1. Story of Creation

1.1 The Duty of Relating the Message and its Benefits

Allāh ﷻ says, “We relate unto you (O Muhammad) the best of stories through our revelations unto you, of this Quran. And before this you were among those who were not aware of it.” Yusuf – 12:3

It is from Allāh! Allāh ﷻ is the one who is revealing this to Muhammad ﷺ and to this Ummah. Allāh ﷻ says, “Nahnu Naqussu `Alayka ‘Ahsana Al- Qasasl’Qassas – We relate unto you (O Muhammad) the best of stories.” Yusuf – 12:3 These are the best of stories because they are dealing with the best of creation.

Some of the benefits of talking about the Ambiyā:

Number One: Because Rasūlullāh ﷺ was commanded to do so.
Allāh ﷻ says, “Fāqsusi Al-Qasasa – relate on to them the stories…” Al-A’raf – 7:176
It is a command from Allāh ﷻ given to Rasūlullāh ﷺ that he must, Allāh ﷻ is commanding him that he must narrate these stories unto the Ummah. So, it becomes a duty upon us to relate these stories, it becomes mandatory on us to convey the message of the Ambiyā of Allāh ﷻ and their stories. So, number one, we’re doing this as a ‘Ibādah [worship] of Allāh ﷻ to fulfil a commandment of Allāh ﷻ.

Number Two: “Fāqsusi Al-Qasasa La`allahum Yatafakkarūn – Relate and convey to them the stories” – Why? So that, ”they may reflect”, or ”they may contemplate” Al-A’raf – 7:176  These stories are not to entertain us. These stories are for us to derive lessons and reflect! And to contemplate and to think about and to deeply reflect on them! That is what we need to do.

Number Three: Another reason why it is extremely important to study the stories of the Ambiyā of Allāh ﷻ. Allāh ﷻ says:”Ūlā’ika Al-Ladhīna Hadá Allāhu Fabihudāhumu iqtadihi – They are those whom Allah has guided, so follow their guidance.”  Al-An’am – 6:90

They are the ones who are guided and Allāh ﷻ is instructing Rasūlullāh ﷺ to follow them, to follow their guidance because they are the best. And we need to have them as role models. It is very important for the human being to have models, especially in the early stages of our life. You find that every human being has role models. If they are not good, they are going to be bad. That is our makeup as human beings. We must have some role models. We must have some people whom we look up to. If we are not going to provide our children and our youth with the role models of the Ambiyā and the role models of Rasūlullāh ﷺ and the role models of the Sahaba [then] they are going to find role models somewhere else because human beings cannot live without role models. And Allah is telling Muhammad ﷺ that he must follow the way of the Ambiyā of Allāh ﷻ. If this instruction was given to Rasūlullāh ﷺ then what should we do? Allāh ﷻ is commanding Rasūlullāh ﷺ to follow their way. So, we need to study the lives of the Ambiyā of Allāh ﷻ, so that they can become our role models.

Number Four: To love them, because if you do not know someone, you cannot love him. We all claim that we love the Ambiyā of Allāh ﷻ but if we don’t know the details of their life and we don’t know what they went through then how could we have respect for them?

Abū Dhār once came to Rasūlullāh ﷺ and asked him a question, “What is the total number of Ambiyā?’’ Rasūlullāh ﷺ said, “120 thousand Prophets and the Messengers among them are 315.” (7 narrated by Abu Haatim ibn Hibbaan)

So, the Ambiyā of Allāh ﷻ are 120.000 and the Messengers – Ar’Rusūl are 315. I am translating Nabī as Prophet and Rasul as Messenger. So, there are two different things: Nabī and Rasūl.

Nabī – [Prophet] the plural of it is Ambiyā. Rasūl – [Messenger] the plural of it is Rusūl.

1.2 The Difference Between Nabī and Rasūl

So, what is the difference between the Nabī and the Rasūl? What is the difference between the Prophet and the Messenger? There are a few opinions of the ‘Ulama in this; one of them is that the Rasūl is the Nabī who is given a law, but the Nabī who is not a Rasūl is following the law of another Rasūl. So, every Rasūl is a Nabī but not every Nabī is a Rasūl – Every Messenger is a Prophet but not every Prophet is a Messenger. If a Prophet is given a new law, then he becomes a Rasūl and a Nabī. If he is not given a new law, then he is only a Nabī – a Prophet. An example of that to make it a little bit clear; Mūsā عليه السالم is a Rasūl. Why? Because he was given the Thora. But [his brother] Hārūn عليه السالم is not a Rasūl. Hārūn is a Nabī.

Why? Because he is following the law of his brother. Hārūn is following the law of Mūsā عليه السالم. This is one difference that the ‘Ulamā [Islamic Scholars] give to [differentiate] between Nabī and Rasūl.

1.3 Rizq – Sustenance is Already Written Down by Allāh ﷻ

But before we start talking about Ādamعليه السالم , let’s look at the story of creation. Rasūlullāh ﷺ was asked this question by a group who came from Yemen, and this is narrated by ‘Imran Ibn Husain in Bukhari. They came to Rasūlullāh ﷺ and they said, ‘‘Ma awal hadhal amr? – Oh, Rasūlullāh ﷺ, how did all of this start?” They want to know how this all came into existence. Rasūlullāh ﷺ said, “In the beginning there was Allāh ﷻ! There was nothing before him”, in another narration, ‘‘nothing was with Him, and His Throne was on water, and He wrote in the Tablet everything, and He created the heavens and the earth.” Rasūlullāh ﷺ says, “The first thing Allāh ﷻ created was the pen, then Allāh ﷻ ordered it to write, so it wrote everything that will happen until the Day of Judgement.” ( Sahīh al-Bukhārī 3191, 7418, – Sunan Abi Dawud 4700)

We worry about Rizq. We worry about our Rizq. Rizq is sustenance, what Allāh ﷻ will provide us. We worry about our wealth; we are always thinking about tomorrow. We are ‘Rizqophobic’, we have a problem of paranoia of Rizq. We are always in a state of despair when it comes to wealth. We are always thinking about, how will we make it in the future? Worried and terrified and paranoid. Well, listen to this; Rasūlullāh ﷺ says in a Hadith narrated by Muslim, “Allāh ﷻ wrote down the sustenance of the creation 50 thousand years before he created the heavens and the earth.” (Sahīh Muslim 2653)

Everything that you will get is already written down, not 50 thousand years before this day, but 50 thousand years before the heavens the earth were created. It’s a done deal and what you will get is already written down. Are you still going to be very concerned about it?

1.4 Sanctity of Human Beings and the Definition of Khalīfah

Rasūlullāh ﷺ says, “The angels were created from light and the Jinn were created from fire.”(Sahīh Muslim 2996)  So, these are two other creations beside the human being, which we know about, the angels who were created from light and the Jinn, they were created from fire. Iblis was from Al-Jinn, but because he was so righteous, he was included with the angels and elevated to a very high level among the angels. Even though he was from Al-Jinn. Ādam عليه السالم was created from dirt. Allāh ﷻ says,

And remember when your lord said to the angels, verily I’m going to place mankind generations after generations on earth. (Al-Baqarah – 2:30)

Allāh ﷻ says, “Ini Ja’ilun Fil ‘Ardi Khalifa – I will place on earth a Khalifa” What does ‘Khalīfah’ mean? Khalifa comes from the word ‘Khalaf’ and ‘Khalaf’ means to succeed someone else or to assume the position of someone else. These are the meanings of the word ‘Khalaf’. Allāh ﷻ for example says in Qur’ān, “A generation followed them who lost prayer and followed desires, so they will be misguided.”(Maryam – 19:5)

In this Āyah it means a generation that came after them and that is why we have ‘Salaf’ and ‘Khalaf’. We say Salaf. Who are the Salaf? The Salaf are the early three generations. Everyone who comes after them, we call them

Khalaf. And then what was Abū Bakr As-Siddīq called when he assumed responsibility after Rasūlullāh ﷺ? He was called ‘Khalifatu’Rasul’lilah’ – The Khalifah of Rasūlullāh ﷺ! Why? Because he assumed responsibility after Rasūlullāh ﷺ and he came after Rasūlullāh ﷺ. So, we see that in this word, which was used in reference to Abū Bakr, it has two meanings; first meaning is that he is assuming the responsibility of leading the Ummah after Rasūlullāh ﷺ and the second meaning, it says, that he is coming after Rasūlullāh ﷺ, ‘Khalifa’ – he comes after. If we would apply these two meanings to the responsibility or the title that was given to humanity, Allāh ﷻ said, “I will place a Khalifa on earth.” So, we find two explanations were given; one explanation says, that Allāh ﷻ has appointed Ādamعليه السالم and his children, his descendants in the position of responsibility to apply the laws of Allah ﷻ. So, they are representing the law of Allāh ﷻ on earth. They are given the responsibility of applying the law of Allāh ﷻ on earth. And that is the explanation given by Ibn Mas‘ūd.

The second explanation is that human beings would succeed each other in this world generation after generation and this is the opinion of Ibn Abbas. Our responsibility on earth is to establish earth according to the laws of Allāh ﷻ and also, we see that we are succeeding each other. We are not like the angels, who are living, and they are not marrying and having children. We succeed each other on this earth and that’s why Allāh ﷻ says about the people of Ād, that you became the ‘Khala’if’ of this earth, which is plural of ‘Khalīfah’, after the people of Nuh.(Al-A’raf – 7:69)

So, this is the meaning of Khalifa. If we look at the Āyah before this, it would help us in understanding our mission and our role in this world. Allāh ﷻ says in the Āyah right before this Āyah:

 Allah has created for you everything in this world (Al-Baqarah – 2:29)

Everything in this world was created for the human being. That is the honour that Allāh ﷻ has given this human being, that everything is created for the exploitation of human beings, because they are the ultimate creation of this world and they are the ones whom Allāh ﷻ has given the responsibility of establishing this Dunyā, this world. So, Allāh ﷻ has creating everything for them, therefore we should not give precedence to anything material over the human being. We should not sacrifice the human being for a material thing, because Allāh ﷻ has given this noble position to human beings, and he made them Khalifa and he created everything for this human being; the human being is sacred! But the way we are dealing with the human being now, on the face of the earth is, that we are killing human beings and destroying them for a material gain. And that’s why Rasūlullāh ﷺ says, that the Muslim is sacred in the eyes of Allāh ﷻ more than Al-Ka’ba. (Sunan Ibn Mājah 3932)

The sanctity and the sacred position that is given to the blood of the Muslim is more than Al-Ka’ba! That is the honour that Allāh ﷻ has given to the son of Ādam. Allāh ﷻ says, We have honoured the son of Adam (16 Al-‘Isrā’ – 17:70)

1.5 Allāh ﷻ Informs the Angels About the Creation on Earth

When Allah told the angels that I will place a Khalifa on earth, what did they say? They said,“Will you place therein those who will make mischief therein and shed blood, – while we glorify you with praises and thanks?”(Al-Baqarah – 2:30)

How did the angels know that human beings will corrupt on the face of the earth? Ādam عليه السالم was not placed on the earth yet. Why did the angels say, “You’re going to place someone who will cause corruption and shed blood in the world”? There are two explanations given: one explanation is, that Allāh ﷻ told the angels ahead of time, that this is what human beings will do. The second explanation and this is mentioned by Ibn ‘Abbās, that Jinn were living in this world before, and they caused corruption and they shed blood and they fought with each other, and they corrupted this world and they caused so much evil. And then Allāh ﷻ send on them armies from the angels and also Iblis to fight against them and then they pushed and cornered to the islands of the ocean. So, the angels said, why are you going to place someone on earth who would cause corruption and shed blood again. So, these are the two-explanation given. There is no Hadith to support any one of them. These are two explanations given to the Āyah. Allāh ﷻ said,“I know what you know not.” (Al-Baqarah – 2:30)

1.6 The Reason Why the Son of Ādam is Different

Allāh ﷻ created Ādamعليه السالم and Rasūlullāh ﷺ says, “Allāh ﷻ created Ādam from a handful of dirt, picked from all of the earth. So, the children of Ādam became red, white and black and everything in between and they became soft and tough and bad and good and everything in between.”(18 Sunan Abi Dawud 4693, – Jami` at-Tirmidhi – Book 47, Hadith 3213)

This dirt was taken from different parts of the earth so there was black soil, there was white soil, there was yellow soil – different colours. And some of this soil was taken from mountains and some of it was taken from valleys and it was mixed together. So, the son of Ādam, the descendants of Ādam came out in different colours, because the dirt they were created from is from different colours. And they came out with different qualities, because some of this dirt was taken from mountains and some of it was valleys, some of it was from fertile land and some of it was from infertile land. So, you have some of them are righteous, some of them are evil, some of them are easy to deal with and some of them are tough. They came out according to the material they were created from. What was Ādamعليه السالم created from? ‘Turāb’ – dirt, but that was not the only name that was given to the material we were created from.

We find in Qur’ān that the components of our body were described with different terms. Allāh ﷻ has called it Turāb which means dirt. Allāh ﷻ has called it: Tīn which means clay. Tīnin Lāzib – sticky clay. Salsāl – sounding clay. Hama’iim Masnūn – black smooth mud. Why were these different terms used to refer to the material we were created from?

1.         Turāb – soil, dirt, dust [Al-Haj – 22:5]
2.         Tīn- clay [Al-Mu’uminūn – 23: 12]
3.         Salsāl – sounding clay [Ar-Rahmān – 55: 14]
4.         Hama’iim Masnūn – black smooth mud [Al-Hijr – 15:26]
5.         Tīnin Lāzib – sticky clay [As-Sāffāt – 37: 11]

In the beginning it was dirt – Turāb – dirt, soil that was taken from the earth and that is Turāb and then this dirt was mixed with the basis of every living being and that is water. Allāh ﷻ says,

We created from water every living being (Al-‘Anbiyā’ – 21:30)

When it was mixed with water it became [clay or] mud – Tīn, and then this mud was left for a while and when you leave mud for a while and the moisture in it reduces; it becomes sticky. In the beginning it is loose mud, because it has a lot of water then when the water level decreases and the moisture decreases, it becomes sticky, and it holds to your hands and that is Tīn Lāzib – sticky clay. And then that sticky clay was left for longer while the smell of it changed and the colour of it became darker and that is Hama’iim Masnūn, which is black smooth and smelly clay [or mud] because it was left there for a while. That material was taken and Allāh ﷻ moulded out of it the form and body of Ādamعليه السالم. That body was left to dry, and it turned into Salsāl Kāl’fakhkhār – Clay like pottery. When you knock on dry clay – pottery, what happens? It makes a ringing sound and that is Salsāl min Salsāl, it makes a ringing sound like a bell. So, the body, the empty form of Ādam عليه السالم that did not have the soul yet, it was just a material, it was left to dry and then when you would knock on it, it would make this ringing sound.

It is said and this is not a Hadith, but it is said, that Iblīs saw this body lying on the ground and he didn’t know what it was. So Iblīs walked up to the body of Ādam عليه السالم and he knocked it and it made a ringing sound and it was hollow [because] when he knocked it, he knew that it was hollow from the inside – empty. He said, “Hadha Khalqun la ya ta malak.” When he found out that it was hollow, he said, ‘‘This is a creation that is weak, its hollow from the inside.” And then he said, “If I am given influence over you, I will guide you astray and if you are given influence over me, I would disobey you.” Therefore, he is our enemy from day one! Ādam عليه السالم is not even alive yet, it’s just a body that is lying there and he said, “If you are given influence over me, I’m going to disobey you.” Let’s do the same thing and disobey him!

1.7 The Position of Islam to the Theory of Evolution

Rasūlullāh ﷺ says in the Hadith narrated by Muslim, “Kha’laqal la‘hu Adama ‘ala Surati.” (Sahīh Muslim 2612, – Sahīh al-Bukhārī 6227)

In the beginning we know that Allāh ﷻ has created Ādam عليه السالم with his own hands. Ādam عليه السالم was honoured that he was created with the hands of Allāh ﷻ. A great honour and that is mentioned in the Hadith of AShafa‘a, when the humans would go to Sayyidnā Ādam عليه السالم on the Day of Judgement and they would say, “You are the one whom Allāh ﷻ blew his soul into you and you are the one whom Allāh ﷻ created with his own hands and you are the one whom Allah ﷻ made the angels bow down to and made Sujūd.” (Sahīh al-Bukhārī 7516, – Sahīh Muslim 194)

Honouring that Allāh ﷻ is giving to Ādam عليه السالم [since] he was created with the hands of Allāh ﷻ. Rasūlullāh ﷺ says in the Hadith narrated by Muslim, ‘‘Kha‘laqal la‘hu Adama ‘ala Surati – Allāh ﷻ has created Adam on his image.” (Sahīh Muslim 2612, – Sahīh al-Bukhārī 6227)

An-Nawawi gives an explanation to this Hadith; he says, what is meant by Allāh ﷻ has created Adam on his image, [here] it is not talking about the image of Allāh ﷻ, it is talking about the image of Adam; Allāh ﷻ created Adam on the image of Adam. You might wonder, what does that mean? What do you mean Allah created Adam on Adams image? That would mean that Allāh ﷻ created Adam as he was, in his adult form that remained with him. In other words, Ādamعليه السالم did not go in stages that we go through; of being an embryo and then a foetus and then an infant and then a child and then an adult. “Kha‘laqal la‘hu Adama ‘ala Surati – Adam was created on his image“, [means] he didn’t go through changes of images like we do. We go through different changes of images. From embryo to foetus, it looks very different when you go from the one cell, when it then multiplies, and the embryo is in the early stages and then the foetus. If you look at it, the image could change within days. But with Adam, he was created on that image from day one. And this is diametrically opposed to what the theory of evolution says.

 The theory of evolution states, that human beings came through an evolution process, that started with a chemical reaction, and then the one cell: the single cell. And then multiple cells, and then it goes up and up and up, until it reaches to the human being in the end of that long chain. That is completely contradicting to the truth, because Allāh ﷻ has created Adam with his own hands on that image that remained with Adam until he died. But let me say that Islam does not completely disapprove everything in the theory of evolution. Islam disapproves some and approves some. Islam disapproves the part of the theory of evolution, that states, that nature is the creator or that things came out of random. Islam is against the part of the theory of evolution, that states, that human being evolved from a single cell and then it went up to the ape, which they call the closest relative of the human being, and then to the human being. But Islam is not opposed to the part of the theory of evolution that says that species adopt to their environment. We see that around us, that different species learn how to adopt to different environments, but we say that, that happens with the will of Allāh ﷻ.

1.8 The Secret of the Soul Remains with Allāh ﷻ

Allāh ﷻ blew the soul into Ādamعليه السالم [called] ‘Ar-Rūh’, our body without Ar-Rūh is part of the earth, it is dirt. Our body is made of carbon, oxygen, copper, iron, sulphur, [etc]; that is our body and when the soul leaves, our body decomposes into its origin. Allāh ﷻ says,We created you from Earth, and you will return to Earth, and then we will resurrect you again from Earth. (Tāhā – 20:55)

We are nothing without the soul! The essence of life is not in this materialistic body. This body that we have is dead, it is material components that are dirt – came from the dirt, from the earth. What puts life in us is the soul, and that is the secret of life, and it remains as a secret, even with all of the advancements in science and technology that we have. They came to Rasūlullāh ﷺ and said, tell us about the soul. Allāh ﷻ says, “They ask you about the soul, tell them that the knowledge of the soul belongs to Allāh, and you have been given very limited knowledge.(Al-‘Isrā’ – 17:85)

The soul is a secret that only Allāh ﷻ knows and our knowledge of the soul is very limited. This question was asked to Rasūlullāh 1400 years ago, [yet] our knowledge about the soul did not change much since then. We don’t know much about the soul.

The Soviet Union, under communism, they disbelieved in anything metaphysical, they only believed in the physical world. Everything that is metaphysical, they didn’t believe in it. So, they thought that they could create a human being. So, in their labs, they looked at the composition of the human body and they found out that it’s made of copper and sulphur and iron and carbon and oxygen and hydrogen; they brought those elements and they mixed them together with the same ratio that exists in our body and then they kept on sending some electrical shocks on it, thinking that that would give it life.

[They didn’t know that] it is not our body that makes us alive. Our body is dirt [and] it belongs to this earth. What makes us alive is the secret which Allāh ﷻ has placed in us, and that is the soul – Ar-Rūh’ and that is something we don’t know about, that is the difference between life and death – Ar- Rūh‘. That is why when Mūsā عليه السالم and the magicians were competing; the Magicians were throwing their sticks, and they were making those sticks look like snakes through optical illusion. But with Mūsā عليه السالم, his stick turned into an actual living snake, because Allāh ﷻ is the one who controls life, so Allāh ﷻ put life in that stick and it became a snake. But with the magicians, all what they could do is fool the people through an optical illusion, because they do not have the power to put life. And when they saw what was happening with the stick of Mūsā عليه السالم they knew that this is a miracle, and they immediately became Muslim, because they knew that this is something outside the capacity and the capability of the human being. So, the soul is what gives us life, and this is as Allāh ﷻ says, “Min amri Rab‘bi – This is knowledge that belongs to Allāh.” (Al-‘Isrā’ – 17:85)
This is an issue that belongs to Allāh.

1.9 The Greeting of Muslims

When the soul entered into the body of Ādamعليه السالم, the first thing that happened is; he sneezed. Rasūlullāh ﷺ said, “When Allāh ﷻ created Adam, and he blew the soul into him, Adam sneezed.” Adam said, “Alhamdulillah – Praise be to Allāh.” Allāh ﷻ told him, “Yar’hamuk’allah – the mercy of Allāh be upon you.” The first thing that happened to Ādamعليه السالم was [the] deliverance of mercy onto him from Allāh ﷻ. When he was created, Allāh ﷻ himself told Adam, “Yar’hamuk’allah – The mercy of Allah be upon you.” That was the first thing that was told to Sayyidnā Ādamعليه السالم. He had the mercy of Allāh ﷻ from the beginning. Allāh ﷻ told Ādam, go to those angels who are sitting over there and tell them, “Assalāmu ‘Alaikum.“ Adam went up to the angels and said, “Assalāmu ‘Alaikum.“ [The angels answered], “Alayka Salam, wa alayka Salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh- May the peace of Allāh be upon you, and his mercy be upon you and his blessings be upon you.“ So Adam came back to Allāh ﷻ; Allāh ﷻ told him, “This is your greeting and this is the greeting of your descendants.“ So Allāh ﷻ has taught us our greeting from the beginning, and it was taught to Ādam and this is the greeting that Allāh ﷻ wanted for the children of Ādam; it is Assalāmu ‘Alaikum – Peace be upon you. (Sahīh al-Bukhārī 3326, 6227, – Sahīh Muslim 2841, – Jami` at-Tirmidhi – Book 47,Hadith 3694, – Riyad as-Sālihīn 845)

Not hi, hello, good morning or good night or what’s up. [It is] first Assalāmu ‘Alaikum – Peace be upon you, and then after that, after you deliver the peace, Subhān’Allāh, look at the beauty of Islam. We are spreading peace and Rasūlullāh ﷺ says, “Af’ shus Salama Baynakum – spread peace among you.” Spread peace! Whenever you see somebody then say, Assalāmu ‘Alaikum – Peace be upon you. Alhamdulillāh on the Ni’mah [Blessing] of being Muslim. After you say, Assalāmu ‘Alaikum and you receive the blessing of your brother, telling you, Wa-Alaikum as-Salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh, then you are free to use any greeting you want. Whether it is hi or hello, or good morning or good afternoon, or shto’rasti or saha khobast or como estas or Sabahel Khair, whatever you want. In the beginning you say, ‘Assalāmu ‘Alaikum’ and then after that you could use any greeting you want because we know that Rasūlullāh ﷺ used to tell the Sahaba for example, “Kayfa as’baht”, it’s like to say, “good morning”. But in the beginning, it needs to be ‘Assalāmu ‘Alaikum.’

1.10 Our Covenant with Allāh ﷻ

Allāh ﷻ says, “And (remember) when your Lord brought forth from the Children of Adam, from their loins, their seed (or from Adam’s loin his offspring) and made them testify as to themselves (saying): „Am I not your Lord?” They said: „Yes! We testify,” lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection: „Verily, we have been unaware of this.” Al-‘A`rāf – 7:172

This is talking about a very important concept and that is; ‘Al-Mifa’ – the Covenant. Do you know that there is an agreement between us and Allāh ﷻ? Do you know that there is a covenant between us and Allāh ﷻ, an agreement? This Āyah is talking about that agreement, Allāh ﷻ has made a covenant with us and that is we worship no one but him!

“And we witnessed upon ourselves, that we shall not worship anyone but Allāh”, and then Allāh ﷻ says, “lest he should say on the day of judgment that we are unaware of this.” (Al-‘A`rāf – 7:172)

In other words, don’t say on the Day of Judgment, I didn’t know about that, because we have given this covenant [already to Allāh ﷻ]. Two explanations have been given to this Āyah; one explanation says that this covenant is the covenant of Fitrah. Fitrah is the original state, every one of us has an original state and that original state is Islam – Al-Fitrah. Allāh ﷻ has created us on Fitrah [and] Rasūlullāh ﷺ says, “Everyone is born on the Fitrah of Islam, on the original creation of Islam, and then their parents make them a Christian or a Jew or a Zoroastrian.” (Sahīh al-Bukhārī 4775, – Sahīh Muslim 2658, – Sunan Abi Dawud 4714)

But in the beginning, we are Muslim, every one of us is Muslim and that’s why many who embrace Islam, they don’t like to be called converts. They say we never converted to Islam, we reverted to Islam, because we were Muslim in the beginning and then we lost it and then we came back to it again. So, we are Reverts, because every one of us started out as a Muslim, submitting to Allāh ﷻ. The [second] explanation is that Allāh ﷻ took out the seed of Adam, everyone, every one of us, from Adam until the day of judgment, every one of us and we were placed in the hand of Allāh ﷻ and then Allāh ﷻ asked us, “Am I your Lord?” And we said, yes. And that is mentioned in a Hadith. Now, the only reason why we have another opinion is, because some of the ‘Ulama critique this Hadith, some of them accepted it as strong and some don’t but the Hadith is; Allāh ﷻ has taken the covenant in Nu‘man – the day of ‘Arafa, Allāh ﷻ has taken out of Adam all of his seed and scattered them in his hand like pearls then Allāh ﷻ asked them, “isn’t it, that I am your Lord?“ They said, Yes! According to this Hadith, every one of us has spoken to Allāh ﷻ and said: “Yes, you are our Lord, and we will worship nobody but you.”

1.11 Allāh ﷻ has Taught the Human Being Languages

Allāh ﷻ says, And he taught Adam all of the Names (Al-Baqarah – 2:31).

In Tafsir, it mentions, [and] this is the opinion of Sayyidnā Abbas, that Allāh ﷻ taught him the names of everything; the nouns, the verbs and the adjectives, all the names and if you take this literally, it would mean that he knew the names of everything. But then there is another meaning that is mentioned also and that is that Allāh ﷻ has given him the ability to identify objects, and to designate names for these objects and that is the ability of speaking a language. Again, it’s the ability to identify objects, and to designate names for these objects and we find that that is a human ability. We have different languages in the world and all of these languages were founded by human beings, by giving names to objects, and then finding verbs and adjectives to tie these things together. Now imagine that we did not have this ability. So, you want to tell your friend about a tree. You cannot name and identify that object so what you have to do is take him to the tree. Or you want to tell him about an apple; you cannot describe the apple. You have to bring an apple to him and start pointing at it. So, Allāh ﷻ has given the son of Ādamعليه السالم this ability and Allāh ﷻ says,

He created the human and he taught him expression (Ar-Rahmān – 55:3, 4) [which is] the ability of speaking, Speech. This is an ability that Allāh ﷻ did not give the angels.

The angels only know specific knowledge which Allāh ﷻ has given them, because they do not need this knowledge, Allāh ﷻ taught them what they need. They receive orders from Allāh ﷻ and they do what they are commanded. [Whereas] the human being, Allāh ﷻ created him for the Khilāfah on earth, to the establishment of the Khilāfah on earth, and to establish this earth and live in it. [Therefore] that ability is necessary for us. Imagine how our life would be; actually, we wouldn’t be living, if we didn’t have the ability to identify objects and name them. This is a necessity for us to communicate and Allāh ﷻ has given the son of Adam that ability. So, we’re able to name things and you find out that we’re producing every now and then thousands and thousands of objects, and we’re designating names to these objects. [For example] Microphone or Speakers: all of these are new names, but the son of Adam is able and throw a thousand things in the market, we have the ability to find names for them. Allāh ﷻ says,                

And He 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. (Al-Baqarah – 2:31-33)  Allāh ﷻ taught Adam all of the names and then Allāh ﷻ made a test, and presented some objects on the angels [and said], tell me the names of these if you are true, if you are truthful, if you are right, because the angels said at the beginning, why are you going to create a human being who will cause bloodshed and corruption? Allāh ﷻ made this test and told the angels to identify these objects. What did the angels answer? They 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.” (Al-Baqarah – 2:31-33)

And now it is Adams turn to go through the test. Allāh ﷻ says,

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 Ghaib (unseen) in the heavens and the earth, and I know what you reveal and what you have been concealing?” (Al-Baqarah – 2:31-33)

1.12 Allāh ﷻ does Everything with Hikmah

Allāh ﷻ knows all knowledge. So Allāh ﷻ is telling the angels, there is a Hikmah [wisdom] for the creation of Adam [that] you don’t know and that is a lesson for us; whenever we see something that we are not able to understand or comprehend we need to understand that Allāh ﷻ has a wisdom behind it. There is a Hikmah, there is a wisdom behind every action [of Allāh ﷻ] because many times, human beings fall into that trap of questioning why some events are happening; why is this [misery] all happening? And we question Qadr [destiny], and we question misery, and we question diseases, and we question disasters, and we question wars. Why are these things happening? We need to realize that Allāh ﷻ has wisdom in everything that is happening around us, there is a reason. We do not know it [but] Allāh ﷻ knows it. So that is the story of the names. Ādam عليه السالم was alone and Allāh ﷻ says,

He is the One who created you from a single soul (Al-‘A`rāf – 7:189) You were created from oneself, one Nafs, one soul and that is Ādam عليه السالم. And then Allāh ﷻ created out of Ādamعليه السالم his mate; Hawā, and then the Hadith tells us that Hawā was created from the rib of Sayyidnā Ādam. Allāh ﷻ says,

O mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single soul (Adam), and from him (Adam) He created his wife [Hawā (Eve)], and from them both He created many men and women and fear Allah through Whom you demand your mutual (rights), and (do not cut the relations of) the wombs (kinship). Surely, Allah is Ever an All-Watcher over you. (An-Nisā’ – 4:1)

And then Rasūlullāh ﷺ says in the Hadith, “Take good care of women! Women were created from a rib and the most bent part of the rib is the top of it, if you try to make it straight, you will break it and if you leave it, it will remain bent, so take good care of women.” (Sahīh al-Bukhārī 5185, 5186)  If we understand this Hadith, the communication between men and woman would be much better and easier.

1.13 Asking Questions Which do not Benefit 

Ādam عليه السالم and Hawā were living in Jannah. They had all of Jannah but there was one exception and that is the tree: [only] one tree. Now what type of tree is this? An Apple tree? A Banana tree? Asking this question, to start with is part of ‘Ilm la Yanfa’ – knowledge that does not benefit. Going into this, is part of the knowledge that does not benefit and that’s why Allāh ﷻ did not mention it in Qur’ān. The details of these stories are not mentioned in Qur’ān. [These questions;] What type of tree was it? What is the name of it? How long was it? I mean just like for example in the story of the people of the Cave; to show you that Allāh ﷻ is telling us about knowledge that would benefit us but sometimes we try to go into areas that would not benefit us. Allāh ﷻ left it and we try to go and investigate. In the story of the young men, when they went in the cave, Allāh ﷻ says,

And their dog stretching forth his two forelegs at the entrance (of the Cave)” (Al-Kahf – 18:18) Some started questioning, what type of dog was it and what’s the colour of the dog? And some of them said, it’s white and some of them said, it’s black and some of them said, no, it’s a mixture of black and white. I mean, what kind of benefit can we learn from this knowledge? [The answer is] nothing. The reason why the stories are mentioned in Qur’ān are not as a historical account, but they are mentioned for the ‘Ibrā [lessons]. Allāh ﷻ says, “La’allahum Yatafakkarun – that they may contemplate.” [Al-A’raf – 7:176]. And Allāh ﷻ says, “these are lessons for the ones of understanding” [Yūsuf – 12:111]. So, the tree was mentioned in Qur’ān as “Shajarat al-Khold – The tree of eternity” [Tāhā – 20:120]. It’s just a tree, but we do not know what kind of tree it was and where it was and how tall it was; we don’t know those details, it was a tree.

1.14 The Waswasah – The Evil Inspiration of Shaitān

That is the only part of Jannah, Ādamعليه السالم and Hawā were not supposed to touch. Allāh ﷻ says,

We cautioned, “O Adam! Live with your wife in Paradise and eat as freely as you please, but do not approach this tree, or else you will be wrongdoers. (Al-Baqarah – 2:35)

Allāh ﷻ says, “But Satan whispered to him.“ (Tāhā – 20:120)  Shaitan gave Ādamعليه السالم Waswasah, which is some hidden speech that he’s delivering in one’s mind; evil inspiration. What did Shaitan tell Ādam? Did he tell Adam, go and eat from the tree, which Allāh ﷻ told you don’t touch? Did he tell Ādamعليه السالم go and disobey Allāh ﷻ? Did he tell him go and commit Harām? He knew how to deal with the human being. Allāh ﷻ says,

“But Shaitan (Satan) whispered to him, saying, “O Adam! Shall I lead you to the Tree of Eternity and to a kingdom that will never waste away?” (Tāhā – 20:120)  Shaitan knows our points of weakness and that’s where he attacks from. He didn’t go to Ādamعليه السالم bluntly and tell him go and disobey Allāh ﷻ, otherwise Ādam عليه السالم wouldn’t have done it. He told them, “This tree would give you continuous life, eternal life, and it would give you a kingdom.” Adam ﷺ and Hawā; they ate from that tree, and because of that [mistake], Allāh ﷻ send them down to earth.

Whenever you read this Āyah, or hear about this story; do you ever wonder, how could such a great Nabi commit such a mistake? Do you ever wonder, how come? Allāh ﷻ told him, don’t touch from that tree and then he went and ate from it. Do you ever wonder how could that happen? I think some of you may had that idea. This is a Nabi of Allāh ﷻ. [So] how could he do that? And by the way at that time, he was not a Nabi yet, but later on earth he became one of the Ambiyā. [But] instead of thinking about why Ādamعليه السالم did so, why not think about yourself that you are committing sins and mistakes [day in, day out]. It is much more difficult to understand how we can commit sins because with Ādamعليه السالم; he did not have any experience whatsoever. He did not know about Shaitan; he had only knowledge about Shaitan, but he had no experience with him, and experience is different than knowledge. With Ādamعليه السالم, he knew that Shaitān is his enemy, but he never experienced it, and even Rasūlullāh ﷺ says, “Lay’sal khabar kel Mu’ayana – knowing the news is not like seeing it.” (Musnad Ahmad 2447, – Jami` at-Tirmidhi 5374)

 Ādamعليه السالم had the knowledge but he didn’t have any experience with Shaitan yet. We know what happened to Ādam عليه السالم and we know what caused by Shaitan and we have seen a long history of mankind; and [nevertheless] we’re still committing the same mistake again and again; We should question that, but we should not question the fact that Ādam عليه السالم committed this mistake, because for Ādam عليه السالم, it was a very innocent mistake. And Allāh ﷻ forgave him because Ādam عليه السالم did not have any experience yet and Allāh ﷻ wanted this to be a test for Ādam عليه السالم, so that he can learn from it, and this could be experienced for Ādam عليه السالمto prepare him because he will be a Nabi of Allāh ﷻ. It’s a preparation for Ādamعليه السالم, Allāh ﷻ is preparing him, just like Allāh ﷻ was preparing Dawūd عليه السالم through the mistake that he committed and we’re going to talk about that. Allāh ﷻ was preparing Dawūd عليه السالم for the position of Khilāfah; so Allāh ﷻ made him go through that judgment and he made a mistake in it, and then Allāh ﷻ corrected that mistake for him. They say that Dawūd عليه السالم, after the mistake was better than he was before. So Allāh ﷻ was preparing Ādam عليه السالم, so that he would going through this experience and learn from it, and we prepare him for living on this earth to realize that Shaitan/ Iblis is your enemy.

1.15 Ādam عليه السالم Receives Words from Allāh ﷻ

Allāh ﷻ says,
And we said, ‘‘Get you down, all, with enmity between yourselves (Al-Baqarah – 2:36, 37)

Allāh ﷻ told Ādam and Hawā to get out of Jannah. In Arabic, there is singular, which is for one, and then there is another form for two and then there’s plural for three and more. In English, we have only singular and plural; singular is for one and plural is for two or more. In English, if we are talking about two people; you say, “They”. You don’t say, “He”, [because] it’s two of them. But in Arabic, plural is not two, plural is three or more. There is another form that is used for the two. Ādam عليه السالم and Hawā are two but Allāh ﷻ referred to them in the plural form; “I‘hbitu – All of you, all of you descend down from Jannah; in a plural form but they were only two.

Al-Farrah, one of the Mufassirūn [Scholars of Tafsir] says, “because this command is to Ādam عليه السالم and his wife, and all of us with them; all of us were in Jannah, that’s where we were. But because of Iblis/ Shaitan, and that mistake we all came down to Dunyā.” So, we do not really belong to Dunyā; this is not where we belong to, we are here for a temporary time, therefore we belong to al-Ākhirah.

Allāh ﷻ says,
On earth will be a dwelling place for you and an enjoyment for a time. (Al-Baqarah – 2:36, 37) [In other words], you’re going to stay there for a while. Allāh ﷻ taught Ādam عليه السالم some words to learn.

Allāh ﷻ says,
Then Adam received words from his Lord. And his Lord pardoned him (accepted his repentance). Verily, He is the One Who forgives (accepts repentance), the Most Merciful. (Al-Baqarah – 2:36, 37)

So Allāh ﷻ taught Ādam words to say; a Du‘ā [supplication] to say and then Allāh ﷻ forgave him. What was this Du‘ā?

Allāh ﷻ says,
They said: „Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You forgive us not, and bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be of the losers.” (Al-‘A`rāf – 7:23) ‘We have wronged ourselves’, look at this Du‘ā, a very important Du‘ā and please memorize it and use it, because it is the Du‘ā of the sinners. “Rab’bana Zalamna Anfusana“ – ‘Oh Allāh, we have wronged ourselves, we have committed wrong. And we have harmed ourselves by this wrong, we are not harming Allāh ﷻ, we are harming our own selves. “Wa’illam Taghfirlana wa Tarhamna“ – ‘If you do not have forgiveness on us and mercy we would be of the losers. If you do not forgive us and have mercy on us, we would be losers; we need you Oh Allāh, so please Oh Allāh, we beg you to forgive us and have mercy on us.’ This is the Du‘ā, that Allāh ﷻ taught Ādam and Hawā (Peace be upon them).