Adam's descent
to earth and his death – Part One
Today’s lesson focuses on two
points: The dangers of committing a sin, and the beauty of
repentance. Let us all direct ourselves to Allah, the Most Gracious (SWT)[1],
with all our hearts. We will start our lesson now and I hope that you
will be attentive and mindful and that you will try to apply every ayah (verse)
and Hadith we are about to quote to your lives.
We have
previoulsy discussed Satan's animosity. Let us continue with what we have
started and finish off by the death of Adam (AS). We will
concentrate on some of the points that we mentioned in the previous lesson and
we will focus on Satan's attitude towards Adam (AS) and his hatred
towards Adam's descendants. We will mention the holy ayahs again, to further emphasize
Satan's bitterness towards us. However, I will only repeat the ayahs
without referring to their meanings as they were already mentioned last time.
Now listen to the ayahs and see how much Satan hates us.
Allah (SWT) says in
Moreover, in
Furthermore, in Surat
al-A'raf Allah (SWT) says what can be
translated as, “Said he, “So, for that You caused me to be misguided, indeed
I will definitely sit (i.e., in ambush) for them (on) Your straight Path.
Thereafter indeed I will definitely come up to them from before them
(Literally: between their hands) and from behind them, and from their right
(hands), and from their left (hands); and You will not
find most of them thankful.” (TMQ, 7:16-17). Note the animosity of
Satan towards us. He has prepared methods and ways to deceive you.
He has gathered an army of followers to fight us.
Last time we said that there are eleven
things we can do in order to protect ourselves from Satan. These eleven
things include:
Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) said,
“Whoever says, "La ilaha illal-lah
wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahu-l-mulk wa lahu-l-hamd wa huwa 'ala kulli
shai'in qadir,"
(None has the right to be worshipped but Allah, the Alone Who has no partners;
to Him belongs Dominion and to Him belong all the Praises, and He has power
over all things (i.e. Omnipotent)) one hundred times will get the same reward
as given for manumitting ten slaves; and one hundred good deeds will be written
in his accounts, and one hundred sins will be deducted from his accounts, and
it (his saying) will be a shield for him against Satan on that day till night,
and nobody will be able to do a better deed except the one who does more than
he.” (Authentic, al-Bukhari).
Nor can Satan dare to approach anybody who says this throughout the day, nor
can Satan approach anybody who says this in the night. This is your
protection against Satan; since if he attempts to come close, he would be
burnt. If Satan has his own weapons, you have yours too. You can
fight him, exorcize him, and burn him if he approaches you.
Can you see how dangerous he is now? What
is really dangerous is that he might make you listen to an important advice
without benefiting from it. For example, you might hear about how
important it is to be kind and obedient towards your parents, but you chose to
disobey them; or know how imperative it is to perfect your morals, but never
try to improve them, or learn about the importance of dhikr
but never do it. Thus, the knowledge you obtain becomes useless when
you do not put it into action once you are moved by it regardless of who gives
it you. Thus, no matter how many times you listen, the words lose their
touch if they do not find an enacting soul, no matter how wise they are.
Hence, when you attend a gathering or a lesson, try to apply at least 10%
of what you have learned in that lesson.
Thus dhikr
and dua’a are means of exorcizing
Satan, and so is wuduu’ (performing
ablution) since the devils are created from fire, and only water puts out fire.
Lowering the gaze is one more way of
exorcizing Satan, because the look is one of Satan's arrows. Moreover,
making friends with religious people and keeping away from bad company is
another effective way of exorcizing Satan since ‘a wolf attacks the lonely
sheep and Man's wolf is Satan.’ Furthermore, praying is another
successful means. Once man prays, Satan cries saying, “He was ordered to
prostrate, and so he did only to be granted paradise. I was ordered to
prostrate, but I did not and I will be thrown in hellfire.” One last
method that protects you from Satan is repentance as Allah (SWT) says in
a Qudsi Hadith, “On the
authority of Anas, who said, ‘I heard the Messenger
of Allah (SAWS) say, ‘Allah the Almighty said, ‘O son of Adam, so long
as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done,
and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds
of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O
son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and
were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you
forgiveness nearly as great at it.’’” (It was related by at-Tirmidhi
- also by Ahmad Ibn-HHanbal. Its chain of
authorities is sound).
A young man who attended last week’s
gathering called me and said that he counted the number of times that Satan was
mentioned in the Qur’an and found out that they were
eleven times. He also counted the number of ayahs mentioned seeking
refuge with Allah (SWT) from Satan and found that they were also
eleven. I wanted to make sure so I checked the books of authority and
found that what he said was true. In addition, seeking refuge with
Allah (SWT) from Satan is mentioned three times in one surah, which is an-Naas.
Last time we stopped at the point where
Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree. I have received many questions
concerning this issue. Some people are simply preoccupied with matters
which are not really important. I did not have the intention to answer
these questions because the aim of this lesson is not to tell you a story; my
aim is to make it beneficial to you by illustrating Satan’s animosity towards
us. One of the questions I received was, “From which tree did Adam eat?”,
“Was it a grapevine or a fig tree?” Giving you such redundant details is not
one of my goals as I narrate to you the stories of the Prophets and Messengers.
An important rule in Islamic Sharee’a (Islamic Law) states that discussing an
issue that is not useful to people is something we are forbidden to carry
out. Does it really matter which tree it was? Always focus on what is
important and eventually this will be your way of thinking. You would not
find, for example, a PhD student conducting an inconsequential research for his
degree. Why is that? Because his thoughts are organized; he has been
taught by Islam that he has to benefit his community. Thus, when making a
research, one should always seek what is constructive to one’s community and
country to reap reward from Allah (SWT).
Some women,
for example, might talk on the phone for hours just to exchange news about
others. If asked, why, they would
say, “Just to be updated!”
This not only wastes any potential reward they could have gained through that
wasted time, but it also opens the door for ghaiba (backbiting) and the
punishment it entails.
Other questions include, “In which paradise was
Adam?” and “Was that paradise on earth or in heaven?”
I try to avoid these details, yet people chase me with such questions. To
answer those I can say that the majority of scholars agreed that it was the
paradise of immortality, where we will be Insha’
Allah (God willing), and the one that Adam (AS) had to leave to land
on earth.
Another question was, “How did Satan
enter paradise if it was the one of immortality?” Someone called me and said
that he could not sleep trying to figure out how Satan managed to do that!
I repeat, Allah (SWT) did not
describe to us how Satan entered paradise since this is not really
important. What counts here is that Satan whispered to Adam (AS)
and he succeeded in seducing him. This is the important lesson we should
all learn from. How he entered paradise is a matter we know nothing
about. Nevertheless, is it possible that he whispered to Adam (AS)
without entering paradise? Allah (SWT) only knows about this, and I do
not have any answer or evidence from either the Qur’an
or the Sunnah (Prophet Muhammad’s way
of life). However, it is certainly the paradise of immortality, and Satan
whispered to him in a way that is unknown to us.
Now let us begin with the important
questions. We stopped where Adam (AS) and Eve ate from the
tree. The question now is who was responsible for committing this sin?
Was it Adam or Eve?
All past religions dictate that Eve is
the one responsible for this sin. This is mentioned in many books, which
are still present in the Western world and European civilizations which claim
that they protect women’s rights. These are the very civilizations that
blame Eve for this sin, maintaining that she persuaded Adam (AS) to do
it. The only book that refutes that claim is the Qur’an.
Eve did not persuade Adam (AS) to commit this sin. What is the
proof? It is in ayah 19 in
In
Thus the plural form was used
starting from where Satan
whispered to them to taste the tree up until the very end when both of
them asked for Allah’s forgiveness, together.
Is there any evidence in the Qur’an that Eve made Adam (AS) do it? Of course not. On the contrary, there is another surah, Surat Ta-Ha, which states
that Adam (AS) was the one who was responsible, for he was the
man. Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, “Then Ash-Shaytan (The Ever-Vicious, i.e., the Devil) whispered to
him. He said, “O Adam, shall I indicate to you the Tree of Eternity and a
Kingdom that does not decay? So the two of them ate of it ….” (TMQ,
20:120) Here, the plural form is re-used after referring to Adam (AS)
alone at the beginning which indicates that he is the one responsible as he was
the man.
Naturally, women will rejoice the fact that they have been proven
innocent from an undeserved accusation that followed them since the dawn of
history, and they certainly have every right to. In spite the fact that
Eve actually shares the responsibility with Adam (AS), she is blameless
when it comes to her being the reason behind his sin.
It is very important to stress on the magnitude of the man’s
responsibility. A man who accepts unlawful money and blames it on his
wife who keeps nagging him to get more money is wide of the mark. His
wife will be judged for the nagging, but he is the one responsible for his
deeds. This reminds men that they should never accept unlawful money in
order to please their wives and eventually be thrown into hellfire. Women,
on the other hand, should not push their husbands to money through unlawful
means to answer needed expenses.
It is also very important that we reform the common misconception
about women being the main cause behind all sins and misfortunes in the
society. There are many people who cite Prophet Muhammad’s Hadith that women are, “deficient in intelligence and
religion" (Authentic Hadith, al-Bukhari) to confirm these false views. Let me show
you what should change these thoughts. The first human being ever to prostrate
to Allah (SWT) after Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) was a woman.
She was Khadijah, his first wife, as agreed upon by
all scholars.
How does this correspond with the
Prophet's Hadith, "women are deficient in
intelligence and religion?” If we open the Qur'an, we read the following ayah where Allah (SWT)
says what can be translated as, “And Allah has struck a similitude for the
ones who have believed: the wife of Firaawn (Pharaoh)
… And Maryam (Mary) daughter of Imran...”
(TMQ, 66:11-12).
The example given here of a believing
person was a woman; two women as a matter of fact, not a man or even a
prophet. I want to boost women's self-confidence by these words. I
want them to know that they are a very crucial factor in a productive society.
They are the ones who give birth and raise the children while men work all
day. Thus, if women were not keen on relating their children to Allah (SWT),
the society would suffer. I intend to quote ayahs that enhance their
self-esteem. I want women to have confidence in themselves and to
be certain that Allah (SWT) will be pleased with them when they do what
they can to please Him. We also need men to give women that kind of
confidence as they both are created of one self. Allah (SWT) says
what can be translated as, “Who created you of one self, and created from it
its spouse.” (TMQ, 4:1).
Now, let us refer back to Prophet Muhammad’s Hadith that women are, “deficient in intelligence and
religion.” The Prophet (SAWS) here is making a quantitative
reference that has nothing to do with quality. Women endure some days in
which they do not pray or fast and that affects the amount of worship but does
not affect the quality of their worshipping. Thus, women might exceed men
in the quality, but not in the amount. This explains the deficiency in
religion. I intend to explain the deficiency in intelligence later on.
We are still discussing the ayahs in
Allah (SWT) exposed Satan and
revealed his schemes. Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, “Then
Ash-Shaytan (The all-vicious, i.e., the Devil)
whispered to them (both) to display to them that which was overlaid (i.e.,
hidden) from them of their shameful parts.” (TMQ, 7:20) As we can
see in the ayah, Satan’s
temptation was to uncover
their bodies. How did he know that if they ate from the forbidden tree,
they would be uncovered? He knew what Allah (SWT) said to Adam (AS)
earlier. Allah (SWT) says in Surat Ta-Ha
what can be translated as, “Surely it is (given) to you neither to hunger therein, nor to
go naked, And that you neither thirst therein, nor
suffer the heat (of the sun).” (TMQ, 20:118-119).
Thus, Satan understood that if Adam (AS)
disobeyed Allah (SWT), he would be denied the blessing of being
covered. Allah (SWT) told Adam (AS) that if he obeyed Him,
he would be granted four things in heaven; no hunger, no heat, no thirst, and
no nudity. Adam (AS) therefore knew that if he ate from the
forbidden tree, he would be deprived from these four blessings. Yet, the
most important point on which Satan concentrated on was nudity. As we
reach this point, I want our sisters to consider it carefully. Ordering
Muslim women to wear hijab (veil) was not done
at random. Not wearing hijab is a
serious matter. However there are unveiled women whom we care for, think
highly of and wish all the best. The problem is with those women who are not
only rejecting hijab but who also wear
revealing clothes. These are the women we have to warn, so listen.
Satan knew that if Adam (AS) disobeyed Allah, four types of punishment
would take place, yet he concentrated on only one of them; nudity.
The question now is: why did Satan focus on nudity? Why did he
want to uncover Adam and Eve? It is because it is the easiest and fastest
way leading to corruption. Once that starts spreading among human beings,
haram (prohibited) acts are bound to
take place. Men’s thirsty eyes would stare at the naked bodies not only
stirring their dormant desires, but also pushing them to answer the call of
their basic instincts through adulteries, rapes, and Orfi
marriages (customary and unregistered ones) that shatter the society and grant
Satan victory. Hence, a series of successive problems start shaking the
foundations of our societies.
Some people may say, “Why do you focus that much on hijab and appearances in religious gatherings, when what
really counts is a woman’s behavior and personality?” I simply cannot
help but agree that a woman’s behavior is fundamental. Nevertheless, it
is also true that a woman’s appearance and manner of clothing could be Satan’s
means of immense damage to the society.
Let us see how many times the nudity of Adam (AS) and his
descendants were mentioned. They were actually mentioned five times in
six ayahs. Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, “Then Ash-Shaytan
(The all-vicious, i.e., the Devil) whispered to them (both) to display to them
that which was overlaid (i.e., hidden) from them of their shameful parts...” (TMQ, 7: 20). It was the uncovering that was
mentioned here and not the thirst or the hunger. Moreover, Allah (SWT)
says what can be translated as, “…As soon as they (both) tasted the tree, their shameful parts
appeared to them” (TMQ, 7:22). Then, in the same ayah, Allah (SWT) says what can be
translated as, “and
they took to splicing upon themselves (some of) the leaves of the Garden”. (TMQ, 7:22). Can you see this? Can you see how Adam (AS) and Eve were
trying to cover themselves with the leaves of paradise?
It is in ayah 26 of the same surah
where we find a comment on Adam's story. By the way, whenever a story is
mentioned in the Qur’an, an ayah comes at the end of
the story to summarize it. For example, in surat
Hud where Allah (SWT) tells us about the story
of Nuh (Noah) (AS), Allah (SWT) says
what can be translated as, “And (endure) patiently, (for) then surely Allah
does not leave to waste the reward of the fair-doers.” (TMQ, 11:115).
Thus, the Ayat in
Back to ayah 26, Allah (SWT) says
what can be translated as, “...a garment to overlay your shameful parts, and
a vesture; (Fine clothes; or feathers) and the garment
of piety...” (TMQ, 7:26). The meaning here
is to conceal not only the outside, but also the inside as well. Thus
beware of revealing not only your bodies, but also your souls; and that is why
“the garment of piety” was mentioned in the ayah. Some ladies
refuse to don hijab saying that they are better off
than many veiled women who have bad morals. Nevertheless, this is just an
excuse as these are individual cases. If there were people who pray, and
perform Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah) but
have bad morals, would that give us an excuse not to pray or to perform hajj
ourselves? I say to those ladies, let us conceal our souls with piety, and
conceal our bodies with the veil.
Then comes the beautiful comment as Allah (SWT) says what can be
translated as, “…that is of the signs of Allah, that
possibly they would constantly remember…” (TMQ, 7:26).
They will remember, when science prevails and when a father fears for
the safety of his daughter whenever she goes out, not knowing where she is
going or what could happen to her, when ‘Orfi marriages
overwhelm the society, when insecurity prevails, when girls are too afraid to
walk alone in the streets, the decent and respectable girls I mean,
apprehending street harassments. That is why Allah (SWT) says what
can be translated as, “…that possibly they would constantly remember…”(TMQ, 7:26).
Ayah 27 refers to nudity for the third
time as Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, “O Seeds (Or:
sons) of Adam! Definitely do not let Ash-Shaytan (The
All-vicious, i.e., the Devil) tempt you just as he brought your parents
(Literally: your two feathers) out of the Garden, plucking out from them (both)
their garments to show them their shameful parts. Surely he sees you, he and his (dependent) tribe, from where you do not see
them.” (TMQ, 7:27). Can you picture Satan
plucking out the clothes and garments the way he does nowadays as we see the
many forms of nudity, swimming suits, etc.?
Thus what does Satan want from us? He wants to reveal and
disgrace us. That is why the words "shameful parts" were
mentioned five times in the Qur’an.
Those parts are described as shameful since revealing them causes shame and
disgust. Such parts could be described as sensitive. To have them
depicted as shameful, stresses the idea of shame when the body is
revealed. This is very important to understand. How would a young
man, after listening to these words, dare to watch pornographic sites on the
internet with all the “shameful parts” revealed in them? When Adam (AS)
went through his ordeal, he kept on trying to cover himself with leaves from
paradise. How then would you have the courage to watch such nudity
without immediately shutting your eyes, without being overwhelmed with disgust
and shame? You are defying your nature when you insist on doing so since once
you get used to them, they would cease to be shameful. Next thing you
know, you will be addicted to them only to destroy your life. You will
think that all women are like that, no matter how close they are to you-even
close family members! Thus, when Allah (SWT) forbids something, He
knows all about its catastrophic consequences.
From day one, Satan’s goal was to strip off Adam (AS) and
Eve. Moreover, he repeated that with the following generations. He
did it with the Arabs before Islam, as they, men and women, performed tawaf (circumambulation of the Ka’ba) naked. That is why one of the first orders
Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) gave when he entered Makkah
was that no naked people are allowed to circumambulate al-Ka'ba.
How did Satan succeed in tempting them when the society, at that
time, valued and esteemed bashfulness? He could not tempt them under false
claims like fashion and the sort like he does nowadays. Instead, he
whispered to them that Allah (SWT) will not accept their
circumambulation around al-Ka’ba if they do it in the
clothes they have sinned in! That was the only way he could seduce a
conservative society.
The twentieth century, the age of technology and freedom, is
another story. Freedom is the key Satan is using to seduce women.
His claim is that they should break free from all kinds of control and that
they are free to dress the way they like to. He certainly accomplished
his goal with many of them; but not all since Allah (SWT) says what can
be translated as, “Surely over My bondmen you will have no all-binding
authority.” (TMQ, 15:42). Allah
(SWT) is with them as He never fails those who seek His guidance and
protection. Satan himself acknowledged that fact admitting his
limitations and that he can seduce all people, “Excepting
Your bondmen among them, who are most faithful.” (TMQ, 15:40).
That was all about nudity. It was a chance for me to focus
on this point, since Satan spreads nudity in every generation in the way that
fits it best.
Let us go back to Adam (AS) and view the consequences of
his sin. The first outcome was the scandal in which Allah (SWT)
says what can be translated as, "so their shameful parts became
displayed to them.” (TMQ, 20:121). The second was
sending him out of heaven, and depriving him from being in the vicinity of
Allah (SWT). Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, “Said
He, “Get down (all of you), some of you an enemy to (some) others; and in the
earth there is for you a repository and an enjoyment for a while.” (TMQ, 7:24). The third was the long separation between
him and Eve when they fell down to earth. The fourth was being described
as a disobeyer, Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, “And Adam
disobeyed his Lord; so he became misguided.” (TMQ, 20:121). The fifth was
the blame that Allah (SWT) addressed to him, and that was the hardest of
them all. Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, “Did I
not forbid you from that tree and say to you both, surely Satan is for you both
an evident enemy?” (TMQ, 7:22). Would you
stand that blame on the Day of Judgment?
If all of that happened to Adam (AS), when he ate what was
forbidden, what would happen to us? We commit countless sins, and Allah (SWT)
with His mercy keeps them hidden, protecting us from disgrace. Thus,
don't ever trivialize your sins. Moreover, do not be haunted by them, but
rather always consider whom you have disobeyed. Adam (AS)
disobeyed once and was thus separated from Allah (SWT) by thousands of
miles. A poet said,
“Beware my friend,
A moment’s rashness,
Takes you astray,
Miles and miles away”
If you become unmindful for a moment, you go astray for a
thousand miles. Thus, in such a moment when you decide to take off your hijab for example, you are thousands of miles away from any
magnificence you might have felt while praying or while shedding the tears of
piety and subservience to Allah (SWT), and tasting the sweetness of true
belief in Him.
[1] Suhanahu wa Ta'ala
= Glorified and Exalted Be He
[2] 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.
[3] Sala-llahu Alaihi Wa-Sallam = All
Prayers and Peace of Allah be upon him.
[4] Editor’s note: This is not a Hadith.
This is what Satan said to Abu-Huraira, and when he
narrated it to the prophet (SAWS) he told him “He (who came to you at
night) told you the truth although he is a liar; and it was Satan”.
Go to * The Creation
of Adam - Part 6