opinions on Adam
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Peace all
Hope your all well and good.
I was discussing with my aunt today about Adam written in the Quran.
She was pointing out that When the Quran refers to Adam, it gives the readers that Adam was very intellegent and progressed being able to talk and think.Her argument was that from history, we have had cavemen which have not appeared to be like that of what the Quran makes out of Adam
I have a throy and an opinion on this matter which i cannot post write now (very busy)
God willing i'll post it soon
But for now i was hoping to find out what people's understanding is regarding this issue.
Peace,
Nyma -
Adam (alaihi salaam) was the first human being, and he learned speech directly from Allah. If you think about it, a newborn cannot learn to speak unless he is taught or observes others around him, specifically his parents. If you were to drop off a bunch of newborn babies onto an isolated island, and came back 30 or 40 years later and if they have still survived the first thing you will notice is that they cannot communicate in clear speech, perhaps they can make gestures and crude noises with their mouth, but they would not have mastered the tongue and speech. All this means that in order for human speech to exist, our first ancestors had to have learned it from God Himself, which is the case with Adam (alaihi salaam)
And He taught adam all the names, then showed them to the angels, saying Inform me of the names of these, if ye are truthful (231)
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Peace nimnimak_11, all,
It's clear that the establishment of human language was a catalyst for man to pull away from his contemporaries/competitors on this planet. However, what's not clear is that this happened overnight. Yusha, you're under the impression that humans would not be able to establish a language greater than "crude noises" if untaught. This is speculative, at best. If it's clear in the animal world that creatures with far less capacity have clearly established languages, what is your explanation? Did God teach dolphins, elephants, and whales as well?
In nature, the more intelligent a species, the longer it takes to bring the infants up to speed. You'll notice apes, whales, elephants, and humans, to name a few, take the longest to raise since they have the most to learn. Whereas, a shark, for instance, is born ready to kill and take on the world.
That being said, scientific evidence points to a leap in technological progress by mankind. At some point, something did happen to man and there was a sudden (relatively speaking) outpouring of paintings, drawings, carvings, etc., leading to the use of complex tools and the building and establishment of civilizations. Before that, it seems man was just in cruise control among the animals, migrating and surviving on instinct alone.
I believe the leap was fueled by the development of self-awareness and free-will, expressed by language. In essence, the capacity to gain knowledge. Whereas the malaikat only knew what God spoonfed them. Now, I would not venture to guess how this happened other than it being part of God's original design for us - some sort of an evolutionary leap. But to say that God literally taught a language to a person named Adam opens up a pandora's box of questions, starting with, what language was it? In addition, it doesn't fully express the true gift that we have been given and that is the ability to learn and appreciate the universe on our own.
Peace,
Tay -
Peace all,
The Quran states that Adam was taught the name of things that the Angels themselves didnt know, so I think both Tay and Yushas post makes sense. Its just a matter of how exactly it was taught, as Tay stated. One on one, or was it evolution?
If it was one on one, then was Adam just created right then and there while life already was in existance for billions of years? Based on the human physiology, it seems to point towards evolution.
If it was evolution, how exactly was Adam and Eve duped and did was he literally in the presence of the angels?
231 And He imparted unto adam the names of all things; then He brought them within the ken of the angels and said "Declare unto Me the names of these , if what you say is true."
233 Said He "O adam, convey unto them the names of these ." And as soon as had conveyed unto them their names, said "Did I not say unto you, `Verily, I alone know the hidden reality of the heavens and the earth, and know all that you bring into the open and all. that you would conceal'?"
234 And when We told the angels, "Prostrate yourselves before adam!" -they all prostrated themselves, save Iblis, who refused and gloried in his arrogance and thus he became one of those who deny the truth.
235 And We said "O adam, dwell thou and thy wife in this garden, and eat freely thereof, both of you, whatever you may wish; but do not approach this one tree, lest you become wrongdoers."
I personally believe in evolution. The fact of being made from dust and water is evolution. Also the fact that all life is from water.
2130 ARE, THEN, they who are bent on denying the truth not aware that the heavens and the earth were one single entity, which We then parted asunder? ? and We made out of water every living thing? Will they not, then, believe?
Just thought about it, makes sense with Wudu to use water, and if you cant find that, tayammum. God knows best. Alhamduillah.
Peace
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Thank you for your opinions. As i have been very busy, i have not been able to respond untill now.
Take care
Peace
