The Story of Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) and the Beautiful Garden

One quiet evening, Grandpa Abu Sulayman sat on the rug in the living room with his two little grandchildren around him: five-year-old Salma and her four-year-old brother Omar. The light was soft, and each of them held a cup of warm milk. Salma said, "Grandpa, tell us a story!" Grandpa smiled and said, "Tonight I'll tell you a true story, the story of the first human being Allah created: the story of our father Adam, peace be upon him."

Omar asked, "Who is Adam, Grandpa?" Grandpa said, "Adam, peace be upon him, is the father of all human beings. You and me, Mama and Baba, and all the people in the world, we are all children of Adam. That's why people are called Bani Adam, the children of Adam." Salma laughed and said, "So we're all one big family?" Grandpa said, "Yes, my darling. We are all brothers and sisters; we have one father, Adam."

Then Grandpa said, "Before Allah created Adam, He told the angels that He would place a successor on the earth. The Quran says: 'And when your Lord said to the angels, Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successor' [al-Baqarah 2:30]. A successor, a khalifah, is one who lives on the earth and looks after it, farms it and builds on it, and worships Allah there."

Salma asked, "What did Allah make Adam from?" Grandpa said, "Allah created him from the soil of the earth. The Quran tells us that Allah created Adam with His own hands and breathed into him of His spirit, and he became a living human who could hear, see and speak. Allah honoured him greatly."

Omar said, "From soil? Like the soil in the garden?" Grandpa smiled and said, "Yes, and that's why we love the earth, take care of it, and don't spoil it. Have you noticed that the earth has red soil and white and black and yellow? People are like that too: their colours are different, and they are all beautiful, and they all come from Adam."

Then Grandpa said, "After that, Allah taught Adam many things. The Quran says: 'And He taught Adam the names, all of them' [al-Baqarah 2:31]. He taught him the names of things: trees, water, mountains, birds and animals. So Adam knew what the angels did not know." Salma said, "Like we learn the names of things at kindergarten!" Grandpa said, "Exactly, Salma. Knowledge is a great blessing from Allah, and the first way Allah honoured Adam was with knowledge."

Then Allah commanded the angels to bow down to Adam as a greeting and an honour, and they all bowed in obedience to Allah. But Iblis refused. Omar asked, "Why did he refuse?" Grandpa said, "Because he was arrogant. He thought he was better than Adam. The Quran says: 'Except Iblis; he refused and was arrogant' [al-Baqarah 2:34]. Arrogance, my children, is a very bad quality: thinking you are better than others. That's why Allah was displeased with Iblis and sent him away."

Salma said, "I don't like arrogance." Grandpa said, "Neither do I. We love humility, and we love to obey Allah."

Then Grandpa said, "And Allah created a wife for Adam, our mother Hawwa, so they could keep each other company. And Allah let them live in the Garden, Paradise." Omar said excitedly, "Paradise! What was it like, Grandpa?" Grandpa said, "Paradise is a very, very beautiful place, more beautiful than anything we've ever seen. It has many trees with delicious fruit, clear rivers and wide shade. Nobody there is hungry or thirsty, tired or sad. The Quran says that Allah told Adam: 'Indeed, it is for you not to be hungry therein or be unclothed' [Taha 20:118]."

Grandpa continued, "And Allah told Adam and Hawwa: eat from everything in the Garden as you like, but there is one tree you must not go near. The Quran says: 'But do not approach this tree' [al-Baqarah 2:35]. The whole Garden with all its trees was theirs, except for just one tree."

Salma said, "Just one tree? That's easy!" Grandpa smiled and said, "It seems easy. But Iblis was angry because he had been sent away, and he wanted to lead Adam away from obeying Allah. So he came and whispered to them, telling them lies, saying that this tree would let them live forever. And he swore to them that he was giving them good advice."

Omar asked, "Did they believe him?" Grandpa said, "Yes. Adam forgot Allah's instruction, and they ate from the tree. The Quran says: 'And We found not in him determination' [Taha 20:115]." The two children were quiet, and then Salma asked sadly, "Was Allah angry with them?"

Grandpa said in a calm voice, "Here, my children, is the most beautiful part of the story. When Adam and Hawwa realised they had done wrong, they were not arrogant like Iblis, and they didn't say, 'We did nothing wrong.' They were very sorry, they regretted it, and they turned back to Allah. Allah taught Adam words to pray with, and they prayed: 'Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers' [al-A'raf 7:23]."

Salma asked, "And what did Allah do?" Grandpa smiled and said, "Allah accepted their repentance and forgave them. The Quran says: 'Then Adam received from his Lord words, and He accepted his repentance. Indeed, it is He who is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful' [al-Baqarah 2:37]. Allah is at-Tawwab, which means He accepts the repentance of whoever turns back to Him, and ar-Rahim, the Merciful to His servants."

Omar said, "So if I make a mistake and say, 'Sorry, Allah,' Allah will forgive me?" Grandpa hugged him and said, "Yes, Omar. Everyone makes mistakes; grown-ups make mistakes too. But the best people are those who, when they make a mistake, say, 'I was wrong,' apologise and turn back to Allah. And if you wrong someone, you apologise to them too."

Then Grandpa said, "After that, Allah sent Adam and Hawwa down to the earth, just as Allah had intended from the beginning that Adam would be a successor on the earth. They lived there, farmed and worked, and they had many children. Allah made Adam a prophet who taught his children to worship Allah alone and to do good."

Salma asked, "Can we go back to Paradise?" Grandpa said, "Yes, my darling, if Allah wills. Allah has promised that whoever believes in Him and does good deeds will enter Paradise. That's why we pray, tell the truth, help people, love one another, forgive those who wrong us, and ask Allah's forgiveness when we make mistakes."

Omar yawned and said, "I want to go to Paradise and see the rivers and the trees." Grandpa said, "And I pray to Allah that we'll all be there together: me and your grandmother, Mama and Baba, and both of you."

Then Grandpa asked, "Who can tell me what we learned from the story of Adam, peace be upon him, tonight?" Salma raised her hand and said, "We learned that Allah taught Adam the names, so knowledge is beautiful." Omar said, "And that arrogance is bad, like Iblis." And Salma said, "And that when we make a mistake we repent, and Allah forgives us."

Then Grandpa said, "Do you know the very first greeting in history? The Prophet ﷺ told us, in Sahih al-Bukhari, that when Allah created Adam He said to him: Go and greet that group of angels, and listen to how they greet you, for it will be your greeting and the greeting of your descendants. So Adam said: As-salamu alaykum, peace be upon you. They replied: As-salamu alayka wa rahmatullah, peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah, adding: and the mercy of Allah." The two children said together, "So when we say as-salamu alaykum, we're saying our father Adam's greeting!" Grandpa said, "Yes. That's why we make sure to greet everyone we meet, and to reply with an even better greeting, just as the angels did with Adam, peace be upon him."

Grandpa clapped and said, "Well done! And we also learned that we all come from one father, so we never make fun of anyone because of their colour or the way they look. We are all children of Adam."

Before sleep, the two children raised their little hands and repeated with Grandpa the prayer of Adam and Hawwa: "Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers." Then Grandpa said, "Good night, my grandchildren, little children of Adam." They laughed, and fell asleep with their hearts full of peace.