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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books A Brief Guide To the Study of Islam: Anthropology and Soteriology IV. Human Nature The first revelation to Muhammed contained the central theme of subsequent Muslim reflection on humanity. "Recite, O man, whom Allah created from a blood clot". Humans are creatures, this first and foremost, and they are recipients of revelation from their creator, Allah.

From this basic beginning Islamic reflections on human nature can be said to derive from four sources: the stories about Adam and Eve as they are found in the Quran and Arab traditions contemporary with the Quran, the life of Muhammed as it came to be told in the Muslim community, various statements and terms found in the Quran and Hadith, and Greek philosophy as understood and developed in Muslim circles.

These are not necessarily integrated into a coherent anthropology, but present rather a spectrum of ideas which theologians and ordinary Muslims draw on in expressing their own understanding of humanity. The story of Adam and his companion Hawa speak primarily to the issue of God's purpose for humankind and its destiny.

These stories relate to soteriology by placing humanity in a temporal framework whose beginning, descent from the Garden to earth, is complimented by its end, the restoration of the faithful to the Garden. The stories of Muhammed not only flesh out the details of an exemplary human life, they address through the concept of Prophethood the spiritual mystery of how a finite creature can be immutably linked with the transcendent God.

They give a concrete basis for reflection on the quality of humanity which makes it possible to conceive of an eternity of perfect obedience and communion with God. Finally the Muslim discovery of Greek philosophy provided a detailed view of the metaphysical world which would and could stimulate mystical reflection on the path to oneness with God that complimented the temporal account of human ends.

As importantly it provided the basis for an Islamic psychology which explains the human in relation to the divine mind on one hand, and in relation to other animate creatures on the other. A. The Creation and Fall of Humankind The earliest Muslim understanding of the human nature was based on the Quran, especially in its account of the creation of Adam and Eve ( Adam and Hawa ), a story which was current in Arabia in several elaborated forms, both Jewish and Christian.

The Quranic story is distinctive in several respects.