Critique of Interpretative Narrations and Evaluation of the Exegetical Opinions on the Marriage of Ādam’s Offspring in Light of the Qurʾān

A Narrative traditions (Arabic: روایات, Romanized: riwāyāt) serve as crucial exegetical tools in Qurʾānic interpretation. However, the majority of such exegetical narrations suffer from weak chains of transmission (Arabic: اسناد, Romanized: asnād), inconsistencies, and content-related contradictions. One of the fundamental methodologies for evaluating exegetical narrations is to examine them in light of the Qurʾān itself. This study, employing a descriptive-analytical and library-based approach, conducts a case-based evaluation of the narrative and exegetical opinions concerning the controversial issue of the marriage of Ādam’s offspring, scrutinizing them against Qurʾānic verses. Findings reveal that the narrations supporting the dominant exegetical view, which holds that Ādam’s children married one another, not only contradict other narrations but are also at odds with the Qurʾān itself, undermining the claim that they align with the apparent meaning of Sūrah an-Nisāʾ (4:1). The second exegetical perspective, which suggests that Ādam’s offspring intermarried with jinn (Arabic: جن) or ḥūrīs (Arabic: حور), also suffers from content-based inconsistencies, and its reliance on Qurʾānic verses to substantiate the possibility or occurrence of such connection remains unfounded. The most coherent and defensible opinion, supported by both Qurʾānic and narrative evidence, posits that Ādam’s children intermarried with pre-existing human populations, a perspective that harmonizes with Qurʾānic discourse and select traditions.