adam and eve
stories). According to differing interpreta-
tions, Iram was either the name of a place
associated with the Ād or the name of the
most representative subtribe of the Ād.
The Ād were originally a nation of ten or
thirteen subtribes and one of the first Arab
tribes. Al-Aqāf, which literally means “the
sand dunes,” was identified as a place
called al-Shir, located between Oman
and Hadramawt. An utterance attributed
to Muammad specifies that the wind
which killed the Ādites was a western one.
The Ād were giants between ten and five
hundred cubits in height and on one occa-
sion they sent a delegation to Mecca to ask
for rain. Stories are told about the tribe’s
legendary eponym Ād and his powerful
awwā
,” is not qur
ānic,
sons Shaddād and Shadīd. According to
some reports, the sage Luqmān (q.v.) be-
longed to the Ād. The surviving Ādites
awwā
” is said to be derived from
ayy,
sought refuge in Mecca according to some
stories while others place them in the
mythical towns of Jābalqā and Jābarsā.
Roberto Tottoli
Bibliography
Primary: Abd al-Malik b.
abīb, Kitāb al-Ta
rīkh, The announcement of the creation of man
ed. J. Aguadé, Madrid 1991, 40-3; Abd al-
Razzāq, Tafsīr, ii, 217, 370; Bukhārī, a
ī
,
Beirut 1992, ii, 384; Isāq b. Bishr, Mubtada
al-
dunyā wa-qi a al-anbiyā
, Bodleian Library, MS
Huntingdon 388, 116a-139b; Kisā
ī, Qi a , 103-10;
al-Majlisī, M. Bāqir, Bi
ār al-anwār, 105 vols.,
Beirut 1983, xi, 343-70; Māwardī, Nukat, v, 282;
Muammad b.
abīb, Kitāb al-mu
abbar, ed. I. will work corruption (q.v.) there and shed
Lichtenstädter, Hyderabad 1942; Muqātil, Tafsīr,
22
Adam and Eve
Adam is the first human being (bashar) and
the father of humankind in the Pentateuch
and the Qur
ān. “Adam” (Ādam) as an in-
dividual person occurs eighteen times in
the Qur
ān. In addition, the phrase “the
sons of Adam” (banū Ādam) in the sense of
“humankind” is attested seven times. The
qur
ānic commentators derive the name
“Ādam” from adīm al-ar (Abd al-Razzāq,
Tafsīr, i, 43; ii, 20; Ibn Sad, abaqāt, i, 26;
abarī, Tafsīr, i, 214-5) or from adamat al-
ar (abarī, Tafsīr, i, 208), because he was
created from “the surface of the earth.”
The name of Adam’s wife Eve, in the Is-
lamic tradition “
although she figures in the Qur
ān as
Adam’s counterpart and complement.
“
because she is the mother of everything
“living” (Ibn Sad, abaqāt, i, 39-40) or be-
cause she was created from something “liv-
ing” (abarī, Tafsīr, i, 229). The qur
ānic
material on Adam and Eve addresses a
number of basic topics.
q 2:30 reports the announcement of the
creation of man: “And when your lord said
to the angels (q.v.), ‘I am about to place a
vice-regent (khalīfa, see caliph) on earth,’
they said, ‘Will you place thereon one who
blood, while we proclaim your praise and
iv, 23-6, 687-8; Muahhar b. āhir al-Maqdisī,
call you holy?’ He said, ‘I know what you
al-Bad
wa-l-ta
rīkh, ed. C. Huart, 6 vols., Paris
1899-1919, iii, 31-7; Sib Ibn al-Jawzī, Mir
āt, i, do not know.’ ” Like the Talmudic explana-
253-62; abarī, Tafsīr, Cairo 1968, viii, 216-22; tion of Genesis 1:26 (Speyer, Erzählungen,
xxvi, 22-4; xxvii, 78; xxx, 175-7; id., Ta
rīkh, 52-3; C. Schöck, Adam, 97; cf. abarī,
Leiden, i (1), 68, 231-44; Thalabī, Qi a , 53-7;
Tirmidhī, a
ī
, v, 391-2. Tafsīr, xiv, 31; Rāzī, Tafsīr, ii, 154), God’s
Secondary: J.E. Bencheikh, Iram ou le clameur announcement (innī jāil, q 2:30; innī khāliq,
de Dieu, in remmm 58 (1990), 70-81; F. Buhl, Ād, q 15:28; 38:71) is given before the council of
in ei 2 , i, 169; Horovitz, ku , 125-7; G.D. Newby,
angels (al-mala
al-alā, q 38:69), who argue
The making of the last prophet, Columbia, SC 1989,
50-7; Speyer, Erzählungen, 118-9. against the creation of man (abarī, Tafsīr,
xxiii, 183-4). The commentaries on the
 23
Qur
ān discuss the meaning of “khalīfa,”
his identity and the identity of “the one
who will work corruption there and shed
blood.” The term “khalīfa” denotes a per-
son who takes the place of someone else
and most commentators agree that it refers
to Adam. This raised the question of whom
Adam replaced on earth. Early commen-
tary assumes that Adam was the successor
of the angels or jinn (q.v.) who dwelled on
earth before him and who were replaced
because they became corrupt and shed
blood. The famous early religious scholar
al-
asan al-Barī (d. 110⁄728) identified
the “khalīfa” as the offspring of Adam who
succeed their father, generation after gen-
eration. Others take Adam for the khalīfa of
God on earth in exercising judgment with
justice (al-
ukm bi-l-adl, cf. q 38:26). The imal, earth, plain, sea, mountain, donkey.”
commentators attribute the corruption and
asan al-Barī and his pupil
bloodshed (q.v.) to those descendants of
Adam who do not follow the law of God
(abarī, Tafsīr, i, 199-201). There is general
agreement that Adam was not the one
ā, Manār, i,
causing corruption and shedding blood.
This interpretation reflects the understand-
ing of Adam as the first prophet and mes-
senger, because these actions were deemed
to be a great sin (kabīra) and thus inappro-
priate for a prophet (see impeccability
and infallibility). Modern commenta-
tors tend not to accept the early adīth re-
porting that a rational species (al- inf al-
āqil) resided on the earth before mankind
(e.g. Rashīd Ri
ā, Manār, i, 258). Some point for the traditional Muslim discussion
combine this view with their refutation of
Darwin’s theory of the evolution of man
(A.W. al-Najjār, Qa a , 31; see also M.J.
Kister, Legends, 84-100; id., Ādam, 115-32;
C. Schöck, Adam, 97-102).
Learning all of the names
The announcement of the creation of man
(q 2:30) is followed by the verses “And
[God] taught Adam the names, all of them
adam and eve
(al-asmā
kullahā). Then he presented them
to the angels, and said, ‘Tell me the names
of these, if you speak the truth!’ They said,
‘Glory be to you! We know only what you
have taught us.…’ He said, ‘Adam, tell
them their names!’ When he had told them
their names, [God] said, ‘Did I not tell you
that I know the hidden things of the heav-
ens and the earth?’ ” (q 2:31-2). The Qur
ān
does not mention how God taught Adam
all the names nor does it refer explicitly to
what God presented to the angels. Early
commentaries on these verses presuppose
that God showed Adam all the things while
teaching him their names. In this case, “the
names, all of them” means “the name of
everything” (kullu shay
) for which the com-
mentators give examples such as “man, an-
Already al-
Qatāda (d. ca. 116⁄734) understand God’s
teaching as a demonstration of the connec-
tion between names and things, the signi-
fier and signified (cf. Rashīd Ri
262). They add the deictic “this is” (hādhā⁄
hādhihi), explaining that God said, “This is
a sea. This is a mountain,” etc. (Abd al-
Razzāq, Tafsīr, i, 42-3; abarī, Tafsīr, i,
216). Adam’s knowledge of “all the names”
was later interpreted as a general knowl-
edge of all languages and through man’s
gift of language it was understood as a
knowledge of the entire animate and in-
animate world. q 2:31 provided the starting
of the origin of language (cf. Speyer, Er-
zählungen, 51-4; Kister, in Rippen, Ap-
proaches, 107-9; id., in ios (1993, 140f.;
Schöck, Adam, 79f., 87).
The prostration of the angels before Adam
God’s teaching of “the names” is followed
by the qur
ānic verse: “And when We said
to the angels, ‘Bow down before Adam!’
they bowed down, except Iblīs (q.v.). He
 adam and eve
refused and behaved proudly. He was one
of the unbelievers” (q 2:34; cf. 7:11-2;
15:29-33; 17:61; 18:50; 20:116; 38:72-6).
The early commentators discussed the rea-
son Iblīs refused, reasoning that the bow-
ing was primarily intended as an act
of obedience to God and secondarily as a
display of respect for Adam (see bowing
and prostration). In other words, the
angels bowed down before Adam out of
deference to Adam and obedience to God,
not in worship of Adam (abarī, Tafsīr, i,
227; see adoration). Later scholars exam-
ined the question of whether Adam’s
knowledge (ilm) was cause for the prostra-
tion of the angels and whether it was the
reason for Adam’s superiority to the angels
(Rāzī, Tafsīr, ii, 212-4). They also debate
whether Adam’s knowledge, when demon-
strated to the angels, might be understood
as a miracle (mujiza, e.g. Rāzī, Tafsīr, ii,
163-5, 169).
The creation of Adam
The Qur
ān mentions several materials
from which Adam was created, i.e. earth or
dust (turāb, q 3:59), clay (īn, q 7:12; see
clay), and sticky clay or mud (īn lāzib).
More specifically, it is described as “clay
from fetid foul mud” ( al āl min
ama

masnūn) and “clay like earthenware,” i.e.
baked or dry clay ( al āl ka-l-fakhkhār).
These terms are commonly interpreted as
describing the different states of a single
material. Commentators insist that Adam’s
clay ( al āl) was not baked, but was dried
(īn yābis⁄turāb yābis) without the use of fire,
ida) is interpreted as Adam
for q 15:26-7 and q 55:14-5 report that the
jinn, unlike man, were created from fire.
Narrative commentary and prophetic
adīth specify the places from which the
earth was taken and provide various etio-
logical explanations. According to some
commentators, different kinds of dust were
taken from the four corners of the earth so
that the offspring of Adam would vary in
24
color and quality. Others held that the dust
was taken from different regions of the
world, so that every part of Adam’s body
corresponded to an area. Others specu-
lated that Adam’s clay was taken from the
seven earths (cf. q 65:12) or the four ele-
ments so that his body combines the four
temperaments. One view held that the ma-
terial for creating his body was taken from
the entire universe so that he became the
microcosm (al-ālam al-a ghar) correspond-
ing to the macrocosm.
God himself formed the material of
which Adam is made and breathed his
spirit (q.v.; see also air and wind) into
him (q 15:29; 38:72). God says, “I created
[Adam] with my own hands” (q 38:75). In
some commentaries God acts as a potter.
He left the clay until it became good
(khammara) and then kneaded (ajana) it.
The question of the proper interpretation
of God’s “hand” or “hands” held a central
place in the debates over corporealism
(tajsīm) and anthropomorphism (tashbīh,
Speyer, Erzählungen, 43-6; M.J. Kister, Leg-
ends, 100-5; id., Ādam, 135-7; C. Schöck,
Adam, 67-8, 74-8, 82-6; J. van Ess, tg , iv,
399-400; Gimaret, Dieu à l’image de
l’homme, 190-8).
The creation of Eve
The Qur
ān speaks of the creation of the
second human being with the words:
“People!… Your lord who created you
from a single person and created from him
his wife (zawjahā)” (q 4:1). This “single per-
son” (nafs wā
and “his wife” as Eve (abarī, Tafsīr, iv,
224). The early commentators report that
she was created from the lowest of Adam’s
ribs (qu ayrā) — which is sometimes also
understood as the shortest rib (al-il al-
aq ar) — or from a rib on his left side. This
was done while he was sleeping with the
aim “that he might dwell with her”
(q 7:189). The Qur
ān does not report
 25
when she was created, although some
adīth recount that she was created while
Adam was dwelling in the garden of para-
dise (q.v.), where he had roamed alone (Ibn
Sad, abaqāt, i, 39; abarī, Tafsīr, iv,
224-5). According to other reports, she was
created before Adam entered the garden
(q.v.; abarī, Tafsīr, i, 229-30). After de-
scribing the creation of Eve, q 7:189 con-
tinues: “Then, when he covered her, she
became pregnant with a light burden.”
The Qur
ān is not clear about where this
happened, but most of the commentators
situate Eve’s pregnancy after their fall from
paradise (abarī, Tafsīr, ix, 145).
The sojourn in paradise, the offense against God’s
command and the descent to earth
God commanded Adam and Eve to enjoy
paradise with only a single restriction:
“Adam, dwell you and your wife in the
garden (al-janna) and eat freely of it wher-
ever you desire, but do not go near this
tree, lest you become wrong-doers!”
(q 2:35; cf. 7:19). This was a contract God
made with Adam (ahidnā ilā Ādam,
q 20:115). Most commentators interpret the
forbidden tree as an ear of grain (sunbula),
wheat (burr,
ina), a vine (karma, shajarat al- selves. If you do not forgive us and have
inab, shajarat al-khamr) or a fig tree (tīna,
abarī, Tafsīr, i, 231-3). Other explanations
mention trees with delicious and fragrant
fruits. It is also called the “tree of knowl-
edge (ilm)” or “tree of eternity (khuld)”
(q 20:120). The angels eat its fruit because
they are immortal (Abd al-Razzāq, Tafsīr,
ii, 226; cf. q 7:20).
Upon Satan’s prompting, Adam and Eve
ate from the forbidden tree (q 7:20-2;
yā
, iv, 2-4).
20:121) and descended from the garden to
the earth (q 2:36; 7:24-5; 20:123). The early
commentators do not question that Adam
sinned, although his sin was viewed as pre-
determined ( J. van Ess, Zwischen
adī und Qur
ān. God elected (i afā) Adam as he
Theologie, 161-8). The later commentaries,
influenced by the dogma of the prophetic
adam and eve
impeccability (i ma), emphasize that Adam
and Eve were made to “slip” by Satan
(azallahumā, q 2:36) and Adam forgot (na-
siya, q 20:115); or they characterize the dis-
obedience (q.v.) as an error in judgment
(khaa
fī l-ijtihād) since Adam had assumed
a single tree (shakh ) to be forbidden rather
than the species (naw). He did not eat
from the particular tree God showed him,
but from another one of the same species.
Tradition reports that from paradise Adam
was made to descend to India and Eve to
Jeddah. They re-united in Arafāt (q.v.) near
Mecca (q.v.; Speyer, Erzählungen, 61-73; M.J.
Kister, Ādam, 146-55; C. Schöck, Adam,
89-96, 106-32, 185). See fall of man.
God’s forgiveness and guidance
After his “slip,” “Adam received words
(kalimāt) from his Lord and He forgave him
(tāba alayhi).… We [viz. God] said, ‘Get
down from [the garden of paradise], all to-
gether! If guidance comes to you from me,
whoever follows my guidance will experi-
ence no fear and will suffer no sorrow.’ ”
(q 2:37-8). Most commentators explain the
“words” which “Adam received” as his
speech: “Our Lord, we have wronged our-
mercy on us, we shall surely be among the
lost” (q 7:23). The key element of these
verses is God’s forgiveness of man and
man’s repentance. Together with God’s
“guidance” (hudā, cf. q 20:122) and repen-
tance (tauba), they will lead to man’s return
to paradise (abarī, Tafsīr, i, 242-5). For
Muslim orthodoxy, repentance became the
first step toward a religious life (al-Ghazālī,
I
The election of Adam
Muslims consider Adam a prophet, al-
though this is not explicitely stated in the
did the prophets and prophetic families,
e.g. Noah (q.v.); Abraham (q.v.) and his
 adoration
family; the family of the father of Moses
(q.v.), Imrān (q.v.); Isaac (q.v.); Jacob (q.v.);
and Moses. The earliest testimony for
Adam’s status as a prophet is a adīth nar-
rated by Abū Dharr al-Ghifārī (d. 32⁄653),
in which he asks Muammad who was the
first prophet and he replies Adam. q 20:122
reports that God “chose” (ijtabā) Adam,
when he forgave him and guided him after
his disobedience. Sunnī theology recon-
ciled Adam’s sin with the dogma of pro-
phetic impeccability by arguing that his
vocation began after his sin and his descent
āmid Muammad, I
yā
ulūm al-dīn, 4 vols. in
from paradise and thus he did not sin as a
ā,
prophet.
The covenant
Prior to creation, “Your lord took from the
backs of the children of Adam their off-
spring and made them testify against them-
adī und Theologie. Studien zum Entstehen
selves. [God said,] ‘Am I not your lord?’
They said, ‘Yes, we bear witness [to this]’ ”
(q 7:172). Early commentators interpreted
this verse as a covenant (mīthāq, see cove-
adīth literature. The creation of Ādam and
nant) between God and humankind,
which committed men to monotheism. Al-
though the Qur
ān states that the offspring
adī literature, in ios (1993), 113-174; A.W. al-
were taken from “the children of Adam,”
ī, The term “Khalīfa” in early exegetical
most early scholars interpreted this to
mean that God took from Adam’s loins all
of his progeny until the day of resurrection
(e.g. Abd al-Razzāq, Tafsīr, ii, 242). Al-
though not all of the religious schools with-
in Islam accepted this interpretation, the
idea of the innate monotheistic nature of
man ( fira, q 30:30) was derived from this
verse (cf. abarī, Tafsīr, xix, 40-1; Rashīd
Ri
ā, Manār, ix, 386-8; R. Gramlich, Der
Urvertrag, 205-30).
The two sons of Adam
The Qur
ān reports the story of the two
sons of Adam, one of whom murders the
other because his sacrifice was not ac-
cepted while his brother’s was (q 5:27-32;
see cain and abel). In commentary the
26
brothers are identified as Cain (Qābīl) and
Abel (Hābīl). In the Islamic tradition, Cain
is the prototypical murderer and the two
brothers are seen as exemplars of good
and evil (M.J. Kister, Ādam, 145-6;
W. Bork-Qaysieh, Kain und Abel, 19-21).
See also prophets and prophethood.
Cornelia Schöck
Bibliography
Primary: Abd al-Razzāq, Tafsīr; al-Ghazālī, Abū
2, Cairo 1927; Ibn Sad, abaqāt; Rashīd Ri
Manār; Rāzī, Tafsīr; abarī, Tafsīr.
Secondary: H.M.-D. al-Alousī, The problem of
creation in Islamic thought, Ph.D. diss., Cambridge
1965; W. Bork-Qaysieh, Die Geschichte von Kain und
Abel (Hābīl wa-Qābīl) in der sunnitisch-islamischen
Überlieferung, Berlin 1993; J. van Ess, tg ; id.,
Zwischen
prädestinatianischer Überlieferung, Berlin 1975;
D. Gimaret, Dieu à l’image de l’homme, Paris
1997; R. Gramlich, Der Urvertrag in der
Koranauslegung (zu Sure 7, 172-173), in Der Islam
60 (1983), 205-30; M.J. Kister, Legends in tafsīr
and
related stories, in A. Rippin, Approaches, 82-114;
id., Ādam. A study of some legends in tafsīr and
Najjār, Qa a [sic] al-anbiyā, Beirut 1405⁄1985; W.
al-Qā
literature, in wi 28 (1988), 392-411; C. Schöck,
Adam im Islam. Ein Beitrag zur Ideengeschichte der
Sunna, Berlin 1993; Speyer, Erzählungen.
Adoption see children; family
Adoration
The acts and attitudes of praise and honor
accorded to God. The standard English
renderings of the Qur
ān typically use “ad-
oration” and its cognates to translate sajada
(to prostrate oneself; see bowing and
pros tration), the quintessential Islamic
ritual of adoration (see prayer). There is,
however, a great deal more to adoration