The Birth of Death
Allah Ta’ala commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that 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 animal of the field which Allah Ta’ala had made. He said to the woman, “Yes, has God said, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?‘”
The woman said to the serpent, “Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.‘”
The serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die, for God knows that in the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.“
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit, and ate; and she gave some to her husband with her, and he ate.
(, Genesis 3:1-6)
By eating the fruit, our first parents sinned. This was the first time any human being ever sinned. Adam 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 multiply your pain in childbirth. In pain you will bring forth children.'" (, Genesis 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 have listened to your wife’s voice, and have eaten of the tree, of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground for your sake. In toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. Thorns also and thistles will it bring forth to you; and you will eat the herb of the field. (, Genesis 3:17,18)
Weeds were not a problem before Adam sinned, but now they are plentiful, as every farmer and gardener knows.
3. Hard labour in work -
By the sweat of your face will you eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For you are dust, and to dust you shall return. (, Genesis 3:19)
Many hard-working people have little to show for their toil. The sin of Adam 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 into the world through one man, and death through sin; and so death passed to all men, because all sinned. (Holy , Romans 5:12)
This is the most serious result of Adam'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 (Injil, Romans 3:23) AND,
The wages of sin is death (Injil, Romans 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 flawed 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 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." ( Psalm 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. (Taurat, 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 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 a person's desire to sin to disappear, and give them victory over death! The ultimate fulfillment of that plan will take place in the Day of Resurrection -- Qiyamah. But there is more you must know, so continue reading.
The Prophets' Promise of Victory
Many of the prophets since the time of Adam have spoken of the day when death will die. Prophet (Job) 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! (Taurat, 19:25-27)
In the holy , Prophet 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. (Taurat, 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 , 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 Qiyamah, the day when death will die.
