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One of these two hadiths says that Adam (AS) descended in India, while the other says he descended on the land of Mecca. How can these two hadiths be reconciled?
Al-Ṣādiq (AS)—Indeed, Adam (AS) أُنْزِلَ فَنَزَلَ فِی الْهِنْد.
الصّادق (AS)—Adam descended (AS) مِنَ الْجَنَّهًْ عَلَی الصَّفَا، وَ حَوَّاءُ (peace be upon her) عَلَی الْمَرْوَهًْ.
َّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحيمِ
Adam’s (AS) initial descent was in India, after which he was brought to Mecca. These two reports can be reconciled by taking their chronological and geographical order into account: he first descended in India, then traveled to the Sacred House and performed the rites.
It is thought that Adam’s descent first took place in the land of India, and that he was then transferred from India to Mecca!
ʿAlī ibn Ḥātim relates from al-Qāsim ibn Muḥammad, from Abū al-Qāsim Ḥumayd ibn Ziyād, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad, from ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn al-Ṭāṭarī, from Muḥammad ibn Ziyād, from Abū Khadīja, who said: I heard Imam al-Ṣādiq عليه السّلام say:
As my father was performing the circumambulation, a man came up to him, placed his hand on his shoulder, and said, “I have three questions for you. No one knows the answers except you and one other man.”
My father remained silent and did not answer him until he had completed his circumambulation. Then he entered the Hijr of Ismāʿīl and performed two rakʿahs. I was with him. When he had finished praying, he called out loudly, “Where is the questioner?”
The man came and sat in front of him. My father said, “Ask your questions.” The man began by asking about the verse: ن وَ الْقَلَمِ وَ ما يَسْطُرُونَ
My father answered him.
Then the man asked, “Explain how God became pleased with the angels after they objected to the Almighty and angered Him.”
He replied, “For seven thousand years, the angels circumambulated the Throne, called upon God, sought His forgiveness, and entreated Him to be pleased with them. After some years had passed, the Almighty was pleased with them.”
The man said, “You have spoken truly.” Then he asked, “Tell me, how did the Lord become pleased with Adam عليه السّلام?”
He replied, “When Adam was sent down from the upper realm, he alighted in the land of India. He asked his Lord where the Sacred House was. God, blessed and exalted is He, commanded him to go to the House and circumambulate it seven times, then proceed to Minā and ʿArafāt and perform their rites and acts of worship. Adam عليه السّلام set out from India. The places where he set down his two feet are the same places where ʿImrān set down his feet. Between each of Adam’s footsteps and the next lay stretches of empty wilderness. In this way, he made his way to the House.
“When he reached the House of God, he first circumambulated it seven times, then performed the rites and acts of worship as God had commanded him. Through his performance of the rites, God—glorious and exalted is His majesty—accepted his repentance and forgave him.”
Then the Imam عليه السّلام said, “Because the angels circumambulated the Throne for seven years, Adam’s circumambulation of the House was also set at seven circuits. When he had completed the seven circuits and performed the rites, Gabriel gave Adam عليه السّلام the good news, saying, ‘Rejoice, Adam! God, mighty and exalted, has forgiven you. I circumambulated this House three thousand years before you.’
“Adam prayed to God, ‘My Lord, will You forgive me and my children?’
“God replied, ‘Yes. I will surely forgive any among them who believe in Me and in My messengers.’”
After hearing this account from the Imam عليه السّلام, the man affirmed that he spoke the truth and went on his way. Then my father عليه السّلام said, “This is Gabriel, come to you to teach you the fundamentals and laws of your religion.”
ʿIlal al-Sharāʾiʿ / translated by Zehni Tehrani, vol. 2, p. 314.