|
Some other stories from Christian or heretical writers. When God would create Adam he sent angels and archangels, one after another, to bring a handful of earth. At last Azrael, having descended, brought a handful gathered from every quarter, and said, "0 Lord, thou knowest whence I have brought it." Abul Feda, quoting from Ibn Athîr, gives us this account: The Prophet said that God created Adam from a handful of earth gathered from all round the world ...and that he was called Adam as formed out of the earth below (i.e. adîm). The following is also taken from the heretic Marcion, who is quoted by an old Armenian writer as follows: The God of the Law seeing the earth fair to look upon, desired to make man out of it, and having descended to Matter, Hylê on the earth, he said, Give me some of thy soil, and I will from myself impart to it a soul.....So when Matter had given to him some of the earth, he created man and breathed into him a soul; and for this reason he was called Adam, because he was made out of the earth. According to the heretic Marcion, he whom they name "the God of the Law," who got earth for the creation of man, was only an angel; for they say that the Law came down from one of the angels hostile to the great God. Arid that Angel they call Lord of the universe, Creator of all things, and Prince of this world. This last is taken from the Gospel of John, where the devil is so called. Marcion tells us that this angel was an inhabitant of the Second heaven, and at first knew nothing of the great God; but when he came to know of his existence, then he turned out to be an enemy of "the Unknown God," and sought that mankind should neither know nor worship him. This imaginative story of the creation is in entire accord with what the Muslims say regarding Azâzîl, who came to dwell in the Second heaven. But the rest of the tale about him belongs to the Zoroastrian books. This document was provided by: Answering Islam |