the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is: “Adam was a prophet to whom Allah spoke; Allah spoke to him directly.” It does not say that He sent down anything written to him. Thus, it does not say that Allah sent down a scroll or a book to Adam, nor is this known among the People of the Book. This indicates that the claim has no foundation. Even if it were known among the People of the Book, this report would still be found neither in the Quran nor in authentic hadiths from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Rather, it would belong to the category of Israelite narratives that one is not obliged to believe; indeed, one may not affirm their authenticity without evidence. As the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said in an authentic hadith:

“When the People of the Book relate something to you, neither believe them nor disbelieve them, for they may tell you something true and you reject it, or tell you something false and you believe it.”

Allah, glorified be He, taught Adam all the names and enabled him to utter coherent speech. As for teaching isolated letters, especially when written, this is instruction that offers no benefit. However, when people wished to teach beginners to write, they began by teaching them the individual letters of the alphabet, then teaching them to combine these letters. Thus, the beginner is taught abjad, hawwaz, but this alone does not constitute speech.

Accordingly, this account that the letters of the alphabet were sent down to Adam is established neither by transmitted evidence nor by reason. Rather, the stronger indication of both is that it did not happen. It belongs to the same category as the reports they attribute to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, interpreting alif, bā, tā, thā, and interpreting abjad