By A. O.
Prophet Adam (Peace be upon him) was the first man and Allah’s first messenger.
Wasn’t Prophet Adam the First Man?
Another claim put forward regarding evolutionary creation is that Prophet Adam (Peace be upon him) may not have been the first man and may not even have been a human being. (We absolve Prophet Adam (Peace be upon him). The following verse is presented as evidence for this:
“When your Lord said to the angels, “I will create a vicegerent on Earth,” they said, “Why put on it one who will cause corruption on it and shed blood when we glorify You with praise and proclaim Your purity?” He said, “I know what you do not know.” (Al-Baqarah 2:30)
Those who support this claim say that the Arabic verb ja’ala in the expression “I will create a vicegerent” means “to appoint.” In other words, they suggest that Prophet Adam was not the first man, but that he was “appointed” as a vicegerent among many people. However, in the Qur’an, this verb has the following meanings:
To create, invent, translate, make, place and render
Some examples of Qur’anic verses where ja’ala is used are:
“He created you from a single self, then produced (ja’ala) its mate from it, and sent down livestock to you – eight kinds in pairs…” (Al-Zumar, 39:6)
“Say: “He brought you into being and gave (ja’ala) you hearing, sight and hearts. What little thanks you show!” (Al-Mulk 67:23)
“(Do you not see how He) placed the moon as a light in them and made (ja’la) the sun a blazing lamp?” (Nuh 71:16)
“Allah has spread (ja’la) the ground out as a carpet for you.” (Nuh 71:19)
As can be seen from the above verses, ja’ala has various meanings. Furthermore, several verses state that Prophet Adam (Peace be upon him) was created from dust. These verses make it clear that Prophet Adam (Peace be upon him) was not just one man among many, but that he possessed a special and different creation.
The Qur’an reveals another important fact about Prophet Adam: his removal from the Garden of Eden. It says in the verses:
“Children of Adam! Do not let Satan tempt you into trouble, as He expelled your parents from the Garden, stripping them of their covering, and disclosing to them their private parts. He and his tribe see you from where you do not see them. We have made the demons friends of those who do not believe.” (Al-A’raf 7:27)
“We said: “Adam, live in the Garden, you and your wife, and eat freely from it wherever you will. But do not approach this tree and so become wrongdoers.” But Satan made them slip up by means of it, expelling them from where they were. We said: “Go down from here as enemies to each other! You will have residence on Earth and enjoyment for a time.”” (Al-Baqarah 2:35-36)
The verses’ statements are perfectly clear. Allah created Prophet Adam, peace be upon him, from dust. Prophet Adam is a special creation that emerged first from his existence in heaven and then from his removal from it. Yet evolutionist Muslims ignore this evident truth and maintain that “heaven” here refers not to the Heaven in the hereafter but to a beautiful area on Earth, despite the fact that the Qur’an specifies many features of the heaven in which Prophet Adam was created. For example, that Heaven contains both angels and the devil, and the angels speak with Allah. It is a mistake to produce forced interpretations and seek evidence of evolution when the verses are so clear on this matter.
Many verses state that all people are descended from Prophet Adam (Peace be upon him). As the Qur’an tells us:
“When your Lord took out all their descendants from the loins of the children of Adam and made them testify against themselves “Am I not your Lord?” they said: “We testify that indeed You are!” Lest you say on the Day of Rising: “We knew nothing of this.” Or lest you say: “Our forefathers associated others with Allah before our time, and we are merely descendants coming after them. So are You going to destroy us for what those purveyors of falsehood did?”” (Al-A’raf 7:172-173)
Prophet Adam (Peace be upon him) was the first man and Allah’s first messenger. The verses are so clear on this matter that there is no need for any commentary. All that people have to do is read the Qur’an with a sincere heart and listen to their conscience. Allah will reveal the truth to those who read the verses with that intent.
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Taken with slight editorial modifications from the book WHY DARWINISM IS INCOMPATIBLE WITH THE QUR’AN by A. O.
A. O. is a Turkish writer and author.