Why did God decide to create human beings?
This question that has often come to the mind of manyof us
And the angels also had the same question
˹Remember˺ when your Lord said to the angels,“I am going to place a successive ˹human˺ authority on earth.” They asked
˹Allah˺, “Will You place in it someone who will spread corruption there and
shed blood while we glorify Your praises and proclaim Your holiness?” Allah
responded, “I know what you do not know.”surah Al-Baqarah: 30
And the angels had this inquiry not as a discussionwith God Almighty, but as mentioned, because God created before humans the al-Hann and al-Bann and inhabited the earth, but they corrupted it and killed some of them,knowing that as we mentioned earlier, there is no confirmation ofthese pre-Adamite jinn or their specific names.
The idea here is not so much the angels' questionas it is God's response to them, God's response that He knows best, and what it
means that He Almighty, does not have to explain or give any reason for any
action he does.
God Almighty his knowledge, wisdom, and ability aremuch greater than any of his creatures, whether humans, jinn or angels can
understand.
Like the idea of where did God come from?
We must realize that our minds are far less thancomprehending this matter. Satan knows this, and that's why he uses this
question and this idea to cast doubt on human faith in God.
If God Almighty decides to create human beings forHis wisdom and will, we are much lower than we can understand it.
How did God choose to create mankind?
As we know, God created many things before Hecreated human beings and we mentioned what we know of them in the previous
article.
Among them are the angels created from light andthe jinn who were created from fire.
And I would like to point out here that thematerial from which each of them was created has a reflection on these
creatures.
Angels are characterized by beauty, prestige, andobedience, all of which are positive things like the light that makes us feel
hope and security.
For example, when we enter a place that is lit andits lighting is bright and beautiful, we get a feeling of energy, happiness,
and comfort.
As for the jinn, they were created from fire, andif we think of fire, we feel hardship, cruelty and fear. And this is the feeling
that prevails over us if we start talking about the jinn isn’t that correct?
And so do humans.
God decided to create them from dust, and ratherfrom different types and many colors of dust.
God created mankind from a handful of soilcontaining parts of all kinds of soil on earth.
The angels were sent to earth to collect the soilthat would become Adam, and it included dust that is a mixture of
Red, white, brown and black, soft and hard
It was taken from mountains and valleys, from drydeserts and fertile plains, and all the natural varieties in between.
Adam's descendants were destined to be as diverseas the handful of soil from which Adam was created.
The colors of human beings are varied as well astheir nature, qualities, and personalities
How did God create Adam (peace be upon him)?
In the Qur'an, the soil used to create Adam is referred to by many names, and from this, we can understand some of the methodology of his creation. Each soil name is used at a different stage of Adam's creationl
taken from the ground is referred to as soil.
When mixed with water it becomes clay, and when it is left, the water content decreases and becomes viscous clay.
If left again for some time, it smells like porcelain, and the color becomes darker - soft black clay, from this material,
God looks formed Adam and he left his body soulless to dry
˹Remember, O Prophet˺ when your Lord said to the angels, “I am going to create a human being from clay. So when I have fashioned him and had a spirit of My Own ˹creation˺ breathed into him, fall down in prostration to him.” (Sad 71-72)
After Adam's body dried up and before God breathed into it from his Spirit, God selected the prophets from his descendants as mentioned in the hadith.
They said: O Messenger of Allah, when did you have to prophecy? He said: When Adam was between the soul and the body
Narrator: Abu Huraira
Prophecy is chosen by God Almighty, and He has chosen the elite of mankind to be the real living example of the divine ideals and values that He has accepted.
Meaning: God wrote His prophecy, and He revealed it after the creation of Adam's body, and before the Spirit was breathed into it,
This means that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has been a prophet since that time in the knowledge of Eternal God
Among the events that were also mentioned to occur after the creation of Adam's body and before the breathing of the soul is Satan's attitude towards Adam
It was narrated from Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When Allah portrayed Adam in Paradise, he left him, as Allah willed to leave him. then the devil looked at him, to see what he was, and when he saw him hollow, he knew that he had created an unbearable creation.
meaning:
When God created Adam in Paradise and shaped his image, he left him for a while without breathing the spirit into him, so Satan spinned around him, and looked at him, to know what this thing is, and when he saw inside him empty, and he had a hollow, he knew that he is a weak creature who cannot pay the whisper about him
The benefits of this Hadith:
. Adam (peace be upon him) was created by Allaah with His gracious hand.
. Knowing the enmity of Satan since the beginning of creation.
. The hollow is the attribute of man as opposed to the steadfastness in the attribute of the righteous Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala
Then God willed to breathe the Spirit into Adam's body, and he did, and then he commanded the angels to fall down in prostration to him.
Events that happened after the soul was breathed
It is said that when Adam's body came to life, he sneezed and immediately said "praise be to God"; so God responded by giving His mercy to Adam. Although this narration is not mentioned in the Qur'an or the authentic narrations of the Prophet Muhammad, it is mentioned in some interpretations of the Qur'an.
Thus, in the first seconds of his life, the first man is recognized as an honorable creature, covered by God's infinite mercy.
Allah then commanded Adam to approach a group of angels sitting near him and greet them with the words of (peace be upon you), and they answered." God's peace, mercy and blessings be upon you."
From that day onwards these words became the greeting of those who submitted to God. From the moment Adam was created, we, his descendants, received instructions to spread peace.
There was also a very important situation to understand and God Almighty mentioned it in his saying
And ˹remember˺ when your Lord brought forth from the loins of the children of Adam their descendants and had them testify regarding themselves. ˹Allah asked,˺ “Am I not your Lord?” They replied, “Yes, You are! We testify.” ˹He cautioned,˺ “Now you have no right to say on Judgment Day, ‘We were not aware of this.’
(AlAr'af 172)
Meaning: Allah stated that He brought the descendants of Adam out of their fathers' loins, and they testified against themselves that Allah is their Lord and King and that there is no deity worthy of worship except Him. Allah created them on this Fitrah, or way, just as He said.
The meaning here is that God Almighty had asked us all since the creation of our father Adam (peace be upon him) that he is our Lord. And we all testified that this is true.
God did this to be an argument against us that we knew and testified to that, and this means that every human being is born on common sense, which is the instinct of faith that God Almighty is our Creator and He is our Lord. Anyone who acknowledges otherwise is the influence of the environment in which he is found.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
(Every child is born upon the Fitrah, it is only his parents who turn him into a Jew, a Christian or a Zoroastrian. Just as animals are born having full bodies, do you see any of them having a cutoff nose (when they are born)) .
And from the events that happened as well
God's words to the angels:
Surely We created you,1 then shaped you, then said to the angels, “Prostrate before Adam,” so they all did—but not Iblîs,2 who refused to prostrate with the others.
(AlA'raf 11)
And ˹remember˺ when We said to the angels, “Prostrate before Adam,” so they all did—but not Iblîs,1 who was one of the jinn, but he rebelled against the command of his Lord. Would you then take him and his descendants as patrons instead of Me, although they are your enemy? What an evil alternative for the wrongdoers ˹to choose˺!
(AlKahf 50)
God ordered the angels to prostrate to Adam and they all prostrated except Satan
And here two points should be clarified:
The first
While worship is reserved for God alone, angels prestration to Adam was a sign of respect and honor. Not for worship
The second
Why is Satan with them in this situation even though he is from the jinn?
What was mentioned is that Satan was the most righteous among the jinn, to the point that he rose to a high position among the angels.
But he was angry with God's command for him and the angels to prostrate himself before Adam, and this is because, as we mentioned, he felt that he was higher than Adam since he was hovering around his body before the breathing of the Spirit, and because he was of fire and Adam was of dust. So being asked to prostrate to him made him feel that Adam's place with God is higher than his status, and this is what Satan did not accept, and from that moment the eternal enmity of Satan arose to Adam and the children of Adam to the extent that he dared to God, and for this God expelled him from Paradise and from the status in which he was. He was also expelled from his mercy, there is no hope for him at all to enter paradise
So the angels prostrated all together— but not Iblîs,1 who refused to prostrate with the others-Allah asked, “O Iblîs! What is the matter with you that you did not join others in prostration?”-He replied, “It is not for me to prostrate to a human You created from sounding clay moulded from black mud.”-Allah commanded, “Then get out of Paradise, for you are truly cursed.-And surely upon you is condemnation until the Day of Judgment.”
(AlHijr 30-35)
This is why Satan told him that he would lead the children of Adam astray and tempt them so that they would not enter Paradise like him.
He said, “For leaving me to stray I will lie in ambush for them on Your Straight Path. (AlAr'af 16)
From that moment on, he is the greatest enemy of mankind and is ready to do any work to seduce them and mislead them because of his own despair of any forgiveness from God Almighty.
And God's response to him was that whoever follows him, will meet the same fate.
God told mankind that He only created them to worship Him. And he devoted everything in this world to Adam and his descendants to help him worship and know God.
Because of God's infinite wisdom, Adam and his descendants had to be the risen on earth.
And God taught him what he needed to know to perform this duty and gave him the ability to think, make choices, and determine things and their purpose.
(He taught Adam the names of all things, then He presented them to the angels and said, “Tell Me the names of these, if what you say is true?”)
But Adam (peace be upon him) was alone in heaven. Till one morning Adam opened his eyes and found Eve staring at him.
Adam was surprised and asked the Eve about the reason for her creation, and she revealed that she was created to alleviate his loneliness and bring calm to him.
(He is the One Who created you from a single soul, then from it made its spouse so he may find comfort in her.)
(Al-A'raf 189)
Eve in Arabic comes from the root of the word hai , meaning to live.
Adam told the angels that Eve was so named because she was created from a part of him, Adam's rib, and that Adam, was a living being:
O humanity! Be mindful of your Lord Who created you from a single soul, and from it He created its mate,1 and through both He spread countless men and women. And be mindful of Allah—in Whose Name you appeal to one another—and ˹honour˺ family ties. Surely Allah is ever Watchful over you.
(AlNisa 1)
Adam and Eve dwelt quietly in Paradise. And God said to Adam
We cautioned, “O Adam! Live with your wife in Paradise and eat as freely as you please, but do not approach this tree, or else you will be wrongdoers.”
(AlBaqara 35)
In heaven, Adam and Eve lived a quiet life, and all the paradise they had to enjoy except for one tree, from which they were forbidden to eat, but Satan was waiting to exploit their weakness and he started to carry out his threat, and because of his cunning and understanding of human weakness and awareness of their desires he did not say to Adam and Eve, "Go eat from that tree," nor did He tell them the right to disobey God but he whispered in their hearts and planted disturbing thoughts and desires
Then Satan tempted them in order to expose what was hidden of their nakedness. He said, “Your Lord has forbidden this tree to you only to prevent you from becoming angels or immortals.”
(Al-A'raf 20)
But their minds were filled with the thoughts of the tree, and he made it easy to disobey what they had been commanded to do until they decided one day to eat from it.
Here, Adam and Eve behaved as all humans do. They were preoccupied with their thoughts and whispers of Satan and forgot God's warning
Satan continued with this approach, the approach of whispering and seduction to the children of Adam, as Satan uses to this day indirect methods to carry out his threat.
It is necessary to know and understand the weapons of our enemy to protect ourselves from them and to know how to behave with him and avoid obedience to him in which we perish.
Satan's Entrances
According to Ibn al-Qayyim, these are some of the entrances to Satan.
Disbelief in God and his religion: Satan tries to make man disbelieve in God and his religion, and questions his attributes and existence
Heresy: He tries to seduce a person by moving away from the Sunnah of the Prophet and following new unfamiliar paths
Major sins: Satan targets great sins, and works to decorate them and make them acceptable in the eyes of man
Minor ones: He tries to make a person underestimate small sins and continue to commit them
Satan also has a strategy to reach these goals, as he does not push us to what he wants directly, and does not come to man, so he orders him to do evil and forbids him from good directly, but he takes the soul as a means of seduction and uses methods that he knows very well that we unfortunately are weak in front of it, so what are they?
Satan's Methods
Adornment: Satan adorns the soul and tries to seduce it. It comes to the Muslim on a cold and dark night when hearing the dawn call to prayer and whisper "Sleep, the bed is warm, and you are tired and exhausted," he tells him, trying to distract him from prayer.
Deceivement: He tries to deceive the mind and convince it that what it thinks is haram is in fact halal. For example, it encourages women to refrain from the hijab and that it is not obligatory and that not adhering to it is not haram
Procrastination: The length of hope is used to distract a person from repentance. He says to him: "Why do you repent now? Wait for it to finish your studies and get married"
Minimizing impiety: He says to man: "Why do you repent? You are not one of the owners of great sins"
Despair: encourages a person to despair of accepting his repentance and reminds him of his sins
Each of us, after understanding these methods, can recall several situations in which we were exposed to these methods, and perhaps we did not understand at the time that they were whispers from the devil For you
But now that we know it, we have to pay attention and beware of it so that we can protect ourselves from it and from its delusions.
--The End--
