The Creation of Adam and the Beginning of Human History

The creation of Adam, the first human being, marks the transition in Ibn Kathir's narrative from cosmic origins to the history of humanity. Allah created Adam from clay, and the Quran specifies that this clay passed through several stages: it is described at different points as earth (turab), clay (tin), dried clay (salsal), and hardened clay like pottery. Ibn Kathir presents these descriptions as indicating successive stages in the fashioning of Adam's form before the spirit was breathed into him, drawing on the tafsir tradition to reconcile the apparent differences between Quranic verses. The spirit was then breathed into Adam by divine command, and he became a living human being endowed with speech, knowledge, and the capacity for worship. Allah taught Adam the names of all things and demonstrated his knowledge before the angels, establishing from the beginning the honored status of human beings among the creatures of Allah.

The command to the angels to prostrate before Adam and the refusal of Iblis constitute one of the most theologically significant moments in Ibn Kathir's early history. He presents the Quranic accounts in detail: all the angels prostrated in obedience to Allah's command, while Iblis, who had been among them in proximity though not of their nature, refused out of pride and arrogance, claiming superiority over Adam because he was created from fire while Adam was created from clay. Ibn Kathir applies the Athari theological position that Iblis was from among the jinn, not an angel, which makes his refusal comprehensible in terms of the moral capacity for disobedience that distinguishes jinn from angels. The exchange between Allah and Iblis recorded in Surah al-A'raf and Surah al-Hijr is cited fully, including Iblis's declaration of enmity toward humanity and his request for respite until the Day of Resurrection, which Allah granted as a test for human beings.

The entry of Adam and Hawwa' into Paradise, their temptation and subsequent descent to earth, is presented with careful attention to both the Quranic text and the supplementary narrations. Ibn Kathir notes that the Paradise in which Adam and Hawwa' resided is understood by the majority of scholars to be the heavenly Paradise itself, while a minority held it was a garden on earth. He considers the textual evidence and favors the mainstream position. The forbidden tree is not specified in the Quran, and Ibn Kathir cautions against relying on Isra'iliyyat that identify it as wheat or a fig tree, though he records these views. Iblis approached them through deception, swearing that he was their sincere adviser, and they ate from the tree and became aware of their nakedness. The subsequent repentance of Adam and Hawwa' is presented as a model: they acknowledged their wrongdoing without despair, turned to Allah with the words 'Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves,' and Allah accepted their repentance and guided them.

Ibn Kathir draws out several theological dimensions from this foundational narrative. The descent of Adam and Hawwa' to earth was not a punishment in the sense of divine rejection but a fulfillment of the original divine plan announced to the angels, that Allah would place a vicegerent (khalifah) in the earth. The sin of Adam and Hawwa' demonstrated the doctrine that all human beings are in need of divine forgiveness and guidance, a doctrine that stands in contrast to Christian theological readings of the same narrative. Adam subsequently received revelation from Allah, was taught repentance and worship, and became the first prophet of the human race, establishing the unbroken chain of prophecy that would culminate in Muhammad, peace be upon him. This chain of prophetic guidance, connecting creation itself to the final message, provides the central narrative thread of the Bidayah from its first pages.