Praise be to ALLAH (The Glorified and Exalted).
The entire mankind are descendants of Adam and Hawwa (Eve) (peace be upon them).
The first man to be created was Adam (peace be upon him). Allah (The Exalted) created man in Heaven, within the Garden of Adn (Eden). Adam (peace be upon him) was created on Jum’ah (Friday).
Narrated Abu Hurayrah:
The Apostle of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “The best day on which the sun has risen is Friday; on it Adam was created, on it he was expelled (from Paradise), on it his repentance was accepted, on it he died, and on it the Last Hour will take place. On Friday every beast is on the lookout from dawn to sunrise in fear of the Last Hour, but not jinn and men, and it contains a time at which no Muslim prays and asks anything from Allah but He will give it to him.” [Dawud: Book 3: Hadith 1041]
The creation of Adam (peace be upon him) began from the dust or soil of the Earth:
Abu Musa al-Ash’ari said:
I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say, “Allah created Adam from a Handful that He gathered from the entire Earth, so the sons of Adam come like the Earth. Some of them are red, some are white, some are black, and some are in between. Some of them are easy, some of them are difficult, some are evil and some are good.” [al-Tirmidhi no. 2955; Abu Dawud no. 4693. Al-Tirmidhi said that this hadith is hasan saheeh, and it was classed as saheeh by Ibn Hibbaan, 14/29; al-Haakim, 2/288; and al-Albaani in Saheeh Abu Dawud, 3926]
The dust from the Earth was then mixed with water, which resulted in mud that was black in color. The wet mud then became like the clay of pottery, after which Allah formed Adam (peace be upon him). This is mentioned in the following verses, “And indeed, We created man from sounding clay of altered black smooth mud,” [15:26] and “He created man (Adam) from sounding clay like the clay of pottery” [55:14]. It is due to the fact that man was created from the soil of the Earth, that when he dies, his body once again decays and becomes one with the Earth. When Adam (peace be upon him) was created in Heaven, he was large in terms of body size:
Narrated Abu Hurayrah:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Allah created Adam in his complete shape and form (directly), sixty cubits (about 30 meters) in height. When He created him, He said (to him), ‘Go and greet that group of angels sitting there, and listen what they will say in reply to you, for that will be your greeting and the greeting of your offspring.’ Adam (went and) said, ‘As-Salamu alaikum (Peace be upon you).’ They replied, ‘AsSalamu-‘Alaika wa Rahmatullah (Peace and Allah’s Mercy be on you). So they increased ‘Wa Rahmatullah.’ The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) added, “So, whoever will enter Paradise, will be of the shape and form of Adam. Since then the creation of Adam’s (offspring) (i.e. stature of human beings is being diminished continuously) to the present time.” [Bukhari: Book 8: Volume 74: Hadith 246]
Adam (peace be upon him) was Learned:
Allah (The Exalted) taught Adam (peace be upon him) everything, “And He [Allah] taught Adam the names of all things…” [2:31].
Acceptance of the Amanah:
When Adam (peace be upon him) was created, he was given the option of accepting the Amanah (the responsibility to fulfill the obligatory duties Decreed by Allah). Unlike the rest of creation, mankind and the jinn race have been given the freedom to choose whether to submit to Allah or be ungrateful. Man’s decision in accepting the Amanah, responsibility to fulfill the obligatory duties, is mentioned in the following verses of the Qur’an, “We did indeed offer the Trust [Amanah, i.e. the responsibility or obedience, to fulfill obligatory duties] to the heavens and the Earth and the Mountains [i.e. the Trust was offered to the rest of creation]; but they refused to undertake it, being afraid thereof: but man undertook it; He was indeed unjust and ignorant [i.e. he did not fully comprehend the difficulty thereof]; (With the result) that Allah has to punish the Hypocrites, men and women, and the unbelievers, men and women, and Allah turns in Mercy to the Believers, men and women: for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful” [33:72-73]. From these verses of the Qur’an, it is clear that the rest of the creation are in their position today, submission to Allah, because of their choice in not accepting the Amanah. Yet, man underestimated the difficulty of fulfilling the Amanah and chose to do so out of ignorance, seduced by the promise of a great reward if one succeeds.
The Souls of Mankind:
The souls of the rest of mankind were created by being extracted from the backbone of Adam (peace be upon him). Therefore, the souls of the entire mankind have already been created, but their placement in physical bodies on this Earth differentiates. The following hadith mention these points:
Narrated Umar ibn al-Khattab:
…I heard the Apostle of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say when he was questioned about it: “Allah created Adam, then passed His right hand over his back, and brought forth from it his offspring…” [Dawud: Book 40: Hadith 4686]
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Souls are troops collected together and those who got along with each other (in the Heaven from whence they came) would have an affinity with one another (in this world); and those amongst them who opposed each other (in Heaven) would also be divergent (in the world).”
[Muslim no. 2638]
Hawwa (peace be upon her):
The creation of the first woman, Hawwa (Eve), occurred from the rib of Adam (peace be upon him):
Abu Hurayrah reported:
Allah’s Apostle (peace and blessings be upon him) as saying, “He who believes in Allah and the Hereafter, if he witnesses any matter he should talk in good terms about it or keep quiet. Act kindly towards woman, for woman is created from a rib…” [Muslim: Book 8: Hadith 3468]
Hawwa (peace be upon her) then became the wife of Adam (peace be upon him), “O mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person (Adam), and from him (Adam) He created his wife [Hawwa], and from them both He created many men and women” [4:1].
Testing the Amanah:
Allah allowed Adam and Hawwa (peace be upon them) to dwell in the Garden of Adn, but commanded them to not eat from a single forbidden tree. They were given a simple command in order to test their obedience in fulfilling the Amanah. This is similar to Allah’s commandment to mankind residing on this Earth, to refrain from devouring the meat of swine and to follow other various dietary restrictions. This is mentioned in the following verse of the Qur’an:
Fall from Grace:
Adam and Hawwa (peace be upon them) disobeyed the command of Allah because they were deceived by the Iblis (Satan). The trickery of Iblis and their downfall from Heaven is mentioned in the following verses:
When Allah had created Adam (peace be upon him), his entire body was covered with an excess amount of long and thick hair, which was sufficient to cover his nudity. However, when he ate from the forbidden tree, his hair was shed, and his skin became visible. Man’s absence of body hair, in that man does not possess covering hair similar to other mammals, is a unique characteristic, and is due to the fact that Adam (peace be upon him) ate from the forbidden tree. Ibn Kathir mentions this event in his Commentary of the Qur’an, “Allah created Adam tall, with thick hair, just as a date tree with full branches. When Adam ate from the forbidden tree, his cover fell off…” [Tafseer Ibn Kathir]. After eating from the forbidden tree, Adam and Hawwa (peace be upon them) were sent to reside on the Earth, “…We said: ‘get ye down, all (ye people), with enmity between yourselves. On Earth will be your dwelling-place and your means of livelihood, for a time’” [2:36].
Repentance and Forgiveness:
When on Earth, Adam (peace be upon him) humbled himself before Allah (The Exalted) and repented. Allah forgave Adam (peace be upon him) for his sin, “Then learnt Adam from his Lord words of inspiration, and his Lord Turned towards him; for He is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful” [2:37].
The civilization of mankind began in the Middle-East. It is believed by some of the Scholars, that the language spoken by Adam (peace be upon him) was Syriac. The Semitic languages, as well as every other language, stemmed from Syriac. After man’s initial habitation in the Middle-East, men and women began to journey and inhabit the entire Earth. Yet, the entire mankind are the children of Adam (peace be upon him), “O mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person (Adam), and from him (Adam) He created his wife, and from them both He created many men and women” [4:1]. The best among mankind are the pious ones who submit to Allah (The Exalted), “O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honorable of you with Allah is that (Believer) who has At-Taqwa (piety, consciousness of Allah). Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware” [49:13].
Prophethood and Revelation:
As a Mercy to mankind, Allah (The Exalted and Sublime) promised to provide guidance through prophethood and revelation, “We said: ‘Get ye down all from here; and if, as is sure, there comes to you Guidance from Me, whosoever follows My guidance, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve’” [2:38].
Mankind
The entire mankind are descendants of Adam and Hawwa (Eve) (peace be upon them).
Adam (peace be upon him):
The first man to be created was Adam (peace be upon him). Allah (The Exalted) created man in Heaven, within the Garden of Adn (Eden). Adam (peace be upon him) was created on Jum’ah (Friday).
Narrated Abu Hurayrah:
The Apostle of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “The best day on which the sun has risen is Friday; on it Adam was created, on it he was expelled (from Paradise), on it his repentance was accepted, on it he died, and on it the Last Hour will take place. On Friday every beast is on the lookout from dawn to sunrise in fear of the Last Hour, but not jinn and men, and it contains a time at which no Muslim prays and asks anything from Allah but He will give it to him.” [Dawud: Book 3: Hadith 1041]
The creation of Adam (peace be upon him) began from the dust or soil of the Earth:
Abu Musa al-Ash’ari said:
I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say, “Allah created Adam from a Handful that He gathered from the entire Earth, so the sons of Adam come like the Earth. Some of them are red, some are white, some are black, and some are in between. Some of them are easy, some of them are difficult, some are evil and some are good.” [al-Tirmidhi no. 2955; Abu Dawud no. 4693. Al-Tirmidhi said that this hadith is hasan saheeh, and it was classed as saheeh by Ibn Hibbaan, 14/29; al-Haakim, 2/288; and al-Albaani in Saheeh Abu Dawud, 3926]
The dust from the Earth was then mixed with water, which resulted in mud that was black in color. The wet mud then became like the clay of pottery, after which Allah formed Adam (peace be upon him). This is mentioned in the following verses, “And indeed, We created man from sounding clay of altered black smooth mud,” [15:26] and “He created man (Adam) from sounding clay like the clay of pottery” [55:14]. It is due to the fact that man was created from the soil of the Earth, that when he dies, his body once again decays and becomes one with the Earth. When Adam (peace be upon him) was created in Heaven, he was large in terms of body size:
Narrated Abu Hurayrah:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Allah created Adam in his complete shape and form (directly), sixty cubits (about 30 meters) in height. When He created him, He said (to him), ‘Go and greet that group of angels sitting there, and listen what they will say in reply to you, for that will be your greeting and the greeting of your offspring.’ Adam (went and) said, ‘As-Salamu alaikum (Peace be upon you).’ They replied, ‘AsSalamu-‘Alaika wa Rahmatullah (Peace and Allah’s Mercy be on you). So they increased ‘Wa Rahmatullah.’ The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) added, “So, whoever will enter Paradise, will be of the shape and form of Adam. Since then the creation of Adam’s (offspring) (i.e. stature of human beings is being diminished continuously) to the present time.” [Bukhari: Book 8: Volume 74: Hadith 246]
Adam (peace be upon him) was Learned:
Allah (The Exalted) taught Adam (peace be upon him) everything, “And He [Allah] taught Adam the names of all things…” [2:31].
Acceptance of the Amanah:
When Adam (peace be upon him) was created, he was given the option of accepting the Amanah (the responsibility to fulfill the obligatory duties Decreed by Allah). Unlike the rest of creation, mankind and the jinn race have been given the freedom to choose whether to submit to Allah or be ungrateful. Man’s decision in accepting the Amanah, responsibility to fulfill the obligatory duties, is mentioned in the following verses of the Qur’an, “We did indeed offer the Trust [Amanah, i.e. the responsibility or obedience, to fulfill obligatory duties] to the heavens and the Earth and the Mountains [i.e. the Trust was offered to the rest of creation]; but they refused to undertake it, being afraid thereof: but man undertook it; He was indeed unjust and ignorant [i.e. he did not fully comprehend the difficulty thereof]; (With the result) that Allah has to punish the Hypocrites, men and women, and the unbelievers, men and women, and Allah turns in Mercy to the Believers, men and women: for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful” [33:72-73]. From these verses of the Qur’an, it is clear that the rest of the creation are in their position today, submission to Allah, because of their choice in not accepting the Amanah. Yet, man underestimated the difficulty of fulfilling the Amanah and chose to do so out of ignorance, seduced by the promise of a great reward if one succeeds.
The Souls of Mankind:
The souls of the rest of mankind were created by being extracted from the backbone of Adam (peace be upon him). Therefore, the souls of the entire mankind have already been created, but their placement in physical bodies on this Earth differentiates. The following hadith mention these points:
Narrated Umar ibn al-Khattab:
…I heard the Apostle of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say when he was questioned about it: “Allah created Adam, then passed His right hand over his back, and brought forth from it his offspring…” [Dawud: Book 40: Hadith 4686]
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Souls are troops collected together and those who got along with each other (in the Heaven from whence they came) would have an affinity with one another (in this world); and those amongst them who opposed each other (in Heaven) would also be divergent (in the world).”
[Muslim no. 2638]
Hawwa (peace be upon her):
The creation of the first woman, Hawwa (Eve), occurred from the rib of Adam (peace be upon him):
Abu Hurayrah reported:
Allah’s Apostle (peace and blessings be upon him) as saying, “He who believes in Allah and the Hereafter, if he witnesses any matter he should talk in good terms about it or keep quiet. Act kindly towards woman, for woman is created from a rib…” [Muslim: Book 8: Hadith 3468]
Hawwa (peace be upon her) then became the wife of Adam (peace be upon him), “O mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person (Adam), and from him (Adam) He created his wife [Hawwa], and from them both He created many men and women” [4:1].
Testing the Amanah:
Allah allowed Adam and Hawwa (peace be upon them) to dwell in the Garden of Adn, but commanded them to not eat from a single forbidden tree. They were given a simple command in order to test their obedience in fulfilling the Amanah. This is similar to Allah’s commandment to mankind residing on this Earth, to refrain from devouring the meat of swine and to follow other various dietary restrictions. This is mentioned in the following verse of the Qur’an:
“We [Allah] said: ‘O Adam! Dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden; and eat of the bountiful things therein as (where and when) ye will; but approach not this tree, or ye run into harm and transgression.’” [2:35]
Fall from Grace:
Adam and Hawwa (peace be upon them) disobeyed the command of Allah because they were deceived by the Iblis (Satan). The trickery of Iblis and their downfall from Heaven is mentioned in the following verses:
“Then began Iblis to whisper suggestions to them, bringing openly before their minds all their shame that was hidden from them (before): he said: ‘Your Lord only forbade you this tree, lest ye should become angels or such beings as live for ever’” [7:20]
“So by deceit he [Iblis] brought about their fall: when they tasted of the tree, their shame became manifest to them, and they began to sew together the leaves of the garden over their bodies. And their Lord called unto them: ‘Did I not forbid you that tree, and tell you that Iblis was an avowed enemy unto you?’” [7:22]
When Allah had created Adam (peace be upon him), his entire body was covered with an excess amount of long and thick hair, which was sufficient to cover his nudity. However, when he ate from the forbidden tree, his hair was shed, and his skin became visible. Man’s absence of body hair, in that man does not possess covering hair similar to other mammals, is a unique characteristic, and is due to the fact that Adam (peace be upon him) ate from the forbidden tree. Ibn Kathir mentions this event in his Commentary of the Qur’an, “Allah created Adam tall, with thick hair, just as a date tree with full branches. When Adam ate from the forbidden tree, his cover fell off…” [Tafseer Ibn Kathir]. After eating from the forbidden tree, Adam and Hawwa (peace be upon them) were sent to reside on the Earth, “…We said: ‘get ye down, all (ye people), with enmity between yourselves. On Earth will be your dwelling-place and your means of livelihood, for a time’” [2:36].
Repentance and Forgiveness:
When on Earth, Adam (peace be upon him) humbled himself before Allah (The Exalted) and repented. Allah forgave Adam (peace be upon him) for his sin, “Then learnt Adam from his Lord words of inspiration, and his Lord Turned towards him; for He is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful” [2:37].
The Children of Adam (peace be upon him):
The civilization of mankind began in the Middle-East. It is believed by some of the Scholars, that the language spoken by Adam (peace be upon him) was Syriac. The Semitic languages, as well as every other language, stemmed from Syriac. After man’s initial habitation in the Middle-East, men and women began to journey and inhabit the entire Earth. Yet, the entire mankind are the children of Adam (peace be upon him), “O mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person (Adam), and from him (Adam) He created his wife, and from them both He created many men and women” [4:1]. The best among mankind are the pious ones who submit to Allah (The Exalted), “O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honorable of you with Allah is that (Believer) who has At-Taqwa (piety, consciousness of Allah). Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware” [49:13].
Prophethood and Revelation:
As a Mercy to mankind, Allah (The Exalted and Sublime) promised to provide guidance through prophethood and revelation, “We said: ‘Get ye down all from here; and if, as is sure, there comes to you Guidance from Me, whosoever follows My guidance, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve’” [2:38].