THREAD
An interesting explanation of a famous narration from the Holy Prophet where he says, “God has created Adam in his image.”
ان الله خلق آدم على صورته
An interesting explanation of a famous narration from the Holy Prophet where he says, “God has created Adam in his image.”
ان الله خلق آدم على صورته
The Holy Quran in multiple verses asserts that God is unique, matchless and unlike His creatures. He is the creator of time and space and thus is not bound by its limitations. He is not a physical entity and thus possesses no image.
With this in mind, how do we understand the Prophet’s statement, “God has created Adam in his image.?”
What was the context of this statement? Was this an independent hadith or merely part of a longer conversation?
What was the context of this statement? Was this an independent hadith or merely part of a longer conversation?
Shaykh al-Sadooq in U’ūn Akhbār al-Ridhā reports that Imam Ali ibn Mūsa al-Ridhā was asked by one of his companions, “O grandson of the Messenger, people report that the Messenger of God said. “God created Adam in his image”.
The Imam retorted, “...they have omitted the first part of the hadith. The Messenger of God passed by two men and heard one of them insulting his companion saying ‘May God render you unsightly.’
The Holy Prophet said to him, “Stop! Do not say this to your brother for God has created Adam in his image.”
According to this narration, the pronoun “his” refers to the man who was insulted. Meaning do not insult this man because God created Adam in the image of the man you insulted.
