The 25 Prophets: (1) Adam

What do we know about: The 25 Prophets mentioned in the Holy Quraan?

Let us find out by reading "The Twenty five Prophets (The Parable of the Apostles Mentioned in the Holy Quraan)", a book written and compiled by Nassir ibn Issa ibn Said Al-Kindy

"The stories related in this book are true stories, they are the true events in history. In these stories there is a lot to be learnt from what happened in the past, so that people would realize their mistakes and hence correct themselves. The teachings of these Prophets constitute a large portion in the writing of the history, without which one can not understand history. The most important of all is the fact that one can not really understand the Qur'an without knowing these events in history." Nassir Al-Kindy

The first story is about our great father "Adam" (AS)

"And verily We have honoured the Children of Adam, and carried them over land and sea, and provided them with good things and We have preferred them above many of those whom We created with a marked preferment." [17:70]

God almighty created the earth in two days and set on it mountains standing firm high above it. He then bestowed His blessings on it, and measured therein all things to give nourishment in due proportion; He did this in four days. He then comprehended in His design the sky, which was (as) smoke. He said to it and to the earth: "Come ye together, willingly or unwillingly." They said: "We do come (together) in willing obedience."

It is He who created the heavens and the earth in six days and His Throne was over waters. It is scientifically correct to say that all life was evolved out of the waters. The Throne of God's authority is metaphorically expressed as over waters; i.e. water is what regulates all life. He then created the Angels who obey and idolize Him for all what He has cherished them. They are near to Him and that they are there to worship and obey the Almighty at all times.

Long before creation of the human being, God created Jinn from fire who resided the earth. These, however, caused a lot of problems and bloodshed among themselves and God punished them for their sins by banishing them. One of them, Satan, however, was blessed by God and allowed to live and mingle with the Angels.

After this He decided to create another being (Adam), He said to the Angels: "I will create a vicegerent on earth."

When the Angels came to know of their Lord's intention, they quickly wanted to clear themselves of any blame. They did this because they thought that they might have wronged to upset their Lord. They therefore came forward and said:

"Wilt Thou place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood? - Whilst we do celebrate Thy praises and glorify Thy holy (name)? " [2:30]

They said this because they thought of themselves as being of preference in front of Him, as they existed before this new being that was to come, and that they had more knowledge. They also feared that there would again be 'bloodshed as that caused by the jinn before. God Almighty said to them. "1 know what you know not, I will create what I want and you will see afterwards what you don't know."

He then created Adam (AS) from sticky clay and breathed into him His spirit and became a living being. He then commanded the Angels to bow down to him and they did bow to him. Iblis (Satan), however, refused to do so and was arrogant; he was one of those who rejected Faith.

God then asked Satan the reason for-rnot bowing down to Adam (AS), and said to him: "O Iblis! What prevents you from prostrating yourself to one whom I have created with My hands?

Are you haughty? Or are you one of the high (and mighty) ones?"

Satan showing himself to be better and of high ranking that no one could reach Ens status, replied: "I am better than he, You have created me from fire and him You have created from clay."

God punished Satan for his sin, and said to him: "Then get out from here for you are rejected, accursed. And My Curse shall be on you till the Day of Judgement."

Satan asked for forgiveness and pleaded to his Lord to give him another chance and let him live until the Day of Judgement. For this, God gave him anotner chance that he would live until the Day of Judgement.

He, however, never thanked his Lord for this, but instead he said with insolence: "Then by Your Power, I will put them all in the wrong, Except Your servants amongst them, sincere and purified (by Your grace)."

Here God threw Satan out and cut off all His blessings on him, and said: "Get out from this, disgraced and expelled. If any of them follow you, Hell will I fill with you all."

The Angels bowed down to Adam (AS) with respect, and accepted that he is far better in all respects in front of tneir Lord than them. They, however, had thought that since they were there before Adam (AS), they had better knowledge of everything. Therefore God wanted to test the Angels. God gave Adam (AS) the knowledge and taught him the nature of all things; then He placed the things before the Angels, and said: "Tell me the nature of these things if you are right."

The Angels searched from all the knowledge that they had, but could not identify the names of those put in front of them. They then said: "Glory to You: of knowledge we have none, save what You have taught us: in truth it is You who are perfect in knowledge and wisdom."

He (The Almighty) did this to show the Angels what they lack in their knowledge and also to show them that Adam (AS) was far superior in all respects. He then commanded Adam (AS) to tell them the names, which he did fluently. God then turned to the Angels and said: "Did I not tell you that I know the secrets of the heavens and of the earth, and I know what you reveal and what you conceal?"

Here the Angels accepted Adam (AS) to be what he was for his superiority, and Satan tasted the powers of his Lord and felt the pinch of being forsaken and thrown out from the Heavens.

God then put Adam (AS) in the Garden of Eden and created for him, within himself, a partner Hawaa (Eve) so that they could live together. He then said to them: "Remember my blessings to you, that I have created you a better being when the Angels bowed down to you and Satan refused to obey My orders. Remember that Satan is your biggest enemy. In this Garden of Eden will it be your abode, you shall not go hungry or thirsty, and you shall not go naked as long as you are in it. If you obey Me I will let you live in it, but if you go against my wishes then will throw you out of it."

God allowed them to dwell in the Garden and eat whatever they pleased but warned them not to approach a certain tree, and He said to them: "O Adam! Dwell you and your wife in the Garden; and eat of the bountiful things therein as (where and when) you will; but approach not this tree, or you run into ham and transgression."

Adam and Hawaa (AS) lived in the Gardens very happily moving around freely and enjoying what was in it, but his biggest enemy (Satan) was jealous to see them like that. Satan therefore made every means to find his way into the Gardens, which he eventually managed to do. He then approached them in a deceptive way and swore to them that he was their savior and a sincere adviser. He began to whisper to them, bringing openly before their minds all their shame that was hidden from them. He told them: "Your Lord only forbade you this tree, lest you should become angels or such beings as live for ever." So by deceit he brought about their fall when they tasted of the tree.

They became naked immediately thereafter, so they began to sew together the leaves of the Garden over their bodies. Their Lord called to them: "Did I not forbid you that tree, and tell you that Satan was your enemy?" Here Adam (AS) realizing his mistake, said to his Lord: "Our Lord! We have wronged our own souls, if You do not forgive us and bestow Your Mercy on us we shall certainly be lost."

Our first parents as created by God (and this applies to all of us) were innocent in matters material as well as spiritual, they knew no evil. But the faculty of choice, which was given to them and to which raised them above the Angels, also implied that they had the capacity of evil, which by training of their own will, they were reject. They were warned of the danger. When they fell, they realized the evil. They were (and we are) still given the chance, in this life on a lower plane, to make good and recover the lost status of innocence and bliss.

God accepted their plea for forgiveness, but He told them: "Get down with enmity between yourselves. On earth will be your dwelling-place and your means of livelihood, for a time. Therein you shall live, and therein you shall die, but from it you shall be taken out (at last).

The Birth of the Children of Adam (AS)

After Adam and Hawaa (AS) were expelled from the Garden and sent down to live on earth, they were told tnat they had then entered a life where there were two tracks (so to speak). One a straight and lit track, while the other one is a dark alley. Metaphorically speaking, the straight and lit one is the right way of God. While the dark alley is the one Satan will lead them into so as to go against their Lord.

While they were in the Garden there was no such thing as the life we know, of human intercourse of man and wife. Therefore God sent the Angel Gabriel to teach Adam (AS) what to do with his spouse. Here started the normal human life, and Hawaa was anxiously waiting for the first birth.

Hawaa gave birth to twins, a boy called Qabil and his twin sister. And in her second birth she also gave birth to twins, a boy called Habil and his twin sister. The pairs grew up together happily until they came of age. Qabil became a farmer, while Habil was a shepherd; their life was easy and very peaceful. After a while nature took its course and each one of the boys felt that they needed someone to live with and build up a family.

God wanted the human being to have children so as to multiply and stall. a nation. Hence He instructed Adam (AS) to cross marry the two pairs of twins, that is to say Qabil to marry Habil's twin sister while Habil marries Qabil's twin sister. We are to note here that God wished this cross marriage of brothers and sisters to take place, which is not allowed in our society today, because there was no other alternative to this. This was the only way that the human could start the process of multiplication.

Adam (AS) therefore related this God's order to his children, but Qabil objected outright to this, because he thought that the wife he would get was not as beautiful as was his own twin sister. He felt jealous of his brother Habil and utterly refused to give up his twin sister and instead wanted to marry her himself It was because of the beauty of his sister that caused jealousy and quarrel between the brothers.

Adam (AS) then had a problem in his hands to try and reconcile the two brothers. He therefore suggested that each one of them bring a sacrifice (to God), and the one whose sacrifice would be accepted, would have the right to choose the wife he wanted. Habil brought from his herd a camel as his sacrifice, while Qabil brought wheat from his farm. They left these sacrifices and waited to see which one God would accept. It turned out that Habil was the winner in this case. Actually Qabil did not do this in earnest and with a clean heart, 'le did it only to please his father.

Recite to them the truth of the story of the two sons of Adam. Behold! They each presented a sacrifice (to God): it was accepted from one, but not from the other. …[5:27]

From here on Qabil became more and more jealous and hated his brother to an extent that he told him: "Be sure I will kill you."

But Habil told his brother in a kind way: "God only accepts the sacrifice of those who are righteous. If you stretch your hand against me to kill me, it is not for me to stretch my hand against you to kill you for I do fear God."

Habil was a person who was open — minded, honest and knew how to tackle problems. He was very obedient to his parents and was satisfied for what he had. He loved his brother and wished hi no harm. He tried to advise him, and told him to ask for forgiveness from his Lord for what he had said, and also told him that Satan who got into his head is the biggest enemy. All this was in vain, and Qabil with his selfish soul proceeded with his plan and murdered his brother. That was the end of Habil. That was the first crime on earth, the murder of Habil, and Qabil being the first murderer. God, however, gave Adam (AS) another child (Shiyth) instead, who grew up to be a Prophet after the death of his father.

After Qabil had committed the crime of murdering his brother, he did not know what to do with the body. He therefore put it in a sack, carried it on his back and started walking around with it. God then sent two ravens that fought until one was killed, and then the one that survived scratched the ground to show him how to hide the shame of his brother. When he saw this he said in repentance: "Woe is me! Was I not even able to be as this raven, and hide the shame of my brother?" He then became full of regrets. Because of this the humans have been instructed to bury their dead as respect to them.

The time came when Adam (AS) was to depart from this world and go back to his Lord, so he gathered all his children and gave them advice to worship only God the Almighty and to be careful with Satan who was their biggest enemy. He told them that God would send Prophets after him to teach people the right religion of worshiping the one God. He then passed away peacefully. Adam lived for nearly a millennium.

It is said that Friday is a day of great significance, the day Adam (AS) (father of all the humans) was created, and it is also the day when he was put in the Garden of Eden and also the day he was evicted from it. The Lord is more Knowledgeable.

After the death of Adam (AS) it is believed that his son Shiyth (AS) became the Prophet and continued with the teachings of his father.