Adam and Eve

:For other uses of Adam or Eva, see Adam (disambiguation) and Eve (disambiguation). For the orchid species commonly called Adam and Eva, see Aplectrum hyemale.

Adam in Islam

The Qur'an tells the story of Adam and Eve mainly in 2:30-39, 7:11-25, 15:26-44, 17:61-65, 20:115-124, 38:71-85. Eve is not mentioned by name in the Qur'an, but referred to as Adam's spouse; however, her name is given in Islamic tradition as Hawwa, as in Hebrew. Commentators on the Qur'an have greatly expanded on this account since early times, using claimed hadith (statements of Muhammad) and Jewish traditions (so-called isra'iliyyat).

Related Topics:
Qur'an - 2 - 7 - 15 - 17 - 20 - 38 - Hebrew - Hadith - Muhammad - Isra'iliyyat

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While Adam is regarded as the first human in Islam, he is also seen as a prophet, in the sense that he was one of the people to whom God spoke. In the Qur'an, Allah (God) creates Adam of clay, and then told him "Be!" and he was. The important early commentator Tabari adds a number of details to the account, saying that when it came time to create Adam, God sent Gabriel, then Michael, to fetch clay from the earth; but the earth said "I take refuge in God from you, if you have come to diminish or deform me", and the angels returned empty-handed until God sent the Angel of Death, who took clay from all regions, thus giving mankind a variety of appearances. According to Tabari's account, Adam remained a dry body for 40 days, then gradually came to life from the head downwards, and when he had finished coming to life, sneezed and said "All praise be to God, the Lord of all beings".

Related Topics:
Islam - Prophet - Allah - Tabari - Gabriel - Michael - Angel of Death

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When God had announced his intention of creating Adam, the angels expressed dismay, asking why he would create a being that would do evil. But when He "taught Adam the names," they saw that he knew more than they, and learned from Adam. The names in question have been a matter of speculation among Muslim commentators; various theories say they were the names of all things animate and inanimate, the names of the angels, or the names of his own descendants.

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When God orders the angels to bow to Adam, the jinn (or, in some versions, angel, though this raises issues of free will among angels in Islam) Iblis (approximately equivalent to Satan) refuses due to his pride (or, in some versions, due to his overpowering love of God, and unwillingness to turn away,) and is summarily banished from the heavens. However, he promises God that he will lead as many humans astray as he can, to which God replies that those who will it will follow Satan, while those who will it will follow God. Tabari explains Iblis' pride with the following report: Prior to Adam's creation, the earth had been inhabited by the jinn, who angered God with their sins and fighting, and were therefore banished to its remotest reaches by a heavenly army led by the as yet unfallen Iblis, whose victory filled him with conceit. (The Shia commentator al-Qummi relates a similar tradition.)

Related Topics:
Jinn - Iblis - Satan - Tabari - Shia - Qummi

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The creation of Eve is not mentioned in the Qur'an. However, Tabari recounts that Adam was lonely, so God created a mate for him from his left rib; he named her Hawwa (Eve, from a root resembling the Arabic for "live") because she was created of a living thing.

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Adam and Eve were sent to live in the Garden of Eden. They were allowed to live as they pleased there, but not to taste the fruit from a certain tree. Commentators differ on the identity of the fruit: Wahb ibn Munabbih reports, on Jewish authority, that it was wheat, while others say it was the grape or the fig. (No answer is accepted as authoritative). However, they both eventually succumbed to the temptation of Satan, who promised them immortality if they ate from it, and ate; they then saw their nakedness and covered themselves with leaves. (Tabari, after Wahb ibn Munabbih, says that, as in the Bible, Eve ate first, tempted by Satan in the form of a four-legged serpent, then handed it to Adam). God punished them by sending them out into the earth amid mutual enmity, but then took mercy upon them; warning them not to follow Satan, he promised them that all would be well for those who followed God's guidance, while those who rejected it would suffer hellfire. The early Shia commentator al-Qummi says that Adam came down to Earth on Safa and Eve on Marwa, both peaks just outside Mecca; there Adam remained weeping for 40 days, until he repented and God rewarded him by sending down the Kaaba and teaching him the hajj.

Related Topics:
Wahb ibn Munabbih - Wheat - Grape - Fig - Qummi - Safa - Marwa - Mecca - Kaaba - Hajj

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The Qur'an also describes the two sons of Adam (named Qabil and Habil in Islamic tradition, but not mentioned by name in the Qur'an) that correspond to Cain and Abel. Islamic traditions also hold that Adam's Peak in Sri Lanka has an enormous footprint of Adam.

Related Topics:
Adam's Peak - Sri Lanka

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Liberal movements within Islam have used God's command to bow before Adam as a means of supporting human rights.

Related Topics:
Liberal movements within Islam - Human rights

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