(1) A weak hadith, recorded by al-Tirmidhi in his Tafsir of Surat al-Araf, vol. 8, p. 460. He said: “This is a sound, solitary hadith (hasan gharib). We know it only through the narration of Umar ibn Ibrahim from Qatada.” Some narrated it from Abd al-Samad without attributing it to the Prophet. It was also recorded by Imam Ahmad in al-Musnad, vol. 5, p. 11; al-Tabarani in al-Kabir, no. 6895; al-Hakim, vol. 2, p. 545; and al-Tabari, vol. 13, p. 309. Umar ibn Ibrahim was generally reliable, but his narrations from Qatada are weak. Ahmad said: “He narrates unacceptable reports from Qatada.” Ibn Adi said: “He narrates from Qatada matters that are not corroborated, and his hadiths from Qatada in particular are inconsistent.” See Tahdhib al-Tahdhib. Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir cited the report from Ibn Abbas and also attributed it to Ibn Abi Hatim in his Tafsir, as well as to Ibn Mardawayh. He then said: “The hadith is defective in three respects: “First: Umar ibn Ibrahim in this chain is the Basran narrator whom Ibn Main declared reliable, whereas Abu Hatim al-Razi said that he cannot be used as evidence. However, Ibn Mardawayh narrated it through al-Mutamir from his father, from al-Hasan, from Samurah, attributing it to the Prophet; and Allah knows best. “Second: It has been narrated as a statement of Samurah himself, not as a report attributed to the Prophet, as Ibn Jarir related: Ibn Abd al-Ala narrated to us; al-Mutamir narrated to us from his father; Bakr ibn Abd Allah narrated to us from Sulayman al-Taymi, from Abu al-Ala ibn al-Shikhkhir, from Samurah ibn Jundub, who said: ‘Adam named his son Abd al-Harith.’ “Third: Al-Hasan himself explained the verse differently. Had he possessed this report from Samurah as a hadith attributed to the Prophet, he would not have departed from it. Ibn Jarir related: Ibn Waki narrated to us; Sahl ibn Yusuf narrated to us from Umar, from al-Hasan, regarding the words, jaala lahu shurakaa fi ma aataahuma (they ascribed partners to Him in what He had given them): ‘This concerned some members of the religious communities; it did not concern Adam.’ “Muhammad ibn Abd al-Ala narrated to us; Muhammad ibn Thawr narrated to us from Mamar, who said: Al-Hasan said that it refers to the descendants of Adam and those among them who committed shirk (associating partners with Allah) after him; that is, jaala lahu shurakaa fi ma aataahuma (they ascribed partners to Him in what He had given them). Bishr narrated to us; Yazid narrated to us; Said narrated to us from Qatada, who said: Al-Hasan used to say, ‘They were the Jews and Christians. Allah granted them children, but they made them Jews and Christians.’ “These are sound chains from al-Hasan, may Allah have mercy on him, showing that he interpreted the verse in this manner. This is the best interpretation and the most fitting understanding of the verse. Had this hadith been reliably preserved by him from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, neither he nor anyone else would have departed from it, especially given his piety and scrupulousness before Allah. This shows that the report is mawquf (stopped at the Companion), and it is possible that he received it from some of the People of the Book who had embraced Islam, such as Kab al-Ahbar or Wahb ibn Munabbih and others, as will be explained, Allah willing. In any event, we disclaim any assertion that it is authentically attributed to the Prophet; and Allah knows best. “As for the reports, Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Yasar related from Dawud ibn al-Husayn, from Ikrimah, from Ibn Abbas, who said: Eve used to bear children for Adam, peace be upon him, and he would devote them to the worship of Allah, naming them Abd Allah, Ubayd Allah, and the like; but they would die. Then Iblis came to them and said: ‘If you were to give him a name other than the names you have been using, he would live.’ She then bore him a boy, and he named him Abd al-Harith (servant of al-Harith). Regarding this, Allah revealed: huwa alladhi khalaqakum min nafsin wahidatin (He is the One who created you from a single soul) up to His words, jaala lahu shurakaa fi ma aataahuma (they ascribed partners to Him in what He had given them), to the end of the verse. “Al-Awfi related from Ibn Abbas concerning the passage about Adam: huwa alladhi khalaqakum min nafsin wahidatin (He is the One who created you from a single soul) up to the words, fa-marrat bihi (then she carried it lightly): she doubted whether she was pregnant or not. Then, when she became heavy, they called upon Allah, their Lord: lain aataytana salihan la-nakunanna min al-shakirin (If You grant us a sound child, we shall surely be among the grateful). Satan then came to them and said: ‘Do you know what will be born to you? Do you know whether it will be an animal or not?’ He embellished falsehood for them, for he was manifestly misguided. Before this, she had borne two children, and both had died. Satan said to them: ‘If you do not name him after me, he will not emerge sound, and he will die as the previous two died.’ Thus, they named their child Abd al-Harith. This is the meaning of Allah’s words: falamma aataahuma salihan jaala lahu shurakaa fi ma aataahuma (when He gave them a sound child, they ascribed partners to Him in what He had given them), to the end of the verse. “Abd Allah ibn Abi Said ibn Jubayr related from Ibn Abbas concerning the words, falamma aataahuma salihan jaala lahu shurakaa fi ma aataahuma (when He gave them a sound child, they ascribed partners to Him in what He had given them): Allah says, huwa alladhi khalaqakum min nafsin wahidatin wa jaala minha zawjaha li-yaskuna ilayha falamma taghashshaha Adam hamalat (He is the One who created you from a single soul and made from it its mate, that he might find repose in her; then when Adam had relations with her, she conceived). Iblis, whom Allah has cursed, came to them and said: ‘I am your companion who expelled you from Paradise. You must obey me, or I shall give him the horns of a deer, so that he will emerge from your belly and split it open; I shall do this and that.’ He threatened them, but they refused to obey him, and the child was born dead. Then she conceived a second time, and he came to them again, saying: ‘I am your companion who did what I did. You must comply, or I shall do such-and-such,’ threatening them. They again refused to obey him, and the child was born dead. Then she conceived a third time, and he came to them again and repeated his demand. Their love for a child overcame them, so they named him Abd al-Harith. This is the meaning of His words: jaala lahu shurakaa fi ma aataahuma (they ascribed partners to Him in what He had given them). Ibn Abi Hatim recorded this. “A number of Ibn Abbas’s students transmitted this report from him, including Mujahid, Said ibn Jubayr, and Ikrimah; and from the following generation, Qatada, al-Suddi, and more than one of the early Muslims, as well as a number of later scholars. Many later exegetes also transmitted it, too numerous to count. It appears, and Allah knows best, that its origin was taken from the People of the Book, for Ibn Abbas narrated it from Ubayy ibn Kab, as Ibn Abi Hatim recorded: My father narrated to us; Abu al-Jamahir narrated to us; Said, meaning Ibn Bashir, narrated to us from Uqbah, from Qatada, from Mujahid, from Ibn Abbas, from Ubayy ibn Kab, who said: ‘When Eve conceived, Satan came to her and said: “Will you obey me so that your child may be safe? Name him Abd al-Harith.” She did not do so, and she gave birth, but the child died. Then she conceived again, and he said the same to her, but she did not comply. When she conceived a third time, he came to her and said: “If you obey me, the child will be safe; otherwise, it will be an animal.” He frightened them both, and they obeyed him.’ “These reports evidently appear, and Allah knows best, to be from the reports of the People of the Book. It is authentically reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘If the People of the Book narrate something to you, neither affirm them nor deny them.’ “Their reports fall into three categories: those whose truth we know from evidence in the Book of Allah or the Sunnah of His Messenger; those whose falsity we know from evidence in the Book and Sunnah that contradicts them; and those concerning which revelation is silent. The latter may be narrated, based on his saying, peace and blessings be upon him: ‘Narrate from the Children of Israel, and there is no harm.’ Yet they are neither affirmed nor denied, in accordance with his saying: ‘Neither affirm them nor deny them.’ This report may belong to either the second or the third category, and its status requires consideration. Whoever among the Companions or Successors narrated it regarded it as belonging to the third category. As for us, we follow the view of al-Hasan al-Basri, may Allah have mercy on him, on this matter: Adam and Eve are not intended in this passage; rather, it concerns the polytheists among their descendants. This is why Allah says, fataala Allahu amma yushrikun (Exalted is Allah above what they associate with Him). Adam and Eve were mentioned first as a preface to what follows concerning their descendants, the parents; it is a transition from mention of an individual to mention of the human kind. See Tafsir al-Fakhr al-Razi, vol. 15, pp. 90-93; al-Israiliyyat wa al-Mawduat by Shaykh Muhammad Abu Shahbah, pp. 292-301; and al-Manhaj al-Sadid fi Takhrij Ahadith Taysir al-Aziz al-Hamid, p. 236.