ENGLISH DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FACULTY STATE ISLAMIC STUDIES INSTITUTE (STAIN) SALATIGA 2007
EDUCATIONAL VALUES OF ADAM’S STORY
IN THE HOLY QUR’AN
A GRADUATING PAPER
Submitted to the Board o f Examiners as a Partial Fullfilment o f the Requirements for the Degree o f Sarjana Pendidikan Islam (S.Pd.1) in English Department o f Education Faculty, State Islamic Studies Institute o f
Salatiga
NIM : 113 03 020
.
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FACULTY
STATE ISLAMIC STUDIES INSTITUTE (STAIN)
S A L A T I G A
2007
DEPARTMENT OF RELIGIOUS AFFAIR STATE ISLAMIC
STUDIES INSTITUTE OF SALATIGA
Jl. Stadion 03 Phone (0298) 323706 Salatiga 50721 STATEMENT OF CERTIFICATION
EDUCATIONAL VALUES OF ADAM’S STORY IN THE HOLY QUR’AN AGUS NAJIB
Student Number : 113 03 020 Has been brought to the board o f examiner in October 1st, 2007M/Ramadhan
19th, 1428H, and hereby considered to completely fulfill the requirement o f the degree o f Sarjana Pendidim n Islam (S.Pd.I) in English Department.of Education Faculty.
Salatiga, October 1st 2007 MOTTO Say: “My prayers and my devotions, my life and my death, are all for Allah, Lord o f the Creation: He has no partner. Thus I am commanded, being the first o f the
Muslims” A1 A n’am (6 ): 162-163
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Praise be to Allah the Lord o f the Universe who gives His weak servant uncountable benedictions. Peace be upon Prophet Muhammad, his family, his companions and all faithful servants o f God that we will gather with them in the eternal life. At last, 1 can finish this graduating paper. Then, 1 would like to extend my deepest gratitude and appreciation to:
1. Drs. Imam Sutomo, M.Ag; the Head o f State Islamic Studies Institute of Salatiga
2. Drs. Sa’adi, M.Ag; the Head of Educational Faculty
3. Ruwandi, S.Pd, MA; the I lead o f English Department of Education Faculty and my consultant
4. All lectures o f STAIN Salatiga
5. My family and my friends
6. All persons who have helped me Salatiga, 3 September 2007
Agus Najib
TABLE OF CONTENTS page
BBLIOGRAPHY APPENDIX
v
ABSTRACT
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Abstract: Educational Values o f Adam’s Story in the Holy Qur’an Abstract: The aim o f this research is to extract educational values from Adam’s narrative in Holy Qur’an and its implication. Besides that, this research tries to describe how Qur’an constructs the story according to the time o f revelation. Thematical method is used in this research. The study shows that many educational values such as the importance o f knowledge and the result o f bad characters can be found in this story. The story implies that value education can be accomplished through reward, punishment, experience and religion. Also, it shows that Qur’an presents new things every time the narrative was revealed.
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study Holy Qur’an is the Muslims’ way of life. Some recite it everyday, and some of them learn it by heart. Beside reading and memorizing Qur’an, they also practice it in their daily life. Thus they try to obey their guidance. It is because they want to achieve happiness in the world and in the hereafter.
Holy^Qur’an is absolutely miraculous God’s words. Its language is very beautiful. This beauty cannot be felt by only reading its translation. The beauty lies on match of description, match of word choice, suitable rhythm and comparison of two distinct situations.' Even, one o f the prophet’s companions, Umar ibn Khathab, embraced Islam after he felt the beauty of the beginning of surah Thaha.
The contents o f Qur’an include belief, law, story, rites, God’s promise and God’s threat/ The belief in Islam is emphasized on believing in Allah. His angels. His books, His messengers, the- Judgment Day and God’s
Predestination. Islam also rejects the belief of the Jews. Christians and unbelievers. Then, Qur’an is the book of taw of Muslims. God orders them to settle problems with this book. Next, the stories in Qur’an tell Muslims about *
1
- - .V nTirtf» " 'f» 'v *
1 Sayyid Quthb, Keindahan A l Our 'anyang menakjubkan, Bahrun Abu Bakar. Robbani Press, I C O
1 Dimensi-dimensi Studi Islam Tadjab, et all. , K.arya Abditama. Surabaya, 1994, page 89
1 the messengers of Allah and the Day of Resurrection. In His book, God commands Muslims not to worship anything except Him and to perform good deeds. And finally, promise and threat are manifestation o f His justice.
God tells Muslims best stories by repealing Qur’a n / Story o f Yusuf in this holy book is a great description o f a life of a servant o f God. It begins from the childhood of Yusuf until the unity o f Yusuf and his family. Then, the story o f Musa is a marvelous description o f difficulty of leading a nation into God’s mercy. God used this story to entertain Prophet Muhammad who felt that it was hard to guide human to the path o f Allah.
The stories in Qur’an are not the same with the stories in the previous scriptures. Story o f Hud, Sholeh and the story o f Jesus when he asked for food from sky cannot be found in the Bible.3
4 In addition, stories in Qur’an clarify the stories in Old and New Testament. If in Old Testament Harun ordered Jews to make idol5, in Qur’an he forbade them to do so.6 Another difference is stories in Qur’an are usually short and repeated in different contexts, while stories in Bible are usually long and not repeated.7
Story of Adam is one o f the interesting topics in Qur’an. It is narrated in seven suras. Those are: A1 Baqarah, Al A’raf, Al Hijr, Al Isra’, A1 Kahfi, Thaha and Shaad. If a story is repeated seven times, it means that the story is
3 Yusuf (1 2 ): 3
4 Ibnu Katsir, Terjemah Singkat Tafsir Ibnu Katsir jilid III,
Salim Bahreisy and Said Bahreisy, Bina Ilmu, Surabaya, 1986, page 203
5 Burhanuddi D aya, Agama Yahudi,
Bagus Arafah, Yogyakarta, 1982 , page 114
6 Thaha (2 0 ): 90
7 Sami Zaatri, “The Qur’an Superiority over the Bible on the Story o f Adam and Eve’s Sin”, accessed from . January, 3 2007
2 very important. The focus of this story is about humankinds and their relationship with God and earth. Moreover, this story contains some values that are easy to apply.
There are many educational values in* the story of Adam. How the arrogance and envy of Iblis could bring him to destruction. How Adam got high rank at God’s side after he committed a sin. What was God’s purpose so that He placed the descendant o f Adam on earth? Many things are hidden in this story.
However, not all Muslims understand Qur’an and its educational values. As the result, moral crisis happens everywhere both in Muslim and non- Muslim communities. In addition, poverty and stupidity threat Muslim’s world.
Muslims as large part o f world community also get dangers such as materialism, discrimination and earth exploitation. It is not a secret that non Muslims are more advanced than Muslims.
The story of Adam is important to be investigated. The educational values in this story may solve the problems of Muslims’ world. This is repeated seven times in Qur’an, since it is meant to build Muslims’ character and civilization. All of the events in the story can be analyzed critically so it may provide Muslims some principles for their life guidance.
One o f the important issues in the story o f Adam is the importance of education. It tells how angels as pious creature must respect Adam as learned creature. God commanded the angels to bow to Adam as a sign of admiration
3 like Yaqub and his children who prostrated before Yusuf.8 9 Muslims today are like angels, they worship God every time. While non Muslims are like Adam, they have knowledge. The result is Muslims must respect non Muslims.
The writer believes that promise of God is true. Allah will give earth to His pious servant.^owadays, earth is still ruled by non Muslims especially
Jews and Christians. An effort is needed to fulfill God’s promise. By taking educational values from the story o f Adam, it is hoped that Muslims will solve their problem and at last achieve their golden era.
For such a purpose, the writer is interested in conducting a research entitled “EDUCATIONAL VALUES OF ADAM’S STORY IN THE HOLY QUR’AN”
B. Problem Statements The problem statements of this graduating paper are:
1. How does Qur’an construct the story of Adam?
2. What are the educational values o f Adam’s story in Qur’an?
3. What is the implication of the story of Adam in relation to education of values? . v
C. The Objectives o f the Study The Objectives o f the study are as follows: 1 To describe how Qur’an constructs the story of Adam.
8 Yusuf (1 2 ): 100
9 A1 Anbiya (2 1 ): 105
4
2. To find out the educational values o f Adam’s story in Qur’an.
3. To find out the implication of the story o f Adam in relation to education o f values.
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D. Benefits o f the Study The benefits of the study can be divided into two parts:
Theoretically, the result o f this study can contribute to the development o f value education.
Practically, the result of this study can be used:
1. To enlarge Muslims’ understanding in Holy Qur’an
2. To remind reader the importance o f value education
I E. Review of Previous Research The first research is a graduating paper entitled “An Analysis o f the
Moral Values and Language Style found in Ed W allace’s Short Story’’’
written by Hasan Ashari. He concludes:
1. There are some moral values found in the story. The examples are: people should be responsible in everything they do, people must help others, people should be polite, and never judge others only from appearance.
2. In writing the story, Wallace applies various types of sentences.
5 The second research is a graduating paper entitled ‘The Concept o f
Moral Education (Abdullah Nashih Ulwan’s Perspective
)” written by Rindha Asmara. She concludes:
1. According to Abdullah Nashih Ulwan, moral education is a series of basic principle of moral, the virtue o f attitude o f moral and the virtue of attitude of behavior; which must be possessed by a person and made into his or her habit from childhood to adulthood. The examples are: loving truth, strength of wish, high ambition, patience, feeling of affection, and instinct o f social interaction.
2. Considering that Abdullah Nashih Ulwan comes from Middle East country, his view about moral education will be rather difficult to apply in contemporary educational contexts. This happens because his view is always based on pure Islamic sources.
The third is a graduating paper entitled “Mora/ Values in William Axel
Rose ’s Songs ’’written by Muhammad Rosid Anwar. He concludes:
There are some moral values found in the story both good and bad. Man has to prepare and realize the important thing in his life. The essential thing in learning to be moral is learning what the.social group expects. If we are honest with ourselves, we will admit that we yearn for a world in which our .
- * lives; our choices and our actions have meaning.
6 F. Theoretical Framework According to Sastrapratedja, the aim of education is not only to develop science, skill and technology; but also to bring other aspects such as ethics and personality into existence. This thing is called value education. This education is not a program or special lesson, but a dimension o f all attempts of education.10
The change o f social economy which is triggered by the development o f science and technology causes change in the way o f thinking, judging, seeing life and fact. These bring vagueness o f existed value and dimension of value which always exist in society and individual. So, it is the responsible of educator to:
1. Seeing the implication o f ethical value in all process of change
2. Supporting values in oneself to develop
3. Helping student to be self reliant to behave and to decide something11 Method of traditional education cannot be applied in this value education because value includes components as follows:
1. Choosing (cognitive aspect) Someone who wants to apply a value will like to choose freely from many alternatives of value after he thinks about the Tesult o f his choice.
2. Appreciating (affective aspect)
10 Sastrapratedja, “Pendidikan Nilai”, Kaswardi, Pendidikan Nilai Memasuki Tahun 2000, Grasindo, Jakarta, 1993, page 3 " Ibid., page 3
7 Someone who applies a value must feel happy with this selection. Then, he will say it in public.
3. Behavior (psychomotor aspect) Person who applies a value will do something for his choice. It will be done repeatedly so a pattern will be formed.12
According to Yvon Ambrosia, value is an abstract reality. We can feel it in ourselves as a supporting power or principle o f life guidance. So, value is important in one’s life. Sometimes, one prefers sacrificing his life to leaving his value. Value can be tracked from three realities. They are attitude, way of thinking and behavior.13
Values are implanted to a person by socialization through different sources such as family, environment, religion, education, tradition, etc. By seeing the source and the means o f the value, we can understand its power in someone and the way to change it. For example, if a value is implanted by Holy Book, it only can be changed by reinterpretation of the book.14
Values are the basis of change. They are supporting power in one’s life or group. It is important in social change. To change a person or society, we should change his or its values. If someone thinks about his past life, he will see how his values have been changed for some times. It means that they can and will be changed.15
12 Ibid., page 4
13 Yvon Ambroise, “Pendidikan Nilai”, Kaswardi, Pendidikan Nilai Memasuki Tahun 2000, Grasindo, Jakarta, 1993, page 20
14 Ibid, page 23
45 Ibid., page 25
8 G. Definition o f Key Term
1. Education: Education is knowledge and character resulting from training16 1 7 2. Values: According to Manser, values (plural form) are principles.
3. Adam: The parent o f the human race according to Judeo-Christian tradition and the Muslim tradition.18
4. Story: According to Manser, story is an account o f past or imaginary events.19
5. Holy Qur’an: holy book o f Muslims.
Educational values o f Adam’s stoiy in the Holy Qur’an are principles used to train someone to build his or her character or knowledge based on account of Adam’s past found in the Holy Qur’an.
H. Research Method
1. Research Approach This research uses thematical method. Thematical method is collecting
Qur’anic verses with the same topic and arranging it chronologically. Next, the writer begins to explain them and then draw conclusion.20
16 Martin H Manser., Oxford Learner’s Pocket Dictionary, Oxford University Press, New York
1995, page 13417 Ibid, page 457
18 Bernard S Cayne, The Encyclopedia Americana International Volumes, vol. I, Americana Corporation, New York, 1975, page 33
19 Martin H Manser., op.cit., page 409
20 Abd Al Hayy A1 Farmawi, Metode Tafsir Mawdhu’iy Suatu Pengantar, Suryan A Jamrah,
Raja Grafindo Persada, Jakarta, 1996, page 369
2. Type o f Research
This research includes library research. Library research is a research which is conducted by collecting secondary data from books, regulations and academic writings.21
5
3. Research Object The object of this research is the Holy Qur’an.
4. Data Analysis The steps o f thematical method are as follows:21
22
1. Choosing the topic
2. Collecting verses related to the topic
3. Arranging them chronologically
4. Knowing the correlation o f the verses in each surah
5. Arranging the explanation systematically
6. Complementing the explanation with hadith if needed
7. Studying them thematically by compromising verses which seems contradictive In conducting analysis the writer uses the steps above with a little adjustment according to the problem statements. The procedure is:
The first step is describing how Qur’an constructs the story from the time o f revelation. The second step is extracting educational values from the
Metodologi Penelitian Sosial dan Pendidikan,
21 Sumanto, Andi Offset, Yogyakarta, 1995, page 16
22 Abd Al Hayy A1 Farmawi, op.cit., page 45
10 CHAPTER II THE STORY OF ADAM In this chapter, the writer will rewrite the story o f Adam in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The purpose is to give readers a description about how people see this story. A. The Story o f Adam in Judaism There are two distinct accounts o f the first human pair in Judaism. The first is that o f the J (Jahweh) document and the second is that o f the P (Priestly Code) document. In the J document, it is told how God formed a man out o f the dust o f the ground, gave him life by breathing the breath o f life into his nostrils, and placed him in the garden he was to cultivate but should not eat the fruit o f the tree o f knowledge. The animals were created for man’s companionship; but when God saw that their companionship was not enough for the man, He created a woman o f man’s flesh to be a helpmeet for him. Then, the serpent persuaded the woman to . * eat o f the forbidden fruit, and she shared it with her husband. As a result o f this action, they obtained knowledge, became conscious sexually, and could distinguish good and evil. However, they were expelled from the garden, had to work to survive, became subject to pain and death, and were at enmity with the serpent. The P document tells that after God created the vegetation and animals,
He created human, male and female, in His own image, to rule over the animal creation and have the vegetation for their subsistence. God ordered the first pair to increase and multiply and then Seth (Syis) was bom to them as the first o f numerous sons and daughters from whom the races o f mankind are descended.23Two different accounts about Adam and Eve’s creation were noted in Judaism. The first account says “God created them male and female” which has been interpreted by critical scholars as simultaneous creation, whereas the second account states that God created Eve from Adam's rib because Adam was lonely. To resolve this contradiction, mediaeval rabbis considered that Eve and the woman o f the first account were two different individuals. Preserved in the Midrash, this rabbinic tradition said that the first woman refused to take the submissive position to Adam in sex, and then fled from him. This first woman was identified in the Midrash as Lilith, a figure portrayed as a night demon. Lilith is said as the mother o f demons.24
Genesis only mentions three names o f Adam's children (Cain, Abel, and Seth), although it does state that there were other sons and daughters as well. Genesis . »• Rabba says that Cain (Qabil) had a twin sister narited Lebuda, and Abel (Habil) had a twin sister named Qelimath. After Cain killed Abel, and was cursed to 2 4 cc
23 Accessed from www.allaboutgod/truth/genesis-2.htm. January 3 ,2 0 0 7 Adam and Eve”, accessed from www.answers.com/topic/adam-and-eve. January 3 ,2 0 0 7 .
Pseudepigrapha, they do not accept the later Jewish Midrash. The story o f Adam and Eve forms the basis for the doctrine o f original, sin, a doctrine that is assumed by many branches o f Christianity, but is not shared by the Orthodox or
Congregational ist churches, nor by Judaism nor The Church o f Jesus Christ o f Latter-day Saints. Original sin, the concept that human is bom in a condition o f sinfulness and must wait for redemption, becomes a cornerstone o f Christian theological tradition. Over the centuries, a system o f Christian beliefs has developed from the Adam and Eve story. Baptism, which predates Christianity, has been understood as a means o f washing away the hereditary sin in some churches. It is a symbol o f the death, burial and resurrection o f Jesus. It is a religious service o f spiritually washing one in the blood o f the Savior, which was shed on the cross. In other Christian traditions, this process is only seen as public declaration o f faith and also an initiation. Next, the serpent that tempted Eve was interpreted by some as Satan, although the Torah does not mention this thing.28
Some early Fathers o f Church held Eve and all following women to be the first sinners, and responsible for the fall o f mankind. They say that women are the devil's gateway because Eve had seduced Adam tqioat the forbidden fruit. Even, Tertullian told his female listeners in the early second century that they were
28 op.cit. '
“Adam and Eve”,
90 responsible for the death o f Christ.
Mediterranean traditions identify the Tree o f the Knowledge o f Good and Evil as a fig tree, since figs leaves were mentioned in Genesis as being used to cover Adam and Eve's nudity. In Northern Europe, the forbidden fruit is considered a form o f apple, because the Latin "malum" has two meanings. “Malum” as an adjective means evil, but as a noun means apple. The larynx in the human throat, more noticeable in males, was consequently called an Adam’s apple, from an opinion that it was caused by the forbidden fruit sticking in Adam's throat. Some
Slavonic texts say that the forbidden fruit was actually the grape, which was later changed in its nature and became something good, much as the serpent was changed by losing its legs and speech.
C. The Story o f Adam in Islam The early Islamic commentator Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari presents a number o f details to the Torah, based on hadith and specific Jewish traditions
(isra'iliyyat). Tabari records that when it came time to create Adam, God sent two
angels (Gabriel and Michael) to take clay from the :earth; but the earth refused to hand over the material, so the angels returned empty-handed. Tabari goes on to state that God then commanded the Angel o f Death to fetch clay from all regions on the earth, hence providing an explanation for the variety o f appearances o f the 2
9 30 i u ; a
3
29 Ibid
different races o f mankind. Another Tabari's account says that Adam remained a dry body for 40 days after he received the breath of,God. Then, he gradually came to life from the head downwards. When he had finished coming to life, he sneezed and said A ll praise be to God, the Lord o f all beings. Next, Adam was given dominion over all the lower creatures. In Islam, Adam is believed as a prophet because God had spoken to him directly.31
The Qur’an says that when God announced his intention to create Adam, the angels expressed discouragement, asking why he would create a being that would do evil and shed blood on earth. God then taught Adam the names to reassure the angels about Adam's abilities, though commentators argue about which particular names were taught. Several different theories say they were the names o f all things animate and inanimate, the names o f the angels or the names o f Adam’s descendants.32
When God ordered the angels to bow to Adam, Iblis (Lucifer) said "why should I bow to man, I am made o f smokeless fire”.33 He refused God’s command due to his arrogance, and was banished from the heavens as the result.
Tabari, and the Shia commentator al-Qummi records an account o f the fall o f
31 “Islamic view o f Adam”, accessed from January
32 3 ,2 0 0 7 Bintusy Syathi’, Manusia Sensitivitas Hermeneutika Al Q ur’an, Al Arief, Adib, LKPSM, Yogyakarta, 1997, page 4233 AI A ’raaf (7 ): 12
CHAPTER III SOME IMPORTANT ISSUES IN THE STORY
- There are seventy six verses in the seven stories o f Adam. More than forty verses talks about Satan, ten verses about sin (o f human and Iblis) and four verses about knowledge. Brotherhood and khalifah on earth are also important issues although they are not dominant in the story. Those things are interesting to investigate thematically.
A. Satan The name o f Iblis is founded eight times in the story. It is mentioned in two contexts. First, when order o f prostration is narrated. Second, when God asked
Iblis his reason o f disobedience, He always called: “Ya Iblis! “ While the name Satan is only mentioned four times. Three times to name creature who tricked Adam (fawaswasa ilaihis syaithon and faazallahum as
syaithori), and one time to remind him what God said before about Iblis: “D id I not
warn yo u that Satan is your sworn enemy? ” It means that Iblis was called Satan
only after he tricked Adam. io
‘Satan’ is Hebrew word. It means adversary. In Qur’an, God had said to Adam that it was his enemy since Iblis’ rejection to respect him.3
8
39However, he did
38 Bernard S Cayne, The Encyclopedia Americana International Volumes, Americana Corporation,
N ew York, 1975, page 3039 Thaha (20): 117
20 not care about this (he believed in Iblis’ advice). Adam was aware with this enmity when he was tricked. This name o f Satan only after Iblis’ ruse is right because Adam regarded him enemy from that time.
I ‘Satan’ in Arabic has two meanings: Iblis and wicked person. It is the same as the word ‘devil’ in English. In Qur’an, the name Iblis is used to describe this creature before he tricked Adam such as in surah Saba:
“The prediction o f Iblis is right, they w ill fo llo w him except a band o f believer. ”40
While the name Satan is used to describe the evil intention o f this creature after the event with Adam.
Believers, wine and game o f chance, idols and divining arrows, are abom inations devised by Satan.4'
The natural character o f Satan is reluctant and arrogant because he was created o f fire. He was in the group o f jinn which was created before human from smokeless fire. However, it is not explained in Qur’an what happened to other jin n in the fall o f Satan.
Then, fire is described positively in Qur’an like when fire became cold to save Ibrahim42 and when Musa saw fire at the hill in the beginning o f his prophecy.43 Fire is also a proof o f the almightiness o f God.44
40 Saba ( 3 4 ): 20
41 A1 M aidah(5) : 90
42 A1 Anbiya (21): 69
43 T h a h a(20): 10 some interpret that the heaven is only a garden.50 This interpretation is different from the verses o f Genesis which say that the garden is at east o f Eden.51 Verse o f Al Isra says that Iblis has cavalry and infantry to attack human; and he can help them to collect riches (o f course with wrong way).52 The verses o f Mecca do not mention the role o f Satan except in the story o f prophets (Adam, Yusuf, Musa and Isa). While the verses o f Medina mention him nearly in all suras. His role is inciting humans to disbelieve or to be hostile among others.
B. Sin There are three sins found in the story. Two were committed by Satan and one by human. The result of those sins is the same: banishment from heaven.
Both o f Adam and Iblis were sent away with the same word: ihbit (descend). Surah Shaad and A1 Hijr add one word for Iblis: ukhruj (go away). However, there is one noticeable difference in the two banishments. God added His curse to Iblis when He sent him away; but He promised guidance when He moved Adam to earth.
The first sin, namely arrogance o f Iblis is described in nearly all the seven stories o f Adam. Even, in surah A1 Isra he said that he could not accept if there is someone with higher rank than him. God then said to him that heaven is not a
Tafsir A l Quranul M ajid An Nuur Vol. I,
50 Muhammad Hasbi A sh Shiddieqy, Pustaka Rizki Putra,
Semarang, 1992, Page 8551 G enesis (Chapter 2): 8
52 A l Isra ( 1 7 ): 64
place for arrogant person. Therefore, He expelled him. What God did is suitable with His words in A1 Qashash.
“A s fo r the abode o f hereafter, we shall assign it to those who seek neither ■ k glory in this w orld nor evil. ”53
Arrogance is a very hated sin whoever the culprit. In Q ur’an, Luqman advices his son:
“A n d do not w alk on earth arrogantly. G od does not like arrogant people. ”54
In Qur’an, it is told that pride is the character o f Satan and unbelievers; while humble is the character o f the servant o f Allah.55 Besides arrogance, another sin o f Iblis is envy. The proof o f his envy is he made Adam out from heaven with tricky way. This character is dangerous both for the owner and the others. For the owner, it will bum his heart. For others, it is- hazardous if it has increased to its final stage namely plunging others into misery.
Those two characters had made Iblis a cursed creature, and those two characters hampered the unbelievers to embrace Islam.56 The third sin is committed by human. It is greed. Greed is strong desire for too much money, food, etc.57This character could be found in Adam in his story in
Qur’an. He was called astray because o f this sin.
53 A1 Qashash (28): 83
54 Luqman (3 1 ) : 18 '
55 A1 Furqan (25) : 63
56 A1 N isa (4) : 54
57 Martin H Manser., Oxford Learner’s Pocket Dictionary, Oxford University Press, N ew York 1995, page 184
“H ad people o f those towns believed and kept fro m evil, We w ould have show ered upon them the riches o f heaven and earth. ”61
In verses o f Mecca, Qur’an mentions some sins related to faith and wealth.
I They are worshipping idol, threatening people not to follow Islam, loving riches and being a miser. Next, verses o f Medina still emphasize on those sins and add .some sins relate to moral.
C. Knowledge Story o f Adam mentions four verses about knowledge. The first is when the angels asked God about His intention to place human on earth. The second is when God taught Adam the names. The next is the statement o f the angels that they knew nothing except what God had taught. And the last is the transferring knowledge o f this first human to the angels.
When Allah expresses His will to place vicegerent on earth; the angels were curious about the reason. They thought that human would only create destruction on earth; while God did not like destruction but liked worship. So, they thought that it was them who deserved to be khalifah not human. Here, the first element o f education appeared. As we know, curiosity is important in learning process.
This character is also found in Ibrahim. When;he was curious about God and tried to find Him. Like the angels who made hypothesis about mankind creation; Ibrahim also made hypothesis about God. First, he saw star; he thought that it was God but then he changed his mind. It also happened when he saw the moon and
«' A1 A ’raf (7 ): 96
27
A n d they d id not know any o f H is knowledge except by H is w ill.68
The last verse is about student teaches student. Adam is believed by God to teach the angels. It means that by teaching what someone has, one’s knowledge ■ k will not be reduced but will be stronger in his mind.
From the story o f Adam, there are four principles to strengthen one’s knowledge. They are curiosity, certain purpose; will to study, and teaching what has been learned.
In the beginning o f Islam, reading and writing as the starting point of knowledge were mentioned.69In Medina, looking for knowledge was ordered although the situation was not right.70Then, surah A1 Mujadilah says that Allah will raise the rank o f learned men.71 D. Brotherhood
From the story o f Adam, we can say that all humans are the children o f Adam and therefore they are brothers and sisters. Qur’an sometimes changes the word Ya
ayyuhan naas with Ya Bani Adam.
There are two brotherhoods in Q ur’an. The first is universal brotherhood and the second is religious brotherhood. The first brotherhood implies that humans
68 A1 Baqarah (2): 255
69 A1 Alaq (96) : 1
70 At Taubah (9) : 122
71 A1 Mujadilah ( 5 8 ): 11 should not ill-treat each other or discriminate among o th e rs.72 While the second implies that a Muslim should not disturb other M uslim s.73 The requirement to enter the second brotherhood is easy. • <
“I f they repent, perform ing shalat and giving alms; they are your brothers in religion. ”74 7
5 Interestingly, the target o f this verse is not people in general, but the unbelievers who hampered human from embracing Islam.
Then, Qur’an orders the Muslims not to have close relationship with their
nr
brother if he is an unbeliever. This happens because God will unite the hearts o f the faithful.76 Principle o f brotherhood is only mentioned in verses o f Medina. Verses o f Mecca only gives clues about it like saying humans are the children o f Adam.
E. K halifah on earth In the beginning o f Adam’s story, it is said that the purpose o f human creation is to be khalifah on earth. Then, law and sense are presented to follow this task.
The word khalifah means successor. Some commentators write in their tafsir that humans are the successor o f destroyed jin n .77 In Qur’an, Daud is called as
72 A1 Hujurat (4 9 ) : 13
73 A1 Hujurat (4 9 ) : 12
74 At Taubah (9) : 11
75 At Taubah ( 9 ) : 23
76 A1 Anfal ( 8 ) : 63 Terjemah Singkat Tafsir Ibnu Katsir j i l i d 111,
77 Ibnu Katsir, Salim Bahreisy and Said Bahreisy,
Bina Ilmu, Surabaya, 1986, page 38230 khalifah because he is the successor o f Saul (Thalut).78This word can also mean deputy like M usa who asked Harun to be his deputy when he went to receive Torah.79 • 4
A khalifah always has job and responsibility. When Musa ordered Harun to be his deputy, he asked him to bring his people to good condition and do not to bring them into destruction.80When God appointed Daud, He commanded him to give law fairly and not to follow lust.81 *
The plural form o f khalifah that is kh a la if is also used in Qur’an. God says it is one o f His benedictions that humans are appointed as khalifah on earth. Because o f this position, humans rule the land and sea; are provided with many good things and exalted above many o f God’s creatures.83
This principle o f kh a la if is only mentioned in Medina. Verses o f Mecca only narrates story about people who got this position like Daud and Harun.
78 79 Shaad (3 8 ): 26 80 A1 A ’raf (7) : 142 81 Ibid. 82 Shaad (3 8 ): 26 83 A1 A n ’am ( 6 ) : 165 A1 Isr a (1 7 ): 70
31 CHAPTER IV DATA ANALYSIS A. How Qur’an Constructs the Story o f Adam Story o f Adam is mentioned seven times in Qur’an. Each o f the stories is short and not complete. If someone wants to know the whole story o f Adam, he must read all the seven stories. This implies that the verses o f the Qur’an should be interpreted with others. It also means that Muslims must learn the whole Qur’an, not only some suras they like.
The repetition o f story suggests that something which is repeated many times is more effective than that which is only mentioned one time. If the story is only mentioned one time like in Bible, the impressive importance o f the story will be less effective. Someone who reads Qur’an from the beginning until the end will feel that God does not want humans to forget this story. Not only stories which are mentioned some times in Qur’an, but also all aspects including the commandment and prohibition o f God.
The similarity o f the seven stories is the 'repetition o f God’s command for angels to bow to Adam; they are almost in all o f the stories. It seems that God wants to say that humans are noble creature, but they will lose their nobility if
32 they follow Satan; like their ancestors in the past. However, their ancestors were only moved from garden to earth; while they will be moved from earth to hell.
According to the time o f revelation, the first story o f Adam which was revealed is the story in surah Shaad. The second narrative is in surah A1 A ’raf, and the third is Adam’s account in surah Thaha. Next story o f Adam was revealed in surah Al Isra’, and then A1 Hijr and A1 Kahfi. All o f those suras were revealed in Mecca. It means that there is only one story o f Adam which was revealed in Medina. It is Adam’s narrative in surah A1 Baqarah.84
The story o f Adam in surah Shaad is a standard story o f him. It tells about God’s intention to create a human from clay. Then, He commanded angels to prostrate to him. All of them followed His order. However, Iblis who was there in that time rejected this order. God asked them why he did that. Iblis answered that he was better than Adam because o f the material o f creation. So, God banished and cursed him until the Day of Resurrection. Strangely, Iblis did not ask for God’s mercy but he wanted to make Adam’s descendant go astray. God granted him his wish and swore that He would fill hell with Iblis and his followers. ;
The next chronological narrative o f Adam is in surah A1 A ’raf. There are some differences between this narrative from the previous ones. The first difference is verses in A1 A ’raf summarize the story o f Shaad. The writer sees
84 Muhammad Hasbi Ash Shiddieqy, Sejarah dan Pengantar Ilmu Al Q ur’an/Ta/sir, Bulan Bintang, Jakarta, 1990, page 53
that Al A ’raf: 11 summaries four verses o f Shaad. Then, A1 A ’raf:12 summaries two verses o f Shaad. The second distinguisher is the different use o f word. In Shaad, Iblis was sent away with the word ukhruj, in A1 A ’raf he was banished with two words ihbit and ukhruj. Next, in Shaad Iblis was called as cursed
(rajini).
In A1 A’ra f Iblis was characterized as contemptible (shaghir).The third difference is the detail explanation. Shaad does not explain how Iblis would trick human. As a complement, A1 A ’ra f mentions the way. The last difference is the presence o f new information. It tells what happened after Iblis was banished.
This surah says that God placed Adam and Hawwa in garden but they should not approach a certain tree. Then, Satan came to persuade and trick them. He succeeded after he used swear as a means. Adam and Hawwa believed in him, and then they ate the fruit o f the forbidden tree. The result was their nudity appeared to them. Then, God called them and warned them about their previous promise with Him. So, Adam and Hawwa prayed. They confessed their sin and asked for His mercy. It is not mentioned whether God accepted their repent or not; but the next verse says that He commanded them to move to earth as a place o f living and temporal happiness.
The next story o f Adam in surah Thaha seems to answer some questions
t*v
in surah A1 A ’raf. Here, the focus is on the promise o f God with Adam which is not explained in the previous narrative. Then, this promise is continued by the
34 fake promise o f Satan to Adam and the result. Next, it is also mentioned that God accepted Adam’s regret. However, God still moved Adam to earth.
The fourth story is Adam’s account in surah Al Isra’. Here, the focus o f the story backs to the command o f prostration and the arrogance o f Iblis. Then, it is continued by the way o f Iblis to make human go astray and God’s guarantee for His servant that they would be safe from Satan.
The story in surah A1 Hijr has the same pattern with that in surah Shaad. The difference is the different use o f word. The word clay (thin) in Shaad is changed with the word black moulded loam (shalshalin min hamain mashnuri).
The word yaum u y u b ’atsun is completed with yaum n ad diin and yaum u yub ’atsun.
As the closure o f the story, it tells the guarantee o f God like that in surah A1 Isra’.