Who is prophet adam? Who are the first people in the world in islam?
In pre-eternity, only Allah (jj) existed. He wished to be known and created the universe through a manifestation of His divine attributes and names.
God’s attributes, including those we do not know of, are most evidently noticeable in three places:
- The universe
- The Holy Qur’an
- Man
The universe is where the divine names transpire physically; while the Qur’an is where they appear verbally. It could be said that the Qur’an is the universe wrapped in words.
And man is like the essence, the kernel of that universe. Humans are the only creatures to have been given a share of almost every single one of God’s attributes, whether in small measure or large. It is for that reason that man is referred to as the ‘most honorable of all creation’. Only in man do divine qualities like mudill[1]and mutakabbir[2] appear alongside their opposites like hadi,[3] rahman and rahim. As stated by the Qur’an, humans are therefore predisposed towards both good and evil:
“And by the soul and He who proportioned it. And inspired it with wickedness and righteousness. He who purifies it has succeeded. And he who has instilled it with corruption has failed.” (Al-Shams, 91: 7-10)
Man must therefore strive for perfection, by purifying his ego of lowly qualities and tendencies and developing the higher ones. This is done through the teachings of the prophets, and saints who follow them. On the path towards God, man is capable of surpassing even angels, for they lack the power and ability to sin. Nevertheless, while man has the potential to outdo angels, if he resists God’s truth, he can also end up lower than animals. A man, who is able to soar beyond the obstacles of the ego, is really a masterpiece of art. He is a summary of the grand book that is the universe and a key to the mystery of creation. He may well appear to be a lump of flesh and bones but he stores many truths in his spirituality.
Ali (kw) points to that in a poem:
You have your cure but you do not see
You do not know that you are your enemy
You might think you are a speck so slight
But in you is the cosmos with all its might[4]
It is vital to read and properly understand the signs which the Lord has engraved all over existence. God’s first command to the Prophet (saw) was “Read!” To read, here, does not just refer to reading something off a piece of paper. It means to observe and reflect on things with the eye of the mind. Thus, the verse could also be interpreted as “Read the word of God; and then think about the truths hidden in the universe and in yourself…and then try to work out the truth that underlies all things created.”
Commentators of Rumi’s Mathnawi have offered a further explanation:
“The Qur’an begins with ‘Read!’, while the Mathnawi begins with ‘Listen!’ which is its interpretation. It is to say, ‘Listen to the word of God! Listen to the mysteries! Listen to the truth buried deep within you!”
It is with Adam (as) that man’s journey in life begins. Adam (as) is the first man, the first prophet and the first spiritual guide. His spirit contained the essence of every single human being to come until the end of time, like an endless array of shadows falling on top of one another. The Qur’an points to that in the following words:
“O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and from it its mate…and dispersed from both of them many men and women.” (Al-Nisa, 4: 1)
And Allah (jj) informs us about how He gave man greater honor than the rest of creation:
“And We have certainly honored the children of Adam and carried them on the land and sea and provided for them of the good things…definitely preferred them over much of what We have created.” (Al-Isra, 17: 70)
The universe is decorated with countless samples of the Lord’s masterworks. However, the greatest art therein, is man, created ever so perfectly. Suleyman Chelebi expresses that in his Mawlid:
The Almighty created Adam
And adorned the universe with him
Man is the minor universe, while the cosmos is the major. They are different appearances of the same truth and two sides of the same leaf. They are virtually twins. Because man is the miniature version of the cosmos, it is his responsibility to work out its mysteries and get to the bottom of the truth underlying creation.
Man is an exceptional being. Just as a grain of wheat contains all the qualities of wheat, man carries the truth of all beings that exist in the universe. In a sense, man is like a seed in which the entire cosmos is folded up. Sheikh Galip underlines that in a poem:
See yourself with joy, you are the core,
You are man… the eye of the world
Man has been created for many purposes. One of them is that God wished to produce a pinnacle of creation to demonstrate how beautifully He creates. This aim is very important, when we consider that God also created an entire cosmos, with all its qualities we know and others we can perhaps never find out about, just for man’s benefit.
In its natural form, the earth is beautiful. Man is responsible with enhancing its beauty with works that come from the heart. That is because God has made him His deputy or caliph on earth. Man has been given this role because he possesses the natural ability to carry it out. To show him how, Allah (jj) has laid out a detailed program in the Qur’an for him to follow.
Those who are successful in this duty reach a spiritual height, which the Lord conveys through the Prophet (saw) (hadith qudsi):
“I shall declare war on whoever is hostile towards someone I truly love. A servant comes close to me by performing what I require of him; and he draws even nearer through voluntary deeds, until he wins My love. Once I love him, I become his ears that hear, eyes that see, hands that grip and feet that walk. I grant him all his wishes…and protect him, if He seeks my protection.” (Al-Bukhari, Riqaq, 38)
The Qur’an states:
“All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.” (Al-Fatiha, 1: 1) The Lord has brought many worlds into existence. On some reports, their number ranges from 18,000 to as many as 360,000. This could even be a figure of speech, pointing to a far greater number than what the human mind can possibly grasp. However, all these worlds could be classified into two types:
- The world of creation (khalq)
- The world of command (amr)
Man has been given a share of both.
The Qur’an points to how creation boils down to these two worlds:
“Unquestionably, His is the creation and the command; blessed is Allah, the Lord of the worlds.” (Al-Araf, 7: 54)
Scholar Elmalılı Hamdi Yazır interpets this verse as follows:
“The acts of willing and creating, as well as accepting and enforcing law, completely belong to God alone. Therefore, physical and countable beings are His property; so are the commands that occur in and through them. Simpler put, He alone creates and does. Not only are bodies, matter and shape His invention and construct, the spirit and force that animates them into action are from His influence and power. No one apart from God can turn nothing into something, or something into nothing. He alone has the power to create, to turn the unthinkable into necessary and to regulate them with a law. Everything other than him (masiwa) is strictly under His control; they are nothing but His command come to life. Allah is the One who creates and exercises total control over everything. So, in reality, neither is there anything that can withstand His power to create, nor is there any action in the universe that does not conform to His command.”
The universe made up of beings created in and bound to space and time, is called the world of creation. This is also referred to as the tangible (mulk) or the sensible (shahadah) world. As human beings, we relate to this world through our five senses.
There is also an inner, metaphysical world, which is the domain of the spiritual. This is called the world of command. This world is not subject to or bound by space and time. It has simply come to be through the Divine command ‘be!’. Thus, it is also called the divine kingdom (malakut) or the realm of the unperceivable (ghayb). The intellect, soul, the heart and spiritual mysteries are of this world. So, is the spirit itself:
“Say, ‘the spirit is of among the commands of my Lord.” (Al-Isra, 17: 85)
And in the following verse, the two acts of creation that correspond to the two worlds spoken of, are mentioned in the same breath:
“His command when He wills a thing is but to say to it ‘be,’ and it is.” (Ya Sin, 36: 16: 82)
[1]. Mudill: He who leads those who deserve it, astray.[2]. Mutakabbir: He who continually shows majesty and greatness.[3]. Hadi: He who guides and fulfils wishes.[4]. Some scholars have drawn resemblances between human organs, behavior and natural phenomena. Accordingly, bones are like mountains, the hairs are like vegetation, the veins are like rivers, breathing is like the wind, speaking is like thunder, and so forth. The idea here is that man is the universe in miniature form and therefore bears its marks.
Source: The History of Prophets in Light of The Qur’an, THE CHAIN OF PROPHETS, Osman Nuri TOPBAŞ,Erkam Publications