Contents
All of humanity comes from Adam
We believe as Muslims that Adam [peace be upon him] was created directly by Allah. Thus, no evolution of species took place. Then He created the wife of Adam [peace be upon him], Hawwa. Subsequently, human beings came into existence because Adam and Hawwa had children. This is also the creation of Allah, but here there is a Sabab [means], namely Adam and Hawwa. Thus Allah says: ”O mankind, fear your Lord who created you from one being, who created from him his wife, and from them both produced many men and women and spread them [throughout the earth]. Fear Allah in whose name you ask anything of each other and respect the bonds of kinship. Allah is the Guardian over you.”1
Man was created from earth
We believe that man was created from earth and that the Rooh [soul] was blown into it later. Allah ordered the angel Jibreel to take earth from the world, but he was unsuccessful. Then Mikail was asked, but this also did not succeed, because the earth asked in the name of Allah not to do it. Then the angel of death [Malak al-Mawt] was given the
order and he came back with different types (colors) of earth. The scholars say that the different races have to do with the different types of earth. In addition to humans, Allah created angels from light and the Djinn from smokeless fire. Angels
were created to obey only Allah and they have no will of their own. This is in contrast to the Djinns who, like humans, have a will of their own. Thus, they can be either good or bad.
The story of Adam [peace be upon him] can be read in the following chapters: Surat alBaqara, Surat Ali Imran, Surat al-A’raf and Surah Ta Ha. Thus Allah says in the Qur’an: ”When your Lord said to the angels, “I am going to appoint a substitute on earth,” they said, “Are You going to appoint someone there who will bring destruction and shed blood there, while we praise You and honor Your holiness?” He said, “I know what you do not know.” And He taught Adam all the names. Then He presented them to the angels and said, “Tell me the names of these, if you are right.” They said, “You be praised! We know only what You have taught us.
You are the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. He said, “Adam, communicate to them their names.” When he then communicated their names to them, He said, “Had I not told you that I know the invisible of the heavens and the earth, and know what you do openly and in secret.” When We said to the angels, “Bow down
reverently bow down before Adam,” they bowed down reverently, except Iblis; he refused and was haughty, for he was one of the disbelievers. And We said, “Adam, you and your wife may inhabit the garden and you may eat from it in abundance wherever you wish, but you must not approach this tree, for then you will be among the unjust.” Then Satan made them commit a transgression.
Adam in the Qur’an
So he brought them out from the place where they were, and We said, “Descend, as one another’s enemies; and temporarily there is for you on the earth a dwelling place and fruitful use.” Then Adam took words from his Lord, and He graciously turned to him; He is the Repentant, the Merciful.”2
And also: ”We created you and then formed you. Then We said to the angels, “Bow down in reverence before Adam.” And they bowed down in reverence, except Iblis, who was not among those who bowed down in reverence. He said, “What prevents you from bowing down reverently when I commanded you to do so?” He said, “I am better than he; You created me from fire and You created him from clay.”
He said, “Descend from this. It does not befit you to behave haughtily. So descend from this. You are of the clayed ones.” He said, “Grant me respite until the day when they are raised.” He said, “You are among those who have been granted respite.” He said, “But because You have misled me I will lie in wait for them o
lurk in Your right path. Then I will come upon them from the front and from behind and from the right and from the left. And You will find that most of them will not give thanks.” He said, “Get out of here,
despised and outcast. And if any of them follow you? I will fill Hell with all of you together.”
And, “O Adam, you and your wife inhabit the garden and eat of what you will, but you must not approach this tree, for then you will be among the transgressors.” Then Satan whispered to them to
openly show them what was hidden from their shame, and he said, “Your Lord has only kept you from this tree so that you may not become angels or become of
those who remain forever.” And he swore to them, “Truly I am to you a good counselor.” Thus he deceived them by deception. Then, when they tasted of the tree, their shame became visible
And they began to cover themselves with leaves from the Garden, which they had bound together. And their Lord called to them, “Did I not forbid you this tree and tell you that Satan is a declared enemy
of you?” They said, “Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves and if You do not forgive us and have mercy on us then we are among the losers.” He said, “Descend – each other to enemy – for you have on the earth temporary abode and usufruct. “3
The remark of the angels
The angels said, “Will You appoint someone there who will bring destruction and shed blood, while we praise You and honor Your holiness?” This they said not in protest, but as a question. They saw that the Djinns were bringing destruction to the world and they feared that man would do the same. But man can also be very good. He can even be better than the angels.
Test of Iblees
The Iblees [Satan] seemed to be the best among the Djinns. He seemed so good and had so much knowledge that he stayed among the angels. The angels did not know any better and looked up to him very much. Allah, of course, knew from the creation of Iblees that he would disobey Him. When Adam
[peace be upon him] was created all the angels present and Iblees were asked to kneel before Adam [peace be upon him]. All the angels did so, but Iblees did not.
Angels have no will of their own and always obey Allah. Iblees belonged to the Djinns and therefore he had a will of his own, which in this case he used for evil. Iblees is therefore not a
fallen angels. That the angels performed the kneeling down [Sajdah] is not because they thought or believed that Adam [peace be upon him] was a god, but they did so to obey Allah. In the Prophet’s [sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam] legislation, it is not permitted to perform the kneeling [Sajdah] for anything or anyone other than Allah.
The pride [Kibr] of iblees caused him to have to stay in hellfire for eternity. Haughtiness is the worst trait you can have as a human being.
Only Allah may and can actually be the Haughty One [al-Mutakabbir], for it is His right. So the disbelief [Kufr] of iblees is in the fact that he saw himself higher and better than others and not because he did not believe in Allah. He knew that Allah existed, yet he is a disbeliever [Kafir]. There are traditions that iblees also occasionally went to kick the body of Adam [peace be upon him] before his soul was blown into it
A resounding sound would then come, as if tapping on a pot of earth. The knowledge of Adam [peace be upon him] Allah taught Adam [peace be upon him] all the names. This means that he was therefore not a primeval man.
He had knowledge and so did his children. For example, his son Habil was a stockman and his son Qabil was a farmer. He in turn taught the names to the angels. When the soul, through the nose of Adam [peace be upon him], was breathed in, Adam’s first words were
[peace be upon him]: alhamdu lillah, or all praise to Allah.
Man is a revered creation. For example, Allah says: ”We have most certainly honored the children of Adam…4
The scholars say that honoring Adam [peace be upon him] by the angels is actually honoring mankind. If someone behaves like a human being, i.e., follows the commandments and stays away from the prohibitions, even the angels will honor and respect such a person. The
angels love the humans if the humans are obedient to Allah. For example, there are traditions in which it can be read that the angels travel through the world and see which people have gathered to remember Allah so that they can make supplications for them.
The forbidden tree
Adam and Hawwa resided in heaven [Jannah] for a period of time. The scholars differ on the duration and place of this stay. However, these are not essential matters of our faith. During this stay in the Jannah Adam and Hawwa were allowed to do everything, but were only not to go near a tree. However, the iblees devised a ruse and indicated
that Adam and Hawwa could become immortal. He swore in the name of Allah that he was telling the truth, so Adam and Hawwa believed him. Indeed, they could not imagine that anyone could lie while using the Name of Allah. After they
had eaten from the tree, their shame [Awrah] was exhibited, after which they quickly began to cover and hide themselves. It is of human nature to have shame and this is also a character trait of a Muslim.
The Prophet [sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam] said, ”Shame [Haya] is of faith [Imaan] and faith is in heaven.”
After they ate from the tree, they were placed on the earth. Allah forgave Adam and Hawwa because they both immediately realized and accepted that they had made a wrong decision.
Abel [Habil] and Cain [Qabil].
Allah says in the Qur’an: ”And read to them the communication about the two sons of Adam truthfully. When they offered a sacrifice and it was accepted from one of them. And it was not accepted from the other. The one [Cain] said, “I will strike you dead!” He [Habil] said, “Allah accepts only from the
God-fearing. Even if you stretch out your hand to me to kill me, I will not stretch out my hand to you to kill you. I fear God, the Lord of all the worlds. I wish you to bring sin upon me and your sin upon you, and then you will be among the inhabitants of the fire. That is the retribution for the unrighteous.” Then he set out to kill his brother, and he killed him, and so he became among the losers. Allah then sent a raven scurrying in the earth to show him how to cover his brother’s corpse. He said, “Woe to me! Am I not able to be like this raven and cover the corpse of my brother?”
Thus he went about belonging to those who have remorse. Therefore We decreed for the Israelites that whoever kills anyone, other than for manslaughter or for mischief on the earth, is as if he had killed the people collectively, and that whoever lets anyone live is as if he had let the people live collectively. Our envoys came to them with the clear proofs, but many of them were still immoderate afterwards on the earth.5
On the earth, Adam and Hawwa reproduced. It is handed down that Hawwa had twenty twins. These twins were each one boy and one girl. Two of the sons of Adam [peace be upon him] were Habil and Qabil. The children were not allowed to
not marry their own twin brother or sister. The girl Habil was allowed to marry was prettier than the girl Cain was allowed to marry. This made him jealous and wanted the girl who was actually meant for Habil. Then they had to make a sacrifice
for Allah. The owner of the accepted sacrifice was allowed to marry the girl. For this, Habil sacrificed his best cattle, while Cain sacrificed his rotten harvest. A lightning came from heaven that took Habil’s sacrifice. Cain’s sacrifice was thus rejected, making him jealous. Cain could not have this and decided to kill his brother Habil
murder. This was mankind’s first murder. Cain did not know what to do with his brother’s corpse, upon which Allah sent a raven who showed him how to bury his brother.
When Adam [peace be upon him] died he had left behind many children. It has been handed down that Jibreel came with the angels to wash Adam [peace be upon him], to wrap him in the shroud [Kafan] and then to bury him. This tradition has continued until today.
1 Surat an-Nisa, verse 1
2 Surat al-Baqara, verses 30-37
3 Surat al-A’raf, verses 11-24
4 Surat al-Isra, verse 70
5 Surat al-Ma’idah, verses 27-32