The creation of Adam.
When God planned to create man, He informed the angels, "I am about to place a vicegerent on earth." The angels, lacking knowledge, responded that such a vicegerent would cause bloodshed and mischief on earth. However, Allah reassured them that He knew what they did not.
Thus, He sent the angels to collect soil from the earth to form Adam. This soil was red, white, brown, and black; it was soft and malleable, hard and gritty, gathered from mountains and valleys, infertile deserts, and lush, fertile plains, representing all natural varieties. Adam's descendants were destined to be as diverse as the soil from which he was created, with different appearances, attributes, and qualities.
In the Quran, the soil used to create Adam is referred to by various names, allowing us to understand some aspects of His creation process. Each name for soil corresponds to a different stage of Adam's creation. Initially referred to as soil, it becomes clay when mixed with water, then mud. As it stands, the water content reduces, forming sticky clay, and eventually, it becomes smooth clay with a darker color and a smell. From this substance, God molded Adam's form. His soulless body was left to dry, becoming what the Quran describes as sounding like potter's clay, producing a ringing sound when struck. Then, God breathed into him of His Spirit, and Adam became a living soul, able to see, speak, move, and understand. The Noble Quran states:
He breathed into him of His Spirit, and Adam became a living soul. Genesis 2:7
And When I have proportioned him and breathed into him of My Spirit, then fall down to him in prostration. Quran 32:9
Note: When God completed Adam, he was merely a sounding body of clay, but after receiving His Spirit, he became a living soul.
Christianity and Judaism.
Both Judaism and Christianity agree that God created the first human, Adam, from dust, and that God breathed His spirit into him, making him a living soul. The book of Genesis states:
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being. Gen. 2:7
In summary, all Abrahamic faiths—Islam, Judaism, and Christianity—agree that Adam's body was initially lifeless, gaining life when the spirit was breathed into him.
It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh profits nothing, John 6:63
Light emanates from the sun, life from spirit, Imam Razi.. Ihya ulum diyn, the book of souls and spirit.
Believers, past and present, also agree that when the spirit is taken by the Creator, the body becomes lifeless, dies, and is buried. The Bible states:
The spirit returns to the Creator who gives it, and the body returns to the earth where it came from (Ecclesiastes 12:7)
Allah takes the spirit at the time of their death (Noble Quran 39:42)
Note: Here, the spirit is the breath of life.
Breathing of the spirit
We've established that God breathed His Spirit into Adam. As Adam's descendants, we also have a spirit, though there is a slight difference in the process. For Adam, God molded his form and then breathed His Spirit into him. For us, God breathes His Spirit after several stages of creation, as mentioned in the traditions of our Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him.) (Hadith.)
On the authority of Abu Abd-ar-Rahman, Abdullahi ibn Mas'ud (May Allah be pleased with him) who said, The Messenger of Allah, (May the blessings and Peace of Allah be upon him) and he is truthful, the beloved narrated to us.
Verily, the creation of each one of you is brought together in his mother's belly for forty days in the form of a seed (zygote). Then he is a clot of blood for a similar period, then a morsel of flesh for a similar period, then an angel is sent to him who breathes the breath of life into him. The hadith indicates that the spirit is breathed after several stages of creation.
They are:
Seed
Clot of blood
Morsel of Flesh
Breathing of spirit
Seed
Verily the creation of each one of you is brought together in his mother's belly for forty days in the form of a seed (Al hadith)
Then we placed him as a drop of sperm in a place of rest firmly fixed (Al Quran 23:12)
Living matter reproduces itself by way of sperm (Yusuf Ali)
The first stage mentioned is the seed. The Arabic term used in both the Noble Quran and the hadith is nutfah, placed in a place of rest firmly fixed. The place of rest is the uterus, or the mother's womb, where it receives protection for forty days while developing into another creature as described below:
Clot of Blood
Then we made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood. (Ayah al Quran)
The second stage is the congealed blood. The Arabic term used is Alaqah, which has three meanings:
Suspended thing
Leech
Blood clot
The first meaning, a suspended thing, refers to the embryo's attachment to the uterus during the alaqah stage. The second meaning, a blood clot, describes the embryo's internal development, where blood forms in closed vessels until the metabolic cycle completes through the placenta. During this stage, the embryo resembles a blood clot.
Morsel of Flesh
Then out of that clot, we made a (foetus) lump of flesh (Ayah) (Al Quran)
The Arabic term used is Mudhghah, meaning a chewed-like substance. At this stage, the embryo looks like a chewed substance and remains so for forty days, as indicated by the hadith. After this period, the foetus enters a new stage: the stage of life.
Spirit of Life
Then an angel is sent who blows the breath of life into him (Hadith)
The breath of life is the spirit of life, breathed into the foetus after 120 days, or four months. It then undergoes further changes for another five months, and after nine months, the baby is born into the world, innocent and pure, without sin. It initially feeds on milk, then weans and learns to eat solid food, eventually walking, running, and speaking. Over time, the child grows, learns to read and write, understands various concepts, explores, and differentiates between right and wrong, ultimately becoming grateful or ungrateful to the Creator in adulthood.
All this occurs in a short span, and eventually, a time comes when a person's tongue swells, they no longer recognize anyone, struggle to breathe, and moan, realizing the state of eternity. Yet, their tongue falters, leaving them speechless. Family and kin gather, weeping. The son approaches, then the wife, but the man's tongue is paralyzed, and his breath of life escapes from his limbs, finally ascending to heaven.
This marks the end of worldly life. The body returns to the earth, joining the worms in the grave, while the spirit returns to its Creator.
Thereof (The earth) We created you, and into it, We shall return you, and from it, We shall bring you out once again. Quran 20:53
Allah takes the spirit at the time of their death. Quran 39:42
Spirit returns to the Creator Who gives it, and the body returns to the earth where it came from Ecclesiastes 12:7
This is the spirit of life.
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