𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗲𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗔𝗱𝗮𝗺 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆

Narrated Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه:

"They said: 'O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)! When was the Prophethood established for you?' He said: 'While Adam was between (being) soul and body.'"

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ قَالُوا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مَتَى وَجَبَتْ لَكَ النُّبُوَّةُ قَالَ ‏ "‏ وَآدَمُ بَيْنَ الرُّوحِ وَالْجَسَدِ ‏"‏ ‏

Reference:

Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3609 

Shaykh al-Islām Taqi al-Din al-Subki رحمه الله said in his book "Al-Ta'zim wal-Minnah" regarding the verse "That you may believe in him and support him" (3:81):

"In this verse, there is a great recognition of the Prophet ﷺ and an elevation of his esteemed status that is evident. Additionally, it means that if he had come in their time, the command would have been sent to them, making his prophethood and message universal for all creation from the time of Adam until the Day of Judgment. All the prophets and their nations would then be part of his community. His statement 'I was sent to all people' does not only apply to people from his time until the Day of Judgment but also includes those before them. This clarifies the meaning of his ﷺ saying, "I was a prophet while Adam was between spirit and body." 

Those who only interpret this to mean that Allah knew he would become a prophet have not grasped the full meaning, as Allah's knowledge encompasses all things.

The description of the Prophet ﷺ with prophethood at that time should be understood as something firmly established for him at that time. This is why Adam saw his name written on the Throne as 'Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah.' Therefore, it must be a firmly established meaning at that time. If it merely meant knowledge of what he would become in the future, it would not be unique for him to be a prophet while Adam was between spirit and body, because Allah knows the prophethood of all prophets at that time and before.

Therefore, there must be a particularity for the Prophet ﷺ that led to this revelation, to inform his community of his high status with Allah, bringing them benefit.

If you say: "I want to understand that additional aspect, as prophethood is a description that requires the one described to exist, and it only occurs after reaching the age of forty. So how can he be described with it before his existence and before his mission? If this is true, then others would be the same."

I say: It has been reported that Allah created the spirits before the bodies, so the reference in his saying "I was a prophet" may be to his noble spirit or to his essence.

Our minds fall short of understanding these realities, which are known only to the Creator and those whom Allah has endowed with divine light. 

Then, Allah gives each essence what He wills at the time He wills. The essence of the Prophet ﷺ may have been endowed with that description before the creation of Adam.

Allah granted it that description, making it ready for that, and He endowed it upon him from that time, so he became a prophet, and his name was written on the Throne.

He informed about his mission to make his angels and others aware of his honor with Him. His essence existed at that time even if his noble body, characterised by it, came later.

His essence was endowed with the noble qualities granted to him by the divine presence, while the mission and delivery were delayed. Everything that pertains to Allah's granting and the readiness of his noble essence is immediate without delay.

This includes his prophethood, the giving of the book, wisdom, and prophecy. Only his physical existence came later. The manifestation of his prophethood to the people and other honored ones can be delayed as Allah wills.

There is no doubt that Allah knows everything from eternity. We know this by rational and religious evidence, and people come to know what reaches them at its appearance, like knowing the Prophet's prophethood when the Qur'an was revealed to him and Jibreel came to him.

This is one of Allah's actions, part of His knowledge and manifestations of His power, will, and choice in a specific place that embodies it. 

These are two levels: the first known by proof and the second evident to the eye. Between these levels are intermediary acts of Allah occurring as He wills, some becoming apparent later and some perfecting the place even if unknown to any creature.

This perfection can accompany the creation from its inception or come later. We only know of this through truthful reports. The Prophet ﷺ is the best of creation, with no one having greater perfection or a nobler place.

We learn from authentic reports that this perfection was granted to our Prophet ﷺ before Adam's creation by his Lord. Allah granted him prophethood from that time, then took pledges from the prophets to know that he is above them, their prophet and messenger. Taking pledges is akin to succession, which is why the emphatic "La" in "that you will believe in him and support him" is used in the verse.

𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲:

Shaykh al-Islam Imam Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti رحمه الله states it in Al-Khasa'is al-Kubra Volume 1 Pages 8-10

قال الشيخ تقي الدين السبكي في كتابه التعظيم والمنة في لتؤمنن به ولتنصرنه في هذه الآية من التنويه بالنبي {صلى الله عليه وسلم} وتعظيم قدره العلي ما لا يخفي وفيه مع ذلك انه على تقدير مجيئه في زمانهم يكون الأمر مرسلا إليهم فتكون نبوته

ورسالته عامة لجميع الخلق من زمن آدم إلى يوم القيامة وتكون الأنبياء واممهم كلهم من أمته ويكون قوله بعثت إلى الناس كافة لا يختص به الناس من زمانه إلى يوم القيامة بل يتناول من قبلهم أيضا ويتبين بذلك معنى قوله {صلى الله عليه وسلم} كنت نبيا وآدم بين الروح والجسد وأن من فسره بعلم الله بأنه سيصير نبيا لم يصل إلى هذا المعنى لأن علم الله محيط بجميع الأشياء ووصف النبي {صلى الله عليه وسلم} بالنبوة في ذلك الوقت ينبغي ان يفهم منه أنه امر ثابت له في ذلك الوقت ولهذا رأى آدم اسمه مكتوبا على العرش محمد رسول الله فلا بد أن يكون ذلك معنى ثابتا في ذلك الوقت ولو كان المراد بذلك مجرد العلم بما سيصير في المستقبل لم يكن له خصوصية بأنه نبي وآدم بين الروح والجسد لأن جميع الأنبياء يعلم الله نبوتهم في ذلك الوقت وقبله فلا بد من خصوصية للنبي {صلى الله عليه وسلم} لأجلها أخبر بهذا الخبر إعلاما لأمته ليعرفوا قدره عند الله تعالى فيحصل لهم الخير بذلك

قال فإن قلت أريد ان افهم ذلك القدر الزائد فإن النبوة وصف لا بد ان يكون الموصوف به موجودا وإنما يكون بعد بلوغ أربعين سنة أيضا فكيف يوصف به قبل وجوده وقبل إرساله وإن صح ذلك فغيره كذلك

قلت قد جاء ان الله تعالى خلق الأرواح قبل الأجساد فقد تكون الإشارة بقوله كنت نبيا إلى روحه الشريفة او إلى حقيقته والحقائق تقصر عقولنا عن معرفتها وانما يعلمها خالقها ومن امده بنور الهي ثم ان تلك الحقائق يؤتي الله كل حقيقة منها ما يشاء في الوقت الذي يشاء فحقيقة النبي {صلى الله عليه وسلم} قد تكون من قبل خلق آدم آتاه الله ذلك الوصف بأن يكون خلقها متهيئة لذلك وأفاضه عليها من ذلك الوقت فصار نبيا وكتب اسمه على العرش وأخبر عنه بالرسالة ليعلم ملائكته وغيرهم كرامته عنده فحقيقته موجودة من ذلك الوقت وإن تأخر جسده الشريف المتصف بها واتصاف حقيقته بالاوصاف الشريفة المفاضة عليه من الحضرة الالهية وانما يتأخر البعث والتبليغ وكل ما له من جهة الله تعالى ومن جهة تأهل ذاته الشريفة وحقيقته معجل لا تأخير فيه وكذلك استنباؤه وايتاؤه الكتاب والحكم والنبوة وإنما المتأخر تكونه

وتنقله إلى ان ظهر {صلى الله عليه وسلم} وغيره من أهل الكرامة قد تكون إفاضة الله تعالى تلك الكرامة عليه بعد وجوده بمدة كما يشاء سبحانه ولا شك ان كل ما يقع فالله عالم به من الازل ونحن نعلم علمه بذلك بالادلة العقلية والشرعية ويعلم الناس منها ما يصل اليهم عند ظهوره كعلمهم نبوة النبي {صلى الله عليه وسلم} حين نزل عليه القرآن في أول ما جاءه جبريل وهو فعل من افعاله تعالى من جملة معلوماته ومن آثار قدرته وإرادته واختياره في محل خاص يتصف بها فهاتان مرتبتان الأولى معلومة بالبرهان والثانية ظاهرة للعيان وبين المرتبتين وسائط من أفعاله تعالى تحدث على حسب اختياره منها ما يظهر لهم بعد ذلك ومنها ما يحصل له كمال لذلك المحل وان لم يظهر لأحد من المخلوقين وذلك ينقسم إلى كمال يقارن ذلك المحل من حين خلقه وإلى كما يحصل له بعد ذلك ولا يصل علم ذلك الينا إلا بالخبر الصادق والنبي {صلى الله عليه وسلم} خير الخلق فلا كما لمخلوق اعظم من كماله ولا محل أشرف من محله فعرفنا بالخبر الصحيح حصول ذلك الكمال من قبل خلق آدم لنبينا {صلى الله عليه وسلم} من ربه سبحانه وانه أعطاه النبوة من ذلك الوقت ثم اخذ له المواثيق على الانبياء ليعلموا انه المقدم عليهم وانه نبيهم ورسولهم وفي اخذ المواثيق وهي في معنى الاستخلاف ولذلك دخلت لام القسم في لتؤمنن به ولتنصرنه الآية

كتاب الخصائص الكبرى للامام جلال الدين السيوطى