Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

The Case of Adam (a.s .)

It will help us greatly if we, first of all, study the verses of the Qur'an about the creation of Adam, his stay in Paradise, and his coming to the earth.

Chapter 2 (al-Baqarah ) verses 30-39: The Creation

When your Lord said to the angels, “I am going to place a vicegerent on the earth,” the angels said, “Will You place on the earth the one who shall act wickedly in it and shed blood; whereas we sing Your praise and glorify You?” Allah said, “Surely I know what you do not know.”

And [after creating Adam] Allah taught Adam all the names. Then He presented those to the angels and said, “Tell me the names of these if you are true [in what your assumption that you are more superiorthan Adam].” They said, “Glorybe to You! We have no knowledge except whatYou have taught us. You are surely the All-Knowing, the Wise.” [Then] He said, “O Adam! Tell them the names of those [persons].” When Adam told them those names, Allah said [to the angels], “Didn't I say to you that I know the unseen things of the heavens and the earth, and I know what you manifest and what you hide.”

And [remember] when We said to the angels, “Prostrate before Adam.” All of them prostrated exceptIblis , who refused and was haughty, and [thus] he became one of the unbelievers.

In Paradise:

[After creatingHawwa }, We said, “O Adam, Dwell you and your wife in the Garden and eat from it [freely] as many [things] as you wish; but do not approach this tree, otherwise you will become one of the ¨alimeen اَلظَّالِمِيْنَ .”

But theShaytan made them slip (اَزَلَّهُما ) from that [Garden by luring them to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree] and thus got them out from the state [of felicity] in which they had been.

SoWe said [to Adam,Hawwa , and theShaytan that, “All of you] get down [from the Garden to the earth] some of you being the enemies of the other, and there is on the earth your abode and the necessities [of life] for a [fixed period of] time.” [Adam felt ashamed and intended to ask Allah's forgiveness.]So Adam learnt some words from his Lord, and Allah turned to him mercifully (تَابَ عَلَيْهِ ).Surely He is the Most- Forgiving, the Merciful. We said, “All of you get down from the Garden. [Once you are on the earth],a guidance will certainly come to you from Me: whosoever follows My guidance, there will be no fear for them nor shall they grieve. But those who disbelieve and rejectOur revelation, they are the inmates of the Fire, in it they shall abide.”

Chapter 7 (al-A'râf ) verses 19-25

[Allah said,] “O Adam! Dwell you and your wife in the Garden and eat from wherever you wish; but do not approach this tree, otherwise you will become one of the ¨alimeen اَلظَّالِمِيْنَ ”

Then theShaytan instilled temptation into themso as to reveal to them their private parts that were hidden from them. He said, “Your Lord has only prohibited you from this tree lest you both become rulers, or lest you become immortals.” [To ensure that his temptation will work, theShaytan ] swore to them both that, “Truly, I am a sincere adviser for you.”Thus he misled them by delusion.

So when they tasted [the fruit of] the tree, their private parts became manifest to them, and both of them started to cover themselves with the leaves of the Garden. Their Lord called out to them, “Did I not prohibit both of you from this tree and say to you that theShaytan is your open enemy?”

They said, “Our Lord! We have been unjust to ourselves (¨alamna ظلمنا أنفُسَنا ); and ifYou do not forgive us and have mercy on us, we shall surely be among the losers.”

Allah said, “Get down [to the earth], some of you being the enemies of the others; and there is on the earth your abode and necessities [of life] for a time.” He said, “Therein you shall live, therein you shall die, and from it you shall be raised [again].”

Chapter 20 (Ta Ha) verses 116-126

And [remember] when We said to the angels, “Prostrate before Adam,” all of them prostrated exceptIblis who refused and was haughty.

Therefore,We said, “O Adam!this [Shaytan ] is an enemy to you and your wife. So do not let him expel you from the Garden, otherwise you will be uncomfortable (تشقى ): in it [i.e., the Garden] you shall neither be hungry nor naked, and you shall neither be thirsty therein nor struck by the sun's rays.”

But theShaytan instilled temptation to him by saying, “O Adam! Shall I guide you to the tree of immortality and a kingdom which will not decline?” When [they] both ate of that tree, their private parts became manifest to them and both of them started to cover themselves with the leaves of the Garden.

Adam disobeyed (عَصى ) his Lord, and so he erred (غوى ). Then his Lord chose him, and then He turned to him and guided him.

[Then] Allah said [toShaytan and Adam], “You both get down from this [Garden}, some of you being the enemies of the other. [On the earth], a guidance will certainly come to you fromMe , and then whosoever follows My guidance, he shall not go astray nor will he be unhappy. But whosoever turns away fromMy reminder, then he shall surely have a wretched life and we shall resurrect him blind.”

Review of Adam’s Story

1. According to the experts of Islamic jurisprudence, the orders given by Allah are of two types:

Al-amr al-mawlawi , a legislative command. Such ordersmust be implemented ; and, if someone disobeys such a command, then he is committing a sin and is liable to be punished. For example, the command to “say the daily prayers” or “do not eat the pork” is of such nature. Neglecting the daily prayers or eating of the pork is a sin and Allah can rightly punish the sinner.

Al-amr al-irshadi , an advisory command. Such orders are of advisory nature; their purpose is to inform the people about its consequences. However, if someone disobeys such an order, then he is not committing a sin; of course, he will have to face the consequences of not following the advice. For example, the command to “saybismillah when you slaughter the chicken” is of advisory nature.

Now, if someone slaughters the chicken and neglects thesaying of “bismillah ,” then has he committed asin? No, he has not committed a sin nor is he liable for a punishment for not saying the “bismillah ” at that time. However, he will lose the right to eat that chicken;that chicken cannot be eaten by a Muslim .

Another example: a person comes to his doctor complaining of cough. The doctor advises his patient to drink a certain medicine, a cough syrup. Now if the patient ignores that advice, then he is not committing a sin or a crime; but he will surely suffer the consequence - his illness will be prolonged and his health might deteriorate.

Conclusion: not all commands of Allah are of obligatory or prohibitive nature. The advice given to Adam andHawwa was not of the legislative nature. It was not that that particular tree and its fruit themselveswere forbidden . The prohibition of going near that tree and eating its fruit was al-amr al-irshadi .And going against such an order is not a sin; at most, the doer will have to face the consequences of ignoring that advice. In case of Adam and his wife, the consequence they faced was cancellation of their tenure as guests of Allah in the Paradise and its comforts. Remember that they were not supposed to stay in the Paradise forever; theywere created for the earth, and their stay in the Paradise was meant to be temporary.

2. The Garden/Paradise is not the place for test and trial.It is this earth on which human beings have been destined to go through test and trial by obeying the commands of Allah. The concept of sinning in case of human beingsis connected to the worldly life.

In the story of Adam itself, Allah makes this point clear when He orders Adam to go to the earth - He said,

“You both get down from this [Garden], some of you being the enemies of the other. [On the earth], a guidance will certainly come to you fromMe , and then whosoever follows My guidance, he shall not go astray nor will he be unhappy. But whosoever turns away fromMy reminder, then he shall surely have a wretched life and we shall resurrect him blind.” (20:126)

The order given to Adam in Heaven is not same as the orders given to human beings in this world -it is disobedience of the orders given on this earth that constitutes sin .

Finally, theShaytan himself knows that he does not have the power to mislead the prophets, the messengers, and those whoare graced with purity by Almighty Himself. Whenhe was given respite by Allah , he declared the following:

“So I swear by Your Might (O Lord) that I will surely mislead them all together except the devoted servants ofYours from among them.” (38:82-3; 15:39-40)

And Allah responds to him by saying,

“…As for my servants, you have no power over them except those who follow you from among the misled people…” (15:41)

The Satan himself knew the limitation of his influence upon the chosen servants of Allah in this world.

3. Those who believe that Adam committed a sin, describe the eating of the forbidden fruit as the “sin” and Adam's expulsion from the heaven as the “punishment”. However, this relationship between the sin and its punishment is not valid because of two reasons:

Firstly, Adam was destined to come to the earth anyway. Allah had declared even before creating Adam that “I want to place a vicegerent on the earth.” So coming of Adam to the earth is not a punishment; whether or not he ate the forbidden fruit, Adam would have come to the earth anyway.So that was not a punishment.

Secondly, if coming of Adam to the earth was a “punishment” of eating the forbidden fruit, then heshould have been returned to the paradise after Allah “forgave” him. Forgivenessmeans “canceling the punishment” - Adam should have been taken back to the paradise. This did not happen, which proves that Adam's coming to the earth was not a “punishment”; and eating was not a “sin”.

4. What about the words in the story Adamthat imply that he committed sin?

After studying the issue of 'ismah from theQur'anic point of view, if we come across such words we have to interpret them in a way that they are in harmony with the other verses of the Qur'an. Now let us look at three such words that have occurred in the story of Adam.

First: theword ” ¨alimeen الظالمين " is from ¨ulm ظلم This word has four meanings: (a) to put something in a wrong place; (b) to oppress; (c) to make haste; and (d) to come to harm.1

We see that the last two meanings of the word are in harmony with what we explained about 'ismah . For example, verse 2:35 would read like this:

We said, “O Adam, Dwell you and your wife in the Garden and eat from it [freely] as many [things] as you wish; but do not approach this tree, otherwise you will be one of those who put themselves into harm.”

Here, “harm” would mean facing the difficulties of the earthly life and losing the comforts of the heaven.

or

"…otherwise, you will be one of those who make haste.” Here, “making haste” would mean that they were eventually to go to the earth but by eating from the forbiddentree they hastened their departure to a place where they will lose the comforts of the Garden.

This meaning of the word ¨alimeen الظالمين is supported by the next verse that says that theShaytan “got them out from the state [of comfort] in which they had been.”Also the verse 20:117 supports this interpretation: “O Adam!this [Shaytan ] is an enemy to you and your wife. So do not let him expel you from the Garden, otherwise you will be uncomfortable: in it [i.e., the Garden] you shall neither be hungry nor naked, and you shall neither be thirsty therein nor struck by the sun's rays.” In other words, here food,clothing and shelter are readily provided for you; you will lose these comforts on the earth. Here everythingis provided but there you will have to work for yourselves.

Second: the word عَصَى means “disobeyed”. This does not necessarily imply sin because disobediencecan be attributed to two types of commands: al-amr al-mawlawi (a legislative command) or al-amr al-irshadi (an advisory command). If a person goes against the advisory command, then he has “disobeyed” but not “sinned”. We have already explained that commands of Allah do not always have the force of obligation or prohibition.And , by keeping in mind those verses which prove the 'ismah , we have no choice but to interpret this word as “disobeyed the advisory command”.

Third: Similarly, the word غَوَىmeans “he erred”.But this does not necessarily mean sin. Itcan easily be applied to at-tarku 'l-awla which is possible for a prophet to do. At-tarku 'l-awla (ترك الأولى )means “leaving the more appropriatebehaviour ”. “Adam erred” would mean that even if the command of Allah did not carry the force of legislative prohibition, still Adam should have obeyed it. In disregarding the advisory command of Allah, Adam is guilty not of a sin but of not living up to the appropriatebehaviour which is expected from a prophet or messenger of God.

5. If Adam did not commit a sin, then whydoes Allah talk about repentance for Adam and forgiveness from Himself, and uses so strong words as

الظالمين and عصى etc?

Firstly,When a prophet like Adam commits at-tarku 'l-awla , it is quite appropriate for him to ask Allah for pardon - not necessarily for a sin but for an inappropriatebehaviour . So “repenting” does not necessarily mean that Adam must have committed a sin; it is quite appropriate rather advisable even after committing at-tarku 'l-awla .

Secondly, the use of harsh words by Allah in describing the story of Adam is acceptable by keeping in mind the status of Adam. Although Adam did not commit a sin, it was improper for him to adopt an inappropriatebehaviour . The people with high ranksare expected to live by the standard that is higher than that of the normal human beings. As the saying goes: the virtuous deeds of the pious are considered 'sins' by those who are nearest to God -hasanâtu 'l-abrâr sayyi'âtu 'l-muqarrabin .

Note

1. See al-Munjid , the famous Arabic dictionary that gives following meanings to ad-dulm :

الجور، وضع الشيء في غير موضعه، كل ما أعجلته عن أوانه،

The Case of Prophet Ibrahim (a.s .)

There are some verses in the Qur'an that apparently attribute sins and wrong doings to Prophet Ibrahim (a.s .). We shall look at the three most important such examples.

Chapter 6 (al-An'am ) verses 75-80

[Remember] when Ibrahim said to his uncle,Azar , “Do you take idols for gods? Surely I see you and your people in manifest error.”Thus We were showing Ibrahim the kingdom of the heavens and the earth so that he might be of (al-muqinin ) those who are sure [of their faith].

So when the night outspread over Ibrahim, he saw a star; he said, “This is my Lord.” But when the star set [in the morning,] he said, ” [This cannot be my Lord because it has passed away,] I do not like the transitory [gods].”

[On the next night,] when he saw the moon rising, he said, “This is my Lord.”But when the moon set he said, “If my Lord had not guided me, then I shall surely be of (adh-dhaliyn ) the people who have gone astray.”

[In the morning,] when Ibrahim saw the sun rising, he said, “This must be my Lord [because] this is greater [than the star and the moon!]”But when the sun set, he said, “O my people, surely I am free from what you associate [with Allah.] I have sincerely turned myself to Him who originated the heavens and the earth, and I am not one of the polytheists.”

Many historians of religion take Ibrahim as the founder of the monotheistic idea. This definitely goes against the Islamic view that monotheism was the original faithof mankind from the days of Adam (a.s .), and that later on people became polytheists.

TheQur'anic statements quoted abovehave been used as a proof of the evolutionary phases in Ibrahim from polytheism to monotheism. This is, obviously, an incorrect reading of the Qur'an.

1. This entire passage quoted above actually shows that Prophet Ibrahim was actively engaged in combating idol - andnature-worshipping . Reading the whole passage does not raise any problem about the 'ismah of Prophet Ibrahim. He did not raise the possibility of the star, themoon and the sun being gods as a fact; it was raised only as a part of his method of disproving such a possibility. In debates, it is quite commonto initially accept the view of your opponent in order to lead him to your own view.

If you read the first part of the passage where Ibrahim is disputing with his own uncle1 against idol-worshipping and also Allah's statement that “We were showing…so that he might be of those who are sure [of their faith],” it shows that he was a true believer before he engaged in debate with the idol- and nature-worshippers.

2. Even the passage where he says, “If my Lord had not guided me, then I shall surely be of the people who have gone astray,” is a conditional statement. It says “if” and “then”. And since the first part did not take place, therefore the second part is not relevant.

Chapter 21 (al-Anbiya ') verses 62-63

In pursuant of his mission againstidol-worshipping , Ibrahim one day smashed all the all idols of the temple except the big one. Then the Qur'an says:

[The idol-worshippers] said, “Who has done this to our gods? He surely must be one of the unjust people.” [Some of them] said, “We have heard a youth speaking [ill] of them, and he is known as Ibrahim.” …

[When Ibrahim was brought to the king,] he said, “Rather it wasthis their leader that has done it - ask the [smashed idols] if they can speak.”

The objection against 'ismah is that if Ibrahim wasma'sum , howcould he lie? Again, if we look at the entire passage, we see that Ibrahim wanted to make his people realize that idols are not worth worshipping - if they cannot defend themselves or even talk, then how can they help you.

Secondly,Ibrâhím's answer is conditional: ” …if they can speak.”Ibrâhím's answer was rhetorical and intended to force the people to think. This becomes clearer from the following verse: 21:65-66

…They said, “You know that the idols do not speak.” Ibrahim said, “Well then, do you worship, besides Allah, [the idols] that neither benefit you in any way nor harm you.”

Chapter 2 (al-Baqarah ) Verse 260

And [remember] when Ibrahim said, “My Lord! Show me howYou give life to the dead.” Allah said, “What, do you not believe [in resurrection]?” He answered, “Certainly [I believe, I am asking this] so that my heart may be at ease.”

Allah said, “Take four of the birds….”

Some people use this incident as a proof that Ibrahim did not believe in resurrection. This isabsolutely incorrect . The question and answer are themselvesvery obvious that he believed. “Certainly [I believe].”

Then why did he ask for a demonstration of resurrection?

Firstly, Ibrahim surely believed in God's power of giving life to dead. However, this was a belief based on the revelation of Allah just as we believe in it based on the information reached to us through the prophets and the Imams.

Secondly, Ibrahim wanted to elevate the level of his belief from “information” to “demonstration”. According to traditions, one day Ibrahim saw a dead fish, half in the water, the other half outside the water. He also saw that sea creatures were eating awayone half of the fish and land animals were eating away the other half. This incident made Ibrahim wonder about the issue of resurrection. We are using the word “wonder” not “doubt ”. This is when he had the desire of seeing a demonstration of Allah's power of resurrection, andthis also explains the way Allah asked him to kill and mix the parts of the four birds.

In conclusion, Ibrahim believed in resurrection before as well as after this event. The difference is that his belief prior to this eventwas based on the information about the future revealed to him by God; whereas after this event, his belief in resurrection was based on visual demonstration done by him with Allah's permission. This is similar to a Muslim who has been to hajj: before his journey, he believed that theKa'bah existed; but the basis of his belief changed after his journey - now he has seen theKa'bah with his own eyes.

Note

1. The Qur'an uses the word “ab ” forAzar who was an idol-worshipper. He was not father of Ibrahim; he was his uncle. Look at the following verse where he eventually disassociates himself fromAzar : 9:114. On the other hand, we see that Ibrahim, at the last stage of his life, prays for his “walid ,” a word that is used for the real father. See verse 14:41.

The Case of Prophet Musa (a.s .)

Chapter 28 (al-Qasas ) Verses 15-16

And he entered the city at a time when its people were not aware [of his presence], and found therein two men fighting: one was from his party and the other was from his enemies. [When] the one who was his follower [sawMúsa , he] cried out to him for help against the one who was from his enemies. SoMúsa [went and] struck him with his fist and killed him.

[ThenMúsa ] said, “This isShaytan's deed (عمل الشيطان ); surely he is an open enemy who leads [others] astray.” [Músa ] said, “My Lord! I surely have been (ظلمتُ نَفسي ) unjust to myself; therefore (فاغفر لي ) forgive me.” So [Allah]( غ َفَرَ ) forgave him; He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.”

The common translation of the last verse combined with the statement about theShaytan creates conflict with the concept of 'ismah , infallibility. When reading these verses, keep the following points in mind:

WhatMúsa did was not a crime; he went to help an oppressed person and, in the process, struck a blow with his fist at the oppressor. This ended, unexpectedly, in the death of the oppressor. Helping an oppressed person is a praiseworthy act in itself. The death of the oppressor, at most,can be labeled as accidental death that is not a crime or a sin.

Músa's words that “This isShaytan's deed” does not necessarily refer to his own action. Remember that theShaytan himself knew his limits; he says to Allah,

“…I will certainly mislead them all together except the devoted servants ofYour's from among them.” (38:82-83)

And Allah says to theShaytan ,

“…As for my servants, you have no power over them except those who follow you from among the misled people….” (15:41)

And Músa surely was not among the misled servants of Allah!

So the sentence that “this isShaytan's deed” refers to the mischief started by the oppressor himself.

As for the sentence that “My Lord I have surely been unjust to myself,” thismust be interpreted in light of the meaning ofdhulm explained in the case of Prophet Adam (a.s .). Its correct translation wouldbe: “My Lord I surely have put myself into harm” - after the accidental death of the oppressor,Músa was pursued by the people ofFir'awn .

Then how do you explain the sentence after that which says that “ighfir li ” which means “forgive me” and “ghafara ” which means that Allah “forgave him”?

Again, the common meaning ofghafara (forgiving) is not applicable here. The word “ghafara ” also means “to watch over someone” or “to guard someone” or “to cover something [i.e., protect it]”. This second meaning does not imply any sin; it just means that by accidentally killing the oppressor,Músa found himself in harm and trouble from the people ofFir'awn ; and, therefore, he prays ”…therefore, guard me and Allah guarded him.”

This meaning of the last sentence is also supported by another verse of theQur'an which quotes Allah saying toMúsa that, “…when you killed an [Egyptian] man [accidentally and were being pursued byFir'awn's people], We delivered you from the worry…” (20:40)So thedhulm is explained in this verse as “worry”; and “ghafara ” is explained as “delivered”.

The Case of ProphetYunus (a.s .)

Anotherverse which is considered to be incompatible with the concept of 'ismah is about ProphetYúnus (a.s .).

Chapter 21 (al-Anbiya ') verses 87-88:

And (remember)Yúnus , when he went away in anger; and he thought that We would never have power over him (naqdira ). Then he called in the darkness [of night, sea, and fish]: “There is no god butYou , glory be to Thee; surely I am one of the unjust (¨alimeen ).

So We responded to him and delivered him from the grief, and thus do We deliver the believers.

The common translation of the wordsnaqdira and ¨alimeen make these two verses incompatible with the concept of 'ismah .

1. The first question against 'ismah in this passage is about the action of ProphetYúnus : he left his people when the punishment subsided without him knowing about it. WasYúnus angryat Allah?

The most that this verse says is thatYúnus went away in anger; it does not say that he was angry with Allah.So we have no choice but to interpret this verse by saying thatYúnus left the people while he was angry with them for not believing him.

2. The second question is about the sentence: “He thought thatWe would never have power (naqdira ) over him.” Some people have taken the wordnaqdira in the meaning of “having power,” thus imply thatYúnus went away in anger thinking that God “would never have power over him”.

Firstly, if this meaningis to be taken seriously, thenYúnus would become akafir , an unbeliever!

Secondly, the wordnaqdira (which is fromqadr ) has been used many times in the Qur'an for “restricting of the provision” by Allah. For example, in chapter 13, verse 26, Allah says, “Allah expands and straitens (yaqdiru ) the provision for whomsoever He pleases.”Or , for instance, in chapter 89, verses 15-16, Allah says: “As for man: when his Lord tries him by treating him withhonour and giving him an easy life, he says 'My Lordshonours me.' But when He tries him by straitening (qadara ) his provision for him he says, 'My Lord has disgraced me.'”

In conclusion, we can say that the first sentence of the passage under discussion means: And (remember)Yúnus , when he went away in anger; and he thought thatWe would never straiten [the provision] over him.” This, at most, means thatYúnus thought that because he was God's prophet, his Lord would never straiten his provision for him; he had taken Allah's provision for granted. It has nothing to do with issue of Allah having no power over him.

3. IfYúnus had committed no sin by leaving his people, then why did he say that, “surely I am one of the ¨alimeen , the unjust”?

As mentioned earlier in the case of Prophet Adam (a.s .), the word ¨ulm does not necessarily imply “injustice” and “sin”. It also means “to make haste” and “to come to harm”. Any of these two meanings are compatible with the concept of 'ismah and also correct in the case of ProphetYúnus .

The verse would then mean as follows: “There is no god butYou , glory be to Thee; surely I am one of those who make haste” or “There is no god but You, glory be to Thee; surely I am one of those who come to harm”.

This explanation is further supported by the next verse in which Allah says, “So We responded to him and delivered him from the grief, and thus doWe deliver the believers.” The ¨ulm mentioned in the prayer ofYúnus is explained by Allahas ” al-ghamm - grief”, and not as sin or injustice; that is why Allah said ”najjayna - delivered” and not “forgiven”.