24 February 2012
Adam gets Soul and Iblis refuses

Summary
Lives of the Prophets:
Creation of Adam from Turaab (dirt / soil) - Teen (clay) - Teen al-laazib (sticky clay) - Hama`im masnoon (black, smooth mud) - Salsaal (sounding clay)
Allah creates Adam from dirt from different places
Adam reamined as a sounding clay for many years
The secret of the Soul (Ruh) is only with Allah
Allah puts the Soul (Ruh) in to Adam and he sneezes
The angels are astonished and say Alhamdulillah (praise be to Allah)
Adam says Alhamdulillah and Allah replies Yarhamukullah (the mercy of Allah be upon you)
Allah asks the angels and Iblis to bow before Adam - Iblis refuses
Iblis thinks he is better than Adam because he is made from fire, not dirt
Iblis let his pride and; arrogance cast him out of Paradise - such a great sin
Adam said to the angels: As salaamu ‘alaykum. They replied: wa ‘alakas salaam wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuhu (May the peace of Allah be upon you, and His Mercy be upon you, and His blessings be upon you)
Adam taught the names (uses) of things and given Speech
The angels realise the superiority of Adam as a creation
 

Recap on Evolution
•    Scientific thought has limits and not always proven fact - just observations
•    The Qur'an is fact
•    How did 'Life' create itself (except by Allah)
•    The first DNA and cell survival?
•    Theory of Evolution involves mutation, migration, genetic drift and natural selection
•    Natural Selection has variation in traits, differential reproduction, heredity and Fitness
•    Is Evolution a Continual Process - why can't we see it
•    Variations within a Species isn't Evolution of a Species
•    Holes in fossil records - limited (if any) transitional forms
•    Mutations usually kill the cells
•    Artificial selection can’t introduce a radically new species
•    Evolution can't explain consciousness / mind
•    Adaptation doesn't prove Evolution
•    Irreducible complexity - mousetrap or Eye
 
Lives of the Prophets:
Allah puts the Soul (Ruh) in to Adam
There are old traditions about the angels before the creation of Adam. According to Ibn Qatadah, it was said that the angels were informed about the creation of Adam and his progeny by the jinn who lived before Adam. Abdullah Ibn Umar said that the jinn had existed for many years before Adam and then shed blood. Therefore Allah sent on them an army of angels that drove them out to the depths of the seas. Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from Ali jafar Al Baqer that the angels were informed that man would cause wickedness and shed blood on earth. It was also said that they knew that no one would be created on earth who would not be wicked and shed blood.
Whether or not these traditions are correct, the angels did understand that Allah would create a vicegerent on earth. Allah the Almighty announced that He was going to create a human being out of clay, that He would mould him and blow His spirit into him and then the angels should prostrate before him.
Another version of the story relates that Allah took a handful of the dust of the earth and mixed into it the colours, white, black, yellow and red. That is the reason why men are born different colours. When Allah mixed the dust with water, it turned into potter's clay that makes a sound. It was fermented and had a smell. Iblis passed by, wondering what was going to be made of that clay. From the clay Allah created Adam. he moulded his form with His own hands and blew His spirit into him. Adam's body quivered as life was imbued into it. Verily His Command, when He intends a thing is only that He says to it, "Be!" and it is! [TMQ 37:82].
So Allah shaped Adam into a human being, but he remained a figure of clay for 40 years. The angels went past him. They were seized with fear by what they saw, and Iblis felt fear most. He used to pass by the figure of Adam, buffeting it, which would make a sound like pottery. Allah told us: "He created man (Adam) from sounding clay like the clay of pottery."
We imagine when Allah the Almighty decided to create Adam: He addressed His angels and told them to prostrate before him. He did not mean to ask their opinion or take their advice, for He is above that. Allah the Exalted told them that He was going to create a vicegerent on the earth who would have children and grandchildren who would corrupt the earth and shed each other's blood. That is why the angels said to Allah the Almighty: "Will You place therein those who will make mischief therein and shed blood!" [TMQ 2:30].
When the time drew near to breathe the spirit into Adam, as Allah decreed, He commanded the angels: "When I breathe My spirit into him prostrate before him." Allah breathed His spirit into Adam and when it reached his head Adam sneezed. The angels said: "Say all praise belongs to Allah." Adam repeated: "All praise belongs to Allah." Allah said to him: "Your Lord has granted you mercy."
Allah blew the soul into Adam (ar-Ruh). Our body without ar-Ruh is part of the earth; it is dirt. When the soul leaves our body, the body decomposes into its origin. Allah says, “From the (earth) did We create you, and into it shall We return you, and from it shall We bring you out once again.” (TMQ 20:55) We are nothing without the soul. The essence of life is not in this materialistic body. What puts life in us is the soul – and that is the secret of life. And it remains a secret, even with all of the science and technology that we have.
They came to the Prophet* and asked him about the soul. “And they ask you (O Muhammad SAW) concerning the Ruh (the Spirit); Say: ‘The Ruh (the Spirit): it is one of the things, the knowledge of which is only with my Lord. And of knowledge, you (mankind) have been given only a little.’” (TMQ 17:85) This question was asked to The Prophet* 1400 years ago, and our knowledge hasn’t changed much.

Adam sneezes
Abu Hurairah narrated that the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: "Allah created Adam from dust after He mixed the clay and left him for some time until it became sticky mud, after which Allah shaped him. After that Allah left him till it became like potter's clay. Iblis used to go past him saying 'You have been created for a great purpose.' After that Allah breathed His spirit into him. The first thing into which the spirit passed was his eye and then his nose. He sneezed. Allah said: "May your Lord have mercy upon you, O Adam! Go to those angels and see what they would say.' So Adam went and greeted them. they replied saying: "Peace be upon you and the mercy and blessings of Allah." Allah said: "O Adam! This is your greeting and that of your offspring." [Sahih al Bukhari]
Adam opened his eyes and saw all the angels prostrating before him except one being who was standing at a distance Adam did not know what kind of creature it was that did not prostrate before him nor did he know its name. Iblis was standing with the angels so as to be included in the command given to them but he was not one of them. He was a jinn, and as such he was supposed to be inferior to the angels. What is clear is that this prostration was to show respect and did not mean that the angels were worshipping Adam. Prostrating in worship is done only for Allah.
When the soul entered into the body of Adam, the first thing that happened was that he sneezed. The Prophet* says that when Allah created Adam and Allah blew the soul into him, Adam sneezed. Adam said, Alhamdulillah (praise be to Allah). Allah said to him, Yarhamukullah (the mercy of Allah be upon you). The first thing that happened to Adam was the deliverance of mercy onto him from Allah. He had the mercy of Allah from the beginning.

Allah asks the angels and Iblis to bow before Adam - Iblis refuses
And then: The angels prostrated themselves all of them together. Except Iblis, he refused to be among the prostrators. [TMQ 15:31-32].
Almighty Allah recounted the story of Iblis's refusal to prostate before Adam: Remember when your Lord said to the angels, "I am going to create a man (Adam) from sounding clay of altered black smooth mud. So when I have fashioned him completely and breathed into him (Adam) the soul which I created for him then fall you down prostrating yourselves unto him." So the angels prostrated themselves all of them together, except Iblis, he refused to be among the prostrators. Allah said: "O Iblis! What is your reason for not being among the prostrators?" Iblis said: "I am not the one to prostrate myself to a human being, whom You created from sounding clay of altered black smooth mud." Allah said: "Then get out from here for verily you are Rajim (an outcast or cursed one). Verily the curse shall be upon you till Day of Recompense (Day of Resurrection)." [TMQ 15:28-35].
In another surah Almighty Allah recounted it thus: Surely We created you (your father Adam) and then gave you shape (the noble shape of a human being), then We told the angels, "Prostrate to Adam" and they prostrated except Iblis he refused to be of those who prostrate.
Allah said: "What prevented you Iblis that you did not prostrate when I commanded you?" Iblis said: "I am better than him (Adam), You created me from fire and him You created from clay." Allah said: "Get down from this Paradise, it is not for you to be arrogant here. Get out, for you are of those humiliated and disgraced." Iblis said: "Allow me respite till the Day of Resurrection)." Allah said: "You are of those allowed respite." [TMQ 7:11-15]
This means that Iblis tried to compare himself to Adam. He believed that he was more honourable than Adam. Therefore he abstained from prostrating even though Allah had commanded him to do so, just as He had commanded the angels. If an analogy is made we see that Iblis is vain. For indeed clay is better than fire because in it can be found the qualities of calmness, clemency, perseverance and growth; whereas in fire can be found heedlessness, insignificance, haste, and incineration.
Iblis tried in vain to justify his refusal: "Shall I prostrate to one whom You created from clay?" Iblis said: "See? those whom You have honoured above me, if You give me respite (keep me alive) to the Day of Resurrection, I will surely seize and mislead his offspring (by sending them astray) all but a few!" [TMQ 17:62]
Adam was following what was happening around him and had feelings of love, awe, and astonishment. Deep love of Allah, Who had created and glorified him and Who had made His angels prostrate before him. Awe of the Creator's wrath when He excluded Iblis from His mercy. Adam was surprised by this creature, Iblis who abhorred him without even knowing him and who imagined himself better than Adam without having proved that he was worthier. What a strange creature Iblis was, and how strange was his excuse for not prostrating! From the dialogue Adam realized that Iblis was a creature characterized by cunning and ingratitude. He then knew that Iblis was his eternal enemy. He was greatly astonished at Iblis's audacity and Allah's tolerance.
Allah knew that Iblis was not going to obey Him in prostrating before Adam. Allah could have totally annihilated him or turned him into a handful of dust or stifled the refusal in his mouth. Yet, Allah gives His commissioned creatures absolute free will even to the extent that they can refuse Allah the Almighty's commands. He grants them the freedom of denial, disobedience, and even disagreement with Him.
His kingdom will not diminish if the disbelievers do not believe in Him nor will it be extended if many people believe in Him. On the contrary, the disbelievers will lose, and the believers will gain but Allah is above all of that.

Dangers of pride / arrogance
There were many traditions about Iblis at the time of the Prophet*. Ibn Masud, Ibn Abbas and a group of the companions of the Prophet* said that Iblis had been the head of the angels in the worldly heavens. Ibn Abbas said in one narration that his name had been Azazil and in another narration he said it had been Al Harith. Ibn Abbas also said that Iblis was a jinn and that they had once been the keepers of Paradise, with Iblis the most honourable and the most learned and the most pious of them. Another tradition says that he had been one of the famous four possessors of wings (angels), before Allah transformed him into the accursed Satan.
Allah Almighty recounts Iblis's disobedience in another surah: Remember when your Lord said to the angels: "Truly I am going to create man from clay. So when I have fashioned him and breathed into him (his) soul created by Me, then you fall down prostrate to him." So the angels prostrated themselves all of them; except Iblis, he was proud and was one of the disbelievers.
Allah said: "The truth is, and the truth I say, that I will fill Hell with you and those of them (mankind) that follow you together." [TMQ 38:71-85]
After this lesson about free will Adam learned another lesson, one about knowledge. Adam realized that Iblis was the symbol of evil in the universe and that the angels were the symbol of good. However he did not yet know anything about himself. Then Allah made him perceive his true identity and the reason for his creation, and the secret of his glorification.
Remember when We said to the angels: "Prostrate yourself before Adam" They prostrated except Iblis, he refused and was proud and was one of the disbelievers (disobedient to Allah)."
Almighty Allah also revealed: And surely, We created you (your father Adam) and then gave you shape (the noble shape of a human being), then We told the angels, "Prostrate to Adam", and they prostrated, except Iblis, he refused to be those who prostrate.
Allah said: "What prevented you (O Iblis) that you did not prostrate when I commanded you?" Iblis said: "I am better than him (Adam), You created me from fire and him You created from clay." Allah said: "O Iblis get down from this (Paradise), it is not for you to be arrogant here. Get out for you are of those humiliated and disgraced." Iblis said: "Allow me respite till the Day they are raised up (Day of Resurrection)." Allah said: "You are of those allowed respite."
Iblis said: "Because You have sent me astray, surely I will sit in wait against them (human beings) on Your Straight Path. Then I will come to them from before them and behind them, from their right and from their left and You will not find most of them as thankful ones (they will not be dutiful to You)."
Allah said: "Get out from Paradise, disgraced and expelled. Whoever of them (mankind) will follow you, then surely I will fill Hell with you all."
We should all be very careful about this sin and try our hardest to avoid being proud, arrogant and patronising. It is hard but really important !

The first conversations in Jannah between Adam - Angels – Allah
Allah told Adam, “Go to those angels sitting over there and tell them As salaamu ‘alaykum.” Allah is teaching Adam. Adam went up to the angels and said, As salaamu ‘alaykum. The angels replied, wa ‘alakas salaam wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuhu (May the peace of Allah be upon you, and His Mercy be upon you, and His blessings be upon you).
So Adam came back to Allah. Allah told him, This is your greeting and this is the greeting of your descendants. So Allah has taught us our greeting from the beginning and it was taught to Adam; it is As salaamu ‘alaykum (peace be upon you).
The Prophet* said, Spread peace among you. After you deliver the peace, and receive the blessing of your brother’s reply, then you are free to use any greeting you want, whether it’s hi or hello or any other greeting in other languages.

Adam taught the names (uses) of things and given Speech
Allah the Exalted said: He taught Adam all the names of everything. [TMQ 2:31]
Allah granted Adam the power to know the natures of all things and to summarize them by names; that is a bird, that is a star, that is a tree, etc Allah implanted in Adam an insatiable need for and love of knowledge and a desire to bequeath knowledge to his children. This was the reason for his creation and the secret of his glorification.
Allah taught Adam all the names of everything, then He showed them to the angels and said: "Tell Me the names of these if you are truthful." They (angels) said: "Glory be to You, we have no knowledge except what You have taught us. Verily, it is You, the All-Knower, the All-Wise."
He said: "O Adam! Inform them of their names," and when he had informed them of their names, He said: "Did I not tell you that I know the unseen in the heavens and the earth, and I know what you reveal and what you have been hiding?"
Allah wanted the angels to know that He knew of their astonishment when He had told them about the creation of Adam and that He also knew of their confusion which they had not revealed, as well as what Iblis had concealed of his disobedience and ingratitude.
The angels realized that Adam was the creature who knew what they did not know and that his capacity to learn was his noblest quality. His knowledge included knowledge of the Creator which we call faith or Islam, as well as the knowledge he would need to inhabit and master the earth. All kinds of worldly knowledge which are included in this. Adam knew the names of everything.
Allah says that He taught Adam all of the names. [see 2:31] In tafsir it says – and this is the opinion of Ibn ‘Abbaas – that Allah taught him the names of everything. There is another meaning that is mentioned, also, that Allah has given him the ability to identify objects and designate names for these objects. This is the ability of speaking a language. We find that this is a human ability.
We have different languages in the world. These languages were made by human beings, by giving names to objects and then finding verbs and adjectives to tie these things together. Imagine that we didn’t have this ability. Imagine that we had to tell your friend about a tree; you cannot name or identify the object, so you would have to take him to that tree.  If you want to tell him about an apple, you would have to bring the apple to him. Allah created the human and taught him the ability of speech.
This is an ability that Allah didn’t give the angels. They only know specific knowledge that Allah gave them. Angels receive orders from Allah and do what they are commanded. Because Allah created the human being for khilaafa on earth, and to establish this earth and live in it, that ability is necessary for us. We wouldn’t be living if we didn’t have this ability; it is a necessity for us. We are producing every now and then thousands of objects and giving them names – microphones, speakers, etc. We throw thousands of things into the market, and we have names for them. Allah is telling the angels that there is a hikma in creating Adam that they do not know.
This is also a lesson for us: Whenever we see something that we are unable to understand or comprehend, we need to remember that Allah has a wisdom behind it.
There is a hikma behind every action. Many times, human beings fall into the trap of questioning why some events are happening. We question qadr (destiny), suffering and poverty. We don’t know the wisdom behind it, but Allah knows.
Children's Feedback
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Homework:
Adam was cast out of Paradise for disobeying Allah. If you were to talk to him now - what would you ask about this event?

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