PRAISE to the Omniscient God, the supreme controller of all things; and blessings on the most perfect of his creation, the Prophet Mahummud, his family, friends, and companions.
It has reached us by tradition, that after the creation of the world, a period the length of which is only known to God and his Prophets, God willed the creation from earth of Adam, and that he should be invested with the honorary dress of his Lieutenancy: “Of a truth I have appointed myself a Lieutenant on the Earth”* —these words attest the verity of this; and, consequently, the angel Gabriel was sent to the earth, to collect a little moist mould or clay to form the pure body of Adam, from that place on which the holy Kaaba now stands.
When Gabriel arrived on the surface of the earth and attempted to take a handful, the Earth adjured him in the name of the Creator of the heavens and the angels to desist; for, said the Earth, some unworthy creature may be formed of my clay, and on his account, I may fall under the displeasure of the Almighty. Gabriel, therefore, returned and reported the adjuration and affliction of the Earth, and his pity on her, to the Almighty, who next appointed the angel Michael to this office.
The Earth, on his descent, renewed her complaints, and adjured him not to take any portion of her substance: he accordingly desisted and returned. God then directed the angel Israfeel to proceed: but as the Earth still continued her adjurations, he also returned; and the fourth time Azrael* was sent. The Earth attempted to prevent Azrael from performing his office, but he disregarded her adjurations, and said, the commands of the Most High are superior to thy oaths and imprecations. He then collected a handful of mould from every part of the earth, moist and dry, white and black, loose and bound, salt, sweet, and sour. To the number of every individual of mankind he took a little earth, and the grave of every one will be in the place whence he took the earth of which each was formed. As, for instance, the clay of the Prophet Mahummud was taken from the very place where his tomb now stands, at Medina. But to return:—the handful of earth was taken by Azrael to the garden of Eden, and there moistened or kneaded with the waters of Tusnim; and it was made known by Azrael to all the angels and inhabitants of Paradise, that the light of Mahummudanism was deposited, with the waters of Tusnim, in the clay of Adam; and also that the sole object in creating Adam was to provide for the future mission of Mahummud, whose head is ornamented with the crown of ———, “If it had not been for thee, I should not have created the heavens,”* and his person ennobled by the words, “We did not send thee except out of compassion to mankind.”*
When Azrael had performed all his duties, the Almighty appointed him to receive the souls of departed men; and by the command of God, the rain of compassion and mercy fell on the clay of Adam forty days and forty nights: “I kneaded the clay of Adam forty mornings or days.”* The form of man was given to him by the hand of power, and God breathed life into him—“with my breath I have inspired him;”* and from that he received his intelligence or reason, as is written fully in the Muttuwwul.*
Some traditions say, that the head of Adam, when he was first formed, reached the clouds; and they also say that Adam (who is otherwise called the Father of Mankind, and Sufih-ullah) was so named because his body was formed from the surface or covering of the earth, and some say it was because his colour was red, or that of wheat; for wheat is called oodmeh* in Arabic. A few say it was because Adam was formed of earth and water. But whatever the derivation, God manifested his power in his creation; for without the medium of speech, he taught Adam the names of all the things on the surface of the earth: “He taught Adam the names of all things.”* All the angels, therefore, acknowledged Adam’s intelligence and excellence, and bent the knee to him, except Iblis, and he refused, as the following words establish: “Kneel to Adam; and they all knelt except Iblis, and he was of the genii, and disobeyed the commands of his Lord,”* &c. &c.
In highly respectable works, it is said, Adam is an Hebrew word, and that the creation of Adam occurred on Friday, the 10th of the month Mohurrum, at the eleventh hour.*
God then placed Adam in the garden of Eden, and created Eve from his left side while he was between sleeping and waking. By many he is said to have been forbidden to eat wheat; by Abdalla, the son of Abas, grapes; and by others, figs.
Iblis being cursed for refusing to kneel to Adam (“of a truth my curse shall be upon thee to the day of resurrection”*), and seeing that for one crime he had forfeited all the merit of his former obedience, departed in mortal enmity to Adam, and determined to do him any injury in his power.
Now Adam was in Paradise, and Iblis could not enter there. At length, however, as is detailed in history and tradition, by art and the assistance of a peacock, stationed on the walls of Paradise as a sentinel, and a serpent, the guard at one of the gates, he did enter.
After this, Iblis first deceived Eve and made her eat of the forbidden fruit, and she induced Adam to eat also. As soon as they had done this, the heavenly covering fell from their bodies, and they became naked: they, therefore, took leaves of the fig-tree to hide their nakedness. These five individuals were then expelled Paradise by God’s command. It is said that Adam and Eve were not suffered to remain more than three hours after their transgression; also that, on Friday, the 5th or 9th of the month Nisan, at the seventh hour of the day, Adam descended or fell on a mountain of Serindeep (Ceylon), in Hindostan; Eve descended at Jidda, a town on the sea-side, near Mecca; the peacock fell in Hindostan, the serpent at Isfahan, and Iblis at Sumnan, or Sumnath.*
It is also related, that it was after Adam fell on the earth that his beard grew. He remained one hundred years in Serindeep, in prayer and great affliction; and from the tears he shed sprang up pepper, cardamums, cinnamon, &c., and those spices are benefits derived from him.
After one hundred years had expired, on the Ashoora or 10th Mohurrum, his repentance was accepted before God.
The Ashoora is also celebrated on many other accounts. The translation to heaven of the prophets Idris and Jesus occurred on that day; as well as the settlement of the ark on the mountain of Jood; the birth of Abraham and his deliverance from the fire of Nimrod; the birth-day of Moses and Jesus; the day of the acceptance of David’s repentance; the return of Solomon to his own country; the day of the recovery of Job from his diseases; the deliverance of Moses from the Red Sea, of Jonas from the belly of the whale, and that of his tribe from their affliction; Jacob’s recovery of his sight; the release of Joseph from the well in Canaan; the acceptance of the prayer of Zachariah for children; the blessings he bestowed on Yahya, and the conquest of Pharoah by Moses, &c.
After Adam’s repentance was accepted, to comfort him, a mansion was brought for him from Paradise, and placed where the holy Kaaba now stands. This house was formed of one stone, a ruby. God also directed that Adam should learn to perform the rites of a pilgrimage to Mecca; and while he was performing them, he met Eve at Urfat; and, as they recognized each other there, the place received that name: it is also called Mozdulifa.* At Minni they offered prayers for the acceptance of their petitions, and the accomplishment of their desires. This place is also known by the name of Urfat.
Adam and Eve made the towwaf, or circuit of the Kaaba, and then returned, towards Hind.
It is said that Eve, after this, whenever she had children, had twins, a son and a daughter, and that Adam, by God’s command, gave the son of one birth to the daughter of another, that there might be some distinction between them.
When Cain and his twin-sister, Ikleema, were born, Cain on account of her beauty was desirous to possess her; Adam, however, gave her to Abel, and a quarrel arose between them in consequence. Adam, therefore, desired them to sacrifice to the Most High, and said he would give Ikleema to him whose sacrifice was accepted. They accordingly took each a goat to the top of a mountain, and fire from heaven consumed that of Abel; Adam, therefore, gave Ikleema to him. Cain, now entertaining a violent hatred to Abel, struck him on the head with a stone while he was asleep, and killed him.
It is related that Cain, for a long time, not knowing what to do with the body of Abel, carried it about with him, till one day he arrived at a place where two ravens were fighting; and one being killed, the living one hid him beneath the earth—this taught Cain to bury his brother.
Until this period, Adam did not know what death was; but when he became aware of its nature, he cried bitterly, and in his grief composed certain verses in the Syriac language, and the learned have translated them into the Arabic verses,* “Death will change and destroy cities and those governing them, and disfigure the face of the earth. It will change every thing possessing colour or nourishment,* and even the divine countenance is nought but corruption. Returned to me is my grief for my son Abel. He is slain, and is now enclosed in his narrow grave.”
Iblis, after this, persuaded Cain that fire was displeased with him, because he did not prostrate himself before it; that if he did, fire would be satisfied, and his sacrifice burn. These words threw Cain into doubt and perplexity, and he at length offered his adoration to fire. Murder and fire-worship are, therefore, derived from him; whoever, consequently, commits these crimes hereafter, one register of them will be entered against Cain, and one against the perpetrator, and at the last day they will receive appropriate punishment.
At the time the eternal contract was made with the progeny of Adam, and when their individual homage was taken [Arabic], “and when your God passed in review the seed of Adam, and demanded their profession of faith, saying, ‘Am I not your Lord?’ they answered, ‘Yes;’” at that period when God showed Adam all his descendants, he saw one weeping. Adam asked God who he was? God replied, One of thy children who is lamenting the crimes he will commit, as thou didst lament. Adam felt pity for him, and asked, How long he was to live? He replied, sixty years. Adam, seeing the existence of this pious son of his so limited, compared with that of his fellows, said, “I will give him forty years from my own life;” and God gave his consent to this agreement. Adam then inquired, how long he was to live? and found his term was one thousand years; and accordingly, when he attained 960 years, the Angel of Death, by God’s command, visited him. [Arabic.] “God invites, or calls to the mansion of peace,” and “every thing that breathes shall taste death.”
On his arrival, Adam said to the Angel of Death, “Forty years of my life are still unexpired.” The Angel replied, “You gave forty years to the prophet David.” Adam denied this, and said, “When, where, or to whom, did I give these forty years? On the contrary, I merely asked a favour from the Almighty Treasury of beneficence and grace, with the humility due from a slave addressing his Lord; for when a slave, in such circumstances, asks a favour from his master, he should say, ‘O Lord, thou hast granted me an indulgence, and I humbly submit such an one is worthy a similar favour; do not, therefore, render him hopeless by denying it to him.’ In such a case, it is only worthy the giver of all gifts, that he should grant the same indulgence to both. On receiving this answer, by God’s command, the Angel of Death returned, and the Almighty, in his goodness, granted David an extension of forty years, and to Adam the same, that his thousand years might be fully completed—and the release or return of a gift, which is legal by the Mahummudan law, is derived from this circumstance. Afterwards, in the time of the prophet Seth, in the Book which was vouchsafed to him by the Almighty, it was written that, as the sons of Adam, in their dealings with each other, made covenants, it was indispensable that on such occasions two impartial witnesses should be present, to whom a reference might be made in case of dispute, and that men might not deny or depart from their agreements. But to return. After the thousand years had expired, the Angel of Death came to perform his office.
It is related, that the first angels who prostrated themselves before Adam were Israfeel and Gabriel, and then the rest, except Iblis.*
Now the religion of Adam was the service of God. Prayer, fasting, and korban,* or sacrifice; and the religion of mankind was then the same.
It is related, that the angel Gabriel, after the fall of Adam, taught him the blacksmith’s trade, that he might be able to form the implements used in husbandry, and that he might till the ground. He next formed tools for weaving; and of his own children Adam taught Seth, who was born singly, the weaver’s trade.
Adam and Eve had forty-one children, twenty-one sons and twenty daughters; from these sprung forty thousand isbat,* families or tribes.
Some authors state Adam to have lived 1,040 years, some 1,000, and some 937. His last sickness lasted twenty-one days, and when he died he appointed Seth his successor. He also gave him instructions respecting the light of Mahummud, which was placed in the forehead of Adam, and descended from him to Seth. On Friday, therefore, the 10th Mohurrum, he departed this life, at Mecca: some say, he died on the mountain of Abookees, some at Serindeep, and others again say at Nujuf, the city of Ali, and that he was buried there.
Seven years after this, Eve also died, and was buried at Jidda; some write, that she was buried by the side of Adam.
It is related, that at the Deluge, Noah took up the bones of Adam and Eve, and placed them in the ark, and that when the waters receded, he buried them at Jerusalem.
In one hundred and twenty years (some say sixty), Adam had eight (some say twenty) books of prophecies delivered to him, and the Soorut-i-abjud (or the numerical letters), which is called the Mother of Books,* was one, and is therefore named the Sifur of Adam.
This book was translated by Plato into Greek, and the Ameer-ul-Mominin Ali also translated it into Arabic.
It is said, that when Adam appointed Seth his successor and departed to eternity, Gabriel, by the command of God, was sent to seth with a message, and that he, Seth, washed the body of Adam, and wrapping him in his burial-clothes, prayed over him, and buried him at Mecca, between the Mukam or place of Abraham, and the Hujur-ul-Aswud (or the black stone), near where Imam Shafai is buried.
It is said, that at the time Cain killed Abel, the children of Adam amounted to thirty thousand of the children of Cain, and forty thousand of the children of Abel—male and female. God, however, only knows the truth of this.