Peace
I'll just share a couple of verses and what I think about them.
55:14
He created man of clay like the potter's.The reference to pottery here gives an impression the clay was molded into Adam's figure.
I also see there is disagreement on 15:26 translation.
Word for word translation:
And Verily We created man from/of salsalin from/of hama-in masnunin.
Note the transliterated words; salsalin, hama-in, masnunin. Salsalin is clear, dried & sounding clay like pottery(55:4) and hama-in is clear too, mud - mix of water/soil(clay).
And then we come to masnunin, all kinds of translations; altered, molded, fashioned, aged, transmuted. Which is right? What does masnunin mean?
OK, I'll just consult Edward Lane's Arabic English dictionary.
مَسْنُونٌ [Bitten with the teeth: whence, app., what next follows]. You say أَرْضٌ مَسْنُونَــةٌ and ↓ سَنِينٌ meaning Land of which the herbage has been eaten.
(L, K.) B2: Sharpened, or whetted, or made sharp-pointed, and polished; as also ↓ سَنِينٌ; (M, L, Kwink applied to a knife (K) or thing [of any kind].
(M, L.) Made smooth. (S, L.) Formed, fashioned, or shaped. (S, M, L.) Made long. (L.) You say وَجْهٌ مَسْنُونٌ (assumed tropicalsmiley A face in which is length, without breadth; (مَخْروُطٌwink smooth and even; or smooth and long; or long, and not high in the ball; or soft, tender, thin, and even; as though the flesh were ground (سُنَّ [like as a thing is ground in sharpening and polishing]) from it. (M, L.) And رَجُلٌ مَسْنُونُ الوَجْهِ (assumed tropicalsmiley A man beautiful and smooth in the face: (Lh, M, L, Ksmiley or a man in whose nose and face is length: (S, L, Ksmiley or beautiful and long in the face.
http://lisaan.net/search/%D9%85%D8%B3%D9%86%D9%88%D9%86?cat=50Going by these, it is more likely that the right translation of "masnunin" is mechanically manipulated mud(clay + water), which may be akin to molding.
In fact, here is further insight from Qur'an.
15:28-29: And when your Lord said to the Angels, Indeed I will create a man of clay, from black mud altered. So, when I have fashioned him and breath into him of my spirit, then fall down to him prostrating.
5:110: Oh Jesus, remember my favor upon you .... when I strengthened you with the spirit .... when you made from clay like the shape of bird by My permission, then you breath into it and it became a bird by My permission.
Here, there seem to be parallel between Jesus creating a bird from molded clay, and God's creation of Adam from clay.
Of course, I might be wrong. But the impression I get from the Qur'an is that wet clay was molded into Adam's statue, then God bestowed life upon the statue and it became man.
