God Created Adam in His Image
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Al-Bukhari (6227) and Muslim (2841) narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: Allah created Adam in His image, his height being sixty cubits. When He created him, He said: Go and greet those angels who are sitting there, and listen to how they greet you, for that is your greeting and the greeting of your descendants. He said: “Peace be upon you.” They said: “Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah.” So they added to him. And the mercy of Allah, for everyone who enters Paradise will be in the image of Adam, and creation has continued to decrease since then until now .”
Muslim (2612) narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: ” If one of you fights his brother, let him avoid the face, for Allah created Adam in His image .”
Ibn Abi ‘Aasim narrated in al-Sunnah (517) on the authority of Ibn ‘Umar, who said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: ” Do not make faces ugly, for the son of Adam was created in the image of the Most Merciful .” Shaykh ‘Abdullah al-Ghunayman (may Allah preserve him ) said : ( This is an authentic hadith that was authenticated by the imams, Imam Ahmad and Ishaq ibn Rahawayh . Those who declared it weak have no evidence except the statement of Ibn Khuzaymah, and those who are more venerable than him have contradicted him.)
Ibn Abi ‘Aasim (516) also narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah ( blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: ” When one of you fights, let him avoid his face, for Allah created Adam in the image of His face. ” Sheikh al-Albani said: Its chain of transmission is authentic.
These two hadiths indicate that the pronoun in the phrase ” in His image ” refers to Allah Almighty.
Al-Tirmidhi (3234) narrated on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: ” My Lord came to me in the most beautiful form and said: O Muhammad. I said: At your service, my Lord, and at your pleasure. He said: In what do the highest assembly dispute… ” The hadith was authenticated by al-Albani in Sahih al-Tirmidhi.
In long hadith of intercession: ” Then the Almighty will come to them in a form other than the one in which they saw Him the first time .” Narrated by al-Bukhari (7440) and Muslim (182).
Perhaps the questioner has difficulty understanding these hadiths with the statement of God Almighty: ( There is nothing like Him ) Ash-Shura/25.
The scholars have answered this problem with two answers:
The first: A general answer. The second: A detailed answer.
As forThe brief answer: This hadeeth cannot contradict the words of Allah, the Most High: { There is nothing like Him } [Ash-Shura: 11]. If Allah makes it easy for us to reconcile between them, then we say: { We believe in it. All of it is from our Lord, and none will remember except those of understanding } [Aal ‘Imraan: 7]. Our belief is that Allah has no equal, and with this we submit before Allah, the Most High. This is the speech of Allah , and this is the speech of His Messenger, and both are true and cannot contradict each other. So we say that the verse negates the similarity of creation to Allah, the Most High, and the hadeeth affirms the image of Allah, the Most High, and both are true and we believe in them, and we say, “All of it is from our Lord,” and we remain silent, and this is the most we can do.
See Sharh al-Wasitiyyah by Ibn ‘Uthaymeen.
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From these hadiths it is known that the image is established for Allah the Most High, in a manner befitting Him, the Most High. His image is an attribute of His attributes that does not resemble the attributes of created beings, just as His essence does not resemble their essences.
As for the hadith in question, the most it contains is that it proves that Allah the Most High has an image, and that Allah the Most High created Adam in His image .
However, there is nothing in this hadith that indicates that the image of Adam is similar to the image of Allah the Most High . Rather, this meaning is absolutely false , and the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not intend it, because Allah the Most High says: ( There is nothing like Him ) and likening one thing to another does not necessarily mean that it is identical to it in every respect. Rather, similarity occurs by sharing some attributes, and it is not a condition that all attributes be identical and similar.
The evidence for this is the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): ” The first group to enter Paradise will be in the image of the moon on the night of the full moon . ” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (3327) and Muslim (2834).
This hadeeth does not mean that they will enter Paradise and their image will be identical to the image of the moon in every respect, otherwise it would follow that they will enter Paradise without having eyes or mouths. If we wish, we could say that they will enter as stones!! Rather
, the meaning of the hadeeth is that they will be in the image of the moon in beauty, radiance, loveliness, radiant face, and the like.
So if you say: What is the image that Allaah, the Exalted, has and that Adam has
We say: Allaah , the Exalted, has a face, an eye, a hand, and a foot, the Exalted, the Majestic. However, it does not follow that these things will be similar to humans, for there is some resemblance, but not in the manner of resemblance, just as the first group of the people of Paradise will be similar to the moon, but without resemblance. Thus, what the people of the Sunnah and the Community have said is true, that all the attributes of Allah , the Most High, are not similar to the attributes of created beings, without distortion or nullification, and without specification or likening .
See the explanation of Al-Aqeedah Al-Wasitiyyah by Muhammad ibn Salih Al-Uthaymeen, Vol. 1, p. 107-110. Ibn Taymiyyah,
The word image in the hadith is like all other names and attributes that may be used to describe a created being, in a restricted manner. If it is used for Allah , it is specific to Him, such as the All-Knowing, the All-Powerful, the Most Merciful, the All-Hearing, and the All-Seeing. Like His creation with His hands, His establishment on the throne, and the like. ) Naqd al-Ta’sees 3/396
. Image in the language: form, shape, reality, and attribute. So every existent must have an image.
Sheikh al-Islam said: ( Just as every existent must have attributes that are established in it, so too must every self-existent thing have an image to be in. It is impossible for there to be an existent that is self-existent without an image to be in .)
He said: ” There was no dispute among the predecessors of the three centuries that the pronoun in the hadith refers to Allah the Most High, as it is widely transmitted through multiple chains of transmission, from a number of the Companions, and the context of all the hadiths indicates that… But when the Jahmites spread in the third century, a group made the pronoun in it refer to other than Allah the Most High, until it was transmitted from a group of scholars known for their knowledge and Sunnah in most of their affairs, such as Abu Thawr, Ibn Khuzaymah, Abu al-Shaykh al-Isfahani and others, and for this reason the imams of religion and other scholars of the Sunnah denounced them. ” Naqd al-Ta’sees 3/202 Ibn Qutaybah, may Allah
have mercy on him , said : ” The image is not more amazing than the hands, fingers and eyes, but familiarity with those occurred because they came in the Qur’an, and alienation occurred from these because they did not come in the Qur’an, and we believe in all of them, and we do not say about any of them how or how .” Ta’wil Mukhtalif al-Hadith, p. 221
Sheikh al-Ghunayman said: ” Thus it becomes clear that the image is like the other attributes, so any attribute that is proven for Allah the Most High through revelation must be proven and believed in. ” ) Explanation of the Book of Monotheism from Sahih Al-Bukhari 2/41
Sheikh Ibn Baz (may Allah have mercy on him ) was asked: A hadith was reported from the Prophet ( blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in which he forbade making the face ugly, and that Allah, the Almighty, created Adam in His image . What is the correct belief regarding this hadith? He (may Allah
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The hadith is proven from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that he said: ” If one of you strikes, let him avoid the face, for Allah created Adam in His image.” In another wording: ” In the image of the Most Merciful . ” This does not entail likening or imitating .
The meaning according to the people of knowledge is that Allah created Adam hearing and seeing, speaking if He wills, and this is a description of Allah , for He is All-Hearing, All-Seeing, and speaks if He wills, and He has a face, may He be glorified and exalted. The meaning is not likening or imitating, but rather the image that Allah has is not the image that a creature has, but rather the meaning is that He is All-Hearing, All-Seeing, and speaks if He wills and whenever He wills, and this is how Allah
created. Adam is a hearing and seeing person with a face, a hand and a foot, but hearing is not like hearing, and sight is not like sight, and the speaker is not like the speaker. Rather, Allah has attributes that befit His Majesty and Greatness, and the servant has attributes that befit Him, attributes that are subject to decay and deficiency, and the attributes of Allah , may He be glorified, are complete and are not subject to deficiency, disappearance or annihilation . For this reason, Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, said: ” There is nothing like Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing ” (ash-Shura 42:11), and He, may He be glorified and exalted, said: “And there is none comparable to Him ” (al-Ikhlas 4). So it is not permissible to strike the face or make the face ugly. End quote from Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh 4/226.
#Meaning of this hadith
hadeeth is the statement of the Prophet, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him: ” The first group to enter Paradise will be in the image of the moon .” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (3245) and Muslim (2834). What he meant, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is that the first group will be in the image of humans, but in brightness, beauty, and roundness of face, and the like, they will be in the image of the moon, so their image is similar to the moon, but without resemblance… It is clear that it is not necessary for something to be in the image of something else that it be similar to it in every respect.
his statement , may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ” He created Adam in His image ” means that Allah , the Almighty, created Adam in His image , glory be to Him, so He, glory be to Him, has a face, an eye, a hand, and a foot, glory be to Him, and Adam has a face, an eye, a hand, and a foot… But it is not necessary for these things to be similar to humans, so there is some resemblance, but it is not in the way of resemblance, just as the first group of the people of Paradise will be similar to the moon, but without resemblance. Thus, what the people of the Sunnah and the Community have said is true, that all of the attributes of Allah , glory be to Him, are not similar to the attributes of created beings, without distortion or nullification, and without qualification or likening.
See the explanation of Al-Aqeedah Al-Wasitiyyah by Sheikh Muhammad ibn Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him ) (1/107, 293).
For more information, see: Explanation of Kitab At-Tawhid from Sahih Al-Bukhari by Sheikh Al-Ghunaim 2/33-98, which contains a lengthy narration from Sheikh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may have mercy on him) refuting the interpretations of the people of scholastic theology and those who agreed with them of this hadeeth.
And Allah knows best.
Quoted with some modifications from the Islam Question and Answer website
Important addition: The difference between likening and similitude in names and attributes by Sheikh Ibn Uthaymeen
There is a difference between likening and similitude in names and attributes. That is why we should say “without distorting, denying, explaining, or similitude,” instead of saying “without interpretation, denying, explaining, or similitude.”
The expression “likening” is more appropriate for a number of reasons:
First: It is in accordance with the wording of the Qur’an in the words of Allah the Most High: {There is nothing like Him} [Ash-Shura 42:11]. {So do not make comparisons for God} [An-Nahl: 74]. He did not say that there is nothing like Him, nor did he say that you should not make comparisons for God.
Secondly: that comparison has become a description that people differ in their understanding of. For some people, affirming attributes is called comparison, and they call whoever affirms an attribute for God a anthropomorphist. You find that among the Mu’tazila, as Al-Zamakhshari says in his interpretation Al-Kashshaf: And the anthropomorphists said. He means the people of the Sunnah and the community.
Third: It is not correct to deny any likeness in general between the attributes of the Creator and the attributes of the creation, because there are no two established attributes except that there is a commonality in the original meaning between them, and this commonality is a type of similarity : for example, knowledge is for man knowledge, and for the Lord, glory be to Him, knowledge, so they share the original meaning, but they are not equal. As for the likeness, it is correct to deny it absolutely .
Also, it is not said without interpretation, but without distortion, because interpretation in the names and attributes of Allah is not denied in every case, rather what is indicated by evidence is a proven interpretation and it is in the sense of explanation, and what is denied is distortion, which is diverting the word from its apparent meaning without evidence, as the people of denial did, who differed in what they denied and affirmed of the names and attributes of Allah . Some of them affirmed the names and some of the attributes and denied most of the attributes, some of them affirmed the names and denied all the attributes, some of them denied all the names and attributes, and some of them denied all affirmation and all negation, so they said: Do not describe Allah with affirmation or negation.
The Sunnis are innocent of this and they affirm for Allah - the Most High - all that He affirmed for Himself of names and attributes.
Likewise, the text came with the condemnation of distortion in His statement: {They distort words from their [proper] usages} [An-Nisa’: 46] and He did not say they interpret, and adhering to the legal terms that came in the Book and Sunnah is more appropriate than creating other terms, because what came in the Shari’ah is stronger and more powerful.