Examining the Prophetic Tradition "Adam and Seeing the Name of the Prophet on the Throne" and its Validation in the Sources of the Shi'a and Sunni

A group of traditions regard the history of acquaintance of prophet Adam with the Prophet to be back to the precreation of the latter and in the Divine Throne. The sources of the Shi'a and Sunni have reported a tradition from the Holy Prophet (pbuh) according which, Adam has seen the name of the Prophet on the Throne; and realizing his lofty status, has appealed to him so as to have his repentance accepted. The problem of the present paper is to find out the authenticity as well as the Isnad of the tradition. Thus, based on the methods of critique of hadith in the Islamic tradition, first the source, sanad and text of the tradition have been studied, and then, recognizing the transmitters, the milieu and the category of the active agents in its spread are introduced. The tradition, despite the relative authenticity of the sources, has not attracted the later traditions and the biographical and narrative sources involved in spreading it. Attribution of the tradition to the Prophet is also questionable due to the weak and unknown narrators, usage of the recent concept of the name of the Prophet being written on the Throne, as well as the lack of confirmatory tradition. The tradition finds its origin in Sunni hadith circles and Egyptian Sufis have played their role in spreading it. Thereupon, it has admitted to Imami sources through the book of Ibn Bābawayh.