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The Creation of Prophet Adam
Before the creation of mortal, Almighty Allah directed all the
angels to assemble. Thousands upon thousands of angels (created
from light) and Jinns (created from fire) gathered in groups.
They bowed respectfully in the presence of Almighty Allah. The
Creator of the universe declared that he intended to create the
man and sought their counsel. The angels and Iblis (Satan)
disapproved the idea and pointed out that human beings would
cause disorder on the earth. They would make mischief and shed
blood indiscriminately. The Holy Qur'an gives a description of
this event in the following Verses:
"And when your Lord said to the angels: I am about to appoint a
vicegerent in the earth. They said: Will you place therein such
as will cause disorder in it or shed blood ? We celebrate your
praise and extol your holy names. He answered: I know what you
know not." (2:30)
Angels were asked to make Obeisance to Adam
Allah taught Adam the names of all things and inculcated into
his mind the knowledge of their properties. The Holy Qur'an
says:
"And He taught Adam the names of all things; then presenting
them to the angels, He said: Tell Me the names of these if you
are right." (2: 31)
The angels did not know their names and said:
"Glory be to You. We have no knowledge except what You have
taught us. Surely, You are Knowing, the Wise." (2: 32)
After that Allah questioned Adam in the presence of all angels
about the names of different objects. He gave correct answers on
the basis of this superiority. Allah asked all the angels to bow
as a mark of respect to Adam who was created so miraculously.
The Holy Qur'an affirms:
"O' angels! Fall down making obeisance to Adam" (15:29)
Angels Prostrated but Iblis Refused
When the angels heard the Commandment of Almighty Allah, they
all complied without hesitation. They bowed with respect and
admiration to the new creation and that was Adam. However Iblis
(Satan) did not surrender on various pretexts and stood still.
The Holy Qur'an says:
"And when We said to the angels: Make obeisance to Adam, they
did obeisance, not so Iblis, he refused and was haughty and he
was of the: rejecters." (2:34)
Challenge of Iblis
Iblis disobeyed Allah and became defiant. He arrogantly refused
to accept the authority of a creature who was made of rubbish.
Iblis thought himself superior to human being. As a result, God
expelled Satan from the Garden of Bliss and deprived him of all
Divine favours. Satan requested Almighty Allah to allow him to
exist until the Day of Judgement. I would bring most of the
descendants of Adam under my sway. I would lead them astray from
the Right Path. Allah gave him respite. The conversation between
God and Iblis has been narrated in the Holy Qur'an as follows:
"Iblis said: Give me respite till the Resurrection Day. Allah
said: Be you among those who are given respite. He said: Because
You have thrown me out of the way, I will certainly lie in wait
for them on Your Straight Path. Then will assault them from
before them and behind them, from their right and from their
left, nor will You find most of them grateful." (7: 14-18)
Devil is, in fact, an evil spirit which temps the man to indulge
in sins. It invites the heart to do bad deeds and disobey Allah.
It tries to weaken our sense of morality but if we are
spiritually too strong to yield to its temptations, we become
immune from all sins. Those who follow the Commandments of
Allah, invite God's grace to protect them. On the other hand
those who deliberately follow the wrong way, are responsible
because they put themselves into the hands of Evil Spirit.
Hawa(Eve) Created
In order to remove the lonesomeness of Adam, a female mate named
Hawa (Eve) was created. The Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) and
his wife Hawa were given a place in the Garden (of Bliss) to
reside. The Holy Qur'an affirms:
"And O' Adam! Dwell you and your wife in the Garden (of Bliss)
and eat therefrom wherever you will but approach not this tree
lest you should be: among the wrong-doers." (7: 20)
Trial of Prophet Adam
The Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) and his wife Eve continued
enjoying each others company and carefully avoiding that
specific prohibited tree. Iblis became very jealous when he saw
the favours of the Almighty Allah on the Prophet Adam (peace be
upon him) and he began to devise ways and means to humiliate
them. He kept on making evil suggestions to the couple in a
sneaky way. He tried to persuade them to approach the prohibited
tree. One day the Iblis sympathetically said to them:
"Your Lord has only forbidden you this tree lest you should
become angels or immortals, and he swore to them saying: Surely,
I am a sincere counsellor unto you. So he beguiled them by
deceit." (7:22)
On hearing this both Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) and Eve
became curious. They started wondering as to why God did not
want them to approach the specific tree. This temptation
gradually became stronger but Allah guided them alright and
warned that not to be taken in by the evil suggestions of Iblis.
The Holy Qur'an says:
"Then We said: O' Adam! Verily, this Iblis is an enemy to you
and your wife, so let him not get you both out of the Garden so
that you are landed in misery." (20: 117)
The Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) and his wife used to live
happily in the Garden of Bliss. They were endowed with the
knowledge to discriminate between good and evil. They were also
warned of the power of evil. They overpowered all sorts of evil
temptations at first and tried hard to ward off the influence of
Satan. But he made numerous attempts to misguide them off and
on. Finally Satan succeeded in his mission and made them
approach that specific tree. Instantly evil consequences
appeared. The Holy Qur'an says:
"When they both tasted of the tree, their private parts became
manifest to each other and they both began to cover themselves
with the leaves of the trees (in the garden), and their Lord
called them saying: Did I not forbid you both from that tree and
tell you that Satan was your avowed enemy. They said: Our Lord!
We have wronged ourselves. If you forgive us not and bestow not
upon us Your mercy, we shall surely be of the losers." (7: 23,
24)
The Prophet Adam and Hawa Feel Penitence
The Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) and Eve followed the
temptations of Iblis and were deprived of the heavenly bliss.
They were, however, overflowed with grief. They requested
Almighty Allah to forgive them. Allah, the Most Merciful
accepted their repentance and chose them for His mercy. At the
same time He dispelled them from the Garden of Bliss. They
became ordinary people. They had to live like us for only a
certain span of life on this earth. They would be recreated
again to be judged for their actions on the Day of Judgement.
Allah gives Directions
They lived for many years. Allah sent directions and guidance to
the Prophet Adam (peace be upon him). He taught others about the
religion of Allah. He advised his followers to do good and avoid
evils. He told the people to act upon the Commandments of Allah
and follow his guidance. It would serve the purpose of shield to
do away with the attacks of the devil. Allah says:
"Whoso shall follow My Guidance, on them shall come no fear, nor
shall they grieve. But those who will disbelieve and treat Our
Signs as lies, they shall be the inmates of the fire and they
shall abide therein." (2: 39, 40)
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