Hadith of Adam (AS)

[al-ghazalli]

As Salam Alikum

In the Name of Allah the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate.

Imam Bukhari narrates in his Sahih;

Narrated Abu Huraira:

The Prophet said, "Allah created Adam, making him 60 cubits tall. When
He created him, He said to him, "Go and greet that group of angels, and
listen to their reply, for it will be your greeting (salutation) and
the greeting (salutations of your offspring." So, Adam said (to the
angels), As-Salamu Alaikum (i.e. Peace be upon you). The angels
said, "As-salamu Alaika wa Rahmatu-l-lahi" (i.e. Peace and Allah's
Mercy be upon you). Thus the angels added to Adam's salutation the
expression, 'Wa Rahmatu-l-lahi,' Any person who will enter Paradise
will resemble Adam (in appearance and figure). People have been
decreasing in stature since Adam's creation. (Volume 4, Book 55, Number 543)

Many orientalists and the Shia have been very critcal of this narration in Bukhari and they also question the authenticity of the hadiths narrated in Bukhari because of such hadiths.

Not to mention Muhsin Khan translations are absolutely horrifying
in their travesties of the English language.

Many people fail to understand that the Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) did not speak English. Nor do these people bother to read the original arabic of the hadith.

If we examine the hadith in its original Arabic we find,

"khalaqa-llaahu aadama wa Tooluhu sittoona thiraa`a.."

This means "Allah made Adam, and his height was 60 cubits.."

This is talking about the height of human beings in Paradise and not
in the world.

How do we know this?

"fa kullu may-yadkhulu-l jannata `alaa Soorati aadama; falam yazali-l khalqu yanquSu Hatta-l 'aan"

meaning,

"So everyone who enters Paradise (will be) upon the likeness of Adam,
for they have not ceased from being decreased in stature even until
now."

When Adam (Peace be Upon Him) fell from grace he was given a worldly decrease in stature which mankind is still upon to this day. When we enter Paradise again we return to that heavenly stature (inshaa' Allah).

This is supported by another hadith in Bukhari,

Narrated Abu Hurayrah:

Allah's Messenger said, "The first group of people who will enter
Paradise will resemble the moon in the night of its fullness...All of
them will be upon a single semblance, upon the resemblance of their
father Adam, 60 cubits (tall) in the sky." (Sahih al-Bukhari 4:544)

So that there is no room for doubt, the Arabic for "...upon the
resemblance of their father Adam, 60 cubits (tall) into the sky" is
"`alaa khalqi rajul waaHid, `alaa Soorati abeehim aadama sittoona thiraa`a fis-samaa'"

As we can all see now the reference to "60 cubits tall" is in
reference to ALL mankind when they are in Paradise.



And with Allah is all Success.

[farouk92]

Asalamu'alaykum al-ghazalli,
I've seen something similar on Bismika Allahuma. At first I also thought that this hadith meant that Adam was actually 60 cubits tall on earth.

[Debater]

I think we should avoid such hadiths as they don't serve the purpose to be a pious Muslim, this Ummah of ours uses so many hadiths aimlessly though we all know that the reason why we are divided into a number of sects, taqleedis, non taqleedis, deobandis, barelvis, shias, sunnis is only because of the CONTROVERSIAL hadiths on which not all are united. Salafis think one hadith is dha'eef, Deobandis say, no it is fine. Same is the scene between every two groups. I don't understand why our religious people don't make Quran the Rope of Allah to get rid of their differences?

Please don't call me a hadith rejector or orientalist as I don't have any association with them. I simply mean that only Quran is ABSOLUTE and any hadith even if it is authenticated by Imam Bukhari and has been transmitted by 70 reporters i.e a mutawatir hadith, it will still be a man-made-report which can't ever be equal to Quran in any respect. We can't avoid hadith as a rule, no doubt, but we should avoid hadith as much as possible and rely on Quran al Majeed 100% in order to get rid of Fitnah and Differences of Ummah, only those hadiths should be taken into consideration which answer those questions not answered by Quran. To the rest of the hadith we should observe SILENCE, without commenting that they are correct or not.

Please note, the above is my own view, and it hasn't been borrowed from any group or person.

Wassalam

[Abu Mus'ab]

I don't care what shias say as they're not muslim, neither do i care what orientalists say, nor do i care what hadith or half hadith rejectors say, so basically i don't care what anyone say *Roll Eyes*

This is not the view that my ulema have, nor is it my view, so i don't subscribe to it.

[al-ghazalli]

Please don't call me a hadith rejector or orientalist as I don't have any association with them. I simply mean that only Quran is ABSOLUTE and any hadith even if it is authenticated by Imam Bukhari and has been transmitted by 70 reporters i.e a mutawatir hadith, it will still be a man-made-report which can't ever be equal to Quran in any respect. We can't avoid hadith as a rule, no doubt, but we should avoid hadith as much as possible and rely on Quran al Majeed 100% in order to get rid of Fitnah and Differences of Ummah, only those hadiths should be taken into consideration which answer those questions not answered by Quran. To the rest of the hadith we should observe SILENCE, without commenting that they are correct or not.

Please note, the above is my own view, and it hasn't been borrowed from any group or person.

Wassalam

As Salam Alikum

In the Name of Allah the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate.

The Qur`an mentions the word hadith more then a dozen times, the hadith is essential in explaining the verses of the Qur`an.

As for the possibility of Sahih hadiths being weak, the Ulema state that Sahih means 99.9% sureity that the hadith is authenthic, a small doubt remains yes but it is not sufficent to reject the hadith.

As for mutwatir then the possibility of it being *weak or even slightly weak is impossible*

The meaning of mutwatir is (historical continuity and perpetuation achieved through transfer from generation-to-generation)

Tawatur has the same meaning.

Mutwatir hadiths are so strong within Sunni Islam that they are used for establishing points of Aqeedah (The Fundementals of Faith).

The mutwatir hadith due to its authenticity is on the same level as a quranic ayah (meaning their is no doubt in its authenticity).

Mufti Taqi Usmani (May Allah Bless him and Protect Him) has an excellent book which you should read called "The Authority of the Sunnah".

[Selamat]

I dunno, that's (http://www.sacredsites.com/asia/sri_lanka/images/124.jpg) a pretty big footprint.

[farouk92]

I dunno, that's (http://www.sacredsites.com/asia/sri_lanka/images/124.jpg) a pretty big footprint.
So basically the guy is worshipping the huge footprint? :rolleyes: al-Ghazailli pointed out that Adam ('alayhi as salam) was 60 cubits tall in Jannah not Earth.

I dunno...

[-Yassar]

nvm

[Selamat]

So basically the guy is worshipping the huge footprint?

Yeah, that's 'Adam's Peak' in Sri Lanka. Some Muslims say that it's Adam (as) footprint, the Buddhists say it's Buddha's and the Hindus say...well, who cares what the Hindus say?

[Ibn Sina]

You can never rely on translations....

[farouk92]

Yeah, that's 'Adam's Peak' in Sri Lanka. Some Muslims say that it's Adam (as) footprint, the Buddhists say it's Buddha's and the Hindus say...well, who cares what the Hindus say?
Interesting...

[Debater]

As Salam Alikum

The mutwatir hadith due to its authenticity is on the same level as a quranic ayah (meaning their is no doubt in its authenticity).

Wa alaikum assalam

Brother, I not only disagree with your above point but I must also say that this is the blasphemy of Quran to say that, though I don't have any doubt about your intention. You make such remarks because you have heard some scholar(s) say that, though it can only be an opinion, to me this is baseless and ridiculous.

For example tell me how many people are hafiz of Quran today in this world and how many are hafiz of Hadith today?

Quran is the only book on Earth of its kind not only because this is the Word of Allah but also because of its mode of transmission.

Hadiths which we have today have reached us through transmission of a few people i.e scholars or students of hadith though Quran has always been transmitted by thousands or millions of people via memorization as well as transcription.
Well known books of hadith e.g Sahihain were compiled during the period when Ummah was under severe attack by Munafiqeen of 'Ajam (Iranians).

It's a shame that some people in our religious class equate hadith to Quran in terms of authenticity and authority though hadith can't ever avoid the chances of corruption. The authenticity of hadith depends upon Ijtehad of hadith scholars which means if a hadith is sahih according to Bukhari, it might be non sahih according to Muslim. Unfortunately our sunni brothers have also been infected by the germs of shi'ism through their blind faith in scholars and allergy to Quran.

[al-ghazalli]

Debater:

Assalamu `ala man ittaba`al-huda


Brother, I not only disagree with your above point but I must also say that this is the blasphemy of Quran to say that, though I don't have any doubt about your intention. You make such remarks because you have heard some scholar(s) say that, though it can only be an opinion, to me this is baseless and ridiculous.

Sidi I'm sorry that you feel this way but fortunately for sunni islam it has been an established fact based on Sharia evidence that mutwatir hadiths *can* aborgate verses of the Qur`an take a look at Imam Suyuti's al-Itiqan it is the magnun opous for the sciences of the Qur`an.

I have not heard some Scholars say this alone, look at the classical books of fiqh on the subject of naskh and mansukh they outline this clearly and the fuqha and muhadiths are in agreement on this.

Hadiths which we have today have reached us through transmission of a few people


I am not talking ahad hadiths, I am talking about mutwatir hadiths are tawatur (like the verses of the Qur'an) historical continuity and perpetuation achieved through transfer from generation-to-generation). This is also how the Qur`an was preserved sidi.

Mutwatir literally means that so many people in every generation conveyed it to the next and so on that there can be no doubt about its authenticity. It was not transmitted by a few persons in one generation to a few persons in the next. It was handed over by the entire generation to the next generation.


Unfortunately our sunni brothers have also been infected by the germs of shi'ism through their blind faith in scholars and allergy to Quran.

Wow you sound like those "Qur`an only people", Sunni Islam is based on the Qur`an and Sunnah, anyone with an open mind would not doubt that for a second. The Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) warned us to stick to the majority and that is Ahl as-Sunnah Wal Juma and as long we stick to it inshallah we will atain Jannah.


Amen.

[Ahmed7]

WOW. I didn't know that. I thought he was 60 cubits on Earth. Interesting, are there any scholars which suscribe to this view?

[Medievalist]

I don't care what shias say as they're not muslim, neither do i care what orientalists say, nor do i care what hadith or half hadith rejectors say, so basically i don't care what anyone say *Roll Eyes*

This is not the view that my ulema have, nor is it my view, so i don't subscribe to it.

ditto.

and how do the people explain the huge graves that we have in our village back home? huh?

[Debater]

Sidi I'm sorry that you feel this way but fortunately for sunni islam it has been an established fact based on Sharia evidence that mutwatir hadiths *can* aborgate verses of the Qur`an take a look at Imam Suyuti's al-Itiqan it is the magnun opous for the sciences of the Qur`an.
SubhaanAllah, this is the reason why Muslims have been living their disgusting and disgraceful lives under the boots of Kuffar because they follow opinions of their scholars other than the Word of Allah. If a scholar says that a mutawatir hadith can abrogate verses of Quran they believe it as if they heard the Prophet Muhammad sallAllahu 'alayhe wasallam.

May I know which verse of Quran allows us to abrogate verses of Quran because a mutawatir hadith says so?

I have not heard some Scholars say this alone, look at the classical books of fiqh on the subject of naskh and mansukh they outline this clearly and the fuqha and muhadiths are in agreement on this.
Do all scholars have an Ijma' (consensus) over this BELIEF that a mutawatir hadith can abrogate the verses of Quran?
Or this is a controversial matter from which deducing principles of shari'ah is obligatory for sectarian groups?

I am not talking ahad hadiths, I am talking about mutwatir hadiths are tawatur (like the verses of the Qur'an) historical continuity and perpetuation achieved through transfer from generation-to-generation). This is also how the Qur`an was preserved sidi.
Well, I also didn't talk about ahad hadiths but mutawatir hadiths. Since you seem determined to lower the credibility of Quran, I would request you to give me at least one hadith which has been memorized by at least 10,000 sahabah and transmitted by the same number of hadith narrators (reporters) as the number of those who transmitted Quran from the age of Sahabah reaches thousands. This is because you THINK the mutawatir hadith has the same level of reliability as of Quran.

Mutwatir literally means that so many people in every generation conveyed it to the next and so on that there can be no doubt about its authenticity. It was not transmitted by a few persons in one generation to a few persons in the next. It was handed over by the entire generation to the next generation.
Can you show me a single hadith narrator today whose chain of narration reaches any Sahabi so that I can ACCEPT your idea of mutawatir hadith?

I mean if a Shaykhul Hadith in a Pakistani Madrasah has memorized a hadith of Sahih Bukhari then what is the chain of that narration from the Shaykhul Hadith to Imam Bukhari, in order to accept your theory that it would have been handed over by the previous generations?

And if your mutawatir hadith today is called mutawatir because it has been transmitted through publications of Sahih Bukhari then what the credibility of all those publishers or authors is who have published copies of Sahih Bukhari from the period of Imam Bukhari?

This is because if you talk about a kid today who has memorized Quran completely, his chain of Quran transmission must reach Muhammad sallAllahu 'alayhe wasallam. The perfect and ONLY example of mutawatir transmission of its own kind.

Wow you sound like those "Qur`an only people",
Well, this is the type of reply which people give when they don't have any logical answer. This is like when you prove someone wrong with logic or knowledge, the Jahil starts name calling, saying you are so and so.

Sunni Islam is based on the Qur`an and Sunnah, anyone with an open mind would not doubt that for a second.
May I know which sunni Islam you are talking about? The Salafi Sunni Islam or the Deobandi or Barelvi Sunni Islam?

The Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) warned us to stick to the majority and that is Ahl as-Sunnah Wal Juma and as long we stick to it inshallah we will atain Jannah.
Majority?
The Barelvi majority, or the Wahabi majority?
This is because they don't pray behind each other.

[Abu Mus'ab]

Your whole post is just a load of bakwaas.

[Supernova Nebula]

thank you for sharing, actually I doubted the hadith to be authentic before, but Adam's height as mentioned being the height in Heaven now makes sense to me. For students of history this should be interesting because archeological finds prove the opposite about the height of our ancestors ages ago.

[al-ghazalli]

Sidi Debater

Assalamu `ala man ittaba`al-huda


SubhaanAllah, this is the reason why Muslims have been living their disgusting and disgraceful lives under the boots of Kuffar because they follow opinions of their scholars other than the Word of Allah. If a scholar says that a mutawatir hadith can abrogate verses of Quran they believe it as if they heard the Prophet Muhammad sallAllahu 'alayhe wasallam.


The Qur`an told us to follow the ahl-dhikr, Ibn Abbas (May Allah be Pleased with Him) was the top muffasir of the Sahaba and he stated that this meant the Ulema.

The Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) also mentioned in several hadiths that the Ulema are the heirs of the Prophets (Peace be Upon Them).

May I know which verse of Quran allows us to abrogate verses of Quran because a mutawatir hadith says so

read Imam Suyuti al-Itiqan or read Imam Ghazalli's work on Usul which as regarded as *best work on Usul al-Fiqh) al-Mustafa.

Do all scholars have an Ijma' (consensus) over this BELIEF that a mutawatir hadith can abrogate the verses of Quran?
Or this is a controversial matter from which deducing principles of shari'ah is obligatory for sectarian groups?

Yes Ijma has been established by the Ahl as-Sunnah please refer to the books of Usul or Uloom al-Quran if you can read and comprehend Arabic.

This is because you THINK the mutawatir hadith has the same level of reliability as of Quran.

err why would it matter what *I think* my opinion does not count I am not a Scholar nor am I anyone knowlodgeable. It is the Ulema who has established this fact and if you could read arabic I would advise you to get yourself a book on the Sciences of Ilm al-Rijal.

I would recomend books by Ibn Hajar (Rahimullah) Imam Dhahabi (Rahimullah) or Imam Nawawi (Rahimullah), their are many more muhaddits but these should suffice inshallah.

Can you show me a single hadith narrator today whose chain of narration reaches any Sahabi so that I can ACCEPT your idea of mutawatir hadith?

Do you know what an Ijaza is? almost every Scholar carries one, go up to one and ask them to show you an Ijaza it will go right back to the Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) in unbroken chains.

Or if you go to Hanafi Mufti and he is teaching al-Fiqh al-Akbar, he will actually have an Ijaza going back to Imam Abu Hanifa.

I mean if a Shaykhul Hadith in a Pakistani Madrasah has memorized a hadith of Sahih Bukhari then what is the chain of that narration from the Shaykhul Hadith to Imam Bukhari, in order to accept your theory that it would have been handed over by the previous generations?

My Shaykhs have an Ijaza going right back to Imam Bukhari (Rahimullah) and so does every authenthic Scholar who has studied the book.


May I know which sunni Islam you are talking about? The Salafi Sunni Islam or the Deobandi or Barelvi Sunni Islam

These groups are still one Firaqan the differences of these are in secondary nature either fiqh or aqeedah wise.

I would suggest you actually go to the Middle East and study with reliable Ulema before you make up your own deviant theories.

[nopah]

I still dont understand 60 cubits. was that an International or metric standard?:D

[Debater]

The Qur`an told us to follow the ahl-dhikr, Ibn Abbas (May Allah be Pleased with Him) was the top muffasir of the Sahaba and he stated that this meant the Ulema.
Well, brother, we do take guidance from 'Ulama but we don't follow them against Allah and His Messenger sallAllahu 'alayhe wasallam. Then 'ulama differ from each other on a number of issues, we can't follow an 'aalim blindly on any controversial issue.

read Imam Suyuti al-Itiqan or read Imam Ghazalli's work on Usul which as regarded as *best work on Usul al-Fiqh) al-Mustafa.
Since you are the one to claim that a mutawatir hadith can abrogate verses of Quran, you yourself will have to prove that from supporting evidence, you can't tell me to read this and that, as I don't have any time to read books and search for what you have claimed in the book.

Yes Ijma has been established by the Ahl as-Sunnah please refer to the books of Usul or Uloom al-Quran if you can read and comprehend Arabic.
Well, we are not talking about languages but the Ijma' of scholars on a certain issue. Books of Usul is not a direct answer to what I asked you. I am interested to see what is the source on which 'Ulama have established an Ijma' as you claim on this matter.
And I asked which you didn't respond to that if there is any verse of Quran which allows us to abrogate verses of Quran because of a mutwatir hadith?


Do you know what an Ijaza is? almost every Scholar carries one, go up to one and ask them to show you an Ijaza it will go right back to the Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) in unbroken chains.

Or if you go to Hanafi Mufti and he is teaching al-Fiqh al-Akbar, he will actually have an Ijaza going back to Imam Abu Hanifa.

My Shaykhs have an Ijaza going right back to Imam Bukhari (Rahimullah) and so does every authenthic Scholar who has studied the book.

If your shaykh or another shaykh has an unbroken chain of a mutawatir hadith which is traced back to Imam Bukhari and finally Muhammad sallAllahu 'alayhe wasallam then what book of Rijaal covers the account of your shaykh and all those shuyukh between your shaykh and Imam Bukhari?
Why would I accept your shaykh and his predecessors as thiqah (reliable) reporters (rawaat)?

And if your focus is on the number of reporters then tell me how many people are Huffaz of hadith today and in all ages than those who memorize Quran today and in all ages?

Would you still have the audacity to defy Quran al Kareem by claiming that a mutawatir hadith has the same level of accuracy as of Quran?

These groups are still one Firaqan the differences of these are in secondary nature either fiqh or aqeedah wise.

I would suggest you actually go to the Middle East and study with reliable Ulema before you make up your own deviant theories.
That is why they all call each other Deviant as you are calling me.

[al-ghazalli]

Sidi Debater

Assalamu `ala man ittaba`al-huda

Well, brother, we do take guidance from 'Ulama but we don't follow them against Allah and His Messenger sallAllahu 'alayhe wasallam. Then 'ulama differ from each other on a number of issues, we can't follow an 'aalim blindly on any controversial issue.

No the Ulema have only disagreed over issues of Fiqh which is a mercy from Allah as atested by numerous Sahaba and the athar that has been reported by them, "Difference of opinion in Fiqh is a Mercy for the Ummah."

Since you are the one to claim that a mutawatir hadith can abrogate verses of Quran, you yourself will have to prove that from supporting evidence, you can't tell me to read this and that, as I don't have any time to read books and search for what you have claimed in the book.

I am only going by what over 1000 years of Islamic Scholarship has established bringing proof for something I believe in is not a requirement, if you are truly interested in knowing the truth, then you should go to a Mufti and study with him these aspects, or atleast read the classical books, I am not a teacher nor a scholar.

Well, we are not talking about languages but the Ijma' of scholars on a certain issue. Books of Usul is not a direct answer to what I asked you.

As i've stated Ijma has been established if you bothered to read the books it would have all the information. By the way books of Usul are the foundations of Islamic Law, without Usul their would be no Sharia.

The rest of your post is honestly just jargon, if you truly wish to learn about Islam then you must do what hundreds of millions of Muslims have done before you, and this is to sit with the Ahl-Dhikr and learn from them.

They have inherited the Sciences of Religion from the Prophet (Upon Him be Peace).

[Arifa]

I'm sure I read somewhere that this:

""Difference of opinion in Fiqh is a Mercy for the Ummah.""

...is weak :scratch:

*EDIT*

The first point here: http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/pillars/prayer/albaani/prayer_7.html

[al-ghazalli]

yes the hadith itself is weak, that is why I mentioned the Athar (Saying of the Sahaba and Tabien) even though the hadith itself is weak its meaning is true since it has been reported by many of the Sahaba and hundreds of athar support it from the first three generation.

I believe Shaykh GF Haddad has compiled some of the athar and has written a little booklet on it.

[Debater]

yes the hadith itself is weak, that is why I mentioned the Athar (Saying of the Sahaba and Tabien) even though the hadith itself is weak its meaning is true since it has been reported by many of the Sahaba and hundreds of athar support it from the first three generation.

I believe Shaykh GF Haddad has compiled some of the athar and has written a little booklet on it.
Brother, the hadith you mentioned above is neither present in any book of Sihah Sittah nor in any other worth mentioning book of hadith, rather this is in a book of Hafiz Jalaludin Suyuti named as 'Jame' Saghir'.

In fact this so called hadith is used by all sectarian scholars and groups who have an allergy to Quran, i.e they look for an excuse for their habbit of going against Quran. Quran condemns those who cause differences in the Ummah but our sectarian groups have found this made up hadith to call the La'nah a Rahmah (blessing), Astaghfirullah. They call the curse a blessing.

There is a doubt that this so called hadith was not put by Suyuti himself into his book but someone else included this made up hadith in his book because if it was really a hadith in the eyes of Suyuti then he would put it into his book of hadith, Jama'ul Jawame'.

Interesting that according to Jame' Saghir, the hadith in question was recorded by Nasr Muqaddasi in his book al-Hajjah and Bayhaqi in his booklet al-'Ashariyah without a sanad, SubhaanAllah... and the same hadith is the Crown on the empty Heads of our sectarian groups.

[al-ghazalli]

Sidi Debater

Assalamu `ala man ittaba`al-huda

Brother, the hadith you mentioned above is neither present in any book of Sihah Sittah nor in any other worth mentioning book of hadith, rather this is in a book of Hafiz Jalaludin Suyuti named as 'Jame' Saghir'.

You are aware that their are other books of hadith other then the Sahih Sittah which contain Sahih hadith, the hadiths number over 1 million in Sunni Islam, the Sahih Sittah do not even contain 1/4 of all the hadiths.

There is a doubt that this so called hadith was not put by Suyuti himself into his book but someone else included this made up hadith in his book because if it was really a hadith in the eyes of Suyuti then he would put it into his book of hadith, Jama'ul Jawame'.

I wish you would atleast look at every athar before making a judgement, first of all I did state the hadith itself is weak but its meaning is true since the first 3 generations used this athar extensively. (The first 3 generations are the best generation, Sahaba, Tabien and Tabi Tabien)

"The differences among the Companions of Muhammad are a mercy for Allah's servants."

al-Hafiz al-Bayhaqi in his book al-Madkhal and al-Zarkashi in his Tadhkirah fi al-ahadith al-mushtaharah relate:

Imam al-Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr al-Siddiq said: "The differences among the Companions of Muhammad are a mercy for Allah's servants."

al-Hafiz al-`Iraqi the teacher of Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalani said:

This is a saying of al-Qasim ibn Muhammad who said: The difference of opinion among the Companions of Muhammad is a mercy.

Al-Hafiz Ibn al-Athir in the introduction to his Jami` al-usul fi ahadith al-rasul relates the above saying from Imam Malik according to al-Hafiz Ibn al-Mulaqqin in his Tuhfat al-muhtaj ila adillat al-Minhaj and Ibn al-Subki in his Tabaqat al-Shafi`iyya. Bayhaqi and Zarkashi also said:

Qutada said: `Umar ibn `Abd al-`Aziz used to say: "I would dislike it if the Companions of Muhammad did not differ among them, because had they not differed there would be no leeway (for us)."

Now I am sure you are aware of who Umar Abdal Aziz is, he was the renowned Khalifa ab absolute Mujtahid of his time and lived during the time of the Tabi Tabien.

Bayhaqi also relates in al-Madkhal and Zarkashi in the Tadhkira:

al-Layth ibn Sa`d said on the authority of Yahya ibn Sa`id: "The people of knowledge are the people of flexibility (tawsi`a). Those who give fatwas never cease to differ, and so this one permits something while that one forbids it, without one finding fault with the other when he knows of his position."

Al-Hafiz al-Sakhawi said in his Maqasid al-hasana p. 49 #39 after quoting the above:

I have read the following written in my shaykh's (al-Hafiz ibn Hajar) handwriting: "The hadith of Layth is a reference to a very famous hadith of the Prophet, cited by Ibn al-Hajib in the Mukhtasar in the section on qiyas (analogy), which says: "Difference of opinion in my Community is a mercy for people" (ikhtilafu ummati rahmatun li al-nas). There is a lot of questioning about its authenticity, and many of the imams of learning have claimed that it has no basis (la asla lahu). However, al-Khattabi mentions it in the context of a digression in Gharib al-hadith... and what he says concerning the tracing of the hadith is not free from imperfection, but he makes it known that it does have a basis in his opinion."

Al-`Iraqi mentions all of the above (1-5) in his Mughni `an haml al-asfar and adds:

What is meant by "the Community" in this saying is those competent for practicing legal reasoning (al-mujtahidun) in the branches of the law, wherein reasoning is permissible.

What `Iraqi meant by saying "the branches wherein reasoning is permissible" is that difference is not allowed in matters of doctrine, since there is agreement that there is only one truth in the essentials of belief and anyone, whether a mujtahid or otherwise, who takes a different view automatically renounces Islam as stated by Shawkani.

Now it well known that Shaykh Albani takes the arguement of Ibn Hazm that difference of opinion can not be a mercy, but this has been refuted by the hadith master of his age Imam Nawawi.

Imam Nawawi refuted this view in his Commentary on Sahih Muslim:

If something (i.e. agreement) is a mercy it is not necessary for its opposite to be the opposite of mercy. No-one makes this binding, and no-one even says this except an ignoramus or one who affects ignorance. Allah the Exalted said: "And of His mercy He has made night for you so that you would rest in it," and He has named night a mercy: it does not necessarily ensue from this that the day is a punishment.

Even Imam Ibn Taymiyah states in the Mukhtasar al-fatawa al-misriyya

al-a'imma ijtima`uhum hujjatun qati`atun wa ikhtilafuhum rahmatun wasi`a -- The consensus of the Imams [of fiqh] on a question is a definitive proof, and their divergence of opinion is a vast mercy... If one does not follow any of the four Imams [of fiqh]... then he is completely in error, for the truth is not found outside of these four in the whole sharia.


Shaykh GF Haddad.

[Ahmed7]

Wait wait wait. Please help me out. Is this CONFIRMED? That Adam was only 60 cubits in paradise? Well? Any fatwas?

[al-ghazalli]

Wait wait wait. Please help me out. Is this CONFIRMED? That Adam was only 60 cubits in paradise? Well? Any fatwas?

yes Sidi Imam Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali the great hadith master and scholar of fiqh states this on his commentary and I believe Ibn Hajar also mentions this in Fath al-Bari.

We do not know the exact height of Adam (Peace be Upon Him) when he was placed on earth, but what we do know is that his height was not 60 cubits.