Adam (A.S) supplicated to ALLAH (SWT) and asked to grant him a virtuous son who would help him in spreading the true religion after the death of his beloved son. ALLAH (SWT) accepted his prayers and gifted him with a beautiful son. Adam (A.S) named him Seesh (Seeth) (A.S)means a gift.Ibn Katheer wrote, “The meaning of the name Shees is ‘the gift from Allah’;Adam and Hawa (A.S) named him Sheeth because they were blessed with him after Habil was killed.” (Qisas Ul-Anbiyaa) Sheeth (A.S)was a gift that was given by Allah (swt) to Prophet Adam (A.S)after the death of his son Habil, the righteous one. When the Prophet Sheeth (A.S) was born, his father, the Prophet Adam (A.S)had attained the age of 130 years. Sheeth (A.S)third son of Prophet Adam (A.S)was born five years after the death of his brother Habil. Prophet Adam (A.S) loved his son Seesh (A.S) a lot. Seeth (A.S)was the most beautiful of all his sons and resembled Adam (A.S).Shees (A.S) became a prophet later and the successor of Adam (A.S). The first ever sacrifice took place during the time of Prophet Adam (AS), the first man alive as is known as the “Father of Humankind”.When we think of Qurbani, we think of Prophet Ibrahim (A.S)and his sacrifice for the sake of Allah (SWT). But what about the other sacrifices Prophets have made throughout history? Well here’s the story of Prophet Adam (A.S)and the first sacrifice. Prophet Adam (AS), the first man on earth is known as the “Father of Humankind”. He had two sons: Qabil (Cain) and Habil (Abel). Both sons were due to marry. Allah (SWT) then revealed to Prophet Adam (A.S)that both his sons should offer a sacrifice. Whoever’s sacrifice was virtuously accepted would be able to marry the female they were both interested in. This was the first sacrifice. Habil, a shepherd, offered a healthy ram as his best sacrifice. Whereas Qabil, a farmer, was not willing to give his best and offered some crops from his land. Allah (SWT) accepted Habil’s sacrifice and rejected Qabil’s. Qabil then killed his brother out of jealousy. He’d committed the first murder on Earth. From this story, we learn that sacrifice has long been a tradition in Islam starting from the time of Prophet Adam (AS). It is widely reported of Ibn Mas`ud, Ibn `Abbas, Murrah, and several other Companions of the Prophet that with every pregnancy Hawwa’ gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. Adam (A.S)married off the girl of one birth to the boy of another, and vice versa. Two of his sons were called Qabil and Habil (Cain and Abel of the Bible), the former being elder. Adam(A.S)ordered Habil to marry Qabil’s sister and Qabil the sister of Habil. But, because the girl born along with Qabil was prettier, he refused to marry Habil’s sister, rather wanted to marry the girl that was with him in the womb. Adam(A.S)told him that she, having being with him in the womb, was not lawful to him. But he insisted. They decided to present an offering each to Allah to check whose would be accepted. Now those very days Adam(A.S)was ordered by Allah to make his first visit to the House of Allah at Makkah. He took promise from Qabil that he would look after the family in his absence. The two sons decided to present their offerings. Habil was a shepherd and he presented the best of sheep he had. Qabil tended farms and presented the worst kind of vegetables he could lay his hands on. The fire descended and consumed the sheep but left the vegetables untouched. This angered Qabil who threatened him with death (Shortened). Similar reports have come from `Ali ibn abi Talib, ‘Atiyyah, Qatadah, Mujahid and others. Hazrat Ibn Kathir and Suyuti in his Al-Durr al-Manthur (Shawkani) have said that the chain of narrators is reliable. However, there is no hadith confirming the above (Au.).It is said that Qabil presented a rotten offering because the results did not matter to him. He was bent upon marrying the girl anyway (Razi). The words of the Quran ‘Ibnay Adam’ in verse (5:27) indicate that Qaabeel and Haabeel were the real biological sons of Hazrat Adam. This was the first murder on earth. The Quran mentions this incident to warn mankind of the moral danger of spiritual envy and gravity of the sin of murder. “And recount [O Prophet] to them the true tale of the two sons of Adam [Ibnay Adam]; when they each offered a sacrifice – hence the sacrifice of one was accepted and not accepted from the other. One said, “I swear I will kill you”. He [the other] said, “Allah accepts only from the pious.” “Indeed, if you do extend your hand against me to kill me, I will not extend my hand against you to kill you; I fear Allah, the Lord of the Creation.” “I only desire that you alone should bear my sin and your own sin – hence you become of the people of hell; and that is the proper punishment of the unjust.” So his soul [nafs] incited him to kill his brother – he, therefore, killed him and was therefore ruined. So Allah sent a crow scratching the ground, to show him how to hide his brother’s corpse; he said, “Woe to me! I was not even capable enough to be like this crow, so I would hide my brother’s corpse”; and he turned remorseful. For this reason; We decreed for the Descendants of Israel that whoever kills a human being except in lieu of killing or causing turmoil in the earth, so it shall be as if he had killed all mankind; and whoever saves the life of one person, is as if he had saved the life of all mankind; and undoubtedly Our Noble Messengers came to them with clear proofs – then after this indeed many of them are oppressors in the earth.” (5:27-32) In these verses, Allah Almighty asks His Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to recount the story of two sons of Hazrat Adam to the Jews and/or the Mushrikin of Arab who, according to the interpretation of verse 5:11, had plotted to kill the Prophet and some of his companions: “O you who have believed, remember the favour of Allah upon you when a people determined to extend their hands [in aggression] against you, but He withheld their hands from you; and fear Allah. And upon Allah let the believers rely.” (5:11). Some reports indicate that this verse was revealed when the Prophet and some of his companions went to the Banu Nadir, a Jewish clan of Madinah, seeking assistance in paying the wergild (diyah) for two Aamiri Muslims whom his men had killed. The leader of the clan namely Hayy b. Akhtab invited them in and feigned hospitality while secretly planning to kill the unarmed Prophet, following hostility towards his message out of their spiritual envy. However, the angel Jibril (Gabriel) came to inform the Prophet of the danger, and he left before they would carry out their plot. Imam Tabari states that the reason for telling this account of Hazrat Adam’s two sons was to encourage the Muslims to deal leniently and forgivingly with those Jews who had been plotting to kill the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and some of his companions, and hence to follow the example of Haabeel, who did not raise his hand against his brother Qaabeel despite his brother’s threat to kill him.
“Prophet Shees (A.S) continued his teachings and reminded his people about the rights and wrongs in Islam. However, many of his people started questioning that why they are not allowed to mix with their cousins and join the parties. Few of them used to secretly watch their women and parties and fell into the trap of Iblis. The women of Qabil were beautiful and were excited to see such handsome men and entrapped them by showing their beauty. This mixing of non-mahram men and women took place in Zina and this was the first time in the history of mankind, that music and adultery took place and people did sin in a collective form.”
In Islam, Prophet Sheeth (also known as Seth in some Judeo-Christian traditions) is considered to be a prophet and the son of Prophet Adam and Eve. The story of Prophet Sheeth in Islam is not extensively detailed in Islamic scriptures like the Quran, and much of what is known about him is derived from Islamic tradition.Adam (AS), after the death of his beloved son Habil, at the hands of Qabil, Allah SWT blessed him with another righteous son, Sheeth (AS.). Some Islamic scholars say the name Sheeth, or in English Seth actually means gift because he was a gift from Allah to Adam (AS). Sheeth (A.S)would remind the people of good during the life of Adam (AS), so before Adam (A.S)passed away he told Sheeth (A.S)that he would be his predecessor, which means he would take over leading the people after his death.There were certain times in the day that Allah (SWT) had told Adam (A.S) to worship Him, and Adam (A.S) taught those times to Sheeth (A.S) before he passed away. So Sheeth (A.S) would pray at specific times, even though Salah hadn’t been commanded for everyone else!He was also given some scrolls, and actually, the Qur’an doesn’t mention Sheeth (A.S) by name, but we do know about him through ahadith of the Prophet (SAW). There is a weak hadith from the Prophet (SAW) mentioning that Sheeth (A.S) was sent 50 scrolls, which would make him the first messenger on earth. Scholars say a messenger is a prophet that was given a new law, or sometimes a book from Allah to convey to their people.A Prophet is someone who was sent by Allah but was not necessarily given a new law or book, but to remind the people of the message and laws that were sent before.Adam (A.S) departed from his beloved son Shees alaihissalam and this world at the age of 930 years. He appointed Shees (A.S) as his successor and advised others to follow him. Adam (A.S)told Shees (A.S) to stay away from Qabil and his followers as they were disbelievers and were involved in idol worship.Prophet Shees (A.S) followed the footsteps of his father after his death and tried his best to guide people towards the right path.Adam (A.S) gave Sheeth (A.S) lots of advice about Allah and life. He reminded him to always remember Allah in all his actions and to marry someone pious so that they could raise children who would obey Allah’s commands.This is a reminder that we should always surround ourselves with people who do good, because who we spend most of our time with helps shape who we become. If we have good friends and spouses we will also remain good. Qabil was having a tough time getting along with everyone else, so he decided to take his wife and children and go away to the flat lands and valleys, while Adam (A.S) and Sheeth (A.S) stayed in the mountains.After Qabil’s tribe left, Allah (SWT) told Sheeth (A.S)to not mix with the people of Qabil. Shaytan was still trying to cause problems and lead people astray. He decided to go to the people of Qabil, appearing as someone from Sheeth (AS’s) tribe asking them for a job. They thought he left Sheeth (AS’s) tribe and wanted to join theirs so they agreed.Then, Shaytan started making sounds they had never heard before and bringing the people together.It was the sound of music. It is said by some that they would put aside Saturday evenings, playing music and partying and would forget Allah (SWT).This doesn’t mean going to a party, or seeing our friends is wrong. The lesson from this story is that we have to be careful of how we act when we go places, and remember to behave appropriately and act in a manner that is pleasing to Allah.Shaythan then came to the young people from Sheeth (AS’s) tribe and started putting doubts in their minds on why they weren’t allowed to mingle with Qabil’s tribe. They decided to go and see Qabil’s tribe one night, and started secretly watching the parties.Then, they were spotted! So these youth from Sheeth (AS’s) tribe joined the party and also stopped being aware of Allah (SWT). After that party they went back to their own tribe and started telling more and more people about what they considered the advancement of Qabils tribe!In brief, Qabil, after killing his brother, left with his descendants and went to the valleys far away from his family and settled there.Men from the people of Qabil were not at all handsome however the women were very attractive, whereas, the men from the people of Sheeth (A.S)were good-looking but the women were not beautiful.It is said that Iblis on his target to misguide humankind, joined the people of Qabil in the form of a young and handsome man as he wished to involve them in sin. He asked for employment and worked as a blacksmith. Iblis then started to mislead them. He first started blowing a flute-like thing which created a unique sound. Everyone came out wondering as they never heard such a sound. Iblis had a drum as well which he would beat. People started enjoying the sounds as it was pleasing to them. The people of Qabil were completely in control of Shaytan and involved in adultery and music. They used to party and stay awake late at night and dance to the music. This was the beginning of the music and musical instruments. This made them forget about the laws of ALLAH (SWT).Prophet Shees (A.S) continued his teachings and reminded his people about the rights and wrongs in Islam. However, many of his people started questioning that why they are not allowed to mix with their cousins and join the parties. Few of them used to secretly watch their women and parties and fell into the trap of Iblis. The women of Qabil were beautiful and were excited to see such handsome men and entrapped them by showing their beauty. This mixing of non-mahram men and women took place in Zina and this was the first time in the history of mankind, that music and adultery took place and people did sin in a collective form. Allah (SWT) informs us in Quran: “O you, who have believed, enter into Islam completely (and perfectly) and do not follow the footsteps of shaytan. Indeed, he is to you a complete enemy” (Quran 2:208). Shaitan continued his plotting and taught people how to do evil deeds and sinners kept increasing time. Prophet Shees (A.S) tried hard to guide them to the true path but they were ignorant. Prophet Shees (A.S) died at the age of 912 years and although we don’t know exactly where he is buried, a lot of scholars say he was buried next to his mother and father, Adam and Hawaa (AS).After Prophet Shees (A.S), Prophet Idris (A.S)was sent for the guidance of mankind.
(The authors write regularly on Islamic topics exclusively for the opinion pages of “Kashmir Horizon”. The views, opinions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the authors and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”)
Dr. Bilal A. Bhat
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Intizar Ahmad
