An apology to Adam!
The Islamic tradition confused 2 stories and presented them as one story which is usually narrated as the story of Prophet Adam. The Qur’an makes a reference through to 2 different stories. First, there is the story of Adam’s creation which takes place in paradise. Second, the story of Adam’s first sin which takes place on earth. Adam was never supposed to live in Paradise. His first garden was an earthy garden prepared solely for him as an honorable dwelling. Adam was created and prepared for an earthly journey from the beginning. He was placed first in an earthy garden. When he sinned, he was simply punished by leaving his garden. Nothing other than learning a lesson from his story is applicable to the rest of us. Therefore, we should stop blaming Adam for our earthy existence on earth. More importantly, we should stop thinking of our existence on earth as a punishment. Our existence on earth is a divine assignment as God’s own vicegerents on earth.
The first story starts with the creation of Adam in Paradise. There God made him divine by breathing from his own soul into him. When God asked the heavenly council to submit to the divine assignment by prostrating to Adam Iblis refused. For his disobedience he was dismissed from Paradise immediately.
The second story starts by placing Adam in his earthly a garden. A garden that was prepared solely for him. In that garden God tested Adam by prohibiting him from eating from one tree. Tempted by Satan (The Qur’an names the descendant Iblis Satan) Adam and his wife ate from the tree. Later, they both repented to God and were forgiven but dismissed from their garden. The disobedience of Adam ended with an individual punishment that does not apply to his offspring. The story is clear in teaching all of us a lesson that all of us can learn from. Life is nothing but a test. Like our father Adam we will be deceived by Stan at times and make mistakes. Like our father Adam we need to repent and go back to God when that happens. The story provides hope for humanity and a warning to be careful from humans’ eternal enemy Satan. Let’s consider the following Qur’anic observations:
1- The announcement of the reason for creating Adam as (khalifa) on earth, or successor was made in (Q. 2:30) the minute Adam was created in Paradise and before any sin took place. The plan to send Adam to earth was in place from the beginning. In other words, we are on earth because we were created to be placed on earth, not due to Adam’s one sin.
2- The heaven as described in the Qur’an is a permanent residence. It is a place where believers are promised eternity. Adam feared death in his garden, and this is the reason he ate from the tree. This is another assurance Adam was on earth and not in heaven when he sinned.
3- Adam was tested and prohibited an access to something he wished for. In heaven people can get what they wish for. Therefore, he must have been on earth.
4- Original sin is not a Qur’anic argument. Adam’s punishment was individual. He was asked to leave his earthly garden when he sinned. There is a deep theological contradiction between a punishment that include Adam’s offspring for what he did and the Islamic conceptualization of sin as individual responsibility.
5- Iblis was immediately dismissed from Paradise after talking back to God. How did he come back to seduce Adam?
6- There is a contradiction between Adam’s free access to paradise and the Qur’anic conceptualization of paradise as a merit-based human dwelling.
7- The Qur’anic scene, which describes the creation of Adam (before he sinned) makes a reference to the Day of Judgment in a clear assurance that the plan was to place humans on earth from the beginning.
8- The garden where Adam was placed was protected from the heat of the sun. This is another assurance it was an earthy garden. (Q. 20:119). Keep in mind that Jannah is used in the Qur’an to refer to paradise and any earthly garden. The context is what should lead us to determine what scenes refer to the earthly Jannah and what scenes refer to the heavenly Jannah or paradise.
9- Paradise is a sin-free place, as it is described in the Qur’an. Its happiness includes, among many other things, the absence of pain, shame, blame or reproach (Q. 56:25). Adam sinned in his earthy garden. In addition, he was blamed and felt shame and guilt. This is another reason to think of his garden as an earthly garden.
10- The Qur’an intentionally refers to the devil as Iblis in the story of the creation of Adam and as Satan in the story of the Adam’s earthy sin.
For more see my book
On Pain and Suffering: A Qur'anic Perspective (Lexington Studies in Islamic Thought) Paperback – April 8, 2024
