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Lesson Two -- The Birth of Death
And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to
eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it
you will surely die. (, Genesis 2:16,17)
In the beginning when Allah created heaven and earth, he made
it a very beautiful place. All kinds of birds and animals lived
together in harmony, enjoying the colourful flowers, delicious
fruit and lush vegetation. But one of the most beautiful things
about His creation was that there was no death. Allah's original
intention was that mankind would never die but live forever in
Paradise. Adam and were created innocent of sin. Allah
had planned for them and their descendants to enjoy the pleasures
of the Garden of Eden forever. But one day Iblis, or Satan, came
as a serpent to tempt to eat the fruit from "the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil", the one which Allah
had commanded them not to eat from. There were many other good
fruit trees in the garden but Satan wanted Adam and to eat
from that tree. Why? Because in doing so, they would obey Iblis
and disregard the command of Allah.
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals
the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did Allah
really say, `You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"
The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the
trees in the garden, but Allah did say, `You must not eat fruit
from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must
not touch it, or you will die.' " "You will not surely
die," the serpent said to the woman. "For Allah knows
that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will
be like Allah, knowing good and evil." When the woman saw
that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to
the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some
and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her,
and he ate it. (, Genesis 3:1-6)
By eating the fruit, our first parents sinned. This was the
first time any human being ever sinned. Adam (pbuh) and
disobeyed a direct command of Allah, and so there was a penalty
- death. Those who had been created to live forever, would now
be subject to death.
The Consequences of the Sin of Adam and
The consequence of their sin however, was much greater than
just their own deaths. All of creation was affected by that one
sin. Look at what Allah said to Adam and after they sinned:
1. Pain in childbearing - "To the woman he said,
'I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain
you will give birth to children.'" (, Gen.3:16) Today,
women have pain and sometimes even death in childbearing because
of the sin of .
2. Curse on ground - "To Adam he said, 'Because
you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I
commanded you, "You must not eat of it," cursed is
the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat
of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles
for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.'" (,
Gen.3:17,18) Weeds were not a problem before Adam (pbuh) sinned,
but now they are plentiful, as every farmer and gardener knows.
3. Hard labour in work- "By the sweat of your
brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since
from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will
return." (, Gen.3:19) Many hard-working people have
little to show for their toil. The sin of Adam (pbuh) made life
and work more difficult for us all. Today, we have all of these
troubles in daily life. These are the result of the sin of Adam
and . But there is one more terrible thing that happened
due to their sin:
4. Death to all - "sin entered the world through
one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to
all men, because all sinned." (Holy , Romans 5:12)
This is the most serious result of Adam (pbuh)'s sin. Death
has come to all of his descendants. Not only that, but we all
deserve death because we all sin just as he did. As the holy
says, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory
of Allah" and "The wages of sin is death" (Rom.
3:23, 6:23). Notice, that death is not the creation of Allah.
Allah never intended it to be a part of his creation. Rather,
death is the judgment of Allah on sin. Every time we are confronted
with death, we should be reminded of what bad people we are.
However, it is not only physical death of which we speak.
Even more serious than physical death is spiritual death. Because
of Adam's sin, all men are spiritually dead, even while they
are physically alive! But what is meant by this?
The Meaning of Spiritual Death
Spiritual death means the following things:
1. A selfish, sinful heart from birth -- People say
that small children are innocent of sin, but listen to this story.
One day I bring home some sweets for a special guest who is coming
to visit. I place them momentarily on a table while I tend to
another matter. Then while I am out of the room, my young daughter
comes in and finding the sweets, quickly eats them up. I return
and finding that the sweets are gone and noticing the sweet syrup
on my daughter's face, I ask my daughter, "Did you eat the
sweets?" What does she say but, "Not me! Not me!"
Tell me, who taught my daughter to tell lies? As far as I
know, I have never sat down with my child and said, "Now
I will teach you how to tell lies..." As parents, we want
our children to do what is right. How then do they learn to do
wrong? Or, who taught the neighbour's boys to steal fruit from
your tree? Do they know it is wrong to steal? Yes, they know.
That's why one boy watches out for anyone coming, while the other
quickly works to get the fruit. Nobody teaches small children
to lie and steal and many other such things. They learn to do
these things all by themselves. They learn to do these things
not because they are innocent, but because they are not. Their
hearts, and ours, are selfish and sinful. This is part of what
it means to be spiritually dead. The prophet (pbuh) wrote
this true word,
"Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb
they are wayward and speak lies." ( 58:3).
Lest we think that he wrote only of certain people, in another
place he gave this testimony about himself,
"Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my
mother conceived me." ( 51:5).
If this is the condition of the prophet, then what is the
condition of our own heart? The Holy , along with all the
heavenly books, teaches that all men are rebellious toward Allah,
As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even
one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks Allah.
All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there
is no one who does good, not even one." (Holy , Romans
3:10-12)
But there is another meaning to the spiritual death that Adam's
sin caused,
2. Separation from Allah -- As long as Allah is in
heaven, and we are on earth, we are physically separated from
Allah. But our separation from Allah is more than physical. Our
separation from him is spiritual separation. He is holy, but
we are unholy. We are full of sins, big and small, but he separates
himself from all sin. Is this perhaps why Allah seems to be so
far away to most people? Is this why men cry out to Allah and
so often he does not seem to hear? As it is written,
But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your
sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
( 59:2)
How can we ever hope to have a place in heaven as long as
this is our condition? Spiritual death has another meaning,
3. Eternal Place in Hell -- Those who live separate
from Allah in this life will be separated from him after death
also. The place of separation from Allah is called hell. It is
a place of extreme torment and pain for those who are spiritually
dead. Through this warning was given:
And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better
for you to enter the kingdom of Allah with one eye than to have
two eyes and be thrown into hell, where "their worm does
not die, and the fire is not quenched." (Holy , Mark
9:47,48)
Mankind, being spiritually dead and separated from Allah,
is destined for the torments of hell.
Remember, we were talking about how the sin of Adam (pbuh)
brought death into this world. Physical death, spiritual death.
If death is like this, then is there any hope for us? Yes, there
is a great hope. In his matchless wisdom, Allah formed a plan
by which he would forgive sins, cause man's desire to sin to
disappear, and give men victory over death! The ultimate fulfillment
of that plan will take place in the day of resurrection -- qiyamat.
But there is more you must know, so continue reading.
The Prophets' Promise of Victory
Many of the prophets since the time of Adam (pbuh) have spoken
of the day when death will die. Prophet (pbuh) was certain
of his own resurrection from death in the last days:
I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will
stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet
in my flesh I will see Allah; I myself will see him with my own
eyes -- I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! ( 19:25-27)
In Al-, (pbuh) expressed his joy about the day
of resurrection in this way:
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body
also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the
grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made
known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your
presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. ( 16:9-11)
The prophet Daniel (pbuh) was given this message from Allah:
Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake...You
will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive
your allotted inheritance. (Book of the Prophets, Daniel 12:2,13)
In the Holy we have a sure word in this matter:
There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain,
for the old order of things has passed away. (Holy , Part
27, Revelation 21:4)
What a wonderful prospect! The end of all pain, sorrow, and
death. O that it was so even now! All of these words of the prophets
speak of a time of great joy and happiness when death will be
no more. They speak of qiyamat, the day when death will die.
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QUESTIONS: -- Choose the most correct answers
1. Allah originally intended that Adam and live in the
garden of Paradise...
a. for
70 years
b.
until
they wanted to leave
c. until
they died
d. forever
2. Allah commanded Adam and to not eat...
a. meat
b.
fruit
from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil
c. apples
d. bread
3. Satan came to Adam and in order to...
a. tempt
them to sin and disobey Allah's command
b.
help them
to understand the truth
c.
tell
them not to believe in Allah's oneness
d. none of the above
4. What are the results of Adam and 's sin?
a. pain
in childbirth
b. hard
work
c. death
d. all of the above
5. Death is...
a. Allah's way of controlling overpopulation
b. an original part of Allah's creation
c. a divine judgment on sin
6. Children do naughty things...
a. never
b. only if someone makes them do it
c. because they are basically selfish
d. but don't understand it's wrong
7. The prophet (pbuh) said that he himself was...
a.
already
sinful at birth
b.
sinless
throughout life
c. basically good but made mistakes
d. not
a prophet
8. According to Romans 3:10-12, how many people by nature
are righteous and seek Allah naturally without being encouraged
to do so?
a. most
people
b. few people
c. nobody
d. all
people
9. Spiritual death means being...
a. selfish
by nature
b. separated
from Allah
c. destined
for hell
d. all of the above
10. Regarding the day of resurrection, the prophets said...
a. it
will not happen
b. it will be a time of great joy for many people
c. people will rise and then die again
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