Adam (peace be upon him) is the father of all people. Muslims believe he was also the first prophet. The Qur'an tells his story in several places, and it is a story about every one of us: honour, a mistake, and Allah's (﷾) mercy.
This guide follows what the Qur'an says, with a few authentic sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). It is the story as Islam tells it.
At a glance
- Allah (﷾) made him from clay, and gave him a soul: He breathed into him of His spirit.
- Allah (﷾) taught him the names of all things.
- The angels bowed to him at Allah's (﷾) command. Iblis, the one we call Satan, refused, out of pride.
- He and his wife, Eve, slipped in the Garden, repented together, and were forgiven.
- No one inherits his sin: every child is born pure.
- Before Adam
Allah (﷾) tells the angels that He will place a successor on earth. Qur’an 2:30
- Creation
Allah (﷾) makes Adam from clay and breathes into him of His spirit. Qur’an 15:28Qur’an 15:29
- Knowledge
Allah (﷾) teaches Adam the names of all things. Qur’an 2:31
- Honour
The angels bow to Adam. Iblis (Satan) refuses, out of pride. Qur’an 2:34Qur’an 7:12
- The Garden
Adam and his wife, Eve, live in the Garden. Only one tree is forbidden to them. Qur’an 2:35
- The slip
Satan whispers to them, and they both eat from the tree. Qur’an 7:20Qur’an 20:121
- Repentance
They admit their wrong and ask for mercy. Allah (﷾) forgives them, then chooses Adam and guides him. Qur’an 7:23Qur’an 2:37Qur’an 20:122
- On earth
They live on earth, with Allah's (﷾) promise of guidance. Qur’an 7:24Qur’an 2:38
The Qur'an gives no dates for Adam's life, so these are the stages of his story.
Made from clay, given a soul
Before Adam was made, Allah (﷾) told the angels that He would place a khalifah on earth. That means a successor: someone who lives there and looks after it by His command. The angels asked whether He would place there someone who would cause harm and shed blood, while they praised Him. Allah (﷾) answered that He knew what they did not. Qur’an 2:30
Then Allah (﷾) made Adam from clay, from mud He shaped. When He had shaped him, He breathed into him of His spirit: a soul that Allah (﷾) created, and honoured by calling it His own. Qur’an 15:28Qur’an 32:9
When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of My spirit, fall ye down in obeisance unto him
Adam had no father and no mother. The Qur'an points to this when it speaks of Jesus, who had no father. Jesus is like Adam. Allah (﷾) made Adam from dust and then said to him "Be", and he was. A birth without a father is a miracle, but a miracle does not make anyone divine. Qur’an 3:59Does the virgin birth make Jesus God or the Son of God?What must a Muslim believe about Adam and evolution?
The Prophet (ﷺ) said that Friday is the best day the sun rises on. On a Friday Adam was created. On a Friday he entered the Garden. On a Friday he was sent out of it. Sahih Muslim 854
The names, and the angels' bow
Allah (﷾) honoured Adam with knowledge. He taught him the names of all things. Then He showed those things to the angels and asked them to name them. The angels answered humbly: Qur’an 2:31
Glory to Thee, of knowledge We have none, save what Thou Hast taught us: In truth it is Thou Who art perfect in knowledge and wisdom.
Then Allah (﷾) told Adam to tell them the names, and he did. Allah (﷾) reminded the angels that He knows the hidden things of the heavens and the earth. He knew what they did not. Qur’an 2:33
Allah (﷾) told the angels to bow down to Adam, and they all bowed. This was a bow of honour, made because Allah (﷾) commanded it. It was not worship: in Islam, worship belongs to Allah (﷾) alone. Qur’an 2:34Qur’an 15:30
The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said that on the Day of Resurrection, people will come to Adam and remind him of this honour. He is the father of all people. The angels bowed to him. Allah (﷾) taught him the names of all things. Sahih al-Bukhari 4476
Iblis (Satan) and his pride
One did not bow: Iblis. Iblis is his name in the Qur'an; he is the one also called Satan, or the Devil. He was not an angel. He was one of the jinn, beings that Allah (﷾) made from fire. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that the angels were created from light, the jinn from fire, and Adam from what the Qur'an has described. Qur’an 18:50Sahih Muslim 2996
Allah (﷾) asked him what had kept him from bowing when He commanded him. Iblis answered: Qur’an 7:12
I am better than he: Thou didst create me from fire, and him from clay.
That was pride. Iblis judged Adam by what he was made of, not by what Allah (﷾) had said. Then he blamed Allah (﷾) for his own fall, and swore to lead Adam's children astray. But Allah (﷾) told him that he would have no power over His sincere servants. Qur’an 7:16Qur’an 15:39Qur’an 38:82Qur’an 17:62Qur’an 15:42
The Garden and the tree
Allah (﷾) told Adam to live with his wife, Eve, in the Garden and to eat freely of its good things. Only one thing was forbidden: they must not go near one tree. Allah (﷾) also warned them that Satan was their enemy, and that they must not let him get them out of the Garden. The Qur'an calls her only his wife; Muslims know her by her name, Hawwa in Arabic, Eve in English. Qur’an 2:35Qur’an 20:117
Satan whispered to them both. He said that Allah (﷾) had forbidden the tree only so that they would not become angels or live for ever. He offered Adam a tree of eternity and a kingdom that never ends, and he swore to them both that he was their sincere adviser. Qur’an 7:20Qur’an 7:21Qur’an 20:120
They both ate from the tree. At once they saw that they were uncovered, and they covered themselves with leaves from the Garden. Allah (﷾) called to them: had He not forbidden them that tree, and told them that Satan was their open enemy? Qur’an 7:22Qur’an 20:121
The Qur'an says that Adam forgot, and was not firm in his resolve. It also calls what he did disobedience, and Adam never denied it. But it was a slip, not a proud rebellion like that of Iblis. Islam also teaches that Allah (﷾) protects His prophets from grave sins. Qur’an 20:115Qur’an 20:121Qur’an 2:36Were the prophets sinless?
They turned back, and Allah (﷾) forgave
When Iblis disobeyed, he blamed Allah (﷾) and stayed proud. Adam and Eve did the opposite. They made no excuses. They admitted their wrong at once and asked their Lord for mercy: Qur’an 7:23
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.
Allah (﷾) Himself taught Adam the words of repentance, and then turned to him in mercy:
Then learnt Adam from his Lord words of inspiration, and his Lord Turned towards him; for He is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful.
Allah (﷾) forgave them. Then He chose Adam, turned to him, and gave him guidance. The Prophet (ﷺ) said that Allah (﷾) is more pleased when His servant turns back to Him. He is more pleased than a man who has lost his camel in the desert and finds it. Qur’an 20:122Sahih al-Bukhari 6309
Life on earth, and no inherited sin
Then Allah (﷾) sent Adam and Eve down to the earth, to live there for a time. The earth was always the place Allah (﷾) had planned for them. Before He made Adam, He had told the angels that He would place a successor on earth. With them came a promise: guidance would come from Allah (﷾), and those who follow it will have no fear and no grief. Qur’an 2:30Qur’an 2:38Qur’an 7:24
Adam and Eve were forgiven, and their sin was never passed on to their children. Islam has no "original sin". The Qur'an says:
no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another
The Prophet (ﷺ) said that every child is born upon the fitrah, the natural faith in one God (﷾). Nobody is born guilty, and nobody needs someone else to pay for their sins. Each person can turn to Allah (﷾) directly, just as Adam did. Sahih al-Bukhari 1385Qur’an 6:164Are children born in sin? Does Islam believe in original sin?Can someone else die for my sins?
Adam was the first prophet. Allah (﷾) spoke to him, taught him and guided him. The Qur'an says that Allah (﷾) chose Adam, as He chose Nuh (Noah) and the families of Ibrahim (Abraham) and Imran. Many prophets came after him. Nuh, the Prophet (ﷺ) said, was the first messenger Allah (﷾) sent to the people of the earth. Every messenger is a prophet, but not every prophet is a messenger. Qur’an 3:33Sahih al-Bukhari 4476Which prophets are named in the Qur'an?
How the Bible tells it differently
The Bible tells Adam's story in Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament. Much is shared, but some details are different. Muslims believe that Allah (﷾) revealed the Torah to Musa, and the Injil to Isa: the Gospel Jesus himself preached in his lifetime. The Injil is not the New Testament. The four New Testament Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, were written by others, decades after Jesus was raised up. None of them names its author: the names were attached later. And the Torah we have today is not exactly as it was revealed. So where the Bible tells a story just as the Qur'an does, we believe it. Where it differs from the Qur'an or contradicts it, we do not. Where the Qur'an says nothing, we neither believe it nor deny it, as the Prophet (ﷺ) taught. Here are the main differences, with the verses. Qur’an 5:48Qur’an 5:46Which of the four Gospels did Jesus preach from?Who wrote the Gospels?Sahih al-Bukhari 4485How should a Muslim read the Bible?
Who ate first. In Genesis, a serpent speaks to the woman. She eats first, then gives the fruit to her husband, and he eats. In the Qur'an, Satan whispered to them both, both ate, and both repented. The Qur'an never says that the woman ate first or led her husband to eat. Genesis 3:1–6 (KJV)Qur’an 7:20Qur’an 20:121Qur’an 7:23
The punishment. In Genesis, God (﷾) tells the woman that she will bring forth children in sorrow, and that her husband will rule over her. He tells Adam that the ground is cursed for his sake. He will eat bread by the sweat of his face until he returns to the dust. Genesis does not say that they repented or were forgiven. In the Qur'an, the woman is given no punishment of her own. Both admitted their wrong, Allah (﷾) taught Adam words of repentance, and He forgave them. Genesis 3:16–19 (KJV)Qur’an 7:23Qur’an 2:37
Original sin. Many Christians believe in original sin: that through Adam's sin, every person is born in a state of sin. They point to the words of Paul, "by one man sin entered into the world" and "in Adam all die". But the Bible's own prophet Ezekiel says the opposite: "The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father". In Islam, Adam's sin was forgiven and never passed on. No one bears another's burden, and every child is born pure. Romans 5:12 (KJV)1 Corinthians 15:22 (KJV)Ezekiel 18:20 (KJV)Qur’an 53:38Sahih al-Bukhari 1385Are children born in sin? Does Islam believe in original sin?
What we can learn
Adam's story is the story of every person.
- Knowledge is an honour. Allah (﷾) honoured Adam by teaching him, and the angels admitted they knew only what Allah (﷾) taught them.
- Pride ruins. Iblis knew Allah (﷾), yet pride made him refuse. "I am better than he" is still the voice of arrogance.
- Everyone slips. What matters is turning back. Adam and Eve made no excuses: they admitted their wrong and asked for mercy.
- Allah's (﷾) mercy is near. He taught Adam the very words to repent with, and He is glad when His servant returns. Qur’an 39:53
- You were born clean. No one carries another's sin. Each of us answers for our own deeds.
The door Adam walked through is still open. Whoever turns to Allah (﷾) sincerely, as Adam did, will find Him Oft-Returning, Most Merciful.