ʿAbd Allāh, the son of Imām Aḥmad, said:¹

“Hudbah ibn Khālid related to us; Ḥammād ibn Salamah related to us, from Ḥumayd, from al-Ḥasan, from ʿUtay—namely ʿUtay ibn Ḍumrah al-Saʿdī—who said:

‘I once saw an elderly man in Madinah speaking, so I asked about him and was told, “That is Ubayy ibn Kaʿb.” He said:

When death approached Adam, he said to his children, “My sons, I long for some of the fruit of Paradise.” They went out to look for it, but the angels met them carrying his shrouds and embalming perfume, together with pick-axes, spades, and baskets.

The angels asked, “O children of Adam, what do you want and what are you seeking—or what do you want and where are you seeking it?”

They replied, “Our father is ill and desires some of the fruit of the Garden.”

The angels said, “Go back; your father has passed away.” They returned, and when Eve saw the angels she recognized them and clung to Adam. He said, “Leave me, for it was through you that I was tried. Let me be with the angels of my Lord—Mighty and Majestic.”

The angels then took his soul, washed him, shrouded him, perfumed him, dug his grave and prepared the lahd (niche), prayed over him, placed him in the grave, and filled it in. After that they said, “O children of Adam, this is your practice.”’

Its chain of transmission to Ubayy is sound.

Ibn ʿAsākir also transmitted—through Shaybān ibn Farrūkh, from Muḥammad ibn Ziyād, from Maymūn ibn Mihrān, from Ibn ʿAbbās—that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

“The angels pronounced four takbīrs over Adam; Abū Bakr pronounced four over Fāṭimah; ʿUmar pronounced four over Abū Bakr; and Suhayb pronounced four over ʿUmar.”³

Ibn ʿAsākir added: another transmitter narrated it from Maymūn but attributed it to Ibn ʿUmar.

Scholars have differed about the location of Adam’s grave. The most common view is that he was buried at the mountain in India where he was sent down. Others say he was buried at Mount Abū Qubays in Mecca. A third opinion holds that, when the Flood came, Noah—upon him be peace—placed both Adam and Eve in a coffin and buried them in Jerusalem; this was reported by Ibn Jarīr.⁴

Ibn ʿAsākir also transmitted from some authorities that Adam’s head is near the Mosque of Abraham while his feet are at the Rock of Jerusalem. Eve died one year after him.

They have likewise disagreed about Adam’s age—upon him be peace. Earlier we cited, in the report raised to the Prophet through Ibn ʿAbbās and Abū Hurayrah, that his lifespan was written in the Preserved Tablet as one thousand years.⁵ This is not contradicted by what appears in the Torah, which says he lived nine hundred and thirty years; their statement is subject to criticism and must be rejected whenever it conflicts with the truth that has reached us in sound transmission