The Creation of Prophet Adam (pbuh)
Islam provides us with the astonishing details of the creation of Adam. Both Christian and Jewish traditions are remarkably similar yet importantly different to the Quran.
The Book of Genesis describes Adam as being made from "the dust of the earth," and in the Talmud, Adam is described as being kneaded from mud.
In Islam there is astonishing details of that creation:
"And God said to the angels:Verily, I am going to place mankind generations after generations on earth.' They said: 'Will You place therein those who will make mischief therein and shed blood, while we glorify You with praises and thanks and sanctify You.' God said: 'I know that which you do not know."
(Al-Baqarah 2; 30)
So begins the story of Adam, the first man, the first human being; God created him from a handful of soil containing portions from all its varieties on Earth. Angels were sent to earth to collect the soil that was to become Adam. It was red, white, brown, and black; it was soft and malleable, hard and gritty; it came from the mountains and the valleys; from infertile deserts and lush fertile plains and all the natural varieties in between. The descendants of Adam were destined to be as diverse as the handful of soil from which their ancestor was created; all have different appearances, attributes and qualities.
Throughout the Quran, the soil used to create Adam is referred to by many names, and from this we are able to understand some of the methodology of his creation. Each name for soil is used at a different stage of Adam's creation. Soil, taken from the earth, is referred to as soil; God also refers to it as clay. When it is mixed with water it becomes mud, when it is left to stand the water content reduces and it becomes sticky clay (or mud). If it is again left for some time it begins to smell, and the color becomes darker – black, smooth clay, from this substance God molded the form of Adam. His soulless body was left to dry, and it became what is known in the Quran as sounding clay. Adam was molded from something akin to potter's clay. When it is rapped it produces a ringing sound.
Honored
"And (remember) when your Lord said to the angels: 'I am going to create a human (Adam) from sounding clay of altered black smooth mud. So when I have fashioned him and breathed into him (his) soul created by Me, then you fall down prostrate to him." (Sad 38; 71-72)
God honored the first human, Adam, in countless ways. Allah blew his soul into him, He fashioned him with His own hands and He ordered the Angels to bow down before him. And God said to the Angels: "And We created you, then fashioned you, then told the angels: prostrate to Adam! And they prostrated except Iblees (Satan), who was not of those who make prostration" (Al-'Araf 7; 11)
While worship is reserved for God alone, this prostration by the Angels to Adam was a sign of respect and honor. It is said that, as Adam's body trembled into life, he sneezed and immediately said 'All praise and thanks is due to God;' so God responded by bestowing His Mercy upon Adam. Although this account is not mentioned in either the Quran or the authentic narrations of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, it is mentioned in some commentaries of the Quran. Thus, in his first seconds of life, the first man is recognized as an honored creature, covered with the infinite Mercy of God.
Adam was instructed to approach a group of Angels sitting near to him and greet them with the words Assalamo Alaikom (May God's peace be upon you), they answered 'and also upon you be God's peace, mercy and blessings'. From that day forward these words became the greeting of those submitted to God. From the moment of Adam's creation, we, his descendents, were instructed to spread peace.
For a Purpose
God told mankind that He did not create them except that they should worship Him. Everything in this world was created for Adam and his descendants, in order to aid us in our ability to worship and know God. Due to God's infinite Wisdom, Adam and his descendants were to be the caretakers on earth, so God taught Adam what he needed to know to perform this duty.
God gave Adam the ability to identify and designate names to everything; He taught him language, speech and the ability to communicate. God imbued Adam with an insatiable need for and love of knowledge:
"He taught Adam all the names of everything." (Al-Baqarah 2; 31)
The Angels were given no specific knowledge or freedom of will, their sole purpose being to worship and praise God. Adam, on the other hand, was given the ability to reason, make choices and identify objects and their purpose. This helped to prepare Adam for his coming role on earth. So Adam knew the names of everything, but he was alone in Heaven.
Adam & Eve
One morning Adam opened his eyes and looked into the beautiful face of a woman gazing down at him. Adam was surprised and asked the woman why she had been created. She revealed that she was to ease his loneliness and bring tranquility to him. Eve is Hawwa in Arabic; it comes from the root word hay, meaningliving. Eve is also an English variant of the old Hebrew word Havva, also deriving fromhay. Adam informed the Angels that Eve was so named because she was made from a part of him and he, Adam, was a living being.
Both Jewish and Christian traditions also maintain that Eve was created from Adam's rib, although in a literal translation of the Jewish tradition, rib is sometimes referred to as side.
"And God said: 'O Mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person (Adam) and from Him (Adam) He created his wife (Eve), and from them both He created many men and women." (Quran 4:1)
Adam and Eve dwelt in tranquility in Paradise, what, too, is agreed upon by Islamic, Christian and Jewish traditions. Islam tells us that all of Paradise was theirs to enjoy and God said to Adam: "eat both of you freely with pleasure and delight of things therein as wherever you will..." (Al-Baqarah 2; 35)
God continued his instructions to Adam and Eve by warning them "...come not near this tree or you both will be of the wrongdoers." (Al-Baqarah 2; 35)
Seduced
In paradise Adam and Eve lived a tranquil existence and understood that they were forbidden to eat from the tree while Satan was waiting to exploit the weakness of them.
Satan is a creature from the world of the Jinn, a creation of God made from fire. They are separate and different from both the Angels and mankind; however, like mankind, they possess the power of reason and can choose between good and evil. The Jinn existed before the creation of Adam and Satan was the most righteous among them, so much so that he was elevated to a high position amongst the Angels:
"The Angels prostrated themselves all of them together. Except Satan, he refused to be among the prostrators. God said: 'O Satan! What is your reason for not being among the prostrators? 'Satan said: 'I am not the one to prostrate myself to a human being, whom You created from sounding clay of altered black smooth mud.' God said: 'Then get out from Here for verily you are an outcast or cursed one. Verily the curse shall be upon you till the Day of Resurrection." (Al-Hijr 15; 30-35)
Satan was there in the paradise of Adam and Eve and his vow was to misguide and deceive them and their descendents: "He (Satan) said 'surely I will sit in wait against them (human beings) on Your Straight Path. Then I will come to them from before them and behind them, from their right and from their left…"(Al-'Araf 7; 16-17)
An arrogant, Satan considered himself better than Adam, and thus mankind. He is crafty and cunning, but ultimately understands the weakness of human beings; he recognizes their loves and desires. He did not say to Adam and Eve "go eat from that tree" nor did he out rightly tell them to disobey God; he whispered into their hearts and planted disquieting thoughts and desires: "Then Satan whispered to them that he might manifest unto them that which was hidden from them of their shame, and he said: Your Lord forbade you from this tree only lest you should become angels or become of the immortals." (Al-'Araf 7; 20)
As their minds became filled with thoughts of the tree, and one day they decided to eat from it, Adam and Eve behaved as all human beings do; they became preoccupied with their own thoughts and the whisperings of Satan and they forgot the warning from God.
In Islam, the Christian concept of original sin and the notion that all humans are born sinners due to the actions of Adam, doesn't exist:
"And no bearer of burdens shall bear another's burden." (Fatir 35; 18)
Every human being is responsible for his or her actions and is born pure and free from sin. Adam and Eve committed a mistake, they repented sincerely and God in His infinite wisdom forgave them.
"Then they both ate of that tree, and so their private parts appeared to them, and they began to stick on themselves the leaves from Paradise for their covering. Thus did Adam disobey his Lord, so he went astray. Then his Lord chose him, and turned to him with forgiveness and gave him guidance." (Ta-Ha 20; 121-122)
Early Experience
Mankind has a long history of committing mistakes and forgetting. Even so, how was it possible for Adam to have committed such a mistake?
The reality was that Adam did not have any experience with the whisperings and ploys of Satan. Adam had seen the arrogance of Satan when he refused to follow the commands of God; he knew that Satan was his enemy but had no familiarity with how to resist Satan's tricks and schemes: "So he (Satan) misled them with deception." (Al-A'raf 7:22)
God tested Adam so that he could learn and gain experience. In this way God prepared Adam for his role on earth as a caretaker and a prophet of God. From this experience, Adam learned the great lesson that Satan is cunning, ungrateful and the avowed enemy of mankind. Adam, Eve and their descendants learned that Satan caused their expulsion from heaven. Obedience to God and enmity towards Satan is the only path back to Heaven:
"Get you down (upon the earth), all of you together, from Paradise, some of you are an enemy to some others. Then, if there comes to you guidance from Me, whoever follows My Guidance shall neither go astray, nor fall into distress and misery." (Ta-Ha 20; 123)
The Quran tells us that Adam subsequently received from his Lord some words; a supplication to pray, which invoked God's forgiveness. This supplication is very beautiful and can be used when asking for God's pardon of your sins
.
"Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If you forgive us not and bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be of the losers." (Al-A'raf 7; 23)
Mankind continues to commit mistakes and wrong doing, and through them we only harm ourselves; our sins and mistakes have not harmed, nor will they harm God. If God does not forgive us and have mercy on us, it is we who will surely be among the losers. It is we who need God:
"On earth will be a dwelling place for you and an enjoyment, for a time.' He said: 'Therein you shall live and therein you shall die, and from it you shall be brought out (resurrected).'" (Al-'Araf 7; 24–25)
Thus, the experience was an essential lesson and demonstrated free will; if Adam and Eve were to live on earth, they needed to be aware of the tricks and schemes of Satan; they also needed to understand the dire consequences of sin, and the infinite mercy and forgiveness of God. God knew that Adam and Eve would eat from the tree. He knew that Satan would strip away their innocence.
This denotes that although God knows the outcome of events before they happen and allows them, He does not force things to happen. Adam had free will and bore the consequences of his deeds. Mankind has free will and thus is free to disobey God; but there are consequences.
On Earth
Adam and Eve left heaven and descended upon earth. Their descent was not one of degradation; rather it was dignified. In the Arabic language there is singular, then an extra grammatical number category denoting two. Plural is used for three and more. So when God said: "Get you down, all of you" He used the word for plural indicating that He was not speaking to Adam and Eve alone but that He was referring to Adam, his wife and his descendants – mankind.
With the experience of struggling against the whisperings and schemes of Satan Adam and Eve left paradise and began their life on earth.
The first Prophet of God, Adam, was responsible for teaching his wife and offspring how to worship God and seek His forgiveness. Adam established the laws of God and set about trying to support his family and learning to subdue and care for the earth. His task was to perpetuate, cultivate, construct and populate; he was to raise children who would live according to God's instructions and care for and improve the earth.
Adam and Eve's first children, Cain and his sister, were twins; Abel and his sister, another set of twins, soon followed. Adam and his family lived in peace and harmony. Cain ploughed the earth while Abel raised livestock. Time passed and the occasion came for the sons of Adam to marry as God's plan to fill the earth included each of Adam's sons marrying the twin sister of the other.
The First Murder
Not pleased with the partner chosen for him, Cain began to envy his brother and refused to obey the command of his father and, in doing so, he disobeyed God. God created man with both good and bad tendencies, and the struggle to overcome our baser instincts is part of His test for us.
God commanded that each son was to offer a sacrifice. His judgment would favor the son whose offer was the most acceptable. Cain offered his worst grain, but Abel offered his best livestock. God accepted Abel's sacrifice, so Cain became enraged, threatening to kill his brother.
"And (O Muhammad) recite to them (the Jews) the story of the two sons of Adam (Abel and Cain) in truth; when each offered a sacrifice to God, it was accepted from the one but not from the other. The latter said to the former; 'I will surely kill you.'" (Al-Ma'idah 5; 27)
Abel advised his brother that God would accept good deeds from those that fear and serve Him, but reject the good deeds of those who are arrogant, selfish and disobedient towards God.
"The former said: 'Verily God accepts only from those who are pious. If you do stretch your hand against me to kill me I shall never stretch my hand against you to kill you, for I fear God; the Lord of mankind, jinn, and all that exists.'"(Al-Ma'idah 5; 27-28)
"So the self (base desires) of the other (latter one) encouraged him and made fair seeming to him the murder of his brother; he murdered him and became one of the losers." (Al-Ma'idah 5:30)
Prophet Muhammad informed us that Cain became angry and hit his brother over the head with a piece of iron.
"God sent a crow who scratched the ground to show him to hide the dead body of his brother. He (the murderer) said: 'Woe to me! Am I not even able to be as this crow and to hide the dead body of my brother?' Then he became one of those who regretted." (Al-Ma'idah 5:31)
Adam was devastated; he had lost both his first and second born sons. One had been murdered; the other was won over by mankind's greatest enemy – Satan. Patiently, Adam prayed for his son, and continued to care for the earth. He taught his many children and grandchildren about God. He told them of his own encounter with Satan and advised them to beware of Satan's tricks and schemes. Years and years passed, and Adam grew old and his children spread out across the earth.
Oneness of God
All mankind are the children of Adam. In one narration, Prophet Muhammad informed us that God showed Adam his descendants. Adam saw a beautiful light in Prophet David's eyes and loved him, so he turned to God and said: "Oh God. Give him forty years from my life." God granted Adam his request, and it was written down and sealed.
Adam's life span was supposed to be 1000 years but after 960 years the angel of death came to Adam who was surprised and said "but I still have 40 years to live". The angel of death reminded him of his gift of 40 years to his beloved descendant Prophet David, but Adam denied it. Many, many years later, the last Prophet, Muhammad, said:
"Adam denied so the children of Adam deny, Adam forgot and his children forget; Adam made mistakes and his children make mistakes." (At-Tirmidhi)
In Arabic the word for mankind is insan and it comes from the root word nisyan; to forget. This is part of human nature, mankind forgets, and when we forget we deny and reject. Adam forgot (he was not lying), and God forgave him. Adam then submitted to the will of God and died.
Before his death Adam reminded his children that God would never leave them alone or without guidance; he told them God would send other prophets with unique names, traits and miracles, but they would all call to the same thing – the worship of the one true God.
Source: Islam Religion - http://www.islamreligion.com/
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