ADAM. Arabic, Adam ادم
The first man. Reckoned by Muslim writters as the first prophet, to whom ten portions of scripture (sahifah) are said to have been revealed. He is distinguished by the title of Safiyu’llab, or, the “chosen one of God.” He is mentioned in the Qur’an in in the following Surahs, which are taken from Mr. Lane’s Selections (new edition, by Mr. Stanley Lane-Poole; Trübnor, 1879) with the commentary in italics
“Remember, O Muhammad, when thy Lord said unto the angels, I am about to place in the earth a vicegerent to act for me in the execution of my ordinances therein, namely, Adam, they said, Wilt Thou place in it one who will corrupt in it by disobediences, and will shed blood (as did the sons of El-Jann, who were in it; where ore, when the acted corruptly, God sent to then, the angles, who drove them away to the islands and the mountains), when we [on the contrary] celebrate the divine protection, occupying, ourselves with Thy praise, and extol Thy holiness? Therefore we are more worthy of the vicegerency.- God replied, Verily I know that which ye know not, as to the affair of appointing Adam vicegerent, and that among his posterity will be the obedient and the rebellious, and the just will be manifest among them. And he created Adam from the surface of the earth, taking a handful of every colour that it comprised, which was kneaded with various waters; and he completely formed into it the soul so it became an animated sentient being. And he taught Adam the names of, all things, infusing the knowledge of them into his heart. Then He showed them (namely, the things) to the angels, and said, Declare unto me the names of these things, if ye say truth in your assertion that I will not create any more knowing than ye, and that ye are more worthy of the vicegerency. They replied, [We extol] Thy perfection! We have no knowledge excepting what Thou hast taught us; for Thou art the Knowing, the Wise. – God said, O Adam, tell them their names. And when he had told them their names, God said, Did I not say unto you that I know the secrets of the heavens. and the earth; and know what ye reveal of your words, saying, Wilt thou place in it, etc., and what ye did conceal of your words, saying, He will not create, any more generous towards Him, than we, nor any more knowing?” (Surah ii. 28-31.)
We created you ; that is, your father Adam: then We formed you; we formed him, and you in him: then We said unto the angels, Prostrate yourselves unto Adam, by way of salutation; whereupon they prostrated themselves, except Iblees, the father of the ginn who, was amid the angels; he was not of those who; prostrated themselves. God said, ‘What hath hindered, thee from prostrating thyself, when I commanded thee?’, He answered, I am better than he: Thou hast created me of fire, and Thou hast created him of earth [God] said, Then descend thou from it; that is, from Paradise; or, as some say, from the heavens; for it is not fit for thee that thou behave thyself so proudly therein: so go thou forth: verily thou shalt ne of the contemptible. He replied, Grant me respite until the day when they (that is, mankind) shall be raised from the dead. He said ,Thou shalt be of those [who are] respited and, in another verse [in xv. 38; it is said], until the day of the known period; that is, until the period of the first blast [of the trumpet]. [And the devil] said, Now, as Thou hast led me into error, I will surely lay wait for them (that is, for the sons of Adam) in Thy right Way, the way that leadeth to Thee: then I will surely come upon them; from before them, and from behind them, and from their right hands, and from their left, and hinder them from pursuing the way (but, saith Ibn ‘Abbas, he cannot come upon them above, lest he should intervene between the servant and God’s mercy), and Thou shalt not find the great number of them grateful, or believing. [God] said, Go forth from it, despised and driven away from mercy. Whosoever of them (that is, of mankind) shall follow thee, I will surely fill hell with you all; with thee and they offspring, and with men (Surah vii. 10-17).
And we said O Adam, swell thou and they wife (Houwa [or Eve] whom God created from a rib of his left side) in the garden, and eat ye therefrom plentifully, wherever ye will, but approach ye not this tree, to eat thereof; (and it was wheat, or the grape-vine, or some other tree) for if ye do so, ye will be of the number of the offenders. But the devil Iblees, caused them to slip from it, that is from the garden, by his saying unto them, Shall I show you the way to the tree of eternity? And he swore to them by God that he was one of the faithful advisors to them; so they ate of it and He ejected them from that state of delight in which they were. And We said, Descend ye to the earth, ye with the offspring that ye comprise [yet unborn], one of you (that is, of your offspring) an enemy to another; and there shall be for you, in the earth, a place of abode, and a provision, of it’s vegetable produce, for a time, until the period of the expiration of your terms of life. And Adam learned, from his Lord, words which were these: – O Lord, we have acted unjustly to our own souls, and if Thou do not forgive us, and be merciful unto us, we shall surely be of those who suffer loss. And he prayed in these words; and He became propitious towards him, accepting his repentance; for He is the Very Propitious, the merciful. We said, Descend ye from it (from the garden) altogether; and if – there come unto you from Me a direction (a book and an apostle), those who follow my direction, there shall come no fear on them, nor shall they grieve in the world to come; for they shall enter paradise: but they who disbelieve and accuse our signs of falsehood, these shall be the Companions of the fire: they shall remain therein for ever. (Surah ii., 33-37.)
The Muslims say, that when they were cast down from Paradise [which is in the seventh heaven], Adam fell on the isle of Ceylon, or Sarandib, and Eve near Jiddah (the port of Makkah) in Arabia; and that, after a separation of two hundred years, Adam was, on his repentance, conducted by the angel Gabriel to a mountain near Makkah, where he found and knew his wife, the mountain being then named ‘Arafat; and that he afterwards retired with her to Ceylon. – Sale.
The first man. Reckoned by Muslim writters as the first prophet, to whom ten portions of scripture (sahifah) are said to have been revealed. He is distinguished by the title of Safiyu’llab, or, the “chosen one of God.” He is mentioned in the Qur’an in in the following Surahs, which are taken from Mr. Lane’s Selections (new edition, by Mr. Stanley Lane-Poole; Trübnor, 1879) with the commentary in italics
“Remember, O Muhammad, when thy Lord said unto the angels, I am about to place in the earth a vicegerent to act for me in the execution of my ordinances therein, namely, Adam, they said, Wilt Thou place in it one who will corrupt in it by disobediences, and will shed blood (as did the sons of El-Jann, who were in it; where ore, when the acted corruptly, God sent to then, the angles, who drove them away to the islands and the mountains), when we [on the contrary] celebrate the divine protection, occupying, ourselves with Thy praise, and extol Thy holiness? Therefore we are more worthy of the vicegerency.- God replied, Verily I know that which ye know not, as to the affair of appointing Adam vicegerent, and that among his posterity will be the obedient and the rebellious, and the just will be manifest among them. And he created Adam from the surface of the earth, taking a handful of every colour that it comprised, which was kneaded with various waters; and he completely formed into it the soul so it became an animated sentient being. And he taught Adam the names of, all things, infusing the knowledge of them into his heart. Then He showed them (namely, the things) to the angels, and said, Declare unto me the names of these things, if ye say truth in your assertion that I will not create any more knowing than ye, and that ye are more worthy of the vicegerency. They replied, [We extol] Thy perfection! We have no knowledge excepting what Thou hast taught us; for Thou art the Knowing, the Wise. – God said, O Adam, tell them their names. And when he had told them their names, God said, Did I not say unto you that I know the secrets of the heavens. and the earth; and know what ye reveal of your words, saying, Wilt thou place in it, etc., and what ye did conceal of your words, saying, He will not create, any more generous towards Him, than we, nor any more knowing?” (Surah ii. 28-31.)
We created you ; that is, your father Adam: then We formed you; we formed him, and you in him: then We said unto the angels, Prostrate yourselves unto Adam, by way of salutation; whereupon they prostrated themselves, except Iblees, the father of the ginn who, was amid the angels; he was not of those who; prostrated themselves. God said, ‘What hath hindered, thee from prostrating thyself, when I commanded thee?’, He answered, I am better than he: Thou hast created me of fire, and Thou hast created him of earth [God] said, Then descend thou from it; that is, from Paradise; or, as some say, from the heavens; for it is not fit for thee that thou behave thyself so proudly therein: so go thou forth: verily thou shalt ne of the contemptible. He replied, Grant me respite until the day when they (that is, mankind) shall be raised from the dead. He said ,Thou shalt be of those [who are] respited and, in another verse [in xv. 38; it is said], until the day of the known period; that is, until the period of the first blast [of the trumpet]. [And the devil] said, Now, as Thou hast led me into error, I will surely lay wait for them (that is, for the sons of Adam) in Thy right Way, the way that leadeth to Thee: then I will surely come upon them; from before them, and from behind them, and from their right hands, and from their left, and hinder them from pursuing the way (but, saith Ibn ‘Abbas, he cannot come upon them above, lest he should intervene between the servant and God’s mercy), and Thou shalt not find the great number of them grateful, or believing. [God] said, Go forth from it, despised and driven away from mercy. Whosoever of them (that is, of mankind) shall follow thee, I will surely fill hell with you all; with thee and they offspring, and with men (Surah vii. 10-17).
And we said O Adam, swell thou and they wife (Houwa [or Eve] whom God created from a rib of his left side) in the garden, and eat ye therefrom plentifully, wherever ye will, but approach ye not this tree, to eat thereof; (and it was wheat, or the grape-vine, or some other tree) for if ye do so, ye will be of the number of the offenders. But the devil Iblees, caused them to slip from it, that is from the garden, by his saying unto them, Shall I show you the way to the tree of eternity? And he swore to them by God that he was one of the faithful advisors to them; so they ate of it and He ejected them from that state of delight in which they were. And We said, Descend ye to the earth, ye with the offspring that ye comprise [yet unborn], one of you (that is, of your offspring) an enemy to another; and there shall be for you, in the earth, a place of abode, and a provision, of it’s vegetable produce, for a time, until the period of the expiration of your terms of life. And Adam learned, from his Lord, words which were these: – O Lord, we have acted unjustly to our own souls, and if Thou do not forgive us, and be merciful unto us, we shall surely be of those who suffer loss. And he prayed in these words; and He became propitious towards him, accepting his repentance; for He is the Very Propitious, the merciful. We said, Descend ye from it (from the garden) altogether; and if – there come unto you from Me a direction (a book and an apostle), those who follow my direction, there shall come no fear on them, nor shall they grieve in the world to come; for they shall enter paradise: but they who disbelieve and accuse our signs of falsehood, these shall be the Companions of the fire: they shall remain therein for ever. (Surah ii., 33-37.)
The Muslims say, that when they were cast down from Paradise [which is in the seventh heaven], Adam fell on the isle of Ceylon, or Sarandib, and Eve near Jiddah (the port of Makkah) in Arabia; and that, after a separation of two hundred years, Adam was, on his repentance, conducted by the angel Gabriel to a mountain near Makkah, where he found and knew his wife, the mountain being then named ‘Arafat; and that he afterwards retired with her to Ceylon. – Sale.
Based on Hughes, Dictionary of Islam
© 2024 All Rights Reserved