the story of the first man adam (a.s.). from the bible’s perspective view
TRANSCRIPT
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.