Did Satan Enter Adam’s Body? Refuting a Weak Isra’iliyyat Narration Misused Against Islam
The Report of Iblis Entering Adam’s Mouth and Exiting His Anus: Weak Narration or Islamic Creed?
The Claim
Read the myth of the creation of Adam and how Satan entered through his mouth and exited through his anus.
The objector cites a narration mentioned under the story of the creation of Adam, peace be upon him, and tries to present it as though it is an established Islamic belief.
The Quoted Report
— Al-Baqarah 2:31
Al-Suddi narrated on the authority of Abu Malik, and on the authority of Abu Salih, on the authority of Ibn Abbas, and on the authority of Murrah Al-Hamdani, on the authority of Ibn Masoud, in the story of the creation of Adam, peace be upon him.
The report says that Allah sent Jibril, peace be upon him, to the earth to take soil, and the earth sought refuge in Allah from him, so he returned. Then Allah sent Mika’il, and the same occurred. Then Allah sent the Angel of Death, and he said:
“I seek refuge in Allah from returning and not carrying out His command.”
So he took from the face of the earth, from red, white, and black soil, and because of that the children of Adam came out different.
Then the report continues that Adam was created from clay and left as a body for forty years.
And it entered from his mouth and came out from his anus.
So Iblis said to the angels: Do not be afraid of this, for it is hollow, and if I were to have power over him, I would destroy him.
The Source Cited
The objector cites:
Reply
The problem with the objection is simple: quoting a narration found in a tafsir book does not automatically make it authentic, binding, or part of Islamic creed.
Tafsir books often mention reports with varying degrees of reliability:
- authentic narrations,
- weak narrations,
- strange reports,
- Isra’iliyyat,
- explanatory stories transmitted from earlier material,
- and narrations cited only for discussion, not endorsement.
So the correct question is not:
“Is this narration found somewhere?”
The correct question is:
“Is this narration authentic and accepted as proof?”
The answer: No.
Ibn Kathir’s Judgment on the Report
It was stated in:
“The Weak and Fabricated Hadiths Which Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir Judged in His Tafsir”, pp. 34–37
The cited report is mentioned under the narrations judged weak or problematic by Ibn Kathir.
The report includes the long narration from Ibn Abbas concerning Iblis, the jinn, the creation of Adam, and the details about Iblis entering Adam’s body before the soul was breathed into him.
After mentioning the narration, Ibn Kathir said:
“This is a strange context, and there are things in it that are questionable, and discussing them would take a long time.”
Ibn Kathir did not present the narration as sound creed. He explicitly described the context as strange and containing questionable matters.
The Chain of Al-Suddi and Isra’iliyyat
The narration is transmitted through the famous tafsir chain of Al-Suddi.
The text states:
“This chain of transmission to these Companions is well-known in As-Suddi’s Tafsir and many Isra’iliyyat are found in it, so perhaps some of them are interpolated and not from the words of the Companions, or they took them from some of the earlier books. And Allah knows best.”
The report is not treated as reliable prophetic evidence. It is connected to a chain known for containing Isra’iliyyat.
Isra’iliyyat are reports transmitted from earlier Jewish and Christian material. Scholars may mention them in tafsir, but that does not mean they are accepted as creed.
The Statement of Al-Tha‘labi
It was stated in:
Tafsir al-Tha‘labi = Al-Kashf wa al-Bayan ‘an Tafsir al-Quran, Dar al-Tafsir edition, 3/219–220
The narration appears again:
“It is that Satan passed by the body of Adam, peace be upon him, while it was lying between Mecca and Taif, with no soul in it, and he said: For what reason was this created?
Then he entered into it and came out from his anus, and he said: It is a creation that does not hold together because it is hollow.”
Then the note says that Ibn Jarir narrated it in Jami‘ al-Bayan, and Ibn Kathir commented after mentioning it:
“This is a strange context.”
The note also states:
“Ahmad Shakir mentioned that al-Tabari did not narrate it because of its authenticity.”
And Ibn Kathir said:
“This chain of transmission to these companions is famous in Tafsir al-Suddi and many Israelite narrations are found in it, so perhaps some of them are interpolated and not from the words of the companions, or they took them from some of the earlier books.”
Ahmad Shakir’s Note
Al-Tabari mentioning a narration does not mean he authenticated it.
This is a common amateur mistake.
A tafsir scholar may cite narrations with chains for documentation and discussion. The mere presence of a report in a classical tafsir is not proof that the report is authentic.
The Correct Conclusion
The narration about Iblis entering Adam’s mouth and exiting from his anus is not established Islamic creed.
The correct academic answer is:
- The narration is found in some tafsir works.
- It comes through problematic tafsir chains.
- Ibn Kathir described its context as strange.
- The chain of Al-Suddi contains many Isra’iliyyat.
- Scholars explicitly warned that parts of it may be interpolated or taken from earlier books.
- Al-Tabari’s citation of it does not equal authentication.
- Therefore, using this narration as an attack on Islam is dishonest.
Scan Evidence
This scan is used to document the discussion of the narration under the collection of weak and fabricated reports judged by Ibn Kathir in his tafsir. The relevant point is that the report is not being presented as an authentic hadith or binding Islamic doctrine. Rather, it is being discussed as a problematic narration connected to the story of Adam’s creation. The surrounding text states that Ibn Kathir described the narration as having astrange context and containing matters that require lengthy discussion.
This scan continues the discussion of the narration attributed through the chain of Al-Suddi. The important section explains that this chain is famous in Tafsir al-Suddi and that manyIsra’iliyyat are found in it. The text states that some of these details may have been inserted and may not be from the words of the Companions, or that they may have been taken from earlier books. This is the central refutation: the narration is not sound proof against Islam, because scholars themselves warned about its source and content.
This scan relates to the citation fromTafsir al-Tha‘labi and the later scholarly comments on the same report. It repeats the problematic phrase about Satan entering Adam’s body, but then records the scholarly criticism: Ibn Kathir called the context strange, Ahmad Shakir noted that al-Tabari did not narrate it because of its authenticity, and Ibn Kathir warned that the chain contains many Isra’iliyyat. The scan supports the conclusion that the report is cited in tafsir literature but is not authenticated as Islamic creed.
Final Response
The objection fails.
The critic took a strange report from tafsir literature and tried to present it as Islam.
But the scholars already addressed the report:
The chain of Al-Suddi contains many Isra’iliyyat.
Ahmad Shakir clarified that al-Tabari’s narration of it is not authentication.
The report may be interpolated or taken from earlier books.
Therefore, this narration cannot be used as a valid objection against the Qur’an, Islam, or the Islamic account of Adam, peace be upon him.
Quoting weak tafsir material as though it is Islamic doctrine is not scholarship. It is deception.