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[Zeinab]

These are excerpts taken from a TV program on Iraq during Ramadan 2004

The Creation of Adam (alayhi asalaam)

16th October 2004

by Amr Khaled

Translated by [img]daralislamlive(contact admin if its a beneficial link)

The beginning

At the very beginning, there was nothing in this universe except Allah (SWT). Allah, the Lord of all creatures and the only Creator, created everything and commanded that everything and all creatures in the universe submit to Him. He then put rules to everything in this world and universe.

Imagine if you existed at that moment when Allah created everything, and imagine if you found the whole universe prostrating to Allah. It's not strange to find everything prostrating to Allah; the strange thing is when YOU don't prostrate to Allah. How could you feel if you witness this? How far do you love Allah to know all this? How could you feel if you witness the skies suddenly replacing space?
Yet, where was Adam at that time when Allah created the whole universe? Why wasn't he created yet? Because there were still some abstract things that were to be created. Four things were yet to be created. "When Allah created the skies and the earth, the 'Kinship' got attached to Allah's throne and said, "O Allah! this is the rank of the one seeking your protection because of kinship rupture". Allah (SWT) then said, "Would you be satisfied if I connect those who connect you and rupture those who break you off?"

Hence, "Kinship" was born with the creation of the universe. On Judgment Day, Kinship talks, with a tongue, from under Allah's throne saying, "O Allah! I was ruptured and I was suppressed" and Allah repeats what He said at the beginning of the universe, "Would you be satisfied if I connect those who connect you and rupture those who break you off?"

Hence, dear all, you have to maintain your kinship relations and keep them strong. Allah's mercy was to create "kinship" before we were created.
When Allah (SWT) created the skies and the earth, He created a door so widely open, with a distance of 70 years. Allah created that door on the west side. The Prophet (PBUH) asked his companions, "Do you know what this door is?" they replied, "O Messenger of Allah! We do not know". The Prophet (PBUH) said, "It is the door of Repentance. When the sun rises from the west, this door will be closed". That door is so widely open, so you should all try to pass this door and get through it, take the chance and get in! You can repent today! Enough guilt, enough sins, and enough illicit money!

Allah then created another thing, bigger than the skies and earth: His Mercy. Allah created mercy between each and every sky and earth. He created one hundred mercies. Allah is so kind and generous with us. After Allah- be He exalted and glorified- commanded the universe to submit to Him, He wrote in a book above His throne, "My mercy prevails over My wrath". Be He Glorified and Exalted!
Can you realize how precious the human being is, and how dear he is to Allah (SWT)! Allah created everything and prepared everything before creating man. Adam was created from mud, and then Eve was created out of Adam. Allah ordered the angles to prostrate to Adam, but Satan, who was a Jinni, was the only one who refused to prostrate. In fact, this is the story of all of us. It is important to know the details of this story, and to analyze it, because it is the story of your existence. You have to know the components from which Adam was created, because each of them carries a specific feature that is reflected on you personality. We will anatomize Adam and ourselves.

The outer frame

Allah created us walking on two legs, with a raised vertex, or head, so as to lead the world with all of its creatures. Don't you ever bow because you fear your future or your livelihood! Don't you ever humiliate yourself, as Allah (SWT) created you as a noble creature. You hands are free to build and to innovate. O Muslims! Where are your creativity and innovation? O Life makers! Where is your production?

Anatomizing Adam in details

Adam was created out of dust, mud, clay, and sticky clay. He was created in seven phases:

1) Dust: Allah created Adam from a handful of dust with all colors; hence, people are of different colors in this world. Besides, people are of different characteristics: some are easy going, like fertile land; some are hard and tough like solid ground. Thus, human psychology comes in harmony with geology. Man's characteristics are like those of the earth. If you analyze the human skin, and the components of earth, you'll find them the same. The name 'Adam' is derived from the Arabic word that means the surface of earth. You have to know that you are so weak like the earth; therefore, you have to submit to Allah. Can you make the dust or clay talk? Never, you cannot do that! According to the Hadith Qudsi (Holy Hadith), Allah raises those who submit to Him. This is the only means by which you can have a quick entrance to Allah. The Prophet (PBUH) refused to be a haughty person, and demanded to be a slave to Allah. Submitting to Allah is actually achieved from the inside, and not by appearance. You are just a handful of dust, so how can you say "No" to Allah?

2) The dust was mixed with water, and thus, became clay. Allah (SWT) says, "(Remember) when your Lord said to the angels: "Truly I am going to create man from clay"". Yet, why did Allah create Adam from these two elements? What if man was created from lead and oil? Or rubber so as not to be broken? You have to recognize that each part in Adam carries a message for you.

Dust and water are the symbols of purity and transparency. We use water in ablution, and we use dust instead, if there is no water. It's as if Allah (SWT) says that He created man from the purest two elements on earth; therefore don't defile them by committing sins. Keep yourself pure, and if ever you defile yourself, repent as soon as you can. Do you see how beautiful is Islam's view to us? So a lewd person defiles his original purity, and the same applies to anyone who watches immoral scenes etc. Allah (SWT) says, "And it is He Who has created man from water, and has appointed for him kindred by blood, and kindred by marriage. And your Lord is Ever All-Powerful to do what He wills." This is because the kindred relations are characterized by transparency, which is the same characteristic of water. Thus, you have to be as transparent and easygoing.

As for clay, it is the symbol of growth. This is why Satan acted stupidly, as he considered that he is better than Adam, just because he was created from fire. On the one hand, fire symbolizes imprudence, evil and fury. On the other hand, clay is full of grace and good, so basically clay is full of benefits. Can you see that you are full of grace and good, like Adam? So blessed is Allah, the Best of creators.
Have you ever thought that you were created in this way?! You are a weak creature, yet full of good and purity. Look at yourself in the mirror, and contemplate.

3) In the third phase, the clay was left in the air till it became sticky clay. From this characteristic, you can realize that man is originally a creature with a strong will and firmness. Hence, don't defile yourself.

4) In the fourth phase, the sticky clay became dried clay (argil). Allah, be He Exalted and Glorified- formed man with His hands. Allah ordered Satan and the angels to prostrate to Adam, but Satan refused: "(Allah) said: "O Iblis (Satan)! What prevents you from prostrating yourself to one whom I have created with Both My Hands" You have to prostrate to Allah with all humbleness.

5) In the fifth phase, the dried clay turned into altered clay. It was left for some time, and so its smell and color altered. This represents the instincts and desires that came upon man's purity.

6) Sounding clay (like the clay of pottery) represents the sixth phase in human creation. A cavity was formed in the clay body, and so the human body became hollow. This is how you are now. Could you believe that pottery clay can think and innovate?

One of the companion's followers said, "I kept knocking on Allah's doors, but I found all of them crowded with people. Hence, I knocked the door of humility, and I found it empty, therefore I call you all to enter from this door".

7) The seventh phase turned the human body into a live one. After the whole body was formed, Allah (AWT) breathed into it, which caused the soul to enter into the human body. Blood ran in its veins, the heart started beating, and all the body functions started working.

If it was not for Allah's breath, you would have been just an object like any other thing around you. This breath confused doctors and scientists for long time.

Allah's Mercy

Allah (SWT) glorified man three times, as He says, "So, when I have fashioned him completely and breathed into him (Adam) the soul which I created for him, then fall (you) down prostrating yourselves unto him." Allah's breath is the origin of everything beautiful and good in you. When the soul entered Adam's body, he sneezed, so the angels told him "Say 'Thank God' (Alhamdulilah)". When he said this, Allah (SWT) said (Bless You). Thus, Allah's blessings and mercy are around you all the time, and at the same time, you are ordered to thank Allah. Don't defile your purity with sins. Allah's breath elevated you over everything, even the angels.

According to a Hadith Qudsi (Holy Hadith), everyday the mountains ask Allah to allow them to fall on Man; the seas ask Allah to allow them to absorb Man, and the earth asks Allah to allow it to sink down Man, because Man is never thankful to Allah, although he is enjoying all of Allah's graces. Yet, Allah replies "Leave them, if you created them, you would have mercy on them".

In another Hadith, Allah (SWT) speaks to Dawud and says, "If those who are driven away from how much I long for them to come back to me, and how eagerly I want them to repent, they would have longed for me fervently".

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Edited by Zeinab, 16 March 2007 - 01:50 PM.

[Zeinab]

Adam between Soul & Body

17th October 2004

Adam's Story

Now let's go back to Adam's story. Adam's story is not the story of the past; it is the story of the present. It is the story of human beings. This is why his story was repeated 25 times in the holy Qur'an. It is going to be your story until the Day of Judgment. So, every time the words "O children of Adam" occur in Qur'an, they are related to the story of Adam. So each time Allah (SWT) says "O children of Adam", it is as if He were saying "learn from Adam's story. "

We have talked before about the different phases through that Adam was created. We also discussed the main components of which Adam was made.

The following table summaries the seven phases of Adam's Creation

Phase Description Characteristics

1) One: Dust: Weak Creature
2) Two: Mud: Purity-Transparency-Goodness
3) Three: Sticky Clay: Cohesion (Strong Will)
4) Fourth: Dried clay (argil): Desires
5) Fifth: Altered clay: Desires
6) Sixth: Sounding clay (like the clay of pottery): Desires
7) Seventh: Blow from Allah's Soul: Honored Creature

Did you notice something strange? The sky and earth were created in six days, while Adam was created in seven phases. Why is that? Wasn't Allah (SWT) capable of just saying, 'be' so Adam would be? Or 'be', so the sky and earth would be? Why was it in phases? Why six days? Allah wants to teach us something so important; this universe was made gradually; one thing at a time. So any changes take place gradually; nothing happens all at once. I am dedicating this meaning to life makers. The skies and earth were created in six days, so the lesson learned here, is to be patient. So it's God's will that this universe would be based on patience with no rush. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't exert effort to achieve your goals. No, you should do your best and in the meantime be patient.

Now let's see the combination of which Adam consists of after he became alive.

The internal Anatomy of Human Beings

All the rational creatures are created from one component; angels are created from light and Jins are made of fire. But the only creature that consists of two components is you. I am saying this so that we would see how we look like from the inside, in order to know how to deal with your self. You are created from two components; the outer frame, called the body, which is originally mud, and inside of it there is cavity. Inside of it, there is something that spreads everywhere, and in every vein, called the soul. The soul is imprisoned inside the body. Both components are coming from different places. The body is coming from the dust of earth, and the soul is coming from a divine blow. One is coming from a very low place and the other is coming from a very high place; and then both became inside of each other. Hence, they made the combination of soul and body. Each one of the two yearns for the place from which it came; the body always yearns for the things coming from earth, and the soul always yearns for Allah.

Moreover, each of one of them, after you die, returns to the place from which it came; so as soon as you die, you body goes to earth, and your soul goes to heaven. Allah, be He Glorified and Exalted! Furthermore, each one of the two yearns for its origins, and has its own nutrition. This nutrition is from where the component comes. The nutrition of a body is food, drinks, man and woman relations, etc. The nutrition of a soul is night prayers, sessions like this one, Ramadan. If Ramadan could speak, it would say that it doesn't belong to earth, it belongs to heaven. Also, the Masjid is built on earth, and yet it is part of heaven. Can you imagine your combination, you consist of two components, and each component has its own nutrient. Be careful, you must feed both. If you fed your body only, you would die. You are made of two components. If one stopped eating for two weeks or more, eventually he would die and if a person got so far away from Allah's path, he would die too, but slowly.

The death of the soul is represented in depression and psychological illnesses. It is also represented in a person who has everything, and yet feels that there is something major missing, and he can't stand living in this world. So this person keeps pressuring the soul, by feeding the body with everything. And if the soul weren't imprisoned inside the body, it would have screamed out, wanting to return to Allah. Those of you who lived for their bodies would have a very difficult life; you would find your soul getting so old, although you are still young, because you are not feeding your soul, while you are feeding your body. Don't ever live for your body.

Allah (SWT) says "Abundance diverts you, until you visit the graves, But No, you soon shall know (the reality). Again, you soon shall know! No, were you to know with certainty of mind, you shall certainly see Hell-fire".

Here, He is not forbidding the abundance of wealth or children, but He is forbidding things which may divert you. He mentioned the grave because the ultimate end of a body is the grave. In five successive times, He threatens those who live for their bodies. Those will see, with their own eyes, the Hell-fire. Then they would be asked if the felicity of their bodies did them any good. All Allah is asking us to do is that we are made of two components, so we should balance between the two.

We should intensively worship Allah (SWT) in Ramadan. Feed the soul well! It yearns for Allah, so when Ramadan comes, it tells you 'please take me to Allah'. O those of you, who will worship Allah intensively for the first five days of Ramadan and then stop until the 27th of Ramadan, please don't do that this year. Get closer to Allah and feed the soul. If you lived for your body, then you become like the animals, and if you lived for your soul only, then you would become like angels, and you are not an angel, so you have to live for both. If you said that I should live only to worship, then God could've made you an angel if He wanted that. You should be successful on earth as well, you should lead. If you lived for your body, then you would become in a lower level than animals, as you have brains and a soul from a blow from Allah, and they don't. And if you lived for your soul only, this couldn't be! But if you made a balance between both, you would precede the angels! Because of this they prostrated themselves to Adam! Because he has the combination of the two and they don't. See what you are made of? This is why I am telling to do your best to worship Allah in Ramadan.

Now let's look at the soul. Allah (SWT) says "And they ask you about the soul. Say: The soul is one of the commands of my Lord, and you are not given aught of knowledge but a little." Where is the soul? Why couldn't the doctor know where it is by the microscope? It's a blow of Allah (SWT). It's one of His secrets. The soul has a special feature that is it belongs to Allah. Your body will stay with you until you die and then it will go to earth, but Allah daily takes your soul from you. It must return to its creator. You must sleep, so the soul would return to Allah (SWT). All this shows how weak you are. This is why I told you, we must pray to Allah in humility. Allah takes the soul every night. Allah says "Allah takes the souls at the time of their death, and those that die not, during their sleep". This is why Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) used to say when he would wake up "praises to Allah who brought me to life after making me die and to whom I shall return" So see how helpless you are? Even if one decided not to sleep, he would sleep or die because of a nervous breakdown. It's not optional. Whether you like it or not, the soul returns to Allah every night.

This is why Satan makes night the best time for the humans to sin, where no one can see them, because he knows that the soul will go back to Allah after a little while and he doesn't know if it shall return or not. He does this as if he is telling you, you have just sinned and your soul will go now to Allah. So, don't ever sleep after you sin. If you sin during the day and we all do, don't even sin at night. Because of this, the Prophet had always performed the ritual of ablution daily directly before he slept, in addition to reading the Al-Ikhlas (devotion) and Al-Kafirun (disbelievers) chapters of the Holy Quran. Because by doing this, he was telling Allah "There is no God except you. This is the end of my day; my life". It is as if Allah were telling us 'I will take your soul at night', you would answer by disobeying him, so He tells you "I will give it back to you tomorrow" And you insist on disobeying, so He tells you "I will take your soul at night but be careful, I might not give it back to you."

A Syrian had just told me a story about a young man from a wealthy family who had been given everything; a car, an apartment, money, etc. He proposed to a very beautiful girl and on the night of their engagement, she had a terrible pain and it turned out that she had a kidney failure. So his parents told him that she will die so he shouldn't marry her. Hence, he broke up with her. After three days, he went to bed and died while she is alive until now! This is because the soul belongs to Allah.

Did you see how helpless and weak you are? You have no one except Him. Do you remember the meaning of praying in Humility that we have talked about before? You are in Ramadan, so be submissive to Allah. Allah takes and returns your soul every day so you have no one except Him.

I will tell you another story that will show that Allah can take your soul while you are disobedient or while you are sleeping, and He can, also, take your soul while you are living the greatest moments of your life. Two days ago, there was an Egyptian girl who was 27 years old and was going to get married directly on Eid. She was working with us in the project of life makers, of making Ramadan bags for the poor. So on the first day of Ramadan, she took the bags in her car and gave them to the poor. On her way back home and while she was fasting and after doing a lot of good deeds, a car hit her and she died. Later on, they found in her car, a small piece of paper written in it a list of all the money she took and how she spent it as if she was clearing her name in front of Allah (SWT). Imagine how it would be like if Allah took your soul while you are in Ramadan? Imagine how great it would be if He took it while He was satisfied with your actions? And it would even be greater if He took your soul and informed everyone that He was satisfied with your actions.

Again did you see what you are made of? Then, be submissive to Allah. See the balance. See, how great Islam looks at you? It looks at you as you are weak but honored. Compare this with the way the west looks at you. The west has an extreme view of humans, either you are an animal who speaks; as Voltaire and Sartre said that the human being is a filthy insect in the history mess, or the human being is something extremely great. On the contrary to Islam, its view is balanced; you are weak but honored. You are made of mud, but you have good inside of you. You are pure and transparent because you are made of water and have a blow from Allah (SWT).

I want to ask you, who honored you more, Islam that says "So when I have made him complete and breathed into him of My spirit, fall down prostrated themselves to him." or Darwin's theory? Who honored you more? The one who tells you that your grandfather was a chimpanzee? Or the one who says that your grandfather was Adam and the angels prostrated themselves to him?

I want to tell you something about a chapter in the Qur'an that we all read, and it honors you so much. This chapter says "By the Fig and the Olive, And the Mount of Sinai, and this City of Security. We have indeed created man in the best of moulds" So what is the relation between the fig, the olive and mount Sinai, and your creation?

Here God is swearing by three things, the first one is by the land of the fig and olive, which is Palestine, the second is by the sacred mountain where God called Musa, and the third one is by the security city, which is Mecca. Thus God is swearing by Palestine, the mount of Sinai and Mecca. These three places are the purest and the most sacred places on earth. God is saying here, I swear by the most three sacred and purest places I created, you are honored and as pure as they are.

When was Adam brought to life? Prophet Mohamed (PBUH) answered this question in his Hadith "No better day on which the sun rose than Friday, on which Adam was created, on which Adam descended to Earth and on which Allah made Adam repentant." So for Allah to make us feel so honored, He made on Fridays, an hour during which all prayers are answered. The Prophet (PBUH) said "On Fridays, there is an hour during which if any of Allah servants prayed to Him, He shall answer his/her prayer" Most scholars think that this hour is after Al-Aasr prayer, because in another Hadith it was said that Adam was created in the afternoon of Friday.

Now let's talk about a Qur'an verse that is going to be the subject of today and tomorrow. This verse says "And when your Lord said to the angels, I am going to place in the earth a successor" Successor in where do you think? On earth or heaven? He is a successor on earth. You might find this strange and say that Adam was created originally to live in Heaven and then he disobeyed Allah so he descended to Earth and lived there. No, this is wrong and the proof is the above verse. This verse is the first one that speaks about Adam in The Cow chapter. This verse was before the creation of Adam and before his disobedience. This shows that he was originally created to live on earth, and the proof to that is that he was created from earth's dust and his name was Adam which means the oldest on earth. So this means that our thoughts, that we are living on Earth and not in heaven because of Adam's disobedience, is wrong. In all cases, we were going to come down to Earth. Then why do you think that Allah made Adam go to heaven first?

Allah did this as if to tell Adam the following:

"This is your country, your homeland, you shall be back to live here. So you and your children dream about returning here. I am sending you on a mission to Earth. As soon as you finish it, you shall return to heaven"

Hence, when I ask where are you from? Don't answer from Egypt, as your father is from there. This is wrong. You are from Heaven. Can you feel the greatness of these words? So we want to go back to our homeland, Heaven. In Lebanon, each time the word Heaven is mentioned, I find the youth crying. They are yearning for Heaven.

So the main idea here is that our homeland is not earth, we are on earth to complete a mission, and wishing to finish it to return to Heaven and finally rest. Then if this is the case and Adam was originally intended to live on Earth, then what idea of his story in which he ate from the forbidden tree and disobeyed Allah?

This is to show Adam and his children what we call a solved example i.e. Allah shall not punish Adam; he must first learn and understand how things work.

This is the same as in the Mathematics book, in which it gives you first a solved example and then it gives problems that resemble the example so you can solve them. This is the same case, it is as if Allah is telling Adam not to think that life on Earth is ideal, and there are people who are waiting to grab the chance to harm him. So as a kind of mercy on him and his children, Allah gave him this solved example to show him that this example will be repeated over and over until the Day of Judgment, but the forbidden tree will appear in different forms such as a bottle of liquor, illegal money, a sinning woman, etc. This is a solved example to mankind until the Day of Judgment. Do you know why Allah made Adam stay for a little while in Heaven? Because He wanted to prepare him, as he will be His successor on earth. So Allah must provide him with special gifts, and teaches him. Also, Allah wanted him to get to know the creatures that he is going to deal with on earth; the angels who are the friends and satan who is the enemy.

A question might occur to your minds "Why did Allah bring us to Earth and why couldn't you stay in Heaven from the first place instead of having to go through all this?"

No, this can't be done. How come Allah would call you to do a mission and you would answer that you want to rest! Did you understand why you are on earth? You are responsible of the earth. You are Allah's successor on earth. Allah made you in charge of fixing the Earth. Allah chose you among the angels and the devils to fix the universe. This is why He blew into you, your soul. All the angels and devils wanted to do this mission, but He chose you, so how come you answer Him that you wanted to stay in Heaven and rest?! So you should be happy instead.

But unfortunately which one of you is doing this task? Nowadays, who is trying to fix the universe?

Furthermore, do you know why Allah didn't make you stay in Heaven for a little while? Because the way you are made, is that you must stay apart from things, so you would yearn for them to feel their value. If you went to stay directly in Heaven, you will not feel its value. Similarly, the father who brings his son a car and he has a car accident in which the car had severe damages. The son will not be affected as he earned it easily but it will affect the father because he worked hard to get it. So because of this, all the effort that you exert in this world, all the fasting, resisting your desires and all difficulties that you go through, has a sweet taste that you will only feel when you go to heaven. The more effort that you exert in the world, the more Allah will make you enjoy Heaven.

Imagine yourself, standing at the doors of Heavens after all the exhaustion of the world. Imagine the Prophet holding your hands and taking you to your palace in Heaven. Imagine you and your family sitting with each other in Heaven. There is even more than this. You will never feel the sweet taste of seeing Allah's face in Heaven except if you worked hard in this world. Do you think that those who didn't pray to God submissively would be yearning to see Allah's noble face?

Conclusion

We shall conclude this episode with the following Hadith "Allah calls the residents of Heaven. They hear someone calling them and saying, O Heaven residents, are you satisfied? They answer "How could we not be?!!! You made us go to Heaven and whitened our faces. So the caller says "O Heaven residents, there is another thing for you" They ask "What is that?" The caller says "O Heaven residents, Allah wants you to visit Him, so go and visit the merciful. So they ascend to see Him and He lays out stands made of lights for them around His throne. So work hard and do your best to reach these stands. There stands made of lights, silver and gold. And while they are like that, they see a strong light shining on them so they think that this is Allah. But it turns out that this is only the light of Him approaching. Allah calls them "O Heaven residents, Peace be upon you." So they answer him in the same way they conclude their prayers in the world "You are Peace and from you is peace. You are blessed, O Allah the greatest" Allah asks "where are my servants who worshipped me without seeing me?" So they hold up their hands. Allah says "O Heaven residents, Today is the day of addition so ask me for anything." They all agree on one answer "be satisfied with us" So Allah says "If I weren't satisfied with you, you wouldn't be in Heaven now. So ask for something else" They all agree on one answer "Show us your noble face" The cover is revealed and they all see His noble face. After so, no one wants anything else except to keep looking at His noble face. Allah talks to each and every one of them while they cannot not believe that Allah is actually talking to them. So Allah says to each one "My servant, do you remember the sin that you did which is so and so?" So His servant answers "Didn't you forgive me?" Allah says "Yes, with My forgiveness, you have reached this scale that you are in" So Allah tells them "Wish for anything as you worked hard in the world" so His servant keeps wishing and wishing until he/she runs out of wishes and then Allah tells him/her "You forgot to wish for so and so"

What do you think? Would you like to be in that position in Heaven?

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[Zeinab]

Adam as a Successor

18th October 2004

Introduction

We will carry on with the stories of the Prophets, beginning with the Story of Adam. The verse from the Holy Qur'an says: "And when your Lord said to the angels, I am going to place on earth a successor."

I feel that this verse is one of the strongest and most important verses in Qur'an. This verse tells us why we are on this earth. Many people commit suicide, and get depressed, and feel lonely in this world, because they do not know the true meaning of this verse. It is so powerful, that if you really understand it, and become aware of its meaning (which is our aim for today), you will suddenly find your self a totally different person understanding and knowing things you were blind to before; the meaning of life, the creation and the rules God put for us on this earth, and the secret of our presence!

The Successor

"And when your Lord said to the angels, I am going to place on earth a successor."

This is the first story in Qur'an, in the second chapter, 'The Cow'. So what does the word successor mean? It means holding the responsibility of doing something on behalf of some one else, following this person's rules and regulations. In this case, it is a successor of Allah; we are put on this earth by God, with the condition of obeying and following his rules, regulations and guidance. Can you imagine how honoured we are? He chose mankind among all the creatures on earth, to hold responsibility on his earth? Are you starting to understand, in more depth, why Adam (humans) was created on earth? Why Allah blew life into Adam? Why He ordered the angles to prostrate to Adam? And why Satan refused to prostrate? He refused to, because he wanted to be the one responsible of earth (be the Successor), and he felt that it was being taken away from him.

Only one point is needed in order to be a successor, and that is to manage the world in its natural way. Why else has Allah given us humans the responsibility? Surely not for us to ignore, and tear apart His rules of managing the earth, and enforce ours. This earth does not belong to us; therefore we have no right to do so.

Our responsibilities

So what is our role of responsibility? We have two roles: the first is to run the earth. This means to create technologies, researches and developments, in all areas of life. The second is to repair and protect it with justice; so no hatred, disrespect or misery is developed. Repairing earth is done by spreading good, and forbidding the evil. This is the secret of God's creation. So ask yourself, are you really doing this? Every one of us should be doing this within their own limits. The more good deeds you do on this earth, the higher your rank is with God.

One can point out the following verse "I have only created Jinn and Mankind to obey ME" This is one of the biggest ways that we can obey God! By following his rules and, abiding by them on His earth. Obeying God does not just mean fasting and praying etc, it's a combination of all of the above. Fasting and praying is needed to strengthen our souls in order to manage the responsibilities given to us on earth. Without obeying Gods laws, praying and fasting etc, we would never be able to manage this earth. Every one that wills to manage this earth through Gods laws has automatically obeyed God. However, not every one that follows the rules of fasting and prayer is a Khalifa, because we can fast and pray, but not be constructive on earth. That means they didn't fulfil their purpose of creation.

Every successor is obedient to God, yet not every obedient human is a successor.

This is one of the reasons why we started the program Life Makers. To give every one a chance and responsibility to be a Khalifa, and do some thing good on earth.

So why did God breath into Adam? Not just to teach him how to fast and pray, because the angles already knew how to do that. The breath blown into him gave him strength, trust and love, in order to help him be a Successor.

Last points

We would expect the Prophet (PBUH) to say…If the end of the world came, and in your hand was a seed, quickly throw it and pray and repent to God with the last few minutes you have left. But he doesn't! In fact, he commands us to bury the seed, because your responsibility is the earth. You were not created just to eat and drink or even just to pray.

Another point I'll bring forth to you is a hadith from the Prophet (PBUH): If the son of Adam dies, all of his deeds die with him, except for three:

1-A continuous charitable deed.

2-A well brought up child that prays for him.

3-An invention, or research development.

Also, one of seven that God will shelter under his wing is a fair judge!

The other reason we were created, is for the Day of Judgement

The Prophet (PBUH) said that we will not enter Paradise or Hell, until we are asked the following questions:

1-Where/How did you spend your life on this earth?

2-How did you spend your health, and teenage years?

3-How was your money earned, and how was it spent?

4-How did you make use of your education?

Unfortunately, we have become blind to our duties on earth as generations after generations appear. Look at our earth today, yes we have people that have developed the best of technology, but they have denied the help and main reason of their success: (God). Yet, on the other hand, we have people that have failed altogether in managing and being responsible of the earth. Which one are you? Can you call yourself a successor? I hope so.

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[Zeinab]

Adam's partner

19th October 2004

Adam needs Eve

In the previous lecture, we reached the point that Adam has been qualified to be the ruler on earth. However, he just needs one thing to complete these qualities. He needs Eve, (Hawaa in Arabic) to be by his side. Let's see how she was created, from what elements, and why she is called Hawaa.

If we translate the name 'Adam' in Arabic, it means he is from the earth's soil. Moreover, the name 'Hawaa' in Arabic, has 3 meanings in the dictionary.

The three meanings of the name 'Hawaa'

1) Hawaa means 'from life', (from the Arabic word 'haya'). She has been created with life, which means there could be no life without her! The value of life is only completed by her existence! Women should understand that they are valuable in life! Secondly, men must appreciate these meanings; she is the taste of life, the joy, love, tenderness and power. But how is she powerful? She is powerful because she has a powerful man in her life, whether a husband or a son, and continues to show her power and determination by pushing them forward to success.

The first wonderful ideal lady was Khadeeja, the wife of the Prophet Mohamed (PBUH). She was the greatest woman in Islam, to whom Allah (SWT) conveyed His greetings, through Angel Gabriel, in her dying moments. She didn't participate in battles (she died before these things occurred). However, she was the life of the Prophet. She prayed for him, and supported him in the hardest periods of his life. She is the first mother to the believers, and Allah rewarded her with a palace in heaven. There is an important meaning here; Adam was created to inhabit the earth and prosper in it, and Eve was created to prosper Adam. So she is the one who will provide life and power.

2) The other meaning of the word 'Hawaa' (Eve) is your role as a woman to embrace and encourage your husband, son and brother, by supporting them until they become a brave, responsible leader.

3) The third meaning of Hawaa means shyness. Hence your role as a woman comes from these three meanings.

Eve's purpose of creation

Allah (SWT) says: "And among his signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquillity with them. And He has put love and mercy between your (hearts): verily in that are signs for those who reflect." [Qu'ran 30:21].

Adam needed Eve before he even descended to earth, as she will be his partner and life support. Therefore, we can understand that the woman has two roles:

1) Preparing Adam to rule the earth.

2) To share with him in the prosperity of the earth.

Examples of the woman's role

We can see examples from the Prophets' stories that revealed the role of the woman. For instance:

Prophet Musa had four women that supported and encouraged him. The first one was his mother, who was ordered by Allah to put him in the river in a basket. The second woman was his sister, who showed them the way to feed him. The third was the Pharaoh's wife, who took him as her son. And the fourth was his wife, who asked her father to rent him as helper.

Furthermore, who raised Jesus? His mother, the virgin Mariam! Who supported the Prophet (PBUH)? His wife Khadeeja! Who taught the Muslims the Prophet's sayings and tradition? His wife Aisha!

There are also women who are mentioned in Qur'an, who have shared in the prosperity of the earth, such as:

Lady Mariam
The Pharaoh's wife
The queen of Saba (Sheba).

What elements was Eve created from?

Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported: Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: The woman is like a rib. When you attempt to straighten it, you would break it. And if you leave her the way she is you would benefit by her, and crookedness will remain in her. Then the Prophet (PBUH) concluded "take good care of women". See how the Prophet (PBUH) advised men to take care of women as wives, mothers and sisters?

Eve was created from Adam, from his left side; the function of any bone on that side is to protect the body's vital organs. Especially this left rib which Eve was taken from, since it curves around the heart, protecting it! Now do you see the importance of women? Now do you see how God elevated her status?

Hence, the curving in the woman is not in her behaviour, as may be misinterpreted in the above hadith. It just shows that the woman is filled with emotions! Allah (SWT) and the Prophet (PBUH) advised the man to take care of the woman in each stage of her life, from her birth until her death. They have to raise her well, and never force her to marry someone by force, because marriage is a sacred contract. Then after marriage, the husband must love and be patient with his wife, even if she looses her temper once in a while, he must bear her as she bears him.

Satan and us

Now we are going to focus on another point; Satan our real enemy. From the beginning, he showed that he was our enemy, when he refused to bow to Adam, Allah's creation. So how can we let him mislead us?

The problem with Satan is that he is arrogant. He thinks he is the best. So arrogance is the first sin that was committed in this universe. The two worst examples of arrogance are Satan and the Pharaoh of Egypt. Therefore, be aware, as human beings should not have this awful character.

The Prophet (PBUH) said, in its meaning, that the person who carries an atom of arrogance in his heart, will not enter Paradise.

There are several types of arrogance, such as: showing off, injustice, humiliation, avoiding prayers, pride from your qualities, and avoiding advice. The Prophet (PBUH) said, in its meaning, that these arrogant people will be gathered on Judgment Day like ants (in size). People will step on them, and degradation will surround them. The only solution is to be humble to Allah.

How was Satan created?

He is created from fire, and fire has many functions. We can describe some of its characteristics, such as hurriedness and destruction. Fire's nature is that evil exists in it.

Satan is from fire, and he possesses all these characteristics and much worse. So what does Satan want from us as human beings? Well, he wants humans to neglect the role which Allah wrote for us, in ruling the earth and prospering inside it. Satan wants to do seven things to us:

1) Satan wants us to end up in the depths of hell. So he will try his best to let us become disbelievers.

2) If he fails, he will work hard to make you to associate partners with God. It doesn't have to be other false gods; it can be materialistic things which you favour over God, for example fashion, money, etc.

3) If he fails, he will continuously whisper in your ears to make you commit the major sins.

4) If he fails, he will work hard to influence you to continuously increase your minor sins.

5) If he fails, he will let you waste your time.

6) If he fails, he will let you become occupied with trivial things, and make you neglect more important issues.

7) If he fails in all six points, he will then try to harm you by doing anything, such as making people laugh at you or mock you.

So let's ask ourselves which number are we at now? If we failed before, let's take this Ramadan as our chance to reconcile with Allah, to change ourselves, and our deeds.

The Qur'an said, yes satan succeeded in his mission to deviate human beings, yet still, he has no power or influence over the believers. Those, who Allah says in the Qur'an, are faithful servants to Him alone.

So don't fear, Allah is with us! He is providing us with a good army resembled in the Qur'an, prayers, remembrance of Allah, Ramadan, good companions, and repentance.

This war between us and Satan will last until the end of time. So let's make an effort to win this war by not giving him a chance to drive us to hell. Let's work very hard this Ramadan, by avoiding all of Satan's temptations. Submit yourselves to Allah, and ask Allah to increase your faith in Ramadan, and ask Him to keep your faith stable.

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[Zeinab]

Adam and Hawwa in Paradise

20th October 2004

Nakedness

Then We said: "O Adam! Verily, this is an enemy to you and your wife. So let him (Satan) not get you both out of Paradise, so that you will be distressed. Verily, you have (a promise from Us) that you will never be hungry therein nor naked. And you (will) suffer not from thirst therein nor from the sun's heat. [Qur'an 16:117-119]

We have always imagined the first man (Adam) as being naked and covered with nothing more than a leaf. This, however, is not true. As the above verse mentions, Adam was not hungry, nor was he naked. This is significant, because it shows that humanity did not in fact know the concept of nakedness since the beginning of time, as many believe. Humanity did not know nakedness until it evolved and developed.

The tree of temptation

And We said: "O Adam! Dwell you and your wife in the Paradise and eat both of you freely with pleasure and delight, of things therein as wherever you will, but come not near this tree or you both will be of the wrongdoers. [Qur'an 2:35]

Heaven has all kinds of trees, more than we can ever imagine, and Adam was warned from eating just one tree. The devil seduced Adam and Hawwa into eating from the tree, in the same manner that he seduces us today. He made Adam feel that all the trees he had access to where not as good as the one he was ordered not to come near. The devil made him desire what he could not have; the same approach that the devil takes with each one of us today.

So he misled them with deception. Then when they tasted of the tree, that which was hidden from them of their shame (private parts) became manifest to them and they began to cover themselves with leaves of Paradise (in order to cover their shame). And their Lord called out to them (saying): "Did I not forbid you that tree and tell you: Verily, Satan is an open enemy unto you?" [Qur'an 7:22]

Adam's shame

All it took was a taste for Adam and Eve to see their shame. Can you imagine how Adam must have felt in this moment? This is the same Adam who Allah ordered the angels to prostrate for. Adam ran into heaven, not to hide from Allah, but out of shame. The devil worked hard, and his main purpose was to expose Adam and Hawwa. The devil knew that the easiest and quickest way to corruption is to expose people and subject them to nakedness.

O Children of Adam! We have bestowed raiment upon you to cover yourselves (screen your private parts) and as an adornment; and the raiment of righteousness, that is better. [Qur'an 7:26]

O Children of Adam! Let not Satan deceive you, as he got your parents (Adam and Hawwa) out of Paradise, stripping them of their raiments, to show them their private parts.

Allah has always warned us against this concept of nakedness, and not covering ourselves properly, since it is the fastest and easiest way to become from the wrongdoers. It is through Satan that people believe that uncovering is fashionable, and that it is a sign of independence. It is because of these false ideas that things such as magazines with inappropriately dressed models, and adult movies/magazines have spread around the world and into our homes. The path that many of us are taking is the path that Satan used, to strip Adam and Hawwa of their clothes, and to get them out of Paradise.

Is it Eve's (Hawwa) fault?

Lastly, is it that Hawwa was responsible for getting Adam out of Paradise? All of the other religions say that this is true. Islam however, says that they were both accomplices in this. Whenever the story of Adam and Hawwa is mentioned in the Qur'an, you will find that it refers to both of them in the plural form. In the Qur'an it says that they tasted the tree, that they were both misled with deception, that they were both ashamed, and that the Lord called to the both of them.

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[Zeinab]

Adam's Repentance

21st October 2004

Introduction

We need to confirm what was said in the previous lectures with respect to our relationship with the devil (Iblees). You need to feel that Iblees is your enemy. You need to feel that you are ready for this enmity. Look at this verse in The Cave Chapter. The verse says:

Will ye then take him and his progeny as protectors rather than Me? And they are enemies to you! Evil would be the exchange for the wrong-doers!! [Qur'an 18:50]

It is like someone is saying to you, 'will you take the devil to be your protector in exchange for Allah? This is the worst kind of exchange you could make.

This second verse says:

Verily Satan is an enemy to you: so treat him as an enemy. He only invites his adherents, that they may become Companions of the Blazing Fire. [35:6]

What does this mean? The devil has already decided and confirmed that you (mankind) are his enemy. The problem lies with us not recognizing this and taking him as an enemy unto ourselves.

We actually have an act of worship to confirm our enmity with Iblees, other than taking refuge in Allah from the devil. This act of worship is 'Ramey al Gamarat' (throwing of pebbles in 3 fixed places in Mina during pilgrimage). 'Ramey al Gamarat' consists of firstly saying 'In the name of Allah the Most Merciful The Most Kind', making the intention, then concentrating and throwing small stones at the designated areas. This is done 70 times, over a period of 4 days. A lot of people do not understand the significance of this act. In fact, it is this very spot in which the devil tried to persuade Prophet Ibrahim not to sacrifice his son Ismail to Allah.

In this act, one must show that Iblees is the enemy. After throwing each stone, it is recommended that one makes a supplication to Allah, as it will be accepted. This is because one has witnessed that the devil is an enemy to oneself and to Allah (SWT).

At this moment, in Ramadan while we speak, the devil is chained up. So let's prepare the soul, so that it is full of strength during and after Ramadan, and the devil will not be able to make us go astray.

Adam and Eve

Let's now return to Adam and Eve.

Adam and Eve both ate from the forbidden tree, hence they are both responsible; Adam even more so, as he is the man, and they sinned. What is the result of this sin? There are four consequences

1) The humiliation - What is this humiliation? ……..that which was hidden from them of their shame (private parts) became manifest to them and they began to cover themselves with leaves of Paradise (in order to cover their shame) [Qur'an 7:22]

Then learnt Adam from his Lord words of inspiration, and his Lord Turned towards him; [2:37]

2) Being told to leave Paradise - "We said: "Get ye down all from here" [Qur'an 2:28] Allah (SWT) told Adam and Eve to leave Paradise, and the company of Allah (SWT).

3) Being called a sinner - "thus did Adam disobey his Lord" [Qur'an 20: 121]

4) Allah's admonition- "Did I not forbid you that tree and tell you: Verily, Satan is an open enemy unto you?" [Qur'an 7:22]

Imagine Adam and Eve as they heard this scolding from Allah. The hardest thing on the Day of Judgment will be Allah's admonition. On the Day of Judgment, each person will be called. Imagine as you stand there, and Allah (SWT) says 'My Servant, read your book", and you open your book and read your sins and wrong-doings. Imagine if you were to read this book in front of your parents, let alone in front of Allah (SWT), and all of mankind is listening. 'Read your book" and you read it and Allah says "My servant, did I not bless you, provide for you, did you not learn from the story of your father Adam, did I not provide you with a spouse, wealth and beauty". My servant you have disobeyed Me. You gave to the people what is good and to Me what is bad. Did you think this day would not come?"

But imagine that you are one of the righteous believers. Allah will say to you: "If you sin, My servant, I will conceal your mistakes so that no one hears you. Do you remember the sin you committed and Allah concealed it from the people? Allah says He will forgive it in the hereafter.

Consequences of our sins in this world

The admonition of the believers - In a hadith Qudsi reported by Al-Imam Ahmed, Allah says: I am Allah there is no God but I, if I am worshiped then I am content and if content then I bestow my blessings and My blessings have no end. But if disobeyed my wrath is ensued and if my wrath is ensued then I damn…

There is also a Prophetic hadith with regards to the consequences of going astray. Hassan Al Basrey says "beware of the ensuing the wrath of the believers and without realizing it" They said "how?" "By doing that which is in disobedience to Allah, so His anger is passed onto the hearts of the believers"

1) Detachment from Allah - if you have all the riches of this world, it can not overcome this feeling. You will always feel that you are far away from Allah and you can not come closer. One of the people who had repented said: I know the result of my disobedience through my wife's treatment towards me.

2) Allah will take away from you the feeling of piety - You may have committed a sin last Ramadan and Allah left you, but if you commit it again this year, He will not let you get close to Him again. One of the righteous people said "I used to be very obedient then I committed a number of sins but nothing happened to me." He asked, "Doesn't Allah punish those who disobey Him? So how come nothing has happened to me?" So one day he slept and in is dream he saw someone saying to him "Allah is punishing you but you do not realize it. He has taken away from you the joy of piety".

3) He takes away the blessings from your wealth and life - You may have lots of wealth and live a long life, but there is no blessing in either. An example of this is you may have a son and he falls ill, and all the money that was earned through forbidden means will go into paying for medication.

4) He takes away all that is good - The girls and boys that sin will not attain the good that was prescribed for them.

5) 'Darkness' of the face - Hassan Al Basrey says: of the signs of obedience is brightness of the face, light in the heart, the love of people towards you, and strength in the body. Of the signs of disobedience are darkness of the face, injustice in your heart and the hearts of others towards you, no blessing in your provisions and weakness in the body.

6) Not being able to say the Shahadah at the time of death - Your tongue will be tied so you can not bear witness, you will want to say it, but cant.

Let's return to Adam

The difference between Adam and many people is that after he sinned, he wanted to earn Allah's contentment, he wanted to return to Him but didn't know how to, he had not been taught yet. He had wronged himself but didn't know about repentance yet.

Al-Hakim reports a hadith describing this situation saying 'So Adam and Eve kept on running to and fro in paradise not knowing what to do'. Adam knew that it was Allah that created him and that the angels prostrated to him and after all this he disobeys Allah. As he was running, Allah called him over and asked "Do you run away from Me?" Adam replied, "No I do not run away from you but run out of shame!"

If you do disobey Allah then at least be shameful of it. Don't commit the sin and then feel proud of it! Ibn Al-Qayim says some important words concerning this matter. He says that your happiness in committing this sin is much worse in Allah eyes than the actual sin! But there is something even worse than this, if you laugh while committing the sin and even worse than that, your displeasure if you unable to commit the sin, (you are unable to commit the sin and are unhappy about this fact). One should be happy that it is not in their nature to commit a particular sin; this is not a deficit but strength. The worst of all is your concern at hiding yourself while you commit the sin, so that no one can see you, not thinking for a minute that in fact Allah sees everything. This is worse than the actual sin itself!

So as Adam is looking for words to repent, Allah says "Then Adam received from his Lord words. And his Lord pardoned him (accepted his repentance)." [Qur'an 2:37] So what Allah is trying to say is that repentance is easy. By saying the designated words (sincerely) Allah will forgive them. Forgiveness from Allah can be achieved very quickly, as in Adam's case where he was given all of Allah's blessings, then sinned, but as soon as he wanted to repent, was taught how to, and Allah forgave him.

What were these words? "Our Lord we have wronged our own souls: If thou forgive us not and bestow not upon us thy mercy we shall certainly be lost" [Qur'an 7:23] See the humility? So far in all the episodes, the topic of humility always comes up. The reason being that we are servants of Allah and humility is asked of us. The first step on the route to repentance is admitting to the fact that you are in the wrong.

There is an invocation that was prescribed by the Prophet, whoever says this before they die will be forgiven and will enter paradise, and that is why it is part of the daily invocations, "O Allah You are my Lord, there is none worthy of worship but You. You created me and I am your slave. I keep Your covenant and my pledge to you so far as I am able. I seek refuge in You from the evil of what I have done. I admit to Your blessings upon me, and I admit to my misdeed. Forgive me for there is none who may forgive sins but You."

Al Hakim reports a hadith said by Adam: 'O Lord did you not fashion me with Your hands and breathed into me some of your soul. O Lord did you not give me paradise to dwell in. O Lord did you not say to me when I sneezed, May your Lord have mercy on you. O Lord did You not say to me that your mercy is greater than Your wrath. O Lord will you return me to the Paradise when I repent? He replied 'Yes, you and your wife.'

Let's copy Adam. Don't enter Ramadan with a sin you wont give up on! Do you not want to be saved from Hell-fire? Repent. Make the intention to repent. Copy Adam and not Iblees. Both Adam and the devil sinned, but the difference between them is that Adam realized his mistake and repented, whereas the devil did not.

The Prophet (PBUH) said, "I ask for forgiveness and repent to Allah more than 70 times a day." The companions said that "when we used to sit down with the Prophet we could hear him asking for forgiveness more than 100 times!" The Prophet would be sitting with them, then would become silent, we would look at him and find him saying 'I seek forgiveness from Allah, I seek forgiveness from Allah'…Then he would speak with them, then would become silent and say 'I repent to You'…I repent to You' then again 'I seek forgiveness from Allah' and I repent to You'.

Ramadan is a great opportunity to ask for forgiveness, to repent, and to ask to be saved from the Hell-fire! So make it so that the night of your repentance is also the night of your savior from the Hell-fire.

See this beautiful Hadith: "Allah is pleased when His servant repents". The best day of your life is when Allah accepts your repentance and forgives you. Pray that Allah forgives you in Ramadan.

After Adam repented, did his piety increase or decrease? Is it possible to raise your level of piety after sinning? In fact, Adam became a Prophet after sinning and repenting. The Prophet (PBUH) was asked: "O Messenger of Allah, who was the first Prophet?" He said Adam. So the companion asked "was he a Prophet?" He replied "yes a Prophet." The meaning is that if you sin and then repent, then you rise in Allah's eyes. In fact, if you sin then repent, you will be above the righteous ones, depending on the strength and sincerity of your repentance. How much is you heart connected with Allah and is sincerely regretting your sins?

Look at the meaning of beseech. Adam left paradise and went to the earth. But he was upset that he had left paradise and left Allah's side. Listen to how Allah talks to Adam. "You used to come to meet me as a King entering the company of another king but now you come to Me as servant to his king and that is more beloved to Me". Adam If I was to stop you from ever committing sins then to whom would I grant My mercy, forgiveness and generosity."

"O Adam the remorse of the sinners is more beloved to Me than being glorified by the obedient ones. O Adam a sin with which you repent to me is Me is more beloved to me than a good deed you may do. O Adam don't be afraid when I say leave Paradise for I created it for you, but you will have to go to earth and work hard in it, work in the way of Allah and cultivate the land, and when you really long to come back, I will allow you to enter it. "

These are beautiful words, a message to us all, to show humility before Allah and learn that this world is one for hard work, and if you really want to go to paradise, then you should work towards it, and you will achieve it.

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[Zeinab]

Adam on Earth

22nd October 2004

Introduction

In the Name of the Most Merciful the Most compassionate, and prayers and peace be upon Prophet Mohamed (PBUH).

Today is the final part of Adam's story, and starting from tomorrow we will start with Prophet Noah's story. Imagine how many episodes we took in Adam's story!

Now Adam descended to earth after all the previous stages. Actually, I want point out that there are many things that I did not mention in Adam's story, because my aim was not only to tell the story, but to get the important facts of the story which we could benefit from, and apply them in our mission of building and developing earth.

So many people contacted me and asked which tree did Adam eat from? But would we benefit from this fact if the tree was fig or grapes. There is a rule that we should all conform to, that a fact that results in no benefit to our lives is then worthless talk. Another question: How did the devil enter Heaven to instill evil to Adam and Eve? Can you imagine that someone called me and told me that he can not sleep until he knows how the devil went in! What difference would it make if we knew which way he took in entering Heaven? We should only concentrate on the useful points, and you will find that some matters are not mentioned by Allah, because they are trivial.

Adam on earth

Now Adam will go down to earth. Did you notice that Adam went through a kind of a preparation period before he went down to earth? It was in the time he spent in Heaven, and his experience was now complete, as he discovered so many things in himself. He discovered that the blow in him from Allah (all mighty) gave him very special characteristics. Moreover, he discovered that life is not perfect; there is a reality and the devil whose aim is to trick him, even if he swore by Allah and used all the ways. Also, he discovered repentance, and the system which brings you back to Allah (all mighty) in a very quick and strong way. As if Allah is telling him, as long as you are alive, you can come back to Me and repent in any minute.

The presence of this preparation period was a must in Adam's life, and because Allah is so generous, He granted each one of us this preparation period in life. It is the period of childhood and adolescence. Notice that the growth period of Man, until he reaches his maturity, is twenty years; the first seven years is for perception and body growth, and until he reaches the age of twenty, his mental and physical growth is complete. Whereas, in other creatures, this period is considerably shorter; the growth period of the cat is nine months, for a lion cub to be a lion it takes a year and a half, for a monkey to learn all his skills and move from one tree to another, it takes one year. Except for Man, its takes twenty years, why? Because you are responsible for the earth. Other creatures use their skills only for drinking and eating, so that's why Allah made their preparation period shorter, because the matter is easy.

But the role of Man is to build and improve the earth; therefore his preparation period is longer. That's why your child takes a year and half to walk, while the baby lamb walks after a few minutes from his birth. Man is not, of course, slower than animals, but you need a longer preparation period, because you are Allah's ambassador on earth. Did you notice that the idea of parents and family is not only for gratitude because they brought you up? Allah's order of good treatment towards your parents, the importance of the family, and the Qur'an's concentration on the well treating of parents, is all because those are the ones who would give you the basic information and morals which would prepare you to become an ambassador. So the idea of parents' good treatment is not only for gratitude, but to be connected to them. And Allah put your love in their hearts, and their love in your heart, so that you are prepared to lead earth.

Notice that Adam and Eve married before they went down to earth, so marriage would be one of the basics which would help you in building and improving the earth. The earth began with a family; it did not begin with single persons. What I want to say is that Allah told us that we are responsible for earth and He granted all the means which help us in this mission. He granted us a brain. He granted us a blow from His soul (all mighty), which gave us all those great characteristics; loyalty, enthusiasm, gratitude, honesty, braveness, etc. Moreover, He granted us a preparation period which is shown in the parents and the family. Also, He granted us a rule which is called "repentance", so you could go back to Him (all mighty) at any time.

Adam went down to earth, not alone, but Eve was with him, and they were not alone, the devil was with them; all three went down to earth. Earth started with three, two of them responsible for earth's betterment, and the third will corrupt earth. And all of the Adam's sons, until Judgment Day will either follow Adam or will follow the one who went down to corrupt earth. Actually, there is no Hadith (prophetic saying) which mentions where Adam or Eve descended, but there are sayings with no solid evidence; some say that Adam went down in India, and Eve went down in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) and they met at Arafat Mountain. Some of the Jeddah inhabitants until now say that Jeddah was called so, referring to Jeddah (grandmother) Eve. All these sayings are sweet but they have no evidence.

After that, the sexual instinct and reproduction started, and Adam started from day one to accomplish his role in building and bettering the earth, and he taught his children to build and better the earth. In other words, he began to fulfill the concept of being an ambassador, which Allah created him for. The devil did not trick Adam again. See the persons who the devil tricked a hundred times, and see that Adam was not tricked twice! Even the devil knew that Adam could not be tricked twice, because he was rigid, and after he did the bad deed and repented he did not disobey Allah again.

Yesterday we were discussing the issue of repentance. Did the will of the people who listened become weaker, and will they disobey Allah again? This concept is very important, is it possible that you get tricked by the devil 30 or 40 times in the same way? Adam was not tricked except once. It is like the person who has a pit in front of his house and he falls in it every day when he is going out of his house. He falls for 30 or 40 times and he gets injured and still doesn't notice the pit! What should we call this in your opinion or what should the law name this person? I think the answer is quite clear.

Adam lived on earth for a very long period. In the Hadith told by Ibn Hamdan, it is mentioned that Adam lived on earth for 940 years. It seems that the ages were very much longer than now, Ibrahim' age was long, and Noah lived for 950 years; the ages were long at the beginning of earth, but they began to decrease. Another strange thing; the heights began to decrease too, as one of our Prophet's (PBUH) sayings mentions that when Allah created Adam he was 60 cubits, which is equal to the height of a building of six or seven floors! Imagine! Since then, the ages and sizes of humans are decreasing, why? This is part of Allah's mercy for us. As materialism increases, the abilities of earth increases, thus technology increases.

So if the people were with the same strength as Adam, with those abilities, and with those long lives, imagine what could have happened in this incredibly fast life we are living! How much would the size of corruption and bad deeds be? For them to move from one place to another they went through mountains and they rode camels, and it took them a month, therefore their ages were longer. On the contrary we are much faster in our movements using planes, technology, massive destructive weapons. Imagine the earth's corruption, and the easiness of committing bad deeds. So if the people had longer ages, they would think to commit bad deeds for like 600 years of their age and then repent in the remaining 300 years. The ages were decreased due to Allah's mercy, so that we could not commit bad deeds a lot, and the road to heaven is shorter. Did you notice that every thing in Adam's story hides Allah's great wisdom?

After that, Allah ordered Adam to build Him a "home", so he built the Kabaa. So he was the first to build it, and Ibrahim would rebuild after it fell down during Noah's flood. After 40 years Adam built El-Aqsa Masjid. Therefore, in the Prophet's (PBUH) midnight's journey to the seven heavens, he went front the El-Masjed El-Haram (Kabaa) to El-Masjed El-Aqsa (the Aqsa Masjid) because those are the first two Masjids built on earth.

Adam was taught the divine books; he died after a long age. During telling the story of Adam, I thought of our love towards our parents. But do we have this love for our first father and mother, the only ones who lived part of their lives in Heaven and the other part on earth, and none of their children lived in the both places. Hakem narrates a Prophetic saying, that when Adam was dying, no body knew the religious rituals of washing and burying the dead. So the angels came, took him, washed him, prayed and buried him in the dust, and they told his sons and daughters to do the same rituals with the dead until Judgment Day.

The Prophet met Adam in Heaven

All of us will die, and this was Adam's story, but before we finish his story, there is an important point which should be mentioned. That is the relation of the Prophet (PBUH) to Adam. The Prophet (PBUH) met Adam, and the following Prophetic narration about Adam states: "The Prophet was asked: When did Allah decided for you to be a Prophet? So he answered: "When Adam was between body and soul". The Prophet (PBUH) met his father Adam in his journey to the seven heavens. As the Prophet was in his journey to the seven heavens, he said that he and Angel Jibreel were going up, and Angel Jibreel knocked on the doors of the first heaven, so a voice replied:

Who is it?
He answered: Jibreel.
Who is with you?
Mohamed Son of Abdullah
Is he a Prophet? Yes.

So the Prophet (PBUH) entered the first sky, and found a man sitting, on his right side was a great number of people, and on his left also a great number of people; he looks to right and laughs then he looks to his left and cries. The Prophet (PBUH) asked Jibreel: who is this? He answered: this is your father Adam, he looks to right and see his sons who will go to heaven, and he looks to his left and sees his sons who will go to hell. Imagine the extent of Adam's passion towards us so that he is moved by this situation, as he is laughing because the people on his right benefited from his experience, and he looks on his left side and feels grief for the people who did not benefit from his experience, in spite of the fact they knew it, and they insisted to be away from Allah. The Prophet (PBUH) meets Adam and salutes him, so Adam replies: Welcome good Prophet, and good son. All the other Prophets who saluted the Prophet (PBUH) after this told him: Welcome good prophet, and good brother.

We see that Adam went to heaven another time, as if it is a message to tell us that even though Adam disobeyed Allah, when Adam repented and was not tricked by the devil again, Allah took him back to heaven again.

Judgment Day

We still have a relation to Adam on the Judgment day. One of the Prophet's sayings mentions that: "On the Judgment Day when all the humans are standing naked waiting for Allah's judgment, a voice says: Adam, Allah is ordering you to pick up a group of people who will go to hell, so Adam asks Allah: How much? So Allah's replies from every 1000, 999 will go to hell, and only one will go to heaven". The Prophet (PBUH) was telling his companions, so they lowered their faces and the Prophet (PBUH) started to hear their cries. So the Prophet (PBUH) asked them: what's wrong? They replied: you say 999 will go to hell and one to heaven, we do not know if Adam would take us to heaven or not. So he said: No 999 are from the previous nations and one from you, and I will wish you to be ¼ of heaven's inhabitants. So all the companions said, with enthusiasm, several times, "Allah The great". So when the Prophet saw their happiness, he told them: I will wish you to be 1/3 of heaven's inhabitants, so all the companions said with enthusiasm several times "Allah The great".

So the Prophet (PBUH) told them: I will wish you to be ½ of heaven's inhabitants, so the Masjid was full of shouts of "Allah The great" "Allah The great". See how the matter of heaven and hell was important to the companions, and how they were very sensitive to it? See how the companions were afraid from hell, and how the word of 999 people, moved their senses until they cried, and see how this nation was dear to the Prophet (PBUH), as he tells them at the end of this saying that they are so distinctive, such as white hair in the body of the black Ox. Does Mohammed's nation feel this distinctiveness? Actually, will meet Adam another time, on Judgment Day. Before Allah's judgment, all the humans will call from their fear: Who will plead for Allah on our behalf in order to begin His judgment?

So the first person they think of is naturally their father Adam, so all the humans run for Adam and they ask him to plead for Allah on their behalf to begin His judgment, so he answers: I am not up to it, because I disobeyed Allah, and ate from the tree. See how sensitive Adam is, as he still regrets the only bad deed he did until the judgment day.

We reached the end of Adam's story, and before we finish this story completely, I want you to see this diagram which briefs all what we said in Adam's story:


Cycle of Adam

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This is the cycle of Adam, so what is your position on this cycle? Notice that all of us were honored and commanded, so will our forgetting last for a long period? Some people stopped at the forgetting stage and did not pass this stage yet, and others stopped at the stage of disobedience. Notice that the disobedience stage is the lowest level. Other people repented and began to go up again, and the greatest repenting is to know that you were created as an ambassador for Allah to build and better the earth, so if you started bettering the earth, then you've attained your honor again.

The episode of tomorrow is on Noah (PBUH), and his patience in calling to Allah's religion for very long years, as if it is a message for everyone who calls to Allah, a message for Life Makers, we will see how he was patient until Allah granted him victory.

At the end of Adam's story I want to point out some things about Ramadan, I am afraid that while we are telling the stories, we forgot that all those stories are for one main purpose "We are responsible for this earth in front of Allah, and we will not be able to fulfill this responsibility except by long invocations to Allah (all mighty), and by a great self abasement for Allah (all mighty)". Please pray and self abase a lot, prostrate a lot for Allah and pray a lot this Ramadan, do all the good deeds you can, exert all your efforts, do not loose the concentration you had in the first two or three days of Ramadan. Think in every minute in Ramadan of the ways you can worship Allah until the last day in Ramadan; so that you could tell Allah that you did all that you could, and ask Him to grant you strength against committing bad deeds after Ramadan.

We wish for a great worshiping for Allah (all mighty) and a lot of praying. Let us pray tonight in self abasement, and Allah (if He wills) will answer our prayers. Let us pray while our hearts are very sure that Allah will answer. The conditions of praying are four:

To be sure that the prayers will be answered.
To be submissive while praying.
Not to be impatient for an answer.
To eat and drink from permissible sources.
Let us, after the prayers of today, give charity, in order to guarantee that it will purify our money. Ibn Al-Kayem says that anyone who does the above four conditions, his prayers will be answered.

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[Absolute truth]

Assalam alaikum

Mashaa' Allah
Great thread !

PARADISE: HOME OF THE BELIEVER

Ibnul Qayyim once said:

"Satan rejoiced when Adam (peace be upon him) came out of Paradise, but he did not know that when a diver sinks into the sea, he collects pearls and then rises again."