07-18-2003, 08:54 AM
Majority of scholars who held the opinion that Allah took the covenant from his loin, also supported it with what Imam Ahmad had narrated from Anas bin Malik [Radi-Allahu-anhu: May Allah be pleased with him], who had narrated from the Prophet [sallalahu-'alahi-wa-sallam] saying:
"It will be said to a person in Hell on the Day of Judgement: "Had you had all what is on the earth, would you have redeemed them for what you are in? He will answer: "Yes." Allah will say: I had wanted from you lesser than that. I took the covenant when you were in the loin of Adam, that you should not associate with Me anything. However, you persisted in joining Me with associates.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari)
Ubai bin Ka’b said in respect of the Verse: “And (remember) when your Lord brought forth from the Children of Adam, from their loins, their seed (or from Adam's loin his offspring)” (7:172) Allah gathered on that Day all of them who were going to be created till the Day of Judgement. He created them, gave them a shape and made them to speak, so they spoke. He took covenant and pledge from them and made them bear witness about themselves: “Am I not your Lord.” They said: “Yes, indeed.”
He then said to them: “I am making, then, the seven heavens and the seven earths to bear witness against you, and making your father Adam a witness against you, lest you should say on the Day of Judgement: ‘We did not know of it.’ You should know that there is no God except Me, and there is no Lord except Me. You should not associate partners with Me. I will be sending to you Messengers who will remind you of My Covenant, and I will be sending to you My Book.”
They replied: “We bear witness that You are our Lord and God. We have no Lord except You, and we have no God except You.” They all on that Day affirmed their obedience.
He raised their father Adam and he looked towards them. He found in them poor and wealthy, and smart and ugly. He said: “O Lord! If You could have made them alike and similar?” Allah replied: “I like to be thanked.”
Adam saw among them the Prophets as bright lamps, full of light. All those Prophets were made to take another special covenant about their Prophetic missions, about which the Qur’an has indicated in this Verse:
“And (remember) when We took from the Prophets their covenant, and from you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم), and from Nûh (Noah), Ibrâhim (Abraham), Mûsa (Moses), and `Iesâ (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary). We took from them a strong covenant.” (33:7)
And also Allah says:
“So set you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) your face towards the religion (of pure Islâmic Monotheism) Hanifa (worship none but Allâh Alone). Allâh's Fitrah (i.e. Allâh's Islâmic Monotheism) with which He has created mankind. No change let there be in Khalqillâh (i.e. the Religion of Allâh Islâmic Monotheism): that is the straight religion, but most of men know not. (Tafsir AtTabarI).” (30:30)
Also Allah says:
“This (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) is a warner (Messenger) of the (series of) warners (Messengers) of old .” (53:56)
As He has said in another place:
“And most of them We found not (true) to their covenant, but most of them We found indeed Fâsiqûn (rebellious, disobedient to Allâh).” (7:102)
**************
It is mentioned before that when Allah commanded the angels to prostrate before Adam, they all obeyed the Divine command, while Iblis refrained from prostrating before him, showing jealousy and enmity. As a consequence to his action, Allah expelled him from the Divine Presence, and threw him upon the earth, cursed and in utter disgrace.
Imam Ahmad narrates from Abu Hurairah [Radi-Allahu-anhu: May Allah be pleased with him], who said that the Prophet [sallalahu-'alahi-wa-sallam] said:
"When the son of Adam reads a Sajdah (prostration place in the Qur’an) and prostrates, Satan retires to one side and cries saying: 'Woe to me… Ibn Adam (son of Adam) was commanded to prostrate and he obeyed the command, and he got Paradise. I was commanded to prostrate, but I disobeyed the command and I had to go to Hell’.” (Also reported in Sahih Muslim)
Scholars are of different opinion about the duration of stay of Adam and Eve in the Paradise. One opinion suggests that they were few days from the worldy perspective of a day. Imam Muslim has narrated from Abu Hurairah [Radi-Allahu-anhu: May Allah be pleased with him] who reported:
“Adam was created in the last hour of the Friday.”
as we have already seen the Hadith :
“And on that day (Friday) Adam was created and then was epelled on Friday from the Paradise.”
If it were the same day in which he was created, and was expelled (it has already been said that those six days mentioned in the Hadith in this respect are like the days of ours), then it will be assumed that he stayed only a few hours of it. This opinion, however, does not seem to be credible. But if this expulsion took place on some other day other than the day he was born in, and the length of those days were meant as to be equal to six thousad years, as this is narrated by Ibn ‘Abbas, Mujahid and Dahhak, then he lived a long period in there. This opinion is also preferred by Ibn Jarir.
Ibn Jarir said: It is known that he was created in the last hour of Friday. One hour of it is equal to eighty three years and four months. He kept lying for forty years in his earthen body before the soul was breathed into him. Then he stayed in the Paradise for forty-three years and four months before his expulsion. However, Allah has the proper knowledge.
He also says: The first food Adam ate on the earth was that Gabriel (Jibrael) came to him with seven grains of wheat. Adam asked him: “What are they?” He replied: “They are from the same Tree which you were forbidden to eat from, but you ate from it.” Adam said: “Then what shall I do now with them?” Gabriel (Jibrael) said: “Sow them in earth.” And Adam did so. Each of those grains weighed more than one hundred thousand grains of now. They grew and Adam harvested them, then ground them, then kneaded them, then baked from them bread and ate them, after it had taken so much of his effort and hard work. That is what the Qur’an has indicated to in this Verse: “…so do not let him expel you both from the Paradise, so that you would suffer hardship.” (20:117)
The first of their cloth was from sheep wool. He separated them and then spun them. Afterwards, he wove a Jubbah (long garment) for himself and a suit of armour and scarf for Eve.
There are differences of opinion with regard whether they had any children when they were in Paradise? It is said that they had their children only on the earth. However, in another opinion it is suggested that they had children in the Paradise, and Cain and his sister were born when they were still living in it.
It is also mentioned by exgetes that they had in one birth one male child and one female child. They were commanded that every son of them would marry the sister of his brother with whom she was born, and every daughter would marry the brother of her sister with whom he was born. No one was allowed to get married with his sister with whom he was born.
**************
From the Book :
"Stories of The Prophets" by Imam Imaduddin Abul-Fida Isma'il Ibn Kathir Ad-Damishqi (700-774 H)
Translation of Quran mainly of Dr.Muhsin Khan