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BIBLICAL LEGENDS,
FROM THE ARABIC, &c., &c.

ADAM (1)
(A MOHAMMEDAN LEGEND.)

THE most authentic records of antiquity which have come down to us state that Adam was created on Friday afternoon, at the hour of Assr.¹

The four most exalted angels, Gabriel, Michael, Israfil, and Israil, were commanded to bring from the four corners of the earth the dust out of which Allah formed the body of Adam, all save the head and heart. For these He employed exclusively the sacred earth of Mecca and Medina, from the very spots on which, in later times, the holy Kaaba and the sepulchre of Mohammed were erected.²

¹ The hour of Assr is between noon and evening, and is set apart by the Mussulman for the performance of his third daily prayer.

² Mohammed, the founder of Islam, was born in 571 A.D., at Mecca, where the Kaaba, then an ancient temple, was held in great veneration. In 622 the idolaters of Mecca compelled him to emigrate to Medina, where he died in June, 632. Vide Gustavus Weill. Mohamed der Prophet, sein Leben und seine Lehre, &c. Stuttgart, 1843, 8vo.

Tags: Allah, arabic, biblical, god, jewish, legend, Muslim, Prophet, Quran