Introduction
Many common questions people have about Islam today are related to the perceived contradiction between some Islamic text and scientific knowledge. Dealing with these apparent contradictions requires a good understanding of scientific knowledge, observation, language, and hadith theory.
An example of such a perceived contradiction is the statement attributed to the Prophet (SAW), “All of the son of Adam is eaten by the earth except the coccyx. From it he was created and on it he will be rebuilt.” This article will discuss how to resolve the perceived contradiction between this hadith and scientific knowledge.
Theory of Resolving Contradiction
The scholars of tafsir, hadith, and others noted four main ways of dealing with perceived contradictions:
- Jam’ (Reconciliation): Analyzing the two contradicting sources to derive a way to reconcile between them.
- Tarjeeh (Preference): Preferring one evidence over the other because you consider the other weaker.
- Naskh (Abrogation): Claiming one is an old law that has been abrogated by the other.
- Tawaqquf: Staying silent on the topic and leaving the actual explanation to Allah.
In the context of a hadith contradicting strong science, we need to first try reconciliation. If the science is weakly proven, we do need to entertain it in the first place. When it is strong, we should see whether there is something in the language of the hadith that allows an interpretation that resolves the problem.
If we cannot find any interpretation that is not too stretched, we can prefer the stronger of the two by comparing the authenticity of the hadith to the strength of the science. At this stage, it is important to compare different narrations of the hadith and whether one of them resolves the problem.
If we can neither find an interpretation nor determine what is stronger, we should remain silent on the topic until we find an explanation.
The Hadith and The Observation
It is reported that the Prophet (SAW) said, “All of the son of Adam is eaten by the earth except the coccyx. From it he was created and on it he will be rebuilt.”
There are two types of objections to this hadith, one which is trivial and another which is more substantive.
The trivial objection is by those who say, “But, what about people who fall into lava or have their bodies are burned? Aren’t their bodies not consumed by the earth?”
The response to this is simple. The hadith is talking in general terms about those who are buried in the earth. That is why it says “eaten by the earth.” The existence of exceptions where people are not eaten by the earth in the first place is not a real contradiction to a hadith with a generic statement.
The more substantive objection is by those who say, “We can see that the coccyx does decompose into the earth. We have uncovered graves where the whole body has been decomposed and the tailbone did not remain.”
The observation that tailbones appear to decompose is very strong. So, the article will deal with this particular problem.
Method 1: Jam’ (Reconciliation)
The commentators and scholars of hadith realized early on the apparent problem this hadith posed, and they provided several interpretations. How does it appear to us that the tailbone decays?
Tahawi noted that Allah is powerful enough to conceal tailbones from our view if He wanted. So, us finding graves where the tailbone has disappeared does not negate the possibility it is simply hidden from us by the power of Allah.
Ibn Hajr, in his commentary, provides several possible interpretations. The strongest one, inspired by a weak narration from Abu Saeed al-Khudri, is that the tailbone being referred to is an extremely small thing, such that it would not be possible for us to notice it.
Hasan ibn Musa > Ibn Lahi’ah (weak) > Darraj (honest but makes mistakes) > Abu Haitham > Abu Saeed:
The Prophet (SAW) said, “Dirt consumes all of the human being except his tailbone.”
People asked, “And how [big] is it, O Messenger of Allah?”
He said, “Like the mustard seed, from it you will be grown.”
Musnad Ahmad
Although this narration is weak, it inspired Ibn Hajr’s interpretation that the tailbone refers to something extremely small, not necessarily the medical definition of the tailbone people use today.
Another interpretation he notes but rejects because it stretches the language too much is that the phrase “except his tailbone” means to indicate longevity of the tailbone, not that it never decays.
He also notes that Muzani opined that “إِلَّا” in this hadith (usually translated as “except”) should actually be understood as “even.” So, the hadith would say, “Earth consumes all of the human being, even his tailbone.” This meaning for “إِلَّا” was confirmed by some early Arabic scholars. That being said, he considered this interpretation weak.
In summary, there are four ways to reconcile:
- Allah does it in a miraculous way we do not understand.
- The “tailbone” in the hadith refers to something extremely small that we would not observe anyway.
- It just means the tailbone does not decay for a long time as opposed to the rest of the body.
- It means even the tailbone will decay, replacing “except” with “even.”
The first interpretation does not explain the existence of half-decomposed tailbones. It needs to be combined with the second interpretation to truly resolve the problem.
The second interpretation is the strongest in dealing with the contradiction. It resolves the problem by making the statement of the hadith difficult for science to verify. Interpreting the tailbone as something extremely small makes it difficult for humans to observe this preserved tailbone and thus difficult to falsify the hadith.
As for the third interpretation, it does not truly resolve the problem since observation equally points to the idea that the tailbone does not decay any slower than the rest of the body.
Method 2: Tarjeeh (Preference)
After attempting reconciliation, we can consider the authenticity of the hadith and the specific part about the tailbone.
The hadith of the tailbone is narrated reliably only through Abu Hurairah (RA) from the Prophet (SAW). Three main students of Abu Hurairah (RA) narrated it from him: A’raj, Hammam, and Abu Salih. All three of these narrators are considered generally reliable and strong.
Other students are also attributed narrations from Abu Hurairah, but the chains to them are weak.
A’raj and Hammam narrate the hadith of the tailbone alone and without context.
A’raj > Abu Hurairah:
The Prophet (SAW) said, “All of the son of Adam will be consumed by the earth except the tailbone. From it he was created and on it he is [re]built.”
Muwatta Malik, Sahih Muslim
Hammam > Abu Hurairah:
The Prophet (SAW) said, “Man has a bone in him which the earth will never eat. On it he will be rebuilt on the Day of Judgement.” They asked, “What bone is that O Messenger of Allah?” He said, “The tailbone.”
Sahih Muslim, Musnad Ahmad, Sahifah Hammam
Abu Salih, on the other hand, narrates the hadith of the tailbone with a longer context.
Abu Salih:
Abu Hurairah said: The Messenger of Allah said: “Between the two trumpets is forty.”
They said, “O Abu Hurairah, forty days?” He said, “I refuse [to answer].” They said, “Forty months?” He said, “I refuse [to answer].” They said, “Forty years?” He said: “I refuse [to answer]. Then, Allah will send down water from the sky and they will grow like vegetables grow.”
He said, “And there is nothing in man except that it decomposes, except one bone, and that is the tailbone. And from it creation will be rebuilt on the Day of Judgement.”
Sahih Muslim, Sahih Bukhari
Abu Salih does not indicate that Abu Hurairah (RA) explicitly attributed this statement to the Prophet (SAW). At the same time, Abu Salih’s narration shows how it would be possible for listeners to accidentally assume Abu Hurairah (RA) attributed it to the Prophet (SAW). He says this statement after narrating an actual hadith with an interjectory conversation in the middle.
This allows us to theorize that the versions of Hammam and A’raj were mistaken redactions of the original incident and they or their students accidentally attributed it to the Prophet (SAW).
One problem is Hammam’s narration as recorded in Sahih Muslim has an exchange which seems to attribute the hadith directly to the Prophet (SAW): They asked, “What bone is that O Messenger of Allah?” He said, “The tailbone.”
This is resolved by looking at the Musnad of Imam Ahmad who records this narration of Hammam without the phrase “O Messenger of Allah.” So, this additional phrase is probably the addition of one of the narrators who thought the conversation was with the Prophet (SAW). In reality, this was probably an exchange between Abu Hurairah and his students.
We generally consider narrations from companions about the unseen (like the future or the Day of Judgement) to be from the Prophet (SAW) even if not explicitly attributed to him, unless that companion was known to take from other sources.
As for Abu Hurairah (RA), he was known to take from other sources. This claim about the tailbone being preserved is actually found in the Jewish tradition (see Bereshit Rabbah 28:3). Being found in other traditions doesn’t prove a piece of information only comes from that tradition, but the fact that it is found is supporting evidence for the possibility that Abu Hurairah (RA) could have got it from there. If this information was not found in the Jewish tradition at all, that would be reason to suspect the information came from the Prophet (SAW) even if not explicitly attributed.
A final question someone may ask is: Isn’t the hadith in both Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim? How did those great scholars not realize it is not authentic?
Bukhari in his Sahih only brings Abu Salih’s version of the hadith which does not explicitly attribute the statement of the tailbone to the Prophet (SAW), and Bukhari only put this hadith under subheadings about the trumpet being blown. So, it is very likely that he realized that the later part of the hadith is not actually authentic to the Prophet (SAW).
Muslim in his Sahih brings all three versions of this hadith in his book about the Day of Judgement, but he places Abu Salih’s version first. This also indicates he realized Abu Salih’s version was the most accurate.
So, both Bukhari and Muslim seem to have realized that this statement may not actually come from the Prophet (SAW), at least for the authenticity standard of their Sahihs. It would be misleading to call this hadith Muttafqun Alaih when the version attributing the statement to the Prophet does not even exist in Sahih Bukhari and only exists in the extra versions of Sahih Muslim.
In summary, it is possible to argue that the hadith of the tailbone is mawqoof, a statement of Abu Hurairah (RA) that was accidentally assumed by some narrators to come from the Prophet (SAW).
Conclusion
In conclusion, this article has presented two possible methods of dealing with the tailbone narration. One method is to interpret the words of the hadith in different ways to reconcile it with observation. Another method is to analyze the authenticity of the hadith itself and determine if there is reason to suggest it is not truly from the Prophet (SAW).
The final method is tawaqquf, to stay silent on the topic. This can be either saying both jam’ and tarjeeh are possible and you do not know which is more accurate or saying you neither know which is possible nor which is more accurate.
And Allah knows best.
Notes: List of Chains
Muslim > Abu Kuraib Muhammad ibn ‘Ala > Abu Muawiyah > A’mash > Abu Salih > Abu Hurairah: Full hadith, not marfoo’, qaala separation
Nu’aim ibn Hammad > Abu Muawiyah > A’mash > Abu Salih > Abu Hurairah: Full hadith, not marfoo’
Hannad ibn Sirri > Abu Muawiyah > A’mash > Abu Salih > Abu Hurairah: Full hadith, not marfoo’, qaala separation
Bukhari > Muhammad (ibn Salam?) > Abu Muawiyah > A’mash > Abu Salih > Abu Hurairah: Full hadith, not marfoo’
Bukhari > Amr ibn Hafs > Hafs > A’mash > Abu Salih > Abu Hurairah: years and tailbone, not marfoo’
Abu Uwanah > Ali ibn Harb > Abu Muawiyah > A’mash > Abu Salih > Abu Hurairah: Full hadith, not marfoo’
Ibn Majah > Ibn Abi Shaibah > Abu Muawiyah > A’mash > Abu Salih > Abu Hurairah: tailbone, marfoo’
Nasai K > Ahmad ibn Harb > Abu Muawiyah > A’mash > Abu Salih > Abu Hurairah: Full hadith, not marfoo’, qaala separation
Tabari > Abu Kuraib Muhammad ibn ‘Ala > Abu Muawiyah > A’mash > Abu Salih > Abu Hurairah: Full hadith, not marfoo’, qaala separation
Tahawi > Abu Umayyah and Muhammad ibn Ali > Saeed ibn Sulaiman > Mansoor ibn Abi al-Aswad? > A’mash > Abu Salih > Abu Hurairah: tailbone, marfoo’
Tabarani > Ahmad ibn Yahya > Saeed ibn Sulaiman >alone> Mansoor ibn Abi al-Aswad? > A’mash > Abu Salih > Abu Hurairah: tailbone, marfoo’
Lalikai > Ahmad ibn Ubaid > Ali ibn Abdullah > Ahmad ibn Sinan > Abu Muawiyah > A’mash > Abu Salih > Abu Hurairah: Full hadith, not marfoo’
Baihaqi > Muhammad ibn Abdullah > Abu Bakr ibn Ishaq > Musa ibn Ishaq > Ibn Abi Shaibah > Abu Muawiyah > A’mash > Abu Salih > Abu Hurairah: Full hadith, not marfoo’, qaala separation
Muslim > Qutaibah ibn Saeed > Mughirah al-Hizami? > Abu Zinad A’raj > Abu Hurairah: tailbone, marfoo’
Malik > Abu Zinad > A’raj > Abu Hurairah: tailbone, marfoo’
Ahmad > Ali ibn Hafs > Warqa > Abu Zinad > A’raj > Abu Hurairah: tailbone, marfoo’
Ahmad > Yahya ibn Saeed > Ibn Ajlan? > Abu Zinad > A’raj > Abu Hurairah: tailbone, marfoo’
Abu Dawud > Qa’nabi > Malik > Abu Zinad > A’raj > Abu Hurairah: tailbone, marfoo’
Nasai > Qutaibah ibn Saeed > Malik and Mughirah al-Hizami > Abu Zinad > A’raj > Abu Hurairah: tailbone, marfoo’
Abu Ya’la > Bishr > Abdurrahman ibn Abdullah >father> Abu Zinad > A’raj > Abu Hurairah: tailbone, marfoo’
Muslim > Muhammad ibn Rafi’ > Abdur-Razzaq > Ma’mar > Hammam > Abu Hurairah: tailbone, marfoo’, question with raf’
Ahmad > Abdur-Razzaq > Ma’mar > Hammam > Abu Hurairah: tailbone, marfoo’, question without raf’
• [٦٩٦٨] عبد الرزاق، عَنْ مَعْمَرٍ، قَالَ: قَالَ أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ: تَأْكُلُ الْأَرْضُ ابْنَ آدَمَ كُلَّهُ إِلِّا عَجْمَ (٥) الذَّنَبِ، وَمِنْهُ يُرَكَّبُ، أَوْ قَالَ: يُوصَلُ، قَالَ: وَقَالَ كَعْبٌ: تُمْطِرُ الْأَرْضُ مَطَرًا يُنْبِتُ (٦) أَجْسَادَ النَّاسِ، حَتى يَصِيرَ جَسَدًا بِغَيْرِ رُوحٍ، ثُمَّ يُنْفَخُ فِيهِ الرُّوحُ.
Ishaq > Ja’far ibn Awn > Ibrahim Hajari?? > Abu Iyadh > Abu Hurairah: tailbone, marfoo’
Ahmad > Amr ibn Mujammi’?? > Ibrahim Hajari?? > Abu Iyadh > Abu Hurairah: tailbone, marfoo’
Ahmad > Ali ibn Aasim??? > Ibrahim Hajari?? > Abu Iyadh > Abu Hurairah: tailbone, marfoo’
Ibn Abi Asim > Muhammad ibn Awf > Amr ibn Hisham >found book> Attab ibn Basheer > Ishaq ibn Rashid? > Zuhri > Saeed ibn Musayyab and Abu Salamah > Abu Hurairah: tailbone, then rain, info about ruh
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Ahmad > Hasan ibn Musa > Ibn Lahi’ah > Darraj > Abu Haitham > Abu Said al-Khudri: tailbone, size (Hasan Salim Asad said: weak)
??? = matrook
?? = daeef
? = hasan