Adam Descent And Mission On Earth: Islam rejects the Christian and Jews concept of original sin and the fact that every person is born sinful due to the mistake of Adam. Allah says in the only Quran:
“No soul will bear another’s burden” (Quran 35:18).
People come to this world sinless and will be held responsible only for what they themselves have done. Adam and Eve scommitted a sin, they sincerely seek for forgiveness, but in His infinite wisdom the Lord forgave them.
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“They both ate from the tree, and then they saw their private parts. They began to stick on their heavenly leaves. Adam disobeyed his Lord and fell into error. Then the Lord chose him, accepted his repentance, and set him on a straight path ”(Quran 20: 121-122).
Yes, it is human nature to err and forget their wrongdoings. But how could Adam, the man whom the Great Lord honored, make such a mistake? The fact is that Adam had not previously been deceived by Satan. Although he saw how, because of arrogance, Satan refused to submit to God and considered Satan to be his enemy, but Adam was not ready for his wiles – he did not know how to defend himself from him. Allah Almighty says:
“He (Satan) misled them by deceit” (Quran 7:22).
By the will of the Lord, through such a test, Adam gained experience. Thus, the Almighty prepared him for life on Earth, care for it and for the mission of the prophet. The sad experience of Adam revealed to him the essence of Satan – the cunning, evil, obvious enemy of all people. Adam, Eve and their descendants realized that it was Satan who caused their expulsion from paradise. Submission to the Most High and non-submission to Satan is the only way to return to the beautiful gardens of paradise.
The Lord commanded Adam:
“Cast yourself out of here together, and some of you will be enemies of the other. But if the faithful guidance comes to you from me, then anyone who follows my faithful guidance will not be lost and miserable ”(Quran 20: 123).
The Quran informs that the Lord subsequently inspired Adam with the words – a prayer in order to cry out to Him for forgiveness. Anyone can turn to God with these words:
“Our Lord! We have acted unfairly towards ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and do not have mercy on us, then we will certainly be among the losers ”(Quran 7:23).
قَالَا رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَا أَنْفُسَنَا وَإِنْ لَمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ
People continue to make mistakes and sin, forgetting, often, that they harm only themselves. Their mistakes never hurt or harm the Lord. If He does not forgive and show mercy to us, then the only ones who suffer will be ourselves. It is we who need God, not He in us!
“… For you on earth is the residence and use for a while. He said: “You will live on it, and you will die on it, and you will be tormented out of it” (Quran 7: 24-25).
So, Adam and Eve left heaven and descended to Earth. Here we allow ourselves to make a small digression. The fact is that unlike the English, Russian language…, in the grammar of which there are two numbers: singular and plural, in the Arabic language there is also a third category – this is a dual number. Which, accordingly, is used when we speak of two objects or objects.
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So, if, saying: “Fall down from here together …”, the Lord would only refer to Adam and Eve, a dual number would probably be used, which in this case is more appropriate. However, the verb is used in the plural, from which we can understand that the Lord means not only Adam and Eve, but their offspring – the whole of humanity. We – the descendants of Adam – do not belong to this land. We are here only for a while. This is evidenced by the words “time use”. Our home is an eternity where we will ever take our place: either in Paradise or in Hell.
Freedom Of Choice
Adam’s experience was an expression of free choice and a lesson for the future. Now Adam and Eve were wary of the wiles of Satan, were aware of the consequences of sin, as well as the Grace and Forgiveness of the Most High. The Lord knew very well that people would disobey Him and eat from the forbidden tree. He also knew that Satan would be able to shake their chastity.
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It is important to understand that although the Almighty Allah knows the outcome of all affairs in advance, this does not mean that a person cannot make decisions himself. Adam made his own decision and was responsible for his sin. Each of us is free to choose. We may obey or disobey the Lord, but any choice entails consequences. A reward awaits the Lord, and those who are not willing to obey are punished by the Lord.
Day and Place Of The First People
There are a lot of versions on this score, however, none of them is based on the Holy Quran and the Noble Sunnah. So, the question of the place of descent is not so important for us.
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However, we know that this happened on Friday. In the Hadith on the supremacy of Friday, the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), told us:
“Friday is the best day the sun has ever risen. On this day, Adam was created, on this day he was lodged in Paradise and on this day he was expelled from Paradise … “(Sahih al-Bukhari).