Texts of Islam

ADAM. (A MOHAMMEDAN LEGEND.)

Summary only - full text stays on its own separately-gated source. Read the full text at the source »

This is a prose narrative retelling of the Islamic creation story of Adam and Eve, drawn from classical Islamic theological and legendary tradition (likely a 19th-century European translation of sources such as the *Qisas al-Anbiya*, stories of the prophets). It recounts Adam's creation from earth gathered from the four corners of the world, his animation by a reluctant Soul breathed into him by Allah, the angels' commanded prostration before him, and Iblis's proud refusal and consequent expulsion from heaven. A distinctively recurring claim throughout is that Mohammed — not Adam — is the true purpose of creation: the text insists repeatedly that Allah created Adam, the world, and even Paradise specifically for the sake of the yet-unborn prophet, whose light Adam sees on the divine throne at the moment of his awakening. The narrative then moves to Eve's creation from Adam's rib, her insistence on a formal marriage gift (which turns out to be prayers for Mohammed), and their entry into Paradise together. The final section begins the temptation sequence, in which Iblis — barred from Paradise — tricks the peacock and then the serpent (here depicted as a regal, camel-like queen of beasts) into smuggling him inside by hiding in her teeth. Readers interested in Islamic legendary elaborations of Quranic material, or in comparative Adam-and-Eve traditions across Abrahamic religions, will find this a richly detailed and theologically distinctive version of familiar ground.

ADAM. (A MOHAMMEDAN LEGEND.)

Related pages View as graph →