The Creation of Man: The Prophet Adam

The conversation between Allah and angels about Prophet Adam’s creation (el-Bakara, 2/30-32):
• Behold, your Lord said to the angels: "I will create a vicegerent on earth." They said: "Wilt You place therein one who will make
mischief therein and shed blood?- while we do celebrate Your praises and glorify Your holy (name)?"

A question may arise here as to why Allah chose to seak of his decision to the angels. One answer is the
angels thought that Allah would not create a being who would be superior to them and greater than them in
knowledge. But Allah knew that he would create a being who will be superior to all other creatures. So in
order to remove that thinking of the angels Allah mentioned this in the assembely of the angels. Angels did
not mean to raise an objection to the choice of Allah but they were only being curious as to the reson.

• He said: "I know what you know not."

• And He taught Adam the nature of all things; then He placed them before the angels, and said: "Tell me the nature of
these if you are right."
• They said: "Glory to You, of knowledge We have none, save what You have taught us: In truth it is You Who art
perfect in knowledge and wisdom."
• He said: "O Adam! Tell them their natures." When he had told them, Allah said: "Did I not tell you that I know the
secrets of heaven and earth, and I know what you reveal and what you conceal?"

Through this demonstration, Allah made the angels realize how wrong they were in supposing that he
would not create any being superior to them in anyway and that they themselves were more suitable and
capable for being the deputy of Allah than Adam.

In the Hebrew language Adam means: dust, clay

Verses from The Holy Quran about the creation of the Prophet Adam (Sad, 38/71-76):
• Behold, your 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 you from prostrating yourself to one whom I have created with my hands? Art you haughty?
Or are you one of the high (and mighty) ones?"
• (Iblis) said: "I am better than he: You created me from fire, and him you created from clay."

Satan's answer was a result of ignorant pride. Therefore, Allah made it clear to him that his pride and
arrogance was a result of his ignorance and made him blind from recognising the right of his creation and
the respect due to him. So the devil did not recognise that this ignorance prevented him from recognising
the truth. Because of his foolish act, he was thrown out of paradise, cursed as Allah mentions in the Quran:

• (Allah) said: "Then you get out from here: for you are rejected, accursed. And My curse shall be on you 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 to you- 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."

From this episode, we can learn a lesson that the first ever sin to be done was pride and arrogance from
Iblis (Shaytan)

The next part of the story Allah mentiones in the Quran is (Taha 20/117-121):
• Then We said: "O Adam! verily, this 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. There is therein (enough provision) for you not to go hungry nor to go naked, Nor to suffer from thirst, nor
from the sun's heat."
• But Satan whispered evil to him: he said, "O Adam! shall I lead thee to the Tree of Eternity and to a kingdom that never decays?"
• In the result, they both ate of the tree, and so their nakedness appeared to them: they began to sew together, for their covering,
leaves from the Garden: thus did Adam disobey his Lord, and allow himself to be seduced.

A question may arise here as to how Shaytan got into paradise and tricked Adam and Hawa, baecause he
was thrown out of paradise due to his disobediance. Some commentators have said he whispered from far
away out of paradise and caused them to do this act. Some have said he (Iblis) assumed the shape of a
snake or of something else and succeded in entering paradise.

In the next part of the story Allah says (Al-Baqarah 37-39):

• Then Adam learnt certain words (to pray with) from his Lord so Allah accepted his repentance. No doubt he is the Most
-Relenting, the very merciful. We said "Go down from here, all of you. Then should some guidance come to you from me, those
who follow my guidance shall have no fear, nor shall they grieve. As for those who disbelieve, and deny our sins, they are the
people of fire; they shall be there forever".
The generally accepted report for the certain words he prayed with were (Al-Araf 7/23):
• Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if you do not forgive us, we will surely be among the losers".

There is a belief of Muslims that all Prophets are sinless and they are protected from major sins and minor
sins. Some scholars have said all the Prophets are protected from major sins and not minor sins. But our
belief is if they do a minor sin by mistake and it's never purposefully, they ask for sincere repentance then
Allah wipes that sin away. If you look at Iblis's situation he made a mistake and because of arrogance and
pride he did not ask for repentance, so Allah misguided him.

Discussion Questions

Q: Why did Allah create the universe?

As is explained in detail in the story-comparison in the Eleventh Word, there was an illustrious king who had
vast treasuries and in those treasuries many varieties of jewels were to be found. He had much skill in strange
crafts, comprehensive knowledge of innumerable curious arts, and erudition and learning in numberless
wondrous sciences. And, in accordance with the mystery that every possessor of beauty and perfection wants
both to see and display his beauty and perfection, of course, that skilful king, too, wished to open an exhibition
and to set up displays within it in order to reveal to the people's gazes the majesty of his sovereignty, and to
manifest both the glitter of his wealth and the wonders of his art and the marvels of his knowledge. He wished
to do this so that he might observe his own transcendent beauty and perfection in two respects. The first was so
that he himself might see with his own eyes, which were congnizant of reality, while the other was so that he
might look through the gaze of others.

And in exactly the same way, and God's is the highest similitude, the All-Glorious Maker, Who is the Monarch of
Pre-Eternity and Post-Eternity, desired to behold and display His infinite perfections and boundless beauty. So
He made this world in such a fashion that each being utters His perfections with numerous tongues and points
to His beauty with many signs. The universe shows through all its beings how many hidden immaterial treasures
there are in each of His Most Beautiful Names and how many veiled subtleties in each of His sacred titles. And it
shows this in such a way that, since the time of Adam, all sciences together with all of their laws have studied
this Book of the Universe.

(Said Nursi, Risale-i Nur Collection, Thirty-First Word)

Q: Why did he create mankind?

Allah excelled mankind over other creation and handed over to him the valuable burden of trust, subduing the universe to him and honouring
him to be the deputy on Earth. Allah mentions by saying "And that I did not create Jinn and Mankind but only for my worship" From this
verse of the Quran, Allah clerly mentiones the sole purpose of creation and that is nothing but to worship Allah all throughout our temporary
life.

Q: The creation of devils, who are pure evil, and their harassing the people of belief, and many people not believing and going to Hell
because of them, appears to be terrible and ugly. How does the mercy and beauty of the Absolutely Beauteous One, the Absolutely
Compassionate One, the Truly Merciful One, permit this infinite ugliness and awesome calamity? Many people have asked about
this question, and it occurs to many people.

In addition to the minor evils, there are numerous universal good purposes in the existence of Satan, and human attainments and perfections.
Yes, however many degrees there are from a seed to a huge tree, the abilities lodged in human nature are more numerous. There are degrees
from a minute particle to the sun. For these abilities and potentialities to develop, action is required, a transaction is necessary. The action of
the mechanism of progress in such a transaction is brought about through striving. And striving occurs through the existence of evil spirits
and harmful things. Otherwise man’s station would have been constant like that of the angels. There would have been no classes in human
kind, which resembles thousands of species. And it is contrary to wisdom and justice to abandon a thousand instances of good so as to avoid
one minor evil.

For sure the majority of people embrace misguidance due to Satan, but importance and value look mostly to quality; they look to quantity
little or not at all. If someone has a thousand and ten seeds which he buries, and under the earth the seeds undergo a chemical reaction as a
result of which ten become trees and a thousand rot, the profit the man receives from the ten seeds which have become trees certainly reduces
to nothing the loss he suffers from the thousand rotted ones. In exactly the same way, through the struggle against the soul and Satan, the
profit, honour, enlightenment, and value for human kind gained by ten perfect men, who are like stars, certainly reduce to nothing the harm
caused to mankind through the people of misguidance embracing unbelief, who are so base as to be thought of as vermin. Since this is so,
Divine mercy, wisdom, and justice have permitted the existence of Satan, and allowed him to molest men.

O people of belief! Your armour against this awesome enemy is the fear of God fashioned on the workbench of the Qur’an. And your shield
is the Practices of the Noble Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace). And your weapon, seeking refuge with God from Satan, and
seeking forgiveness, and taking refuge in Divine protection.

(Said Nursi, Risale-i Nur Collection, Thirteenth Flash)