They made for Him partners in the matter of the child (7:190) Not about Adam & Eve

 بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

الصلاة والسلام عليك يا سيدي يا رسول الله

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

Blessings and salutations of peace be upon you my Master, Apostle of Allah

Allah سبحانه وتعالى says:

ہُوَ الَّذِیۡ خَلَقَکُمۡ مِّنۡ نَّفۡسٍ وَّاحِدَۃٍ وَّجَعَلَ مِنۡہَا زَوۡجَہَا لِیَسۡکُنَ اِلَیۡہَا ۚ فَلَمَّا تَغَشّٰہَا حَمَلَتۡ حَمۡلًا خَفِیۡفًا فَمَرَّتۡ بِہٖ ۚ فَلَمَّاۤ اَثۡقَلَتۡ دَّعَوَا اللّٰہَ رَبَّہُمَا لَئِنۡ اٰتَیۡتَنَا صَالِحًا لَّنَکُوۡنَنَّ مِنَ الشّٰکِرِیۡنَ

فَلَمَّاۤ اٰتٰہُمَا صَالِحًا جَعَلَا لَہٗ شُرَکَآءَ فِیۡمَاۤ اٰتٰہُمَا ۚ فَتَعٰلَی اللّٰہُ عَمَّا یُشۡرِکُوۡنَ

He it is Who has created you from a single soul and made therefrom its mate, that he might find comfort in her. When he consorts with her, she bears a light burden and goes about with it. When she grows heavy, they both pray to Allah, their Lord: If You bestow on us a good child, we will surely be grateful

But when He bestows on them a good child, they attribute to Him partners in respect of that which He has bestowed upon them. Exalted is Allah above that which they associate with Him

(Surah 7, Ayah 189 & 190)

Although the Ayah begins with mention of Adam and his wife Eve, the rest of the passage is not referring to them but to disbelievers and polytheists who associate partners with Allah in respect to their child, by giving him a polytheistic name, dedicating him to an idol, sacrificing or making an offering to an idol on the child’s behalf, etc. Hence, it is authentically narrated that the great saint from the Tabi’in, al-Hasan al-Basri رضى الله عنه said:

كان هذا في بعض أهل الملل ولم يكن بآدم

This was about some of the people of the (other) religions, it was not about Adam

عني بهذا ذرية آدم من أشرك منهم بعده

This refers to the offspring of Adam, the one from among them who committed Shirk after him

هم اليهود والنصارى رزقهم الله أولادًا فهوَّدوا ونصَّروا

They are the Jews and the Christians; Allah provided them with children but they made them into Jews or Christians (Tafsir Ibn Jarir; v.10, pp.628-629)

We hold to the interpretation of al-Hasan al-Basri and others who have explained this Ayah (7:190) as referring not to Adam and Eve but to the disbelievers from among their offspring, and that is necessary because Adam was a Prophet. It is narrated that sayyiduna Abu Dharr al-Ghifari رضى الله عنه asked the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم:

يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ أَيُّ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ كَانَ أَوَّلُ

O Apostle of Allah, who was the first of the Prophets?

قَالَ آدَمُ

He (Prophet Muhammad) said: Adam

قُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ وَنَبِيٌّ كَانَ

I (Abu Dharr) said: O Apostle of Allah, he was a Prophet?

قَالَ نَعَمْ ‌نَبِيٌّ ‌مُكَلَّمٌ

He (Prophet Muhammad) said: Yes, a Prophet Mukallam (meaning one who converses with Allah) (Musnad Ahmad)

Nevertheless, the Wahhabis zealously distribute the famous book of Ibn Abd ul-Wahhab of Najd called Kitab ut-Tawhid which in chapter 50 cites the false Tafsir of the Ayah (7:190) that Adam عليه السلام named his child Abd ul-Harith (Slave of the Cultivator) which is declared Shirk by Allah:

As you can see, the publisher has stated in a footnote that this narration which Ibn Abd ul-Wahhab has cited that Adam named his child Abd ul-Harith in obedience to Satan is weak. This demonstrates the danger of Wahhabi literature especially for the laity in that they may believe that Adam, a Prophet, committed Shirk, God forbid!

The Ayah (7:189) also establishes our Sunni Islamic belief that Eve was created from the rib of Adam when it saysوجعل منها زوجها “and He made from Adam’s soul its wife” (see also Surah 4:1; 39:6). And this is detailed in the Torah: “And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; and the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.” (Genesis 2:21-22, KJV) Likewise, it is affirmed in the Hadith:

فَإِنَّ الْمَرْأَةَ خُلِقَتْ مِنْ ضِلَعٍ

Verily, the woman was created from a rib (Sahih al-Bukhari)