is in Paradise, Sa'd ibn Malik is in Paradise,' and the ninth of the believers is in Paradise, and if I wished to name him, I would.""
14th century · Damascus, Syria
Madārij al-Sālikīn — the classical map of the spiritual journey — and a vast body of work on the soul, love, the traps of the ego, and the nature of the heart.
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"Whoever enters it enters that paradise, and whoever does not shall not enter the paradise. paradise of the hereafter. The Prophet, peace be upon him, alluded to this paradise by saying, when you pass by the gardens of paradise, graze therein. They asked, what are the gardens of paradise? He replied, the circles of remembrance, the life of a sound heart. The Prophet also said, what lies between my house and my pulpit is one of the gardens of paradise. Do not assume that Almighty God's words, indeed, the righteous are in bliss, and indeed, the wicked are in a furnace, are confined solely to the day of resurrection. The righteous experience"
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