from his grandfather, from ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb, both as a report traced back to the Prophet and as one attributed to ‘Umar himself:

“When Adam committed the sin, he said, ‘My Lord, I ask You, by the right of Muhammad, to forgive me.’ He said, ‘How did you know of Muhammad?’ Adam replied, ‘When You created me with Your hand and breathed into me of Your spirit, I raised my head and saw written on the supports of the Throne: “There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah; Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.” I thus knew that You would place beside Your name only the one most beloved to You among Your creation.’ He said, ‘You have spoken the truth, Adam. Were it not for Muhammad, I would not have created you.’”

Al-Hākim narrated this hadith in his al-Mustadrak (The Supplement), through ‘Abd Allāh ibn Muslim al-‘Awfī, from Ismā‘īl ibn Salamah, from him. Al-Hākim said, “This is the first hadith of ‘Abd al-Rahmān that I have mentioned in this book.” Al-Hākim also said, “It is sound.”

Shaykh Abū Bakr al-Ājurrī narrated it in Kitāb al-Sharī‘ah (The Book of Divine Law) as a report attributed to ‘Umar, through ‘Abd Allāh ibn Ismā‘īl ibn Abī Maryam, from ‘Abd al-Rahmān ibn Zayd ibn Aslam, without tracing it back to the Prophet. Al-Ājurrī also narrated it through another chain, from ‘Abd al-Rahmān ibn Abī al-Zinād, from his father, with the attribution stopping at him. He said:

“Hārūn ibn Yūsuf al-Tājir narrated to us; Abū Marwān al-‘Uthmānī narrated to us; Abū ‘Uthmān ibn Khālid narrated to me, from ‘Abd al-Rahmān ibn Abī al-Zinād, from his father, who said: ‘Among the words through which Allah accepted Adam’s repentance were his words: “O Allah, I ask You by Muhammad’s right upon You.” Allah Most High said, “What do you know of Muhammad?” He replied, “My Lord, I raised my head and saw written upon Your Throne: ‘There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah; Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.’ I thus knew that he was the most honoured of Your creation.”’”

I say: Al-Hākim’s narration of this hadith is among the things for which he was criticized, for he himself said in Kitāb al-Madkhal ilā Ma‘rifat al-Sahīh min al-Saqīm (Introduction to Distinguishing Sound from Unsound Reports): “‘Abd al-Rahmān ibn Zayd ibn Aslam