The Height of Prophet Adam: At the Crossroads of Science and Scripture

Mufti Muntasir Zaman

Paperback, 146 pages

9781915025326

With an afterword by Jonathan A.C. Brown

An analysis of hadith on the height of Prophet Adam

This work explores scholarly efforts to treat the conflict between hadith regarding Prophet Adam’s height and extant empirical data. What may appear as a straightforward hadith about the father of humankind brings to the fore a web of interconnected disciplines: epistemology, science, archeology, the status of the Ṣaḥīḥayn, the evolution of hadith analysis, and the isrāʾīliyyāt.

This case study hopes to contribute to two broader conversations: (1) the conflict between science and hadith, a crisis of faith for many Muslims today, and (2) the notion that the scholars of Islam’s rich intellectual history were oblivious to the issues plaguing the minds of modern Muslims.

Contents

Part 1: Setting the Stage

• Introduction

• Conflict or Concord?

• A Survey of Premodern Views

Part 2: Conflict Resolution

• Harmonization

• Prioritization

• Suspension of Judgment

• Miracles and Laws of Nature

Afterword: The Problem of the Isra'iliyyat by Jonathan A.C. Brown