Adam (a): Difference between revisions

'''Prophet Ādam (a)''' (Arabic: {{ia|النبی آدم}}), according to religious reports, has been the first man on earth and the father of all human beings. [[God]] breathed of His spirit in Adam's body, then praised Himself for creating Adam (a). Then, [[angel]]s were ordered to [[Sajda|prostrate]] on Adam (a). Adam's wife was [[Eve]] (Arabic:{{ia|حواء}}) and they were banished from [[paradise]] due to eating a [[Forbidden Tree]]. prophet Adam (a) was the first viceroy of God on earth and the first [[messenger]] of God.  

* The body of Adam (a) is made of the surface of the earth.

== Adam (a) in Islam ==

Adam (a) and his creation are two very important issues in [[Islam]]. In Islamic view, Adam (a) is the first prophet and when Muslims want to mark the beginning or end of [[prophethood]], they say "from Adam (a) to the [[Finality of Prophethood|Seal of prophethood]]". What is mentioned about Adam (a) in the commentaries of the [[Qur'an]], historical and literary books are all based on Quranic verses. In the Qur'an, the name of Adam (a) has been mentioned 25 times, but the details of his creation have been mentioned in [[sura]]s like: [[Al-Baqara]], [[Al-A'raf]], [[Al-Hijr]], [[Al-Isra']], [[Sura Taha|Taha]], [[Sura Sad|Sād]].

=== Dialogue between God and Angels about Adam (a) ===

[[Al-Tabari]] mentioned many traditions and classified them as below:

* Some have said that God told angels, "I am going to set a viceroy on the earth" (Qur'an 2:30) and then angels said, how would it be? He said that it will cause corruption and bloodshed in it. So, they said, "why do you create him?" He said, "In the nature of human beings, I have put many good things, you do not know about."

In this regards, [[al-Tabrisi]] mentions three opinions:

=== God's breathing of Spirit in the Body of Adam (a) ===

In [[Sura al-Hijr]] and [[Sura Sad|Sād]], God says, "…and breathed upon him of My [[spirit]]." ([[Qur'an 38]]:72) Also, elsewhere (about Adam (a) and [[Jesus (a)]]) the word "spirit" is attributed to God. Regarding the meaning of attribution of "spirit" to God, exegetes believe that "breathing" which is "to flow wind in something" here means "to give life to Adam (a) through giving him spirit." Attribution of spirit to God is for honoring human beings. God, the Glorious, has attributed the spirit of man to Himself out of honoring and glorification so the meaning of the verse is that God created the human spirit which belongs to the body, not blowing something like air into his body.

=== Prostration of Angels to Adam (a)===

According to the [[Quranic verse]]s, angels prostrated to Adam (a). This prostration, knowing the fact that all Muslims agree that worshiping belongs to God and any bending or prostration for worshiping other than God is disbelief and an act of [[polytheism]], has not been a prostration for worshiping but it has meant both honor and praise.

In the story of Adam (a), the name of his wife, Eve, has been mentioned for several times. Three times in the holy [[Qur'an]], men have been addressed that "you have been created from one soul and Adam's wife is created from it" (4:1)/(7:189)/(39:6).

In the story of Adam (a), it has been said that God made all things edible in [[paradise]] as [[Halal]] (permissible) for him and forbade him from eating or approaching only one tree. Tabari has narrated many [[hadith]]s from [['Abd Allah b. 'Abbas b. 'Abd al-Muttalib|Ibn Abbas]], Abu Malik, Abu 'Atiyya, Qatada and others that it was wheat. In another hadith, it is mentioned that it was grapevine or fig tree. In addition to wheat, grapes and fig, [[Al-Shaykh al-Tusi|al-Tusi]] has mentioned a hadith from [[Imam Ali (a)]] that this tree was camphor.

After eating the [[Forbidden Tree]], Adam (a) and Eve were ousterd from [[Heaven of Adam (a)]] to the Earth. Some exegetes of the Qur'an interpreted the "Fall" not in physical or spatial terms as going out of the Heaven down to the Earth, rather in spiritual terms, that is, God has degraded the spiritual positions of Adam (a) and Eve, which is referred to as the "Fall". Other people believe that the Fall was not a [[punishment]] for Adam (a) and Eve, rather it was in their interest to fall to the Earth and undergo obligations and sufferings in order to achieve true happiness.

The story of creation of Adam (a) has to do with the issue of [[infallibility]] of prophets. Based on Muslims' beliefs, since prophets are deliverers of the message of God to people and deal with all religious and worldly affairs of people and thus they have to be infallible from any [[sin]]s.

However, in the story of creation of Adam (a) and his life, there are verses that need to be studied with regards to infallibility. Verses such as,

*"[[Satan]] caused them to stumble from it" ([[Qur'an 2]]:36)

*"Thus he brought about their fall by deception.", "They said: Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. Lord, we did injustice to ourselves" ([Qur'an 7]]:22, 23)

*"Satan tempted him.", "Adam disobeyed his Lord, and went amiss." ([Qur'an 20]]:121, 121)

The short and simple answer which the exegetes have given about the agreement of these verses with infallibility of prophets is that upon committing this mistake, Adam (a) was not in "[[Dar al-Taklif]]" (abode of responsibility) or he was not in the position of a prophet yet, or that whatever he did was [[abandoning the better]] (Tark al-'Awla) rather than committing sins.

* The material for this article is mainly taken from {{ia|[[:fa:حضرت آدم علیه السلام|حضرت آدم علیه السلام]]}} in Farsi WikiShia.