Prophet Muhammad SAW stated that he was the last brick in the House
of Prophethood. If we imagine each
brick represents one prophet, then about 124 thousand bricks were used to make
this house.
Furthermore,
if we imagine a house of bricks, then we can see that some bricks may be
bigger, more prominent and more shining than the others. But all bricks are important. The absence of any of those 124 thousand
bricks would make the house incomplete. Likewise
with the prophets. Some prophets are
more shining and more prominent while others are more obscure.
Of
those 124 thousand prophets, 25 of them are very special as they are specifically
mentioned by names in the Quran. And of all
the prophets, five are made most prominent.
These are the prophets that Allah singled them out as the Most Resolute
Prophets (ulul azmi).
Some
prophets are more prominent than others in their own way. Prophet Noah (Nabi Nuh) is special for being
noted as the Father of Nations. Prophet
Abraham as the Father of Prophets.
Prophet Moses (Nabi Musa) as the Founder of Judaism. Prophet Solomon (Nabi Sulaiman) as the
prophet who can communicate with animals and can command the genies
(jinn).
In
this episode, let’s briefly focus on Prophet Adam AS. Prophet Adam is special because he was the
first prophet and also the first man. He
was the father of mankind. All other
prophets, and in fact all human beings, come from him. He was the first brick in the House of
Prophethood. All other bricks are
actually made, fashioned or designed after him.
Unlike
all other human beings, he was not born but created. So those who claim that Jesus Christ is the
Son of God because he was born without the father, do not seem to understand
that, if such is the criteria to be the Son of God, then Prophet Adam is more
qualified.
Prophet Adam is more qualified not only
because he did not have father or mother, but he was specially created by
Allah. Jesus Christ at least had a
mother. And he was born, not created.
When
was he created? Scholars say around 10,000
to 20,000 years ago. But only God knows
best.
In
Hebrew (Ibrani), Adam means “human being,” or “man.” This name is fitting since he is the first
mankind. Prophet Adam is significant in
the bricks of prophethood in at least three aspects.
First,
the purpose of human creation itself.
Why
was mankind created? Allah says in the
Quran to be the khalifah/vicegerent on earth.
Khalifah or vicegerent means someone who acts on behalf of other. In short, a representative. So Allah made Adam to be His representative
on earth.
But
why mankind? Why not angels. Angels are lofty creature. They make no wrong. Why not genies. Genies have bigger appetite. Why not animals. Animals are stronger. Why not mountains. Mountains are bigger.
Because,
to fulfill the role as a vicegerent of God, that creature must have some
godlike qualities such as free-will, creativity, drive or motivation and the
ability to understand and make things.
Angels are lofty creatures, but they have no free will on their own,
which means that they would not do anything on their own desire. Animals have drives and desires and they are
stronger, but they are not bestowed with creativity or ability to understand
beyond their limited scope. Genies
resemble human beings in terms of intellect and desires, but they are made from
fire and do not belong to material world.
Only
human beings, therefore, have the required characteristics.
When
Allah communicated His intention to make Adam to angels, they asked why Allah
wanted to make a creature that will create mischief on earth. Allah replied: I know what you do not know. To illustrate His point, Allah asked angels
to name certain things, but the angels replied that they only know what Allah
had told them. Allah then called Adam
and asked him to do the same, and Adam elaborated on those names one by
one.
The
significance of this story is that only man is
capable of fulfilling the role as Allah’s vicegerent on earth. Man can fulfill this role because he has some
godlike qualities as mentioned above.
For instance, creating is God’s attribute. Allah creates things. Man also has some of this creative
ability. The difference is that Allah
creates from nothing, while human beings create something new from what Allah had
created.
Throughout
history, man has harnessed the nature to create things for the betterment of
their lives. For example, man has no
wings, but he is able to create a machine that flies; he cannot lift heavy
stuff, but he has created tools to move mountains; he cannot run as fast as a leopard,
but he has created a machine that run many times faster; he cannot swim like a
fish, but he has created a ship and a submarine to swim in the ocean. Man even creates a machine that enables him
to communicate long distance simultaneously.
No
other creature can do what mankind can.
Birds may build nest, but there is no improvement on their nest since
the time immemorial. Yet mankind can
make a house from as simple as a hut to a skyscraper.
In
addition, humans also have intellect and soul that enable them to think and
“interact” with God like the angels or the genies. Animals have brain but do
not think. They act only on instinct. In
short, only humans have God-like qualities that enable them to be the
vicegerents on earth.
Secondly,
the story of Adam is important because what angels predicted have come
true. The angels had prophesied that man
is the most destructive creature. The
qualities that make man great are also used to create mischief. Man’s destructive nature shows its ugly head
very soon in the history of mankind when Adam’s son, Cain (Qabil), killed his
brother Abel (Habil), because of jealousy.
No
other creature has caused greater bloodshed than man. Animals also cause bloodshed, but animals only
kill for food, or for self-defense, or at most for survival. But man kills for many reasons, including for
fun, for vengeance and for glory.
Because
of this dual nature of man, angelic and satanic, Allah sent His prophets to
teach and guide them to the correct way of life. In Arabic, man is called “insan” which also means
forgetful. It means that man tends to
forget who he is. To make mankind
remember again, prophets have to be sent as reminders.
The
third and last point about the important of Adam is that, because of their dual
nature, good and bad, humans can and will make mistake. Adam and his wife Eve were allowed to do
anything they like in the heaven where they first lived, except to eat fruits
from one particular tree.
Then
the Devil (Iblis) seduced them to eat the fruit of that tree. The Devil said it is the tree of life. The only reason God prohibits them to eat the
fruit is so that they will not live forever.
At first Adam and Eve resisted the temptation but at last they succumbed
to it. So they ate it.
For
disobeying God’s command, they were thrown out of heaven and had to live on
earth. Having realized they made great
error, they repented and were forgiven.
What Adam showed here is not that we humans make mistakes, but that when
we make mistake, we have to ask for forgiveness, and Allah will forgive.
This
behavior is different from the behavior of the Devil or Iblis. When Adam was created, Allah commanded both
the angels and the Devil to bow down to Adam.
Angels quickly obeyed, but the Devil refused. The Devil refused because he thought he was
better than Adam, since he was made of fire and Adam was only made of soil. Because of his refusal to obey Allah’s command
and his refusal to admit mistake and repent, the Devil and all their kinds are
condemned forever.
Here,
the story of Prophet Adam illustrates that we should behave like him. We will make mistake but we must ask for
forgiveness. We cannot behave like the
Devil. He refused to admit his sin and
behaved arrogantly. If we behave
arrogantly like the Devil, then we also would be condemned forever.
In
conclusion, the important of Prophet Adam’s story, or the story of the first
brick, is that we are special because mankind is made in the best of fashion. But we also have bad qualities that can lead
us to be the worst of creature. And the
best thing we can do is that when we make mistake, we ask for forgiveness.
