The story of Adam, peace be upon him, in the Qur’an

 

The event linked to the causes and results is missed by the listener. If it is interspersed with lessons learned in the news of the past, then the curiosity to know it is one of the strongest factors in entrenching its lesson in the soul. The Qur’anic story represents this role most powerfully, and depicts it in its most eloquent form.
The story of Adam in the Holy Qur’an comes within this framework, as the course of this story and its events were mentioned in seven places in the Holy Qur’an: in Surahs Al-Baqarah, Al-A’raf, Al-Hijr, Al-Isra, Taha, Al-Kahf, and S. The events of this story were mentioned in these surahs in varying degrees of length and shortness, and in generality and abbreviation, and as a whole they form an integrated, interconnected unit, with no imbalance or interruption.
The outcome of the story
The sum of this Qur’anic story is that God Almighty commanded Adam, peace be upon him, to live with his wife in Paradise, and to eat from it wherever they wanted, except for a specific tree. However, Satan did not leave them alone, but rather whispered to them and enticed them to eat from it, so they ate from that tree, disobeying the command. God Almighty, then the divine command came to them to descend from Paradise and settle on earth, and He asked them to adhere to the divine guidance that came to them. After they settled on Earth, human offspring descended from them. Satan was one of those expelled from Paradise after what happened to him, and his reaction to this expulsion was that he swore to himself to tempt the children of Adam and prevent them from the right path.
In its various Qur’anic contexts, this story included talk about the origin of Adam’s creation, His command, Glory be to Him, to the angels to prostrate to Adam, Satan’s position on this prostration, God Glory be to Him, appointing Adam as successor on earth, placing him in Paradise, Satan’s temptation of him, and warning the sons of Adam of the consequences of following Satan in what he whispers to him. 
Analyze the elements of the story
Tracing the sources of the story of Adam in the Holy Qur’an indicates that the story dealt with the following issues:
First: Indications in the highest assembly of the appearance of a new being, Adam, peace be upon him. This was indicated by the Almighty’s saying: {And when your Lord said to the angels, “Indeed, I will place a successor on earth” (Al-Baqarah: 30). In the verse, God Almighty informs the angels that He will place on this earth someone who will be his successor, who will establish its affairs and improve its affairs.
Second: Announcing the material from which God Almighty will create this new being, who will be his successor on earth. More guidance for this is the Almighty’s saying: “And when your Lord said to the angels, ‘Indeed, I am creating a human being from clay, from clay ground with clay’” (Al-Hijr: 28), and His Almighty saying: “When your Lord said to the angels, ‘Indeed, I am creating a human being from clay’” (p. 71).
Third: Celebrating the birth of this new creature, and inviting the angels to prostrate to him. This was stated in the Almighty’s saying: {And when We said to the angels, “Prostrate to Adam” (Al-Baqarah: 34). The command to prostrate to Adam, peace be upon him, was repeated in seven Qur’anic places, which indicates great celebration and appreciation. for this new object.
Fourth: Satan’s refusal to prostrate to Adam and his evidence for this refusal. In all seven places in which the command to prostrate to Adam came, it was stated that Iblis refrained from prostrating, and refused to do so, as in His Almighty saying: {Except Iblis. He refused and was arrogant and was of the disbelievers} (Al-Baqarah: 34), and His Almighty said: {So they prostrated, except Iblis. He was not one of those who prostrated.” (Al-A’raf: 11). The verses that mentioned Satan’s refusal to prostrate, mentioned his characteristics, reveal the truth of his position on the command of his Lord, and expose the actions that he did.
Satan justified his refusal to prostrate with flimsy reasons, such as his saying: “I am better than him. You created me from fire and created him from clay” (Al-A’raf: 12), and his saying: “I would not prostrate to a human being whom I created from clay of hardened sludge” (Al-Hijr: 33).
Fifth: The issuance of the divine ruling against Satan as a result of his rejection of his Lord’s command to expel him from Paradise, and this is what some verses clearly stated, including the Almighty’s saying: “He said, ‘Go down from it, but it is not for you to be arrogant therein, so get out. Indeed, you are of the lowly.’” (Al-A’raf: 13). Satan did not accept this ruling, but rather commented on it by saying: “He said, ‘Because you have led me astray, I will surely follow for them your straight path.’” (Al-A’raf: 16), but God Almighty responded to his boldness and insolence, saying: “Indeed, over My servants, you have no authority except those who follow you of the deviants.” Al-Hijr: 42).
Sixth: The commandment of the Truth, Glory be to Him, to Adam, and His warning against the temptation of the accursed Satan. God Almighty said: {So We said, O Adam, this is an enemy to you and your husband, so do not expel you from Paradise, lest you be miserable} (Taha: 117).
Seventh: The divine prohibition of Adam and his wife not to eat from the tree. God Almighty said: “And do not approach this tree, lest you become wrongdoers” (Al-Baqarah: 35). It is noted that the noble verse forbade approaching the tree, not eating from it, and this is more eloquent in its prohibition. Because simply approaching it leads to sin, so what about eating from it?
Eighth: Satan’s temptation of Adam and his wife to eat from the tree, and Adam and his wife’s response to this temptation. The Almighty said: “Then Satan whispered to him, saying, ‘O Adam, shall I direct you to the tree of eternity and a kingdom that will not decay?’ So they ate from it, and their private parts became apparent to them, and they began covering themselves with leaves from Paradise, but Adam disobeyed. His Lord went astray} (Taha: 120-121).
Ninth: God’s reproach to Adam for his response to Satan’s temptation, and his repentance for what he had done. The Almighty said: {And their Lord called to them: Did I not forbid you from that tree and tell you that Satan is an open enemy to you? :22-23). And God Almighty said: “Then Adam received words from his Lord, and He turned to him. Indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Most Merciful” (Al-Baqarah: 37). And God Almighty said: “Then his Lord chose him and turned to him and guided him” (Taha: 122).
Tenth: Adam’s exit from Paradise, and his and his descendants’ warning against the temptation and machinations of Satan. God Almighty said: “He said, ‘Go down from it all of you, some of you enemies to one another. Then guidance will come to you from Me. But whoever follows My guidance will not go astray or be miserable.’” (Taha: 123).
These are the most important main issues highlighted by the story of Adam as presented in the Holy Qur’an, and in their entirety they highlight the image of the conflict between truth and falsehood, and between man and his first and last enemy, the accursed Satan.
What is the benefit of the story?
The story of Adam included many benefits and lessons, which we mention below:
- That Adam, peace be upon him, is the father of humanity, and this is what almost all heavenly religions agree upon, as Adam held a position in Paradise, but when he responded to Satan’s temptation and temptation, he was taken from it to Earth, and humanity was born from him and his wife, as God Almighty said: {O People fear your Lord, who created you from a single soul, and created from it its mate, and dispersed from them many men and women.} (An-Nisa: 1).
- Adam, peace be upon him, made a mistake in eating from the tree that God had forbidden him from approaching, but this mistake was not intentional, rather it was due to weakness and forgetfulness, as God Almighty said: {So he forgot, and We did not find in him resolve} (Taha: 115).
- God’s mercy and grace are abundant, He is generous in His generosity, and His acceptance of the repentance of those who repent, as God Almighty said: {Then He turned to him. Indeed, He is the One who repents, the Most Merciful} (Al-Baqarah: 37).
- Adam, peace be upon him, was created from oozing clay and hardened silt, as stated in many verses, such as the Almighty’s saying: {And the creation of man began from clay} (Al-Sajdah: 7).
- God’s will required that He place a successor on earth for Him, who is Adam and any of his progeny, as God Almighty said: {And when your Lord said to the angels, “Indeed, I am placing a successor on earth” (Al-Baqarah: 30), and God Almighty also said: {And it is He who made you successors on earth} (Al-An'am: 155).
- The enmity between Satan and his offspring, and between Adam and his offspring, is an old, persistent and ongoing enmity until God inherits the earth and those on it. The Almighty said: “And We said, ‘Go down, some of you enemies to one another.’” (Al-Baqarah: 36).
- The one who is in flux in a blessing must preserve it, thank God and pray to Him constantly for it, and not do any work that violates God’s command. Because the ungratefulness of blessings is accepted by it, and the Almighty said: {If you are grateful, I will increase for you, but if you are ungrateful, then indeed My punishment is severe} (Ibrahim: 7).
- The power of faith overcomes the machinations of Satan, and that Satan has no authority over the servants of the Most Gracious. God Almighty said, addressing Satan and giving good tidings to his faithful servants: {Indeed, over My servants you have no authority} (Al-Hijr: 42).
Oddities from what the interpretations mentioned about this story
In some books of interpretation about the story of Adam, peace be upon him, there are some sayings and news that should not be relied upon or paid attention to, including some news about how Adam was created, such as Al-Qurtubi’s saying when interpreting the Almighty’s saying: “And He taught Adam all the names” (Al-Baqarah: 31). He said: “So he created him as a human being, and he was a body of clay for forty years, the size of a Friday. Then the angels passed by him, and they were terrified of him when they saw him. The most terrified of him was Satan. He passed by him and struck him, and the body made a sound like pottery makes, making it a sauce...” The last thing he said. What should be relied upon in this regard is that Adam was created from clay, or from sludge, or from sticky clay, or from a lineage of clay. This is what the Qur’an says.
This also includes delving into what is meant by the type of tree from which Adam ate. Al-Tabari mentioned some of those sayings, then commented on them by saying: “We do not know which tree was specifically designated, because God did not provide His servants with evidence of that in the Qur’an or in the Sunnah.” So how does that come about? When it was said: It was the tree of righteousness, and it was said: It was the grape tree, and it was said: It was the fig tree, and it is possible for it to be one of them, and that is knowledge, and if it is known, the knowledge of it will not benefit the scholar, and if an ignorant person is ignorant of it, his ignorance of it will not harm him. .
The important thing here is to focus on the information of the Qur’an regarding the stories and news that came, and not to delve into its details unless there is correct and clear evidence, especially if those details are not based on a ruling and do not entail Sharia law.