In a previous article (Islam and the Sins of the Prophets) we set out to show that neither the Quran nor the earliest records of Islam support the commonly held Muslim belief that the Prophets were sinless.

It may be surprising to both Christians and Muslims to learn that the Quran goes so far as to accuse the first human parents, Adam and Eve, of committing the sin of association, which is the most reprehensible sin, the worst of all sins, in the teaching of Islam.

Speaking about man’s origin, the author of the Quran writes:

It is He who created you out of one living soul, and made of him his spouse that he might rest in her. Then, when he covered her, she bore a light burden and passed by with it; but when it became heavy THEY cried to God their Lord, ‘If Thou givest US a righteous son, WE indeed shall be of the thankful.’ Thereafter, when He gave THEM a righteous son, THEY assigned Him associates in that He had given THEM; but God is high exalted above that they associate. What, do they associate that which creates nothing and themselves are created, and that have no power to help them, neither they help themselves? S. 7:189-192 A.J. Arberry

Here is another version:

He it is who hath created you from a single person, and from him brought forth his wife that he might dwell with her: and when he had known her, she bore a light burden, and went about with it; and when it became heavy, THEY both cried to God THEIR Lord, "If thou give US a perfect child WE will surely be of the thankful." Yet when God had given THEM a perfect child, THEY joined partners with Him in return for what he had given THEM. But high is God above the partners they joined with Him! What! Will they join those with Him who cannot create anything, and are themselves created, and have no power to help them, or to help themselves? J.M. Rodwell

The context makes it quite clear that the man and woman spoken of here are Adam and Eve. Apparently, the author of the Quran assumed that the first parents, after receiving a child from God, fell into idolatry. The Quran fails to tell us just how exactly did the progenitors of the human race fall into idolatry, and what or whom did they associate with Allah. Thus the preceding passage is another example of just how incoherent and garbled the Quran truly is.

Some Muslims, apparently out of embarrassment, try to say that the passage is referring to some of Adam’s children committing idolatry. This is despite the fact that the text directs the charge of idolatry to the first man and woman after their first sexual experience that resulted in conception and child bearing.

Secondly, certain Muslims have understood the story to be referring to Adam and Eve. An example of this is the renowned and premiere Muslim historian Al-Tabari, who writes:

Let us now return (to our narrative) and provide further clarification concerning the error of those who said that the first to die on earth was Adam, and who denied that the two whose story is told by God in His word: "And recite to them the story of the two sons of Adam truthfully! They offered a sacrifice," came, as shown by this verse, from Adam’s loin.

According to Muhammad b. Bashshar - ‘Abd al-Samad b. ‘Abd al-Warith - ‘Umar b. Ibrahim - Qatadah - al-Hasan - Samurah b. Jundub – the Prophet: None of Eve’s children survived. Therefore, she vowed that if one of her children were to survive, she would call him ‘Abd al-Harith. When a child of hers survived, she called him ‘Abd al-Harith. That was due to Satan’s inspiration.

According to Ibn Humayd – Salamah – Ibn Ishaq – Dawud b. al-Husayn – ‘Ikrimah – Ibn ‘Abbas: Eve would give birth to Adam’s children and make them worship God, calling them ‘Abdallah, ‘Ubaydallah ("Servant, or little Servant of God"), and the like. But then they would die. Now, Iblis came to her and to Adam and said: Were you to give them other names, they would survive. So, when she gave birth to a male child for Adam, they called him ‘Abd al-Harith. IN THIS CONNECTION, God revealed His word: "It is He Who created you from a single soul" to "the two set up for Him associates in connection with what He had given them" to the end of the verse.

According to Ibn Waki‘ – Ibn Fudayl - Salim b. Abi Hafsah – Sa‘id b. Jubayr, commenting on (the same verse): "When she became heavy (with child), they called on God, their Lord" to "And God is above your associating (others with Him)," as follows: When Eve became heavy with her first pregnancy, Satan came to her before she gave birth, and said: Eve, what is that in your womb? She said: I do not know. He asked: Where will it come out, from your nose, your eye, or your ear? She again replied: I do not know. He said: Don’t you think, if it comes out healthy, you should obey me in whatever I command you? When she said: Yes, he said: Call him ‘Abd al-Harith! Iblis - May God curse him!- was called al-Harith. She agreed. Afterwards, she said to Adam: Someone came to me in my sleep and told me such-and-such. Adam said: That is Satan. Beware of him, for he is our enemy who drove us out of Paradise. Then Iblis - May God curse him! - came to her again and repeated what he had said before, and she agreed. When she gave birth to the child, God brought him out healthy. Yet, she called him ‘Abd al-Harith. This is (meant by) God’s word: "They set up for Him associates in connection with what he had given them" to "And God is above your associating (others with Him)."

According to Ibn Waki‘ –Jarir and Ibn Fudayl - ‘Abd al-Malik – Sa‘id b. Jubayr: When (Sa‘id) was asked whether Adam associated (others with God), he replied: God forbid that I should assume that Adam did that! However, when Eve was heavy with child, Iblis came and said to her: Where will this one come out, from your nose, your eye, or your mouth? He thereby caused her to despair (because she did not know and was afraid of what was going to happen). Then he said: Don’t you think that, when it comes out perfectly formed – Ibn Waki‘ said that Ibn Fudayl added: without harming or killing you - you should obey me? When she agreed, he said: Call him ‘Abd al-Harith, and she did. Jarir added: So Adam’s associating (others with God) was only in the name.

According to Musa b. Harun - ‘Amr b. Hammad –Asbat – al-Suddi: So she - meaning Eve - gave birth to a boy. Iblis came to her and said: Call (pl.) him my servant (‘abdi)! If you don’t, I shall kill him. Adam said to him: I obeyed you (once before), and you caused me to be driven out of Paradise. So he refused to obey him and called the child ‘Abd al-Rahman "Servant of the Merciful One." Satan - May God curse him!- gained power over the boy and killed him. Eve bore another child, and when she gave birth to it, Satan said: Call him my servant! If you don’t, I shall kill him. Adam said to him (again): I obeyed you (once before), and you caused me to be driven out of Paradise. So he refused and called the boy Salih, and Satan killed him. The third time around, Iblis said to Adam and Eve: If you (pl. want to) overcome me, call him ‘Abd al-Harith! Iblis’ name was al-Harith. He was called Iblis when he was bedeviled (ublisa) - became confused. This (is meant by God’s word) where He says: "They set up for him associates in connection with what He had given them" - meaning in connection with the names.

Those who, as I have mentioned, have transmitted (reports) that some children of Adam and Eve died before them, and the even more numerous transmitters and statements not mentioned by us, contradict the statement of al-Hasan transmitted on his authority that the first person to die was Adam. (The History of al-Tabari, Volume 1 - General Introduction and from the Creation to the Flood, trans. Franz Rosenthal [State University of New York Press, Albany 1989], pp. 320-322; capital and underlined emphasis ours)

In regard to the name Al-Harith, the translator writes:

916. Al-Harith, as explained in these traditions, was the original name of Iblis. By naming the child "Servant of al-Harith (Iblis)," instead of "Servant of God," Adam and Eve associated Satan with God; they were thus exposed to the accusation of having introduced polytheism. Satan’s opportunity came because during her first pregnancy, Eve was totally ignorant of the process of human reproduction and feared that she might produce a nonhuman animal. It was God’s doing that the child was born without any defects, even if Satan tried to claim credit for it. (p. 320)

The translator also explains why, according to the tradition of al-Suddi, Adam named his second son Salih:

924. The choice of the name results from the use of the adjective salihan in Qur. 7:190. (p. 322)

The word salihan refers to the Quranic statement that Allah gave Adam and Eve a good child:

But when He gives them a good one (salihan), they set up with Him associates in what He has given them; but high is Allah above what they associate (with Him). Shakir

Ibn Sa'd reports something similar to al-Tabari:

The two Jalals agree that these verses refer to Adam and Eve:

As does the Tafsir attributed to Ibn Abbas:

These men are followed by al-Wahidi who wrote:

In light of the foregoing we can safely conclude that the Quran accuses the first human parents of being the first to commit idolatry and the sin of association. What is even more interesting is that certain Muslims, as narrated by al-Tabari, place the bulk of the blame on Eve (whether realizing it or not) since she supposedly ignored her husband’s warnings not to listen to Satan and named her son after the Devil anyway.

Articles by Sam Shamoun
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