* The Creation of Adam
- Part 4
Allah, be He Exalted and Glorified, says what can be
translated as, “And indeed Iblîs (Satan’s name) did
prove true his thought about them: and they followed him,” (TMQ, 34:20) (1). Iblîs thought that once he pointed to Man, he (man) would
respond to him at altogether, “all except a group of true believers”. (TMQ,
34:20).
You will see Iblîs on the Day of Judgment in hell,
leaning on a column to be seen by all the people in hell, while delivering the
most famous speech in history. “And Shaytân (Satan)
will say when the matter has been decided: "Verily, Allâh
promised you a promise of truth. And I too promised you, but I betrayed you. I
had no authority over you except that I called you, and you responded to me. So
blame me not, but blame yourselves. I cannot help you, nor can you help me. I
deny your former act in associating me (Satan) as a partner with Allâh (by obeying me in the worldly life). Verily, there is
a painful torment for the Zâlimûn (polytheists and
wrong-doers)’ ”. (TMQ, 14:22).
Have you felt his enmity towards you?
Shaytan has his soldiers, he makes promises [for
things that we desire], and he shares in our wealth and families, and you have
soldiers and fortresses more powerful than he does. You have these eleven
different soldiers and fortifications:
1. Seeking refuge with Allah: Once you resort to Allah, seeking refuge from Shaytan. Allah says what can be translated as, “And if an
evil whisper comes to you from Shaytân, then seek
refuge with Allâh. Verily, He is All-Hearer,
All-Knower” (TMQ, 7:200). Shaytan has no power over
you since he is “the whisperer who withdraws”. Allah set “the whisperer” and
"who withdraws" beside each other, because “the evil whisperer”
“withdraws from his whispering to one's heart after one remembers Allah”.
2. Dhikr (remembrances) of Allah: By continuously
glorifying Him, saying “Glory to Allah, the Greatest” (sobhaan
Allah al-Atheem), and “Praise be to Allah” (Alhamdu lillah).
3. Reciting the Ma'audhatayn: (the last two surahs of the Qur’an: Al-Falaq and An-Naas) every morning
and evening. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) recommends reading them to avoid evil.
4. Reciting Ayat-al-Kursi: (the Verse of the
Chair/Throne). Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) says, “When you go to your bed, recite Ayat-al-Kursi, (2:255) for then there will be a guard from
Allah who will protect you all night long, and Shaytan
will not be able to come near you until dawn." (Bukhari)
Recite it also after performing each prayer.
5. Reading Surat Al-Baqarah
(The Cow): Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) says, “Shaytan
cannot come near the house whose people read Surat
Al-Baqarah (The Cow)”. (Muslim)
6. Saying “There is no God but Allah, He who has no partner, owns everything,
and to Whom we are all thankful. Allah is capable of
everything; has the power to create life and death.”:
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) says, “Whoever says this 100 times daily is saved from Shaytan”. (Bukhari)
7. Ablution (wudhu): Shaytan
is created from fire, which is extinguished by water.
8. Lowering one's gaze: The gaze allows a wide entrance for Shaytan.
9. Seeking the company of dutiful Muslims: Shaytan is
always with the loner.
10. Prayers (salat): Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) says,
“If a man performs the Fajr (dawn) prayers and
prostrates in worship, Shaytan says, “Woe to you! Man
is ordered to prostrate and he did, hence his reward is
11. Repentance (taubah): When Shaytan
said to Allah, “I swear by Your Glory and Exaltedness to lure them”, Allah, be
He Exalted and Glorified, replied what means, “I swear by My Glory and
Exaltedness to forgive them as long as they ask My
forgiveness”.
Have you awakened to the battle and perceived the soldiers and fortresses that
Allah has granted you? You are stronger and much more powerful, so don't be
afraid. Allah, be He Exalted and Glorified, says what means, “Will you then
take him (Iblîs) and his offspring as protectors and
helpers rather than Me while they are enemies to you? How evil is the exchange
for the Zâlimûn (polytheists, and wrong-doers).” (TMQ, 18:50).
Shaytan was driven away from
- “Who are you?”
- “I am a woman”.
- “What's your name?”
- “Hawwa’”.
- “Why have you been created?”
- ”So that you may find repose in me”. (Isra’iliyat) (2).
Commenting on this:
• Why did she say “woman”?
Because she was created from “man”, so “woman” is part of “man”, and therefore
the noun is derived from the noun “man”.
• Why was she (Eve) called Hawwa’?
Because she was created from something alive (Hai in Arabic), i.e. Adam's rib.
• Why was she created while he
was asleep?
So that he would not feel the pain of creation, which might cause some change
in his heart toward her and prevent him from treating her tenderly.
Imam Al-Qurtubi in describing this point, “so that he
would not feel the pain of her creation” says. “She was created while he was
sleeping so that his heart would not change against her, because men are not
dominated by emotions (affection, companionship, etc.). Hence, if he had felt
the pain when she was created, he would have become annoyed with her as she had
caused him pain.”
Can you imagine woman's pain
while giving birth to her child? Emotions in woman dominate all other feelings,
so her emotions increase with the increase of pain.
Can you appreciate the difference between man and woman?
The meaning of “to find repose
in me” is to achieve reassurance and comfort on earth. Allah, be He Exalted and
Glorified, says what means “And among His Signs is this, that He created for
you wives from among yourselves, that you may find repose in them” (TMQ,
30:21). So Woman was created as a symbol for repose, comfort and reassurance on
earth. “Feeling reassured” refers to feeling comfortable and safe in a settled
place, without which man becomes lost. Whenever Allah mentions Adam and Hawwa’, He mentions “to find repose in her”. The woman is
able to make her house like Hell or make it full of comfort and safety.
Khadijah (RA) was a real comfort to Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH), and she succeeded in achieving the target of her existence as
a woman. Hence, when she died she deserved that moment when Jibril
(AS) (Gabriel) descended from Heaven and told Prophet Muhammad (PBUH): "O
Prophet of Allah! Give salutations to Khadija with
Allah's peace. Tell her Allah heralds you with a palace made of
mother-of-pearl". (Bukhari, Muslim)
Hawwa’ was created from a part of Adam. You
may wonder: could she be created separately? Why was she created from Adam?
Allah-be He Exalted and Glorified- says what means, "O mankind! Be dutiful
to your Lord, Who created you from a single person (Adam), and from him (Adam)
He created his wife…" (TMQ, 4:1). This is to make man feel that woman is
part of him; therefore, Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) last advice was, "Take
good care of women". (Bukhari)
Note that Adam was created from
earth’s dust while Hawwa’ was created from his rib.
Each of them was created from the part he or she will deal with: Adam will deal
with the earth, whether as a wrestler, a farmer or a fighter, and Hawwa’ will deal with children and husbands and motherhood.
Thus, Allah, be He Exalted and Glorified, wanted to create everything from the
origin of what it will deal with.
Furthermore, Hawwa’
was created from a crooked rib. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) says, "Take good care
of women. Woman was created from a rib, and the most crooked part of a rib is
its uppermost part. If you start to straighten it, it might be broken, and if
you leave it, it keeps its crooked shape. Hence, take good care of women".
(Bukhari)
Hawwa’ was created from Adam's left rib, which
is crooked because the function of the left rib is to protect the heart from
injury. Therefore, the heart is surrounded by a crooked rib that protects it.
Being created from a crooked rib does not signify that she is bad in behavior.
Emotion is the dominating dimension in women, and most of the time it dominates
logic so that woman would be able to practice her tenderness and kindness. The
crookedness of the rib is something natural that helps the woman to perform her
job. Be careful not to tell her, "Don't be jealous or don't get
worried." because this would be "breaking" her. Also, do not
tell her, "don't think with your heart, think with your mind". Beware
of breaking her heart, because this would be breaking her essence.
There
is another meaning mentioned by Imam Al-Qurtubi:
- The Angels said to Adam:
"Do you love her Adam?"
- Adam said: "Yes".
- The Angels asked Haawwa’, "Hawwa’,
do you love him?"
- She answered, "No!", though deep in her heart she had more love for
him than he had for her.
Al-Qurtubi
comments on this saying, "If women were honest in expressing their
feelings of love to their husbands, Hawwa’ would have
been the first to do it".
In Surat
Taha in the Holy Qur’an,
Allah says what can be translated as, "And (remember) when We said to the angels: "Prostrate yourselves to
Adam." They prostrated themselves (all) except Iblîs;
he refused. Then We said: "O Adam! Verily, this
is an enemy to you and to your wife. So let him not get you both out of
This
verse shows four blessings granted by Allah to Adam:
1- He would never feel
hungry.
2- He would never feel thirsty.
3- He would never feel hot (the weather was not hot at all, as there was shade
everywhere).
4- He would never be naked, as Allah would conceal his private parts.
When first created, Adam did not
feel naked, and neither did Hawwa’. Man did not know
nakedness from the first moment. Then, when was nakedness known? It was known
when Adam went astray from Allah's path. The more humankind develops and strays
far away from Allah’s path, the more nakedness increases.
In
This means, "Adam you can
eat whatever you want, except the fruits of this specific tree". You can
also notice that Allah, be He Exalted and Glorified, prepared
Then, how could Adam not
consider this? You have many trees in your life, but you insist on one specific
tree, and you don't want anything except this tree. You say to yourself,
"I must drink alcohol." although there are many other drinks that are
allowed to you.
Why did Adam seek from the
forbidden tree? It was the same entrance that Shaytan
uses with every one of us. Shaytan makes you see what
you do not possess as more beautiful, more desirable and better than what you
already have. This is a wicked trick played by Shaytan
to make you go after the forbidden rather than the lawful and permissible, or
at least he makes you hate what is permissible. For example, the husband whose
wife is so beautiful and respectable and exerts all efforts to satisfy him; such
a man might be attracted to another woman who might be less pretty than his
wife. Shaytan makes her [the forbidden woman] more
beautiful in the man's eyes despite the fact that he already has what is
permitted.
Shaytan wants you to run after the forbidden or
hate what you have in your hands so you will not thank Allah or be grateful to
Him. Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, "and you will not find
most of them as grateful". This is a strong method used by Satan to attack
us. Adam's tree is repeated in several forms with all of us. Try to struggle
against yourself even once, you will feel such a sweet feeling that you have
never sensed before. You will feel your power, strong will and strength instead
of being Shaytan’s captive. Get rid of Shaytan’s curb and you will feel extreme happiness+ the
Angels' happiness for you+ Allah's happiness for you.
In
In Surat
Taha the Shaytan said to
Adam what can be translated as, "O Adam! Shall I lead you to the Tree of
Eternity and to a kingdom that will never waste away?" (TMQ, 20:120). In
this context Shaytan called it "Tree of Eternity".
There is no tree with this name, and so Shaytan
tricked them and all of us all this time.
Shaytan called atheism “creativity” or
“freedom”, and called nakedness “fashion”. A young man would say, "I will
not commit adultery, I will just go out with that girl and we will sit alone. I
will not commit adultery, God Forbid!" In such a context the names are
changed, and Shaytan starts to fix the wrong names in
your mind until you yourself change.
The following verse from
Adam and Hawwa’
had a pure nature; therefore, when they found Shaytan
swearing by Allah, they could not imagine that there could be anyone who dares
to swear by Allah falsely.
"So he misled them with
deception…" (TMQ, 7:22) Shaytan started to push
them gradually. Notice the beautiful Qur’anic
expressions used to exemplify how Shaytan took
gradual steps to humiliate them. Allah, be He Exalted and Glorified told them
to keep away from the tree, but Shaytan told them to
sit beside the tree. In other words, Shaytan will not
suggest to you directly to drink alcohol, but will
urge you to accompany someone who drinks. Allah, be He Exalted and Glorified,
says in Surat Al-Baqarah
(The Cow), "Satan mis led them away from
it" (TMQ, 2:36).
"Then when they tasted of the
tree…” (TMQ, 7:22). The word "tasted" here
makes clear that just tasting the tree’s fruit angered Allah. Hence, never say,
"I will just ‘taste’ sin and will not [really] do
it”. “…that which was hidden from them of their shame (private parts) became
manifest to them" (TMQ, 7:22). Note how all the verses focus on the same
meaning—private parts and nakedness—because this is a serious issue that will
drive humanity to Hell. "And they began to cover themselves with the
leaves of
"And their Lord called out
to them (saying): ‘Did I not forbid you that tree and
tell you: Verily Shaytan is an open enemy unto
you’" (TMQ, 7:22). Allah asked them, as He will do with us. What will your
answer be when Allah calls you and asks, "Why did you do this? Why did you
do that? Have not I prohibited you from doing this?"
On the Day of Judgment Allah, be
He Exalted and Glorified, says, "O my slave! You underestimated meeting
me. Have I been so insignificant to you, or have I not been watching your eyes
when they were looking at the forbidden? Have I not been watching your lips
when they were saying the forbidden? What mislead you from My
path, my slave? What misled you from My path? O my
slave! Read your book! “Did I not forbid you that tree and tell you: Verily Shaytan is an open enemy unto you” (TMQ, 7:22).
Here, at the end of my speech, I
want to say that Adam and Hawwa’ were expelled from
- Allah (SWT) said, "Are
you running to escape from me Adam?"
- Adam replied, "No Allah,
I am running because I’m ashamed of myself".
The
main lessons learned from this lecture:
1. Beware of conceit.
2. Declare war against Shaytan and consider him your
enemy.
3. Beware of the steps taken by Shaytan to control
you, and resort to the eleven fortifications we mentioned.
Dear brother, your wife is your
comfort. Dear sister, your husband is your comfort.
1) TMQ=Translation of the
Meaning of the Qur'an. This translation is for the
realized meaning, so far, of the stated (Surah:Ayah) of the Qur'an.
Reading the translated meaning of the Qur'an can
never replace reading it in Arabic, the language in which it was revealed.
2) Editor’s note: Often, with the stories of the Biblical Prophets, the
scholars have used Isra’iliyat—stories or
explanations that came to us through Jews and Christians who accepted Islam.
These stories are neither found in the Qur’an nor in
the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) but may
come from the Bible or oral traditions. The Isra’iliyat
are only used to add detail to the prophets’ stories
if they do not contradict the Qur’an or Sunnah. They will be cited in this text by either (Isra’iliyat) or (Isr.).
Go to * The Creation
of Adam - Part 5