The Story of Prophet Adam Seeking Forgiveness by the Right of Prophet Muhammad SAW

Short answer

This report is not authentic. The route of al-Tabarani contains Abd al-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam, who is weak, in addition to narrators who are not identified. Review status: Severely Weak. al-Albani judged a similar story to be fabricated; al-Hakim once authenticated another route, but that assessment was criticised.

Translation

“When Adam committed his sin, he raised his head towards the Throne and said: I ask You by the right of Muhammad to forgive me. Allah revealed to him: What is Muhammad, and who is Muhammad? He said: Blessed is Your name. When You created me, I raised my head towards Your Throne and saw written upon it: There is no god but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. I understood that no one has a greater rank with You than the one whose name You joined with Your name. Allah revealed to him: O Adam, he is the last prophet from your descendants; his ummah is the last ummah from your descendants. Were it not for him, O Adam, I would not have created you.”

Narrator

Umar bin al-Khattab RA

Sources and scholars

al-Tabarani; al-Haythami; al-Hakim; al-Bayhaqi; Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani

Scholarly commentary

1. al-Tabarani in al-Mu‘jam al-Saghir, no. 992, 2/182, narrated wording close to the question through Abd al-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam, from his father, from his grandfather, from Umar.

2. al-Haythami in Majma‘ al-Zawa’id, Kitab Alamat al-Nubuwwah, Bab Azam Qadrihi, stated that the route of al-Tabarani contains narrators whom he did not know.

3. al-Bayhaqi in Dala’il al-Nubuwwah, 5/488–489, stated that Abd al-Rahman bin Zayd is alone in narrating a report of this kind, and he is weak.

4. al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak, no. 4286 in the Islamweb numbering, authenticated its route. However, the presence of that authentication does not remove the narrator-related problem mentioned by the critics.

5. al-Albani in al-Tawassul judged a similar story to be fabricated. This review uses the label Severely Weak for the route being asked about, while his assessment is stated separately.

Explanation

1. Is this story actually found in the books?

Yes. Wording close to the question is found in al-Mu‘jam al-Saghir no. 992. The translation and wording above follow that source, not a combination of several versions.

2. Why is its status Severely Weak?

This route contains Abd al-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam, who was criticised due to weakness in his transmission. al-Haythami also did not know several narrators in the route of al-Tabarani. Therefore, this story cannot be established as a statement of the Prophet SAW.

3. Does this review settle all discussions on tawassul?

No. This review assesses the authenticity of one story and its chain of transmission. The legal discussion of tawassul requires separate examination of other evidences.

4. Can “were it not for you, I would not have created Adam” be used as evidence?

That expression occurs in this inauthentic report. It cannot be used as a definite statement from Allah or the Prophet SAW merely because it is narrated in a book.

Conclusion

Status: Severely Weak. This report cannot be used as a firm basis for the story of Prophet Adam or for the expression “were it not for him, I would not have created you”.