A Discussion of the Narrations

1) The Reason for Naming Ādam

From Abū ʿAbdullāh (a.s.): “Ādam was only named Ādam because he was created from the crust (adīm) of the earth.”(264)

From the Messenger of God (s.a.w.) in response to someone asking about the reason for naming Ādam: “Because he is from the clay of the earth and its crust (adīm).”(265)

From Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a.s.) in response to a Jew who asked him: “Why was Ādam named Ādam?” “Because he was created from the crust (adīm) of the earth. That is because God, blessed and exalted is He, sent Gabriel and commanded him to bring Him four types of clay from the crust (adīm) of the earth: white clay, red clay, dusty clay, and black clay, from its smooth and rough parts. Then God commanded him to bring four types of water: fresh water, salty water, bitter water, and foul-smelling water. Then He commanded him to pour the water into the clay, and God kneaded it with His hand. No clay was left over needing water, nor any water left over needing clay. He made the fresh water in his throat, the salty water in his eyes, the bitter water in his ears, and the foul-smelling water in his nose.”(266)

From al-Bāqir (a.s.) in response to the question: “Why was Ādam named Ādam?” He said: “Because his clay was raised from the lower crust (adīm) of the earth.”(267)

Comment: There are various opinions regarding whether the word Ādam is derived or non-derived, some of which are mentioned:

a) The word Ādam is Arabic, and its origin was a verb. Ādam is like Aḥmad and Asʿad, where individuals have been named using this form of the verb. That is why these words are non-declinable (ghayr munṣarif). The meaning of the word Ādam is: ādama l-maliku l-arḍa, meaning he reached its crust (adīm).(268)

b) The fatwa on the derivation of Ādam from the surface (adīm) of the earth is similar to the fatwa on the derivation of Yaʿqūb from ʿaqb (heel), Idrīs from dars (study), and Iblīs from iblās (despair), based on the assumption that it is Arabic. However, if it is non-Arabic, as al-Zamakhsharī holds, it would be like: Āzar, ʿĀzir, ʿĀbir, Shālakh, and Fāligh.(269) Al-Qurṭubī considers its derivation from the surface of the earth to be correct and seeks support from the statement of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, who says: The reason for naming Ādam is that he was created from the surface of the earth.(270)

2) The Meaning of “Names”

From Abū ʿAbdillāh (a.s.): Indeed, God, blessed and exalted, taught Ādam (a.s.) the names of all of God’s proofs. Then He presented them, while they were spirits, to the angels and said, “Inform Me of the names of these, if you are truthful...”(271)

It was asked of al-Ṣādiq (a.s.) about this verse, so he said: The earth, the mountains, the valleys, and the ravines. Then he looked at a rug beneath him and said: And this rug is among what He taught him.(272)

From Abū ʿAbdillāh (a.s.): The Messenger of God (s.a.w.) said: Indeed, God presented my community to me in clay and taught me their names, just as He taught Ādam all the names.(273)

From ʿAlī ibn Ibrāhīm regarding His saying, “And He taught Ādam all the names,” he said: The names of the mountains, the seas, the valleys, the plants, the animals...(274)

From al-ʿAskarī (a.s.): ...God Almighty said: O Ādam, inform these angels of their names; the names of the prophets and the Imāms. So when he informed them and they recognized them, He took from them the covenants and the pledge of allegiance to have faith in them and to give preference to them...(275)

From al-Faḍl ibn ʿAbbās, from Abū ʿAbdillāh (a.s.), he said: I asked him about the saying of God, “And He taught Ādam all the names,” what are they? He said: The names of the valleys, the plants, the trees, and the mountains of the earth.(276)

From Dāwūd ibn Sarḥān al-ʿAṭṭār, he said: I was with Abū ʿAbdillāh (a.s.) and he called for the table, so we had lunch. Then they brought the basin and the toothpick. So I said, “May I be sacrificed for you, His saying, ‘And He taught Ādam all the names,’ are the basin and the toothpick among them?” So he said: And the mountain passes and the ravines—and he gestured with his hand like this and that.(277)

Regarding His saying, “And He taught Ādam all the names” he said: God taught Ādam a thousand words in those names and said to him: Say to your children and your descendants, O Ādam; if you are not patient with the world, then seek the world through these words and do not seek it through religion, for religion is purely for Me alone. Woe to the one who seeks the world through religion, woe to him.(278)

He said: The names of all his offspring. Then He presented them, he said: He took them from his back.(279)

He said: The names of the angels.(280)

He said: He taught Ādam the names of His creation, then He said what the angels did not know. So he named everything by its name and referred everything to its kind.(281)

From Ibn ʿAbbās regarding His saying: “And He taught Ādam all the names,” he said: God taught Ādam all the names, and they are these names by which people know each other: human, animal, land, sea, plain, mountain, donkey, and the like from the nations and others.(282)

From al-ʿAskarī (a.s.): ...Rather, Muḥammad and his family are superior to you, those whom Ādam informed you of their names.(283)

Comment:

a) The word dast shānah is possibly an Arabized Persian word dast shūyah, which refers to an old ewer and basin.

b) The difference in the statements of the pure Imāms (a.s.) about the names is due to the differences in the capacities of the addressees. Therefore, some of the earthly-minded exegetes, due to the narrowness of their horizons, have looked at their initial statements, while some other heavenly-minded exegetes have grasped the profound and deep interpretations. In this way, the difference in the perspectives of Qurʾanic researchers can be justified.

c) The difference in the content of the narrations is sometimes due to the difference in interpretive aspects with each other, sometimes due to the difference in applicative aspects (not interpretive) with each name, and sometimes due to the difference between conceptual interpretation and actual application. Therefore, witnessing the compilation of each part is the key to resolving the imagined contradiction.

The majority of the topics presented in the story of Ādam are applicable to multiple instances, even the issue of teaching the names; as it has been mentioned regarding some of the perfect friends of God that he was taught the names; for example, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (a.s.) said: “I was taught the names.”(284) Of course, if a part of this extensive story was specific to the person of Ādam and there was evidence for its exclusivity, then there is no room for generalizing that part.