The Story of

The First Man

Adam (a.s.)

From the Bible’s Perspective View

The creation of ManThe creation of Man

The LORD God formed the man

(Adam) from the dust of the ground

and breathed into his nostrils the breath

of life, and the man (Adam) became a

living being. (Genesis 2:7)

Plant a garden in Eden

Now the LORD God had planted a garden in

the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he

had formed. …… In the middle of the garden

were the tree of life and the tree of the

knowledge of good and evil.

(Genesis 2 : 9 - 10 )

Adam lived in EdenThe LORD God took the man and put him in the

Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.

And the LORD God commanded the man, "You

are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but

you must not eat from the tree of the

knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of

it you will surely die.

(Genesis 2 : 17 - 18 )

It’s not good for man to live alone

So the LORD God caused the man to fall

into a deep sleep; ….. Then the LORD

God made a woman from the rib he

had taken out of the man, and he brought

her to the man….. and they will become

one flesh. The man and his wife were

both naked, and they felt no shame.

(Genesis 2:22-26)

Why don’t you eat fruit from the tree

Now the serpent …. said to the woman, "Did God

really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the

garden'?" The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat

fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You

must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle

of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will

die.' " "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the

woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your

eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,

knowing good and evil. "

(Genesis 3:1-5)

They ate fruits from the treeWhen the woman saw that the fruit of the tree

was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and

also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some

and ate it. She also gave some to her husband,

who was with her, and he ate it.

(Genesis 3 : 6 - 7 )

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they

realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves

together and made coverings for themselves. Then

the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD

God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the

day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees

of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man,

"Where are you?" He answered, "I heard you in the

garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I

hid."

(Genesis 3 : 8 - 11)

And he said, "Who told you that you were

naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I

commanded you not to eat from?" The man

said, "The woman you put here with me -

she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate

it."

(Genesis 3 : 11 - 13)

Punishment – to the Serpent

So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because

you have done this, "Cursed are you above all

the livestock and all the wild animals! You will

crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the

days of your life. And I will put enmity between

you and the woman, and between your offspring

and hers; he will crush your head, and you will

strike his heel."

(Genesis 3:14-15)

Punishment – to the WomanPunishment – to the Woman

To the woman he said, "I will greatly

increase your pains in childbearing; with

pain you will give birth to children. Your

desire will be for your husband, and he will

rule over you."

(Genesis 3:16)

Punishment – to the Man (Adam)Punishment – to the Man (Adam)

To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your

wife and ate from the tree about which I

commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' …

through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of

your life. …. By the sweat of your brow you will

eat your food until you return to the ground, since

from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust

you will return."

(Genesis 3:17-19)

Adam & Eve were driven out Adam & Eve were driven out from the Gardenfrom the Garden

And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden … After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life

(Genesis 3:22-24)

ReflectionReflection1. How many trees in Eden were mentioned in Genesis ?

2. What reasons did God give to Adam when He forbade him to eat from the Tree ? What happened after he ate from the tree ?

3. What reason did the serpent gave when it suggested Eve to eat from the tree ?

4. What was the reason given in Genesis 3 for God driving Adam to earth ?

5. Who told the truth and who told lie ? What were their consequences ?

6. What kind of lessons can we draw from the story above ?

It would be hard to find anywhere a collection of more degrading references to the female sex than the early Church Fathers provide. Lecky, the famous historian, speaks of (these fierce incentives which form so conspicuous and so grotesque a portion of the writing of the Fathers… woman was represented as the door of hell, as the mother of all human ills. She should be ashamed at the very thought that she is a woman. She should live in continual penance on account of the curses she has brought upon the world. She should be ashamed of her dress, for it is the memorial of her fall. She should be especially ashamed of her beauty, for it is the most potent instrument of the devil).

(April 15 1988)

David & Vera Mace

David and Vera Mace, Marriage East and West, N.Y. 1960.

One of the most scathing of these attacks on woman is that of Tertullian : Do you know that you are each an Eve? The sentence of God on this sex of yours lives in this age: the guilt must of necessity live too. You are the devil’s gateway: you are the unsealer of that forbidden tree; you are the first deserters of the divine law; you are she who persuades him whom the devil was not valiant enough to attack. You destroyed so easily God’s image, man. On account of your desert - that is death - even the Son of God had to die). Not only did the church affirm the inferior status of woman, it deprived her of legal rights she had previously enjoyed.

David and Vera Mace, Marriage East and West, N.Y. 1960. (April 15 1988)

From the Quran’s Perspective View

Role of man on earth Just recall the time when your Lord said to the angels, "I am going to appoint a vicegerent on the Earth." They humbly enquired, "Are you going to appoint such a one as will cause disorder and shed blood on the Earth? We are already engaged in hymning Your praise, and hallowing Your name". Allah replied, "I know what you do not know."

(Qur’an 2:30)

Man was made from essence of clay

We created man from

an essence of clay: then

…..

(Qur’an 23:12)

Allah created man and the rebellion of Iblis

When your Lord said to the angels, "I am abo

ut to create man from clay. Then, when I have

fashioned him duly, and have breathed into hi

m of My Spirit, prostrate yourselves before hi

m." Accordingly, the angels prostrated them

selves, all in obedience, but Iblis assumed ar

rogance, and became one of the disbelievers.

(Quran 38:71-74)

The Lord said, "O Iblis, what has prevented y

ou from prostrating yourself before him who

m I have made with both My hands? Are you

assuming arrogance, or are you one of the hig

h ones?" He replied, "I am better than he: Y

ou have created me from fire and him from cl

ay." (The Lord) said: "Then get you gone fro

m here. You are accursed, and My curse shall

be on you till the Day of Judgment."

(Quran 38:75-78)

He said, "My Lord, if so, then give me respite till t

he time when these people shall be raised (back to li

fe)." (The Lord) said: "Well, you are given respite ti

ll the Day of appointed time." He said, "By Thy Ho

nor! I shall certainly lead them astray except tho

se of Thy servants whom Thou hast chosen." (Th

e Lord) said, "The truth is this, and the truth only I s

peak, that I shall fill Hell with you and with all th

ose who follow you from among mankind."

(Qur’an 38 : 79-85)

Test of Adam

Then We said, "O Adam, you and your

wife, both dwell in the Garden and eat to

your hearts' content where from you will,

but do not go near this tree; otherwise

you shall become transgressors"  

(Qur’an 2 : 35)

Warning given to Adam

We said to Adam, "He is an enemy to you and to

your wife. Be on your guard lest he should have

you expelled from the Garden and you find

yourself in great distress. For here you have quite

a few facilities: you neither starve nor remain

naked nor suffer from thirst nor from sun."

(Qur’an 20 : 117-119)

Temptation faced by Adam

Then Satan tempted them so that he might

reveal to them their shameful parts which had

been hidden froth each other. He said to them,

"Your Lord has forbidden you to go near this

tree only lest you should become angels or

become immortals." He swore an oath and

assured them, “ I am your true well-wisher."

(Quran 7:20 - 21 )

Thus he beguiled them and gradually molded them to his design. So, when they tasted (the fruit of the tree), their shameful parts became visible to each other and they began to cover themselves with the leaves of the Garden. Then their Lord called out to them, saying, "Did I not forbid you to go near this tree, and warn you that Satan was your open enemy?"

(Quran 7:22)

Both of them at once replied, "O Lord, we have

wronged ourselves gravely; if You do not forgive

us and have mercy upon us, we shall be totally

ruined.” Allah commanded, "Go down; you are

enemies to each other: the earth shall be a dwelling

place for you for a fixed term and there you will get

your livelihood". He added, "There you shall live and

there you shall die and from there you shall be

brought forth at last."

(Quran 7:23 - 25)

Allah has forgiven Adam

At that time Adam learnt appropriate

words from his Lord and repented, and

his Lord accepted his repentance, for

He is very Relenting and very Merciful.

 

(Qur’an 2 : 37)

Promised of Guidance for the children of Adam

We said, "Now go down, all of you from here.

Henceforth there shall come to you Guidance

from Me now and again: whoever will follow it

shall have neither fear nor sorrow and whoever will

refuse to accept it and defy Our Revelations they

shall be doomed to the Fire wherein they shall

remain for ever.

(Qur’an 2 : 38-39)

Reflections1. What was man created for ? Why was he not sen

d to earth directly right after his being created?2. The Qur’an mentioned that man was created fro

m essence of clay. Was it reasonable or “scientific” ?

3. Why did Allah forgive Adam and not Iblis ? Was it 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?

Summary

• In the Qur’an, Adam and Eve were both responsible for the mistake they made

• They repent and were both forgiven

• Men were sent to the earth with a mission, as the trustee of God, not as punishment

• God promised to send guidance to man on earth

I have not created the jinn and the men

except for this that they should worship

Me.

عبد

male slave

(Qur’an 51:56)

(Worship)

(serve)

So, set your face sincerely and truly towards this

Faith and be steadfast on the Nature whereupon

Allah has created mankind. (Qur’an 30:30)

Narrated Abu-Huraira:Allah's Apostle said, "No child is born except on Al-fitra and then his parents make him Jewish, Christian or Magian (Zoroastrian), as an animal produces a perfect young animal: do you see any part of its body amputated?"- Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 2, Book 23, Number 441

Born in pure state

Sense of self-respect

vicegerent of Allah

Utilizing resources according to the Will of Allah

Not stingy

Generous to the poor

Not

extravagant

No self-destruction

No suicide

Not damaging health

Family as the basis of society

High adversity quotient (AQ) & emotional quotient (EQ)

Facing fortunes &

misfortunes with

ease

ResponsibleJust & Fair

Not

feeling

inferior

Be

mo

de

rate

Live like a transit

passenger

Not indulgent

Not ascetic

Fastin

g /

breakin

g fast

Pray / sleep

Do

nate

app

rop

riately

self

Man is not true

owner

We

alth

&

res

ou

rce

s

An

sw

era

ble

to A

llah

fo

r ou

r wo

rds

an

d

de

ed

s

Allah

b

urd

en n

ot

mo

re than

g

iven

Life of Man from the

Islamic Perspective

Allah is

most

forgiving

Hopeful

Scrupulous on diet: Abstain from harmful

food

Humble,

no pride or

jealousy

Q 57:7

Q 6:165

Inventive & Creative

Glorify God

Q 38:26

Q 2:143

Q 2:286

Ranked higher than angels

Thank you for your patience.