Story of Adam
Role of man on earth
Behold, thy Lord said to the angels:
"I will create a vicegerent on earth." They said: "Wilt Thou
place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood?- whilst we do celebrate Thy praises and glorify Thy holy (name)?"
He said: "I know what ye know not."
(Qur’an
2:30)
Man We did create from a quintessence (of
clay);
(Qur’an 23:12)
Allah created man and the rebellion
of Iblis
Behold,
thy Lord said to the angels: "I am about to create man from clay:
"When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him
of My spirit, fall ye down in obeisance unto
him." So the angels prostrated themselves, all of them together: Not
so Iblis: he was haughty, and became one of those who reject Faith. (Allah)
said: "O Iblis! What prevents thee from prostrating thyself to one whom I
have created with My hands? Art thou haughty? Or art
thou one of the high (and mighty) ones?" (Iblis) said: "I am better
than he: thou createdst me from fire, and him thou createdst from clay." (Allah)
said: "Then get thee out from here: for thou art rejected, accursed. And
My curse shall be on thee till the Day of Judgment." (Iblis) said:
"O my Lord! Give me then respite till the Day the (dead) are raised." (Allah) said: "Respite then is
granted thee- till the Day of the Time Appointed. "
(Iblis) said: "Then, by Thy power, I will put them all in the wrong,- except Thy Servants amongst them, sincere and purified
(by Thy Grace)." (Allah) said:
"Then it is just and fitting and I say what is just and fitting - that I
will certainly fill Hell with thee and those that follow thee, every one." (Qur’an
38 : 71-85)
We said: "O Adam! dwell thou and thy
wife in the Garden; and eat of the bountiful things therein as (where and when)
ye will; but approach not this tree, or ye run into harm and
transgression."
(Qur’an 2 : 35)
Then We said: "O Adam! verily, this is an enemy to thee and thy wife: so let him
not get you both out of the Garden, so that thou art landed in misery.
"There is therein (enough provision) for thee not to go hungry nor
to go naked, Nor to suffer from thirst, nor from
the sun's heat." (Qur’an 20 : 117-119)
Then began Satan to whisper suggestions to them, bringing openly
before their minds all their shame that was hidden from them (before): he said:
"Your Lord only forbade you this tree, lest ye should become angels or
such beings as live for ever." And he swore to them both, that he
was their sincere adviser. So by deceit he brought about their fall: when they
tasted of the tree, their shame became manifest to them, and they began to sew
together the leaves of the garden over their bodies. And their Lord called unto
them: "Did I not forbid you that tree, and tell you that Satan was an
avowed enemy unto you?" They said: "Our Lord! We have wronged
our own souls: If thou forgive us not and bestow not upon us Thy Mercy, we
shall certainly be lost." (Allah) said: "Get ye
down, with enmity between yourselves. On earth will be your dwelling place and
your means of livelihood, for a time."
(Qur’an 7 : 20-24)
Then
learnt Adam from his Lord words of inspiration, and his Lord turned towards
him; for He is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful. (Qur’an
2 : 37)
Promised of Guidance for the
children of Adam
We said: "Get ye
down all from here; and if, as is sure, there comes to you Guidance from me,
whosoever follows My guidance, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.
But those who reject Faith and belie Our Signs, they shall be companions of the
Fire; they shall abide therein."
(Qur’an 2 :
38-39)
(Qur’an
translation by Yusuf Ali)
Points
for discussion
1. What
was man created for ? Why was he not send to earth
directly right after his being created?
2. The
Qur’an mentioned that man was created from quintessence
of clay. Was it reasonable or “scientific”
?
3. Why
did Allah forgive Adam and not Iblis ? Was is fair ?
4. What
was the purpose of the Qur’an repeating the story of Adam ?
OR what is the lesson we can draw from the story of Adam?