What if our father Adam would have not ever been eat that fruit?

A Brief Description of the Question: 

As we know that our beloved father Adam was mistakenly ate that fruit and we have to be here on "earth" but what if he never would have done that mistake?...then what about the hell if he never made that mistake?...Would all of we have been there in jannah forever??

The Answer: 

Man’s actual homeland is Paradise. While once Hz. Adam had been in Paradise with Hz. Hawwa (Eve), Allah (SWT) had not created them to stay there. On the contrary, He created them for reproduction and hereby for testing which has a great purpose. For this reason Allah (SWT) had let them sin.   

Allah (SWT) put this into practice with His wisdom in order to show to the father and mother of humanity that the actual homeland is Paradise and that this world life had just been created for a temporary land of test.

Allah had also created angels who have no ability to sin and animals that have no responsibility.

Other than these two creatures, He created man who can be both so perfect as to surpass angels and so mean as to be inferior to brainless animals. Satan was created to show what kind of characteristics such a creature has.

For example, gold and copper are heated on fire in order to discriminate between them; similarly, Allah createdSatan from fire in order to discriminate the good and ill natured habits of the creature named human being and let it be discriminated between good natured Hz. Abu-Bakr and ill natured Abu- Jahl.

Besides, the seeds in the barn must be put into soil so that they can be trees. Seemingly, underground is dark and boring. However it is the way of being a tree. A tree does not appear even if the seed stays in a barn for thousands of years.

As you see, Allah (SWT) had sent Hz. Adam from the barn of Paradise to the field of the earth. In order for him to return back to the paradise Allah tested Hz. Adam with the fire of Satan so that he would return to Paradise in the form of a tree.  Then, He buried Adam into to the soil of worshipping. Our situation is just like this.

One of the events that occupies man’s mind and exhausts it is the expulsion of Hz. Adam from Paradise, his being sent to the earth and Satan’s causing this event. A question like this comes to the mind of some people: “If the Satan had not existed, would Hz. Adam have stayed in Paradise and would we have been there?”

Let us look at the dialogue between Hz. Allah (SWT) and angels before the creation of man. It is narrated in the Surah of al-Baqara as follows: “Behold thy Lord said to the angels: "I will create a vicegerent on earth." They said "Wilt thou place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood? Whilst we do celebrate Thy praises and glorify Thy holy (name)?" He said: "I know what ye know not." (The Surah of al-Baqara, 30)

As it is seen in the interpretation of the verse, before creating Hz. Adam, Allah (SWT) had informed that He was going to create mankind on the earth. That is, He had informed that people would live on earth instead of Paradise. Satan’s deceiving of Hz. Adam is only a reason for his being sent to the earth. 

On the other hand, unlike angels, man has been given nafs (evil-commanding soul) and carnal feelings. Man had to be sent to the earth and given some responsibilities and tested so that the reflections of these feelings would be seen, so that  he would be assessed as worthy of Paradise or Hell after being tested and tried.

It is very important in what sense the words are used in the Qur’an. When it is thought that the prophets are innocent, it is clearly understood that this is not a conscious disobedience.

As a matter of fact, while this event is narrated in the previous verses, it is stated that Hz. Adam had forgotten this promise: “We had already beforehand, taken the covenant of Adam, but he forgot: and We found on his part no firm resolve.” (Taha, 115)

That is, the behavior of Hz. Adam is not consciously executed aiming to oppose the order of Allah. That is why it is possible to understand the meaning of the verse not as disobedience but as follows: “In the result, they both ate of the tree, and so their nakedness appeared to them: they began to sew together, for their covering, leaves from the Garden: thus did Adam disobey his Lord, and allow himself to be seduced.” (Taha, 121)

If the Satan had not been created, would we all have been in Paradise?

There are some incidents that man thinks about, which are Adams (PBUH) having been driven out of Paradise, having been sent to the world, and the Satans having caused that. Some people happen to think about this question: If Satan had not been created would Adam (PBUH) has stayed in Paradise, and would we all have stayed in there too?

Before answering this question, let us pay attention to Allah Almightys dialogue with angels before He created Adam (PBUH). This event is expressed in Surah Al-Baqarah: And when thy Lord said unto the angels: Lo! I am about to place a viceroy in the earth, they said: Wilt Thou place therein one who will do harm therein and will shed blood, while we, we hymn Thy praise and sanctify Thee? He said: Surely I know that which ye know not. (Al-Baqarah Surah, 2:30)

As is clear from the translation of the verse, Allah Almighty announces that He would let humankind exist on earth before He created Adam (PBUH). That is, He (SWT) announced that humankind would live in the world not in Paradise. That the Satan deceived Adam (PBUH) only became a cause for mans having been sent to the world.

On the other hand, differently from angels, man has been given self-appetites and carnal feelings. In order for the reflections of these feelings to be seen, it was necessary for man to be given responsibilities and be tested so that at the end of this test and experiment, either he acquires a value worthy of Paradise or falls to a position fit for Hell.

Badiuzzaman explains how expulsion from Heaven resulted in the wisdom behind Allah’s creation of humankind to be manifest as follows:

“Question: What wisdom does it spring from, Adam (Upon whom be peace) being expelled from Paradise?

Answer: The wisdom of it concerns the charging of duties; Adam was sent charged with such a duty that the unfolding of all mankind’s spiritual progress and the revealing of all mankind’s potentialities and man’s essential nature being a comprehensive mirror to all the Divine Names, are the results of it. If Adam had remained in Paradise, his rank would have been fixed like that of the angels; man’s potentialities would not have unfolded. In any case, the angels, whose ranks are unchanging, are numerous, and there is no need for man to perform that sort of worship. Indeed, since Divine wisdom required a realm of accountability appropriate to the potentialities of man, who would traverse infinite degrees, he was expelled from Paradise for his well-known sin, sin being the requirement of man’s nature and contrary to that of the angels. That is to say, just as Adam being expelled from Paradise was pure wisdom and pure mercy, so is it just and right that the unbelievers should be sent to Hell.”1

So, Adam’s being expelled from Heaven is both a wisdom and a mercy.

b. In this event, there are significant lessons to be drawn for the humankind, in the example of Adam of Eve, because Adam and Eve understood through this event they experienced that human beings had some weaknesses and they had a disposition which made them prone to be deceived by Satan and therefore they needed to seek refuge with Allah all the time.

They fully understood that following Satan would put human beings in such big troubles. They learnt what following Satan could cost them and thus they learnt that they should not be deceived by him again. If Adam and Eve had been sent down unto Earth directly, without staying in Heaven for some time, and if they had not been imposed to Satan’s first trick, they could not have learnt all matters properly. Even though they had had divine warnings and advices, they would not have known how much following Satan could degrade one and how much of Allah’s wrath it would cause. However, this event they experienced was a good lesson for them and taught them a lot of things. It showed them the true colors and danger of Satan clearly. A well-known proverb says: “One trouble teaches better than a thousand advices.”

The following is stated in the Quran after the event that happened between Adam and Satan is narrated: “O ye Children of Adam! Let not Satan seduce you, in the same manner as He got your parents out of the Garden, stripping them of their raiment, to expose their shame.” 2

Allah invites all human beings to learn lessons through this cautionary event in question so that they could be alert for Satan’s tricks.

c. Maybe, the most important result of this significant even is the fact that it paved the way for human beings to repent. Human beings cannot avoid sins and faults due to their disposition. For them, having such disposition and repentance is a significant blessing. Through it, they can be purified from their sins and faults and gain Allah’s forgiveness and mercy. The Dearest Prophet put this matter into words as follows:

“Man always sins and makes mistakes. The most virtuous person is s/he who does not persist on their sins and repents right away…”

Another hadith says:

“One who repents for his sins becomes as if he had never sinned.”3

The following saying by Abu’l-Hasan Shazali is quite though-provoking:

“What an honorable fault it was to elevate the faulty one to the rank of vicegerency and to enable repentance for people to come till the Day of Judgment.” 4

This saying is not meant to praise the fault but to congratulate Adam on coming down to the Earth and be a vicegerent there and also to appreciate having such nice blessing as repentance.

The following hadith expresses very well what a significant blessing and means of salvation the repentance is:

“The Honorable Messenger one day said that there would be believers who would enter Heaven because of their sins. Hearing this, the Companions asked him to explain it by saying: How can it be, O Messenger of Allah? The Messenger of Allah said: A believer does not forget the sins he committed and this forms a fear of Allah in his heart and he seeks refuge with his Lord sincerely. This way, he becomes a favorable servant in the eyes of Allah.”5

Abu’l Jawza says: “A servant (of Allah) commits a sin and he feels great regret inside. Finally, he goes to Heaven. When Satan sees him, he complains saying I wish I had not made him sin…” 6

1 The Letters, 39.

2 al-A’raf, 27.

3 Kash¬fu’l-Kha¬fa.

4 H.Jis¬ri, ibid, 611.

5 ibid., 612.

6 Tan¬bi¬hu’l-Mugh¬tar¬rin, 329.

ALLAH Knows Best