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Was man short at the time of Adam (peace be upon him) then he gradually grew taller, or was it the other way round? May Allah reward you with good.
Praise be to Allah.
Allah created Adam (peace be upon him) sixty cubits tall, then mankind gradually grew shorter until they stopped and remained as they are now. The evidence for that in the Sunnah is the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): “Allah created Adam sixty cubits tall, then mankind kept getting shorter until now.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3326; Muslim, 2841). Ibn Abi Haatim narrated with a hasan isnaad from Ubayy ibn Ka’b that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Allah created Adam a tall man with a lot of hair on his head, as if he were a tall palm tree.”
Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Fath al-Baari:
“ ‘Mankind kept getting shorter until now’ means that each generation grew shorter than the generation before, and that decrease in height ended with this ummah, and that is how they stayed.”
And Allah knows best. May Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad.