Prophet Adam (AS) – The First Man حضرت آدم علیہ السلام – پہلے انسان

Before creating the first human being, Allah informed the angels that He was going to place a khalifah (successor) on the earth. The angels asked whether He would place there one who would spread corruption and shed blood, while they glorified and praised Him. Allah replied that He knew what they did not know (Quran 2:30).

Allah created Adam (AS) from clay – earth that was shaped and dried until it rang like pottery – and then breathed into him of the spirit He created (Quran 15:26-29; 38:71-72). The Prophet ﷺ told us that Allah created Adam from a handful taken from all parts of the earth, which is why his children come in different colours and temperaments (Sunan Abi Dawud 4693; Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2955). He also said that Adam was created sixty cubits tall, and that when Adam greeted the angels with 'As-salamu alaykum' they replied 'As-salamu alayka wa rahmatullah', and this became the greeting of his descendants (Sahih al-Bukhari 3326).

Allah taught Adam the names of all things, then presented them to the angels and asked them to name them. They humbly admitted that they knew only what Allah had taught them. Adam then told them the names, and the wisdom behind his creation became clear (Quran 2:31-33).

Allah commanded the angels to prostrate to Adam as a mark of honour. All of them obeyed except Iblis, who was one of the jinn (Quran 18:50). Out of arrogance he argued that he was better, since he was created from fire and Adam from clay (Quran 7:12). Allah expelled him. Iblis asked for respite until the Day of Resurrection and vowed to mislead Adam's children from every direction (Quran 7:13-17). Allah granted the respite but declared that he would have no authority over Allah's true servants (Quran 15:42).

Adam and his wife Hawwa (Eve) were made to live in Paradise and could eat freely from it, except that they were not to approach one particular tree (Quran 2:35). Shaytan whispered to them, swearing that he was a sincere adviser and claiming that the tree would make them angels or immortal (Quran 7:20-21; 20:120). They both ate from it, and their nakedness became apparent to them. The Quran places this slip on both of them together and does not blame the woman alone (Quran 7:22).

What separated Adam from Iblis was what came next. Iblis persisted in arrogance, while Adam and Hawwa turned at once to their Lord, confessing that they had wronged themselves and that without His forgiveness and mercy they would be among the losers (Quran 7:23). Allah taught Adam words of repentance and accepted it, for He is the Accepter of repentance, the Most Merciful (Quran 2:37).

Allah then sent them down to the earth to live there for an appointed time, with the promise that guidance would come to them; whoever follows it will have no fear and will not grieve (Quran 2:38-39; 20:123). Adam (AS) was thus the first human being and the first prophet. The Prophet ﷺ said that the best day on which the sun rises is Friday: on it Adam was created, on it he was admitted into Paradise, and on it he was taken out of it (Sahih Muslim 854).

On earth, the Quran relates the story of Adam's two sons. Each offered a sacrifice; one was accepted and the other was not. Out of envy, the second killed his brother. Then a raven showed him how to bury the body, and he was filled with regret (Quran 5:27-31). The names Habil and Qabil come from later tradition, not from the Quran.