Creation of Adam(as):

The creation of the first human began with Adam (as). Allah Himself created Adam (as) from clay of different colours obtained from different places on earth. This is why we have different colours, appearances and characteristics. Adam (as) was already an adult when created. He was very tall in height. Adam (as) had no soul for a while and this made a Jinn known as Iblees very curious at this creation of Allah. Even before the soul was blown into Adam (as), Iblees made a promise to lead him astray and vowed to never follow him if he is given a higher ranking than him by Allah.  

Who is Iblees?  

Iblees (also known as Devil, Shaitan and Satan) was from the Jinn-kind and was made of fire. He was the most righteous of them all and was given a special position amongst the angels.  

Then, the soul was blown into Adam (as) by Allah, starting from his head. When the soul reached his eyes and Adam (as) opened his eyes and saw the fruits of Jannah (Paradise). When the soul reached his nose, he sneezed and said Alhamdulillah ("All praise belongs to Allah"). When the soul reached his arms, he attempted to reach for the fruits of Jannah, but could not, as the soul had not reached his legs yet.  

Allah, therefore, said: 

"Man is created of haste." (Surah Al-Anbya, 21:37) 

Allah then instructed Adam (as) to greet the Angels by saying “Assalaamu alaikum” (Peace be upon you). The Angels responded with “Walaikum Assalaam warahmatullah” (And Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah). This is where we get our greeting from as Muslims. 

Allah took out all the children of Adam (as), and showed him all of his future generations that will come after one another, including all of us and up until the day of Judgement. He was shocked to see so many people. Among them were all the Prophets. Allah then asked all his future generations “Am I not the one who created you?”  They all responded “Yes, indeed you are”. All humans have already made this oath with Allah so there will be no excuse for those who believe in a creator other than Allah. To ensure we do not forget, Allah sent many Prophets and scriptures as a reminder. 

Knowledge given to Adam (as) 

Allah taught Adam (as) names and purposes of everything, along with the ability to reason and make choices. He also gave him incredible desire to attain knowledge. Then, Allah asked the Angels to name some of these things, however, they were not able do so. They said “we have no knowledge except what You have taught us”. Allah then told Adam (as) to inform the Angels of these names and he began telling them - this is a tree, this is a mountain and so on. The Angels were amazed that Adam (as) was able to do so.