The next great event which will be discussed in this blog series is when the Angels were commanded to prostrate to the Holy Prophet Adam, peace be upon him. Chapter 2 Al Baqarah, verse 34:
“And [mention] when We said to the angels, “Prostrate before Adam”; so they prostrated, except for Iblees. He refused and was arrogant and became of the disbelievers.”
Many lessons can be learned from this great event. The first thing to understand is that there are two types of prostration. The Angels were ordered to prostrate out of respect to the Holy Prophet Adam, peace be upon him. This is no longer lawful and has been prohibited in Islam. This has been confirmed in a Hadith found in Sunan Ibn Majah, number 1853. The other type of prostration is for the sake of worship and is only for Allah, the Exalted.
In addition, the superiority of knowledge compared to worship is clearly shown by this event. The Holy Prophet Adam, peace be upon him, was newly created when this event occurred. He did not have much time to perform worship whereas the Angels and the Devil had been worshipping Allah, the Exalted, for countless centuries. The Holy Quran clearly declares that the reason the Holy Prophet Adam, peace be upon him, was given superiority to the Angels was because of the knowledge Allah, the Exalted, had granted him. Chapter 2 Al Baqarah, verses 31-32:
“And He taught Adam the names – all of them. Then He showed them to the angels and said, “Inform Me of the names of these, if you are truthful.” They said, “Exalted are You; we have no knowledge except what You have taught us. Indeed, it is You who is the Knowing, the Wise.””
From this it is clear that knowledge is superior to worship. This is quite evident as correct worship and other good deeds cannot be performed correctly without knowledge. It is why gaining useful knowledge is a duty on all muslims. This is confirmed in a Hadith found in Sunan Ibn Majah, number 224. But it is important to note, that true beneficial knowledge is knowledge which is correct and acted upon.
It is important to note that the Devil is not an Angel but as he dwelled amongst them the command to prostrate included him also. Chapter 18, verse 50.
“…except for Iblees. He was of the jinn”…
The first ever sin was committed at this great event namely, envy. The Devil became envious that the newly created Holy Prophet Adam, peace be upon him, who was made from clay was given superiority to him, even though he was made from fire and performed countless years of worship.
The Devil was mistaken when he declared that fire was superior to clay. Fire rages up which is a sign of exaltedness but greatness only belongs to Allah, the Exalted. On the other hand, clay is an indication of humility which is a characteristic of the true servants of Allah, the Exalted.
Envy led to the second sin and evil trait to be committed namely, pride. As the Devil performed countless years of worship he believed it made him special. He remained heedless to the fact that every act of worship he performed was only possible through the mercy of Allah, the Exalted. It is Allah, the Exalted, who provides the knowledge, inspiration, strength, opportunity and desire to perform a good deed. Therefore, being proud of a good deed is simply foolish. One should avoid this deadly characteristic as the one who possesses even an atom’s worth of it will not enter Paradise. This is confirmed in a Hadith found in Sahih Muslim, number 265.
PodEvent: Holy Prophet Adam (PBUH) – Part 1: https://youtu.be/Ag5LVRVngJ4
PodEvent: Holy Prophet Adam (PBUH) – Part 1: https://fb.watch/4qZ4jjf2wa/
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