WAS ADAM THE FIRST MAN ON EARTH?

Perhaps the most controversial and questioned story among Bible users is that of Adam and Eve who are mentioned in Genesis as the first man and woman created by God. Both the Qur’an and Bible relate the story of Adam and Eve; their creation and downfall and while the stories told in each book are generally comparable in most respects, some differences exist. In this article, a side by side comparison of the narrative as detailed in the Qur’an and the Bible, together with the use of science and logic, helps to the true understanding of the story of Adam and Eve.

 

In the Bible we read:

“And the Lord formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7).

Then God said that:

“It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a companion fit for him” (Genesis 2:18).

And thus, God created the first woman. Eve, according to the Book of Genesis was created from the rib of Adam:

“And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman, and He brought her to the man” (Genesis 2:21).

After which Eve conceived, and bore Cain, and she again bore his brother Abel (Genesis 4: 1-2). It came to pass that when the two boys reached the stage of understanding; they were in the field: “Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him” (Geneses 4:8). After which, according to Genesis 4: 16-17: “Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bore Enoch.”

 

This conflicting story no doubt caste doubts in the minds of many users of the Bible—many wanting answers to the question: If Adam and Eve were the first human created on earth—had two sons; one killed the other – after which, how was Cain able to meet with people in the land named Nod—amongst them was his “wife”. This contradiction account of the Bible tells that another civilization coexists at the time of Biblical Adam and Eave, and it is from among such people Cain’s wife belonged. This understanding is consistent with the Holy Qur’an, science and archeological findings.

 

Adam and Eve in the Qur’an

 

There are parallel accounts in the Qur’an of many stories of the Bible, and the account of Adam is also mentioned. In the Qur’an, however, it is stated that God said to the angels that:

“I am about to place a vicegerent in the earth” (Qur’an 2:31).

The Arabic word used for “vicegerent” is khalifa, and the word khalifa denotes a successor, which means that according to the Holy Qur’an, Adam, who lived about 6,000 years ago was not the first man on Earth. The world has passed through many cycles of creation and civilization. Adam, the antecedent of the present human race, is the first link in the present cycle, and not the very first man in God’s creation. When the stage of the full development of the mental faculties of man was reached, God sent His revelation to the most perfect man of that generation, Adam.

 

 It is not correct to say that God formed man out of clay and breathed His spirit into him, rather the creation of man was the culmination of a gradual process. The Qur’an says: “And He (God) has created you in different stages and different forms” (71:15).

 

Furthermore, the Promised Messiah / Mahdi, founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (peace be upon him), states that we do not claim that all mankind who are now found in different parts of the earth, are the progeny of the same Adam. Hence, we cannot say whether the original inhabitants of America, Australia etc. are the progeny of this last Adam or some other Adam gone before him [Malfooza’at, Vol. 10, Page, 426].

 

Scientific evidence supports the Qur’an’s decree. Discovery of fossils or dead remains by scientists of earlier humans prove that Adam mentioned in the Bible was not the first man on earth. The fossilized skulls of two adults and one child discovered in the Afar region of eastern Ethiopia have been dated at 160,000 years, making them the oldest known fossils of modern humans, or Homo sapiens [Sanders, R. June 11, 2003. 160,000-year-old fossilized skulls uncovered in Ethiopia are oldest anatomically modern humans. U C Berkley News].

 

Scientists also believe that the first humans in Australia date to 50,000 years ago [Mayell, H. February 24, 2003. First humans in Australia dated to 5000 years ago. National Geographic News] and the first humans arrived in America about 15,000 years ago [Lovegren, S. February 2, 2007. First Americans arrived recently, Settled Pacific coast, DNA study says. National Geographic News]. Thus, the proclamation of the Bible that Adam who lived about 6,000 years ago, was the first man, is in direct conflict with Science.

 

The Qur’an also does not support the view that Eve was created from the rib of Adam. In the Qur’an it states:

“O ye people! Fear your Lord Who created you from a single soul and of its kind created its mate, and from them twain spread many men and women” (Qur’an 4:2).

 The words do not mean that woman was created out of the body of man, but that she belonged to the same species as man, possessing identical aptitudes and propensities [The Holy Quran. Arabic text with short commentary. Published under the auspices of Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad. Page 181].

 

The Tree Of Knowledge, Or a Source of Evil?

 

Genesis 2 and 3 relate the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. It is narrated that God set the man in the garden “to work it and watch over it,” permitting him to eat from all the trees in the garden except the Tree of Knowledge, “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis. 2:17). Similarly, in the Qur’an, Adam and Eve are forbidden to eat from the tree:

“And We (God) said, ‘O Adam, dwell thou and thy wife in the garden and eat therefrom plentifully wherever you will, but approach not this tree, lest you be of the wrongdoers’” (Qur’an, 2:36).

The difference in the narrations of the Qur’an and the Bible is in the representation of the tree. According to the Bible, the forbidden tree was the tree of knowledge of good and evil: “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman: “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis, 2:4- 5).

 

However, if the tree represented knowledge, as suggested in the Bible, forbidding man to eat from the tree would be depriving man of knowledge and thus be in conflict with the purpose of man’s creation. The Qur’an states:

 “…so he (Satan) caused them to fall into disobedience by deceit. And when they tasted of the tree, their shame became manifest to them and they both began to cover themselves with the leaves of the Garden. And their Lord called them, saying, ‘Did I not forbid you that tree and tell you, verily Satan is to you an open enemy?’” (Qur’an 7:23).

 According to the Qur’an, the tree was a source of evil which made Adam exhibit a weakness. The word used in this Qur’anic verse for nakedness, ‘sayy’ah’, is used in this context to signify “object of shame” or “weakness”. Every person has some weaknesses that are hidden even from himself, but which become exposed at times of fatigue, stress and temptation. Thus when Adam was tempted by Satan, he became conscious of some of his natural weaknesses [The Holy Quran. Arabic text with short commentary. Published under the auspices of Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad. Page 313].

 

Furthermore, the Qur’an does not state that Eve initiated the fruit eating, but that Adam and Eve were both responsible: “But Satan caused them both to slip by means of it and drove them out of the state in which they were” (Quran 2:37).

 

Original Sin or Forgiveness?

 

In the Bible, after eating fruit from the tree of knowledge, Adam and Eve, aware of their nakedness, hide themselves from God. Adam blames Eve for giving him the fruit, while Eve blames the serpent. God curses the serpent, causing it to lose its legs and to become an eternal enemy of the human race: “upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life” (Genesis. 3:14).

 

To the woman he said: ‘I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you.’

 

To Adam he said:

 ‘Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ ‘Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it were you taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return’ (Genesis 3:16–19).

 Not only were Adam and Eve reprimanded and punished for the sin they committed, according to the Book of Genesis, their entire progeny has been eternally polluted with sin and will also be punished for it.

 

In the Qur’an, however, it states that Adam and Eve sought forgiveness from God:

“They said ‘Our Lord we have wronged ourselves and if Thou forgive us not and have not mercy on us, we shall surely be of the losers’” (Qur’an 7:24).

 And God forgave them:

“Then Adam learnt from his Lord certain words of prayer. So He turned towards him with mercy. Surely, He is Oft-Returning with compassion, and is Merciful” (Qur’an 2:38).

  Thus, the idea of original sin does not exist in Islam. Arguably, a just God would not eternally condemn the entire progeny of Adam and Eve for the sin they committed and repented. According to Islam, sin is neither transferable, nor inherited: “No one can bear the burden of another” (Qur’an 35:19).

 

Serpent or Satan?

 

Also in contrast to the Biblical story, the Qur’an relates that it was Satan that tempted Adam and his spouse and caused them to err:

 “But Satan caused them both to slip by means of it and drove them out of the state in which they were” (Qur’an 2:37).

 Satan is “any evil or harmful being or thing, whether a spirit or a human being or an animal or a disease or any other thing” [The Holy Quran. Arabic text with short commentary. Published under the auspices of Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad. Page 27].

 

The Satan that caused Adam to slip was not a serpent, but a wicked man from among the human race. He was a member of the family which Adam had been told to avoid [The Holy Quran. Arabic text with short commentary. Published under the auspices of Hadhrat Mirza Tahir Ahmad. Page 313].

 

Conclusion: There are some similarities in the Qur’anic and Biblical narratives of Adam and Eve. However, scientific discoveries reject the Bible’s claim that Adam who lived 6,000 years ago was the first man on Earth. Also, the Biblical story degrades women for initiating sin. In addition, it is irrational to believe that all of mankind will eternally suffer for the sin committed by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden as detailed in Genesis. The story of Adam and Eve as described in the Qur’an does not contradict science and logic, which lends support to the fact that the Qur’an is an authentic and most perfect book.