Prophet Adam is believed to have been the first human being and (Prophet) on Earth, in Islam. Adam's role as the father of the human race is looked upon by Muslims with reverence. Muslims also refer to his wife, Hawa (Eve), as the "mother of mankind".
What did Allah make Hazrat Adam?
The Qur'an describes how Allah created Adam:
"We created man from sounding clay, from mud molded into shape..." (15:26)
"He began the creation of man from clay and made his progeny from a quintessence of fluid" (32:7-8)
Thus, human beings have a fundamental attachment to the earth. Allah made the mountains and the seas. He made all the animals. He made the heavens and the stars. He made the sun and the moon and he made the angels. The angels were like Allah's servants and did everything He ordered. Then Allah decided to make a man. He called this first man Adam.
Virtue of Prophet Adam (A.S.) over the Angels
Prophet Adam (A.S.) was created directly from the hands of Allah from clay and his soul was immediately blown by the Almighty Himself. In addition, the Prophet Adam (A.S.) was also equipped with the intellect that makes him able to learn, observe and understand things. The same is evident from the following verses of the Quran:
Then Allah gave Adam knowledge of the nature and reality of all things and everything, and set them before the angels and said:
"Inform Me of the names of these, if you are truthful." (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:31)
And they (Angels) said:
"Glory to You (O Allah), we have no knowledge except what You have taught us. Indeed, it is You who is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise." (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:32)
Then Allah said,
"O Adam, inform them of their names."
And when he had informed them of their names, Allah said,
"Did I not tell you that I know the unknown of the heavens and the earth? And I know what you reveal and what you have concealed." (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:33)
Allah stated the virtue of Adam above the angels because He taught Adam, rather than them, the names/knowledge of everything, that is, the names that people use, such as human, animal, sky, earth, land, sea, including the names of the other species. This occurred after Angels prostrated Adam. This discussion proceeds only to show the importance of Adam’s position and the absence of the angel’s knowledge about creating the Khalifah when they asked about it. This shows Adam's superiority over Angels in knowledge.
He taught him many things so that Adam had more knowledge than the angels. There was one Jinn, called Iblis and he thought he was better than Adam so Allah would not let him stay with the other angels. He was to be called 'Shaytan', the Devil. Shaytan blamed Adam for what had happened to him and was very angry.
The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said, "Allah created Adam, making him 60 cubits tall” (Al-Bukhari: 3326)
Angel Prostration before Adam ( A.S ) and satan ( devil ) disobedience
And when Allah said to the angels,
"Prostrate before Adam"; so they prostrated, except for Iblees (Satan/Devil/Shaitan). He refused and was arrogant and so became a disbeliever." (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:34)
When Allah commanded the angels to prostrate before Adam, Iblis (Shaitan/Devil/Satan) was included in this command. All Angels complied with Allah’s command except for Iblis as he was too arrogant to prostrate before Adam. He said, “I am superior than him. You created me from the fire and created Adam from the clay/mud.” So this act of arrogance by Iblis was the first-ever act of disobedience/error/misdeed committed by any of Allah’s creatures. Because of Satan's arrogance and disobedience to prostrate, Allah punishes him by expelling him from heaven.
Satan arrogantly accepted the punishment of Allah and he only begged Him to be given the opportunity for eternal life until the Day of Judgment. Allah approved his petition and Satan was allowed eternal life until the day of resurrection. Satan was not grateful for the granting by Allah but instead, he threatened to mislead Adam and his descendant from all directions to persuade them to leave the straight path, invite them to forbidden things, tempting them to abolish the religious orders and influence them not to be grateful to Allah for good deeds.
Then Allah spoke to the cursed Iblis:
"Go with your followers who will be the fuel of hell. You will not be able to mislead My servants who have believed in me with all their heart and have a steady faith which will not be roared by your appeal."
Satan was removed from the ranks of angels and he became Allah’s biggest enemy till the Day of Judgment.
After commanding the angels to prostrate before him, Adam was given a place by Allah in heaven/paradise and for him created Eve to accompany him and become his life friend, eliminating his loneliness and completing his natural needs to develop offspring.
And Allah said,
"O Adam, both you and your spouse live in the Paradise, eat freely to your fill wherever you like, but approach not this tree or you will become transgressors/wrongdoers.” (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:35)
After Allah finished criticizing Satan, Adam fell asleep. Then Allah took one of Adam's left ribs and made flesh grow in its place, while Adam was asleep and unaware. Allah then created Eve from Adam’s rib and made her a woman. Adam woke up and saw Eve next to him. When Allah married Adam to Eve and gave him comfort, Allah said to him directly,
"O Adam! Dwell you and your wife in the Paradise and eat both of you freely with pleasure and delight of things therein wherever you will, but come not near this tree or you both will be of the wrongdoers.”
Allah’s statement was basically a test for Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve understood that they were forbidden to eat the fruit of that tree. Adam was, however, human and man tends to forget. Satan summoned all the envy within him and took advantage of Adam’s humanity to exploit it. He started to whisper to him day after day “Shall I guide you to the tree of immortality and the eternal kingdom”.
But Satan whispered to them to make apparent to them that which was concealed from them of their private parts. He satan said, "Your Lord did not forbid you this tree except that you become angels or become of the immortal." And he swore [by Allah] to them, "Indeed, I am to you from among the sincere advisors." (Surah Al-Arraf 7:20 – 21)
After many times, they come into the whisper of satan and they decided to eat the fruit of this tree. Both forgot about Allah’s warning about that tree. Adam picked one of its fruit and offered it to Eve. They both ate the forbidden fruit of the tree. As Quran says:
So he made them fall, through deception. And when they tasted of the tree, their private parts became apparent to them, and they began to fasten together over themselves from the leaves of Paradise. And their Lord called to them, "Did I not forbid you from that tree and tell you that Satan is to you a clear enemy?" (Surah Al-Arraf 7:22)
Adam hardly finished eating when he felt his heart contract and he was filled with pain, sadness, and shame. He discovered that he and his wife is naked so they both started cutting tree leaves to cover themselves.
Adam repents and supplicates to Allah
At this time, Allah called out to them:
"Did I not forbid you that tree and tell you: Verily, Satan is an open enemy unto you.''
In reply, Adam said:
"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." (Surah Al-Arraf 7:23)
After realizing that they both have violated Allah’s warning/command, they started to repent and seek forgiveness of Allah by reciting the words mentioned above.
Acceptance of Adam’s supplication and sending them both down to earth:
Allah accepted their supplication and gave His forgiveness to them. As mentioned in Quran:
"Then Adam received from his Lord [some] words, and Allah accepted his repentance. Indeed, it is Allah who is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful." (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:37)
Allah accepted their repentance because it was sincere but also deprived them from the blessings of paradise/heaven. Both Adam and Eve left Paradise and descended upon the earth. Allah told them that the earth would be their realm and origin where they would live and die. As mentioned in Quran [Allah] said,
"Descend, being to one another enemies. And for you on the earth is a place of settlement and enjoyment for a time." He said, "Therein you will live, and therein you will die, and from it, you will be brought forth." (Surah Al-Arraf 7:24 – 25)
Adam knew that on earth, he had to face conflict and struggle. He had to protect himself, his wife and children from earthly creatures and hardships but above all, he had to struggle with the spirit of evil. The battle between good and evil is continuous but Adam knew that those who follow Allah’s guidance and should fear nothing while those who disobey Allah and follow Satan will be damned along with him. As mentioned in Quran, Allah said to them:
"Go, all of you. When I send guidance, whoever follows it will neither have fear nor regret.” (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:38)
Adam, along with Eve, started his life on earth.