اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ بِجَمِیعِ مَحَامِدِه کُلِّهَا عَلَی جَمِیعِ نِعَمِهِ کُلِّهَا… اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ مالِکِ الْمُلْکِ مُجْرِی الْفُلْکِ مُسَخِّرِ الرِّیاحِ فالِقِ الاْصْباحِ دَیّانِ الدّینِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمینَ اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی حِلْمِهِ بَعْدَ عِلمِهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی عَفْوِهِ بَعْدَ قُدْرَتِهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلّهِ عَلی طُولِ اَناتِهِ فی غَضَبِهِ وَهُوَ قادِرٌ عَلی ما یُریدُ
Praise is to God with all his praises, for all his blessings. . . Praise is to God, the owner of the property, the operator of the orbit, the bender of the wind, the glory of the morning, the religion of the beliefs, lord of the worlds; praise is to God for his dream after his knowledge and thank God for forgiveness after his power, and praise be to God for his long patience in his wrath and he is capable to do what he wills
و نشهد أن لا اله الا الله وحده لا شریک له، و أَنَّ محمداً عبده و رسوله ارسله بالهدی و دین الحق لیظهره علی الدین کله و لو کره المشرکون اوصیکم عبادالله و نفسی بتقوی الله و اتباع امره و نهیه، و اخوفکم من عقابه
And we bear witness that there is no god but God alone, without partner, and that Muhammad is his servant and messenger, he sent him with guidance and the religion of truth, that he might proclaim it over all religion, even if the polytheists hated it.
Lessons from Adam’s life
In telling all the stories, the holy Quran pursues a goal, which in addition to informing people about the reality of the universe and what has happened to it, is to guide people to happiness and salvation. So about the story of the creation of Adam, the father of the human being, and its adventures, one should look for instructive and guiding points that are hidden in this story:
1. The position of the being a caliph of God is not specific to Adam, but Adam is a symbol of the perfect man who has reached this position.
2. The science and teachings that God taught to Adam are not specific to Adam, but the perfect man can attain these sciences.
3. Being a place of prostration for angels is not specific for Adam, but it is prostration on the high position of a perfect human being.
4. Satan is not the enemy of man, but the enemy of humanity and always tries to deceive human beings.
If God said to Adam about Satan: يَا آدَمُ إِنَّ هَذَا عَدُوٌّ لَكَ وَلِزَوْجِكَ؛ “O Adam! This is indeed an enemy of yours and your mate’s.” (Taha: 117) He also said to other human beings: يَا بَنِي آدَمَ لَا يَفْتِنَنَّكُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ؛ “O Children of Adam! Do not let Satan tempt you,” (A’raf: 27).
By telling this story, God wants us to understand that the divine test of Adam is going on for all of us. If the father of human being should have avoided the forbidden plant and not eaten it, we should all avoid the forbidden food. If eating that forbidden plant caused him to lose his clothes and be expelled from paradise, eating these forbidden foods and drinks will also cause us to lose our chastity and dignity and be deprived of the divine paradise. No one should be safe from the devil for a moment. One should always be aware and guard against the temptations of the devil.
Where the lightning of rebellion struck Adam, how beautiful is the case of innocence
The position of the perfect man in mystical literature
Mystic poets have used the story of Adam, the prostration of angels, the position of the divine caliph of the perfect man, and the great duty that falls on man, in their poems. Hafez says that because angels could not be the manifestation of God’s attributes, this position was given to Adam:
The radiance of your goodness manifested in eternity
Love appeared and set fire to the mountain, earth and sea
Your face radiated, and still saw angels were loveless
Setting this fire on man, was then your zealous decree
Elsewhere, Hafez states that the angels were not able to bear the burden of divine trust, but human bore this burden:
At the gates of the tavern I saw the angels knock
Kneaded this clay we call human, and made it talk.
The residents of the Celestial Court and the heavenly bloc
Drank from the Wine of Love, with me, upon our common walk.
The earth and the skies could not keep this trust of the clock
Yet the poor insane me was stuck with such tough luck.
And this statement of Hafiz is based on the same verse of the holy Quran which says that the burden of the divine trust, which the heavens, the earth and the mountains could not bear, was borne by man: إِنَّا عَرَضْنَا الْأَمَانَةَ عَلَى السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَالْجِبَالِ فَأَبَيْنَ أَنْ يَحْمِلْنَهَا وَأَشْفَقْنَ مِنْهَا وَحَمَلَهَا الْإِنْسَانُ إِنَّهُ كَانَ ظَلُومًا جَهُولًا؛ “Indeed We presented the Trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they refused to undertake it and were apprehensive of it; but man undertook it. Indeed he is most unjust and ignorant” (Ahzab: 72)
Profit Idris’s life
Idris was a prophet after Adam the father and before Noah. The holy Qur’an does not discuss Idris in detail, and only mentions his prophet place without discussing his guiding mission.
However, the attributes and names of this prophet are listed for as follows:
1. Siddiq: The holy Qur’an has used the same interpretation about the prophet Ibrahim: وَاذْكُرْ فِي الْكِتَابِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ إِنَّهُ كَانَ صِدِّيقاً نَبِيّاً “And mention in the Book Abraham. Indeed, he was a truthful man and a prophet” (Maryam: 41); the holy Qur’an also says about the prophet Idris: وَاذْكُرْ فِي الْكِتَابِ إِدْرِيسَ إِنَّهُ كَانَ صِدِّيقاً نَبِيّاً “And mention in the Book Idrees. Indeed, he was a truthful one and a prophet,” (Maryam: 56).
2. Patience: Patience is one of the attributes used in the holy Qur’an for the prophet Idris. The Holy Qur’an names some of the prophets and praises their patience: وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِدْرِيسَ وَذَا الْكِفْلِ كُلٌّ مِنَ الصَّابِرِينَ؛ “And [remember] Ishmael, Idris, and Dhul-Kifl—each of them was among the patient” (Anbiya: 85).
3. Saleh: The holy Qur’an, in continuation of verse 85 of Surah Anbiya, and in praise of these three great divine prophets, praises them with the description of Saleh and says: وَأَدْخَلْنَاهُمْ فِي رَحْمَتِنَا إِنَّهُمْ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ “We admitted them into Our mercy. Indeed, they were among the righteous” (Anbiya: 86).
4. Exalted position: This phrase is mentioned in the holy Qur’an only about the prophet Idris and is one of the characteristics of that prophet, holy Qur’n says: وَرَفَعْنَاهُ مَكَاناً عَلِيّاً؛ “and We raised him to an exalted station” (Maryam: 57).
The almighty God considers monotheism as the criterion of superiority and exaltation, and polytheism and disbelief as the criterion of degradation and fall, and says: جَعَلَ كَلِمَةَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا السُّفْلَى وَكَلِمَةُ اللَّهِ هِيَ الْعُلْيَا؛ “and strengthened him with hosts you did not see, and He made the word of the faithless the lowest; and the word of Allah is the highest” (Tobe: 40); God is inherently supreme, and higher degrees and lower perceptions are measured in contrast to his supreme place. Being closer to God, results higher position, and being farther from God, causes lower perceptions. The prophet Idris had a great place. He is the head of the line of prophets which continues with the prophet Noah in the human history.