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The son born to Adam after the death of Abel; Islamic sources relate that he was a prophet and that he gathered the scriptures sent down to his father. This atlas entry is attached to the al-Nabi Shith shrine ascribed to him in Mosul.
According to a report from Ibn Abbas he was given the name Hibatullah, Gabriel having declared him a gift from God in place of Abel. Tabari records that the name Shith is Syriac and means "the gift of God".
Islamic sources relate that he collected the scriptures revealed to Adam and that God sent down pages to him as well; Tabari writes that fifty leaves were sent down to Shith after Adam's death. The pages revealed to him are said to have treated wisdom, chemistry, alchemy, the mathematical sciences and certain crafts.
He is described as the most beautiful, most virtuous and best-loved of Adam's children, and the one who most resembled him — with one exception, the beard: Islamic sources record that Adam was beardless and that the custom of the beard began with his children. His father taught him many things, informed him of the coming flood, and made him his heir.
It is related that in his time humankind spread over the earth and that he founded a thousand cities. Among the reports about him, his struggle with the partisans of Cain is notable. He is said to have married Hazura, by whom he had a son, Yanish, and a daughter, Na'mata, and that his line continued through this son.
Since Abel left no offspring and Cain's line perished in the Flood, Shith is regarded as humankind's second ancestor after Adam. Muslim scholars also place him within the genealogy of the Prophet.
His Circle of Influence — The source records that his name appears across a wide literature, from the genealogies of the Old Testament to Gnostic and Mandaean texts; the points at which these traditions diverge are set out separately below.
Differing Scholarly Views
His grave and shrine — three distinct places — The sources diverge as to where he lies, and the atlas does not choose among them. ① According to Tabari, Shith lived in Mecca, built the Ka'ba of mud and stone, and when he died at the age of 912 was buried at Abu Qubays near the Ka'ba. ② The same source states that "the tomb ascribed to Shith is at Ma'arrat al-Nu'man in Syria". ③ This atlas entry, however, is attached to the al-Nabi Shith shrine in Mosul, which the TDV article does not mention at all. The entry is a shrine entry — it makes no claim that he is buried there — but the basis on which the atlas holds this shrine is not yet sourced, and the matter is before the scholarly review.
The origin of his name — Tabari holds the name to be Syriac, meaning "the gift of God". The Hebrew Sheth has been connected with a verb meaning "to determine, to set in place; to bestow".
His lifespan and birth — According to Genesis, Shith was born when Adam was 130, in his father's likeness; his son Enosh was born when he was 105; and he died at 912. The Islamic report likewise gives his age at death as 912.
Shith in other traditions — The source records that he occupies a place not only in Islamic literature but in other traditions, which differ among themselves. In the Christian tradition he is identified with holiness and goodness; Didymus of Alexandria, by contrast, held that he was not as perfect as Abel. In Gnostic (Sethian) texts he is described as a warner and saviour for the elect of his own line. In the Mandaean tradition he is counted a metaphysical being, and his soul is held to be the purest of those that ascend to the world of light. The pagan Harranians of the Middle Ages, however, did not accept his prophethood. The atlas does not blend these views with the Islamic report; it records them while naming the tradition to which each belongs.
Sources
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (DİA) · vol. 39, pp. 214-215, entry “ŞÎT”
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