SUMMARY OF THE HISTORY OF ADAM THE PURE, UPON WHOM BE BENEDICTION AND PEACE FROM THE PERFECT KING.

When the Almighty benefactor had decided to create Adam, He commanded Jebrâil [Gabriel] the faithful to bring a handful of loam of various colours and endowed with different qualities from the surface of the earth. Jebrâil started on the wings of haste from his place, traversed the contignations of the skies and elemental orbs, and having arrived on the surface of the earth, he stretched forth his hand to execute the command he had received. This fearful attempt moved the vapours imprisoned for ages in the bowels of the earth, and caused a terrible earth­quake, whereon the soil interrogated Jebrâil, who replied: ‘The Lord of glory intends to create a man from thee; to dignify his head with the diadem of successorship, and to adorn his stature with the robe of munificence.’ The earth rejoined: ‘I take refuge with Allah from thee; I adjure thee by the Lord to desist from this purpose, lest He create of me an individual who would, like the sons of Jân, attempt stratagems of disobedience, and would conse­quently be punished and condemned. I have not the power to resist the wrath of God and the punishment of the Most High King.’ Jebrâil heard the entreaties of the earth, and, pitying its helplessness, returned the same way by which he had descended, and laid his information before the vestibule of [the Lord of] glory. By the permission of the Creator of men, Michael also descended upon earth, and the same conversation having taken place between him and the earth as with Jebrâil, he likewise returned. Then the Almighty sent A’zrayil on the same errand, the earth again implored God and began to lament and to cry. A’zrayil said: ‘It is more incumbent upon me to obey the Omnipotent Nourisher than to take pity on thee.’ Accord­ingly, he collected a handful of earth of different colours and properties from the whole surface of the earth, and, having mixed all parts together, he deposited them between Tayif and Mekkah. The difference of men in colour and quality is derived from this original discrepancy and natural variety. When A’zrayil arrived in the glorious palace, Allah the most holy and omnipotent asked him whether the earth had this time taken refuge with Him or not. A’zrayil replied, ‘Yes.’ The Lord said: ‘If it took refuge with Me from thee, why didst thou not spare it?’ He replied: ‘I deemed obedience to Thee more necessary than pity for it.’ The Most High continued: ‘Depart, for I have made thee the angel of death, and I have placed the taking of the soul of Adam and of his seed into thy power.’ At these words A’zrayil began to weep, saying: ‘Among the children of men there will be prophets and saints who will undoubtedly hate me on this account.’ The Almighty rejoined: ‘I shall send so many complaints and diseases upon mankind, that, on account of the vehemence of their afflictions, they will entertain no enmity for thee, and none of their deeds will be a cause of grief to thee.’

In short, when that handful of clay was placed between Mekkah and Tayif, the clouds of the Almighty’s mercy rained showers of mercy on it for many years, during which time the Lord and Bestower of good gifts was engaged in leavening man’s temperament with the hand of love and compassion, and impregnated his nature accord­ing to his foreknowledge with every property necessary for the manifester of successorship. It is recorded in ancient books that the inscrutable Creator had formed the body of Adam of black putrid clay, and had left it to exsiccate; it remained for forty years in this drying state between Mek­kah and Tayif, when an angel passed near it, saying: ‘The Lord, whose name be praised, has not created a handsomer thing than this; probably on this man the high dignity of successorship will be conferred.’ When Adam was yet in this drying stage, Eblis passed one day near him with some angels, and when he struck the abdomen of the clay figure, it sounded like a potter’s vessel. Eblis said: ‘This individual is hollow, his architecture is neither substantial nor firm, he will soon be liable to get the colic.’ Within himself he said: ‘If God exalts him above me I shall not obey him, and if I get authority over him I shall do my best to ruin him.’ Then addressing the angels, he asked: ‘Should the Almighty, after appointing this creature over you, command you to obey him, what would you do?’ They replied: ‘We shall fulfil the conditions of obedience, and girding our loins with submission, we shall not requite the favours of our benefactor with rebellion and ingrati­tude.’ Many expounders of the verse, ‘I know that which ye know not,’* have referred it to the intention of obedi­ence openly avowed by the angels, and to the prevarication secretly meditated by Eblis.

When the time had arrived that the happy tidings of the morning of the greatest substitute’s [i.e. Adam’s] existence should dawn from the horizon of the Giver of gifts and Source of liberality; the radiation of the sun of his felicity should begin to shine from the orient of excellence and grace; that the keys of intentions and desires should be entrusted to the grasp of his good pleasures and intelli­gence; that the locks of the ways and means should be abandoned to his power and discernment; that the castle of his body should become illuminated by the lightning of vitality; and that the breeze of prosperity should begin to permeate the rose grove of his beauty; then the Holy Ghost hastened, by command of the Most Holy, in company with the faithful spirit [i.e. Gabriel], towards the body of Adam; but as his nature appeared to the subtle and luminous soul to be thick and dark, it [i.e. the soul] refused to descend into that mansion until the allocution of the Lord of Lords reached it: ‘Enter into it unwillingly, and depart out of it unwillingly.’ The soul began to enter by his blessed head, and wherever it penetrated, the body of Adam was changed into flesh and skin. Before the soul had permeated all his [i.e. Adam’s] noble members, he exclaimed: ‘O Lord! hasten to complete my creation before the night sets in.’ Therefore the Lord said: ‘Man is created of haste.’* Meanwhile Adam sneezed, and by divine inspiration began to praise and to thank the Lord of glory, saying: ‘Praise be to Allah, the Lord of both worlds!’ Then he was honoured with the reply: ‘Thy Lord have mercy on thee,’ and the Lord Most High said also: ‘My compassion preceded My wrath,’ because Adam became the recipient of favour and grace before he had adored God, and was afflicted with the pain of exclusion only after he had committed sin.

Astronomers state that the soul entered the body of Adam on a Friday, on the tenth of [the month of] Mohar­ram, wherefore that day is called a’ashura [decade]. It happened at a time when the first degree of Capricorn was on the eastern horizon, Saturn in the sign of Gemini, Jupiter in Pisces, Mars in Aries, the Moon in Leo, the Sun and Mercury in Virgo, and Venus in Libra. Some have said that when Adam—u. w. peace—was formed, all the stars were in the highest degrees except Mercury; but He [Allah] knows best the truth of the case. When Adam was ready, the Bestower of all gifts imparted to him the denominations, ‘and He taught Adam the names of all things, and then proposed them to the angels,’* and examined Adam and the angels; when the former was first created, the latter said to each other: ‘Whatever our Omnipotent Nourisher creates, and whomsoever He seats upon the throne of successorship, that person will not be dearer to Him than we are, and by the predestination of [His] acquiescence, we shall be wiser than he, since we have served many years in the mansion of Him who knows everything, absent or present, and we have received knowledge by means of the Preserved Table.’

Distich:

Before Moslem schools, Christian convents and idol temples were built. We have been with Thee in the creations of beings.

The angels, being unable to rehearse the names, acknowledged their inability, saying: ‘Praise be unto Thee, we have no knowledge but what Thou teachest us; for Thou art knowing and wise.’* Adam was adorned with external beauty and internal perfection; the highest angels were ordered to worship his essence, endowed with perfect qualities, for the purpose of honouring him. A company of them advanced with the step of submission, and placed the forehead of humility on the ground, except Eblis, ‘who refused, and was puffed up with pride, and became of the number of unbelievers.’* Consequently he was prohibited from entering paradise, accursed for ever, and excluded from the palace of the Sempiternal.

Distich:

The altar of Thy two eyebrows is so lovely That the angel is cursed who loves Thee not.

Historians have recorded that the noble mind of Adam felt in paradise a yearning for a companion and intimate friend, and that the Beneficent Sovereign, whose holy essence is free from the imperfection of slumber and sleep, willing to gratify the desire of the first man, appointed the king of somnolency over the city of his existence, and created Eve from his left side, without his being aware of it. When he awoke, and Eve attracted his august attention, he asked her: ‘Who art, and why comest thou?’ She replied: ‘I am one of thy members, and the Almighty— whose name be praised and exalted—has created me to become thy companion and wife.’ Adam was rejoiced at these words, and having offered prayers of gratitude, matri­mony was solemnized between them. It is said that the marriage oration was pronounced by the Gracious and Beneficent [God], which, according to the most authentic traditions, consisted of the following words: ‘In the name of Allah, the merciful, the clement! Praise is My garment, magnificence My cloak, grandeur My veil, and all creatures are My men-servants, and My maid-servants. Muhammad —u. w. bl., etc.—is My beloved and My prophet! I have paired all things to point to My unity. I call to witness My angels, and the dwellers in My heavens, and the bearers of My throne, that I have married Eve, My maid-servant, by the miracle of My creation, and by an act of My omnipotence, to Adam—o. w. b. p.—with the marriage portion of My adoration, praise,* purity and sanctity. She bears witness that there is no God but Allah; One having no partner. O Adam and Eve! dwell ye two in My paradise, and eat of My fruits, but approach not My tree. Peace be upon you with My mercy and blessing.’ Then Adam and Eve dwelt in the spacious courts of paradise according to the sacred verse: ‘O Adam! dwell thou and thy wife in the garden.’* The enjoyment of all the good things was licit to them except the forbidden fruit, as the Most High said: ‘Eat of the fruit thereof plentifully wherever ye will, but approach not this tree, lest ye become of the number of the transgressors.’* The learned differ about the pro­hibited tree, but the generally received opinion is, that it was the wheat plant. It is related that when the gardens of intimacy between Adam and Eve were opened, they rushed at full speed to enjoy them.

Satan having been condemned to everlasting damnation, prohibited from entering paradise, and shut out from the society of angels, the impure entrails of that accursed one were kindled with the flames of envy and covetousness. He was constantly planning how he might enter paradise and seduce Adam in such a way as to exclude him from it, and to compel him to take up his abode elsewhere. He first tried to induce the peacock to assist him, saying: ‘I consider myself under obligations of amity and love towards thee, and in past times we have been great friends; I now request thee to take me under the protection of thy wings, that I may enter paradise, and by some stratagem expel my inveterate enemy from it, and afterwards obtain it myself.’ The peacock refused, but advised him to try the serpent, which Eblis did, first beginning with suggestions, and reminding him of their ancient friendship, he explained his intention. Satan’s diabolical inspirations took effect upon the serpent, and giving him a place in his own throat, he thus introduced him into paradise without the gatekeeper’s knowledge. Eblis went to Adam and Eve and began to lament and weep. They knew him not, but asked for the reason of his distress, and he said: ‘I deplore the termina­tion of your fate, because Allah—whose name be exalted— will expel you from this garden, and will deprive you of all these blessings. He will even change the comfort of your life into the affliction of death.’ After conversations of this kind, Eblis left them, and Adam and Eve were full of sadness and care; afterwards Eblis returned, and said to Adam: ‘If thou wilt place confidence in my words and follow my advice, I shall direct thee to a tree, and if thou eatest of the fruit thereof, thou wilt for ever abide in para­dise, neither will the misery of death ever find entrance into the courts of thy posterity; God has said, “Adam, I shall point out to thee the tree of eternity, and a country which perishes not.”’ Adam asked: ‘Which is that tree?’ Eblis showed him the tree which he had been forbidden to approach, but Adam refrained from following his advice, whereupon he adjured them both [i.e. Adam and Eve], saying: ‘I give both of you good advice.’ Adam still resisted, and they separated. Eblis then again met Eve alone, and desisted not until he had persuaded her, and the serpent bore witness to the truth of his words. When Adam had returned, Eve said: ‘The serpent, who is one of the guardians of paradise, certifies to the truth of what our dear and faithful friend asserts, neither has he any inter­ested object in view. Now, I shall first taste of the fruit, and if a misfortune befalls me, do thou intercede for me, or else eat thou likewise, that the everlasting kingdom of sempiternal bliss may fall to our lot.’ Eve then ate some of the fruit, and at her instigation Adam did so likewise. The fruit had not yet settled in Adam’s stomach when the ornaments of paradise suddenly disappeared, leaving their bodies in a state of nudity, which they strove to cover with the leaves of a fig-tree. When they were thus situated a divine allocution reached them as follows: ‘O Adam! knowest thou the cause of this nudity?’ He replied: ‘Yes, Lord, we have eaten of the forbidden fruit and not kept Thy commandment. The audacity of Eve was the cause of this presumption, for at her instigation I tasted of the fruit, and I drank the cup of this affliction at her invitation.’ Eve became confused at these words, and said: ‘My God! the serpent who is a guardian and watch of the garden has emboldened me to commit this deed. He swore that this is the tree of eternity, else no sin would have originated from me.’

The command, changing the form of the serpent, now went forth, and the Mighty Avenger addressed him thus: ‘Since thou hast been the promoter of this crime, be thou afflicted with imperfections and debilities. Crawl thou on the earth upon thy breast and thy abdomen; let turbid mud be thy food, and pass thou thy life in abjection.’ Before this event, the serpent had been the most beauteous creature in shape. Eve’s punishment consisted in the travail of parturition, menstruation, and subjection to her husband. Adam suffered the pains of being separated from the propinquity of the Almighty, the pangs of hunger, and the remorse of conscience. He was also condemned to toil for his subsistence. The figure of the peacock likewise became changed. The divine command of expulsion from paradise was issued to Adam and Eve as follows: ‘Get ye down the one of you an enemy unto the other.’* Whereon both of them fell from the gardens of paradise into the haunts of baseness and abjection. According to the most current tradition, Adam fell upon the mountain Serandib,* Eve into Jeddah, Eblis into Seistân, the serpent into Espahân, and the peacock into the district of Kâbul. The enmity between mortals and Eblis, as well as between the sons of Adam and the serpent, will subsist till the day of resurrection. Adam took with him from paradise a bag full of wheat, and thirty plants of corn, likewise the black-stone,* and a handful of leaves from the trees of paradise. Jebrâil descended from heaven, taught him to sow, to reap, even to make flour and to bake bread. It is related by Ebn A’bbâs that Adam stayed in paradise from noon till sunset according to the reckoning of that world. Some affirm that five hundred years, according to the reckoning of our world, amount to half a day in that world. When Adam arrived on earth he was afflicted with the miseries of this world, and with sorrow for his separation from Eve; his repentance augmented, and he abstained during forty days from food and drink. During three hundred years he continued to lament and to pray for pardon, until he was inspired with the following words: ‘There is no God besides Thee! Adoration and praise be to Thee! I have done evil and injured my own soul; have pity on me, for Thou art the most merciful of those who are merciful.’ After he had pronounced these words, Jebrâil brought the tidings of pardon, which changed Adam’s distress into peace, and his misery into comfort; but, despite of the glad tidings of forgiveness, he ceased not to be melancholy and ashamed:

Verse: Even after pardon, remorse abides.

Therefore he consulted Jebrâil on the propriety of accept­able worship by means of which the shame of sin, and the reproach of transgression, might be blotted out from the pages of his blessed mind. Meanwhile the command of God—w. n. b. pr.—was issued to Adam to build the Ka’bah—may Allah ennoble it. He accordingly wished to lay its foundation, and proceeded from Serandib in the company of Jebrâil, who facilitated his journey across deserts, and by the prosperity of that lord’s [i.e. Adam’s] progress, every country touched by his foot became civilized, cultivated, and wearing a happy and joyous aspect. When they arrived in the noble city of Mekkah, Adam laid the foundations of the Ka’bah according to the instruction received from Jebrâil, and with the aid of all the angels. He fixed the Black Stone, which he had brought from paradise, and in which the covenant book of the servant with the Lord of Glory is deposited, in a corner of the Ka’bah; and this house on earth is a symbol of the pre­served tabernacle which is in heaven. Having learnt the ceremonies of the pilgrimage and of the circumambulation from Jebrâil, he then performed the visitation of the house of the Ka’bah, after terminating which, he ascended Mount A’rafat* in search of Eve, whom he had not seen for years, and the fervent desire of again meeting her had over­whelmed his mind. It so happened that Eve had likewise started from Jeddah* in search of Adam, and ascending Mount A’rafat had arrived near him, but remained unknown on account of the change of her complexion brought on by exposure to the sun. Jebrâil brought about their mutual recognition, wherefore that mountain obtained the name of A’rafat. After having enjoyed each other’s company in that place, they asked and obtained permission from the Almighty Creator to return to Serandib, because the soil of Mekkah was very arid, and its climate extremely hot. After accomplishing the journey, both arrived in Serandib, where Adam occupied himself with the extraction of iron ore from the mines, and with agriculture. Jebrâil com­municated to them the divine ordinances, and enjoined them to receive God’s commands, and to endeavour to multiply their species, so that the tree of humanity might bear pleasant and noble fruits, since dominion over all creatures, and the enjoyment of all intellectual and sensuous impressions, were to be the lot of the children of men. After Adam and Eve had again become united, they spent their days in comfort and obedience, sometimes dwelling in India and sometimes in Arabia. For a long time there were no inhabitants in the world besides them, nor any houses besides the Ka’bah, till the Almighty gladdened those two individuals with a sagacious progeny who colonized various places of the world. Concerning the erection of the Ka’bah, there are also other opinions besides the one narrated in these pages.