Adam, in Islamic theology, is believed to have been the first human being on Earth and the first prophet of Islam. Adam's role as the father of the human race is looked upon by Muslims with reverence. Muslims also refer to his wife, Ḥawwāʾ, as the "mother of mankind". Muslims see Adam as the first Muslim, as the Quran states that all the Prophets preached the same faith of Islam.
Iranian Islamic painting, depicting ʾĀdam and Ḥawwāʾ in the Garden Eden, surrounded by angels.
Adam honoured by angels – Persian miniature (c. 1560)
Adam and Eve with their thirteen twin children, miniature from Zubdat al-Tawarikh. As the text indicates, all of Adam's children were twins and each son had to marry the twin sister of a brother. Abel was asked by his father to wed Cane's twin sister, but Cane, whose twin happened to be the most beautiful wanted to keep her. This is how the dispute started between the two brothers. To end the dispute Adam asked both sons to make an offering to God and Abel's was accepted. This interesting version of the story is depicted in the lower left hand corner, where Cane is shown pulling the arm of his twin sister. The bushes, the symbol of Cane's offering, rest above the figures of Cane and his sister. Earlier Islamic artists, when illustrating the story of Adam and Eve, usually showed the couple in paradise but never placed them with their children, nor represented this version of the dispute between Cane and Abel. The Ottoman artist's narrative intent comes in here when he describes the story in the minutest detail and dresses his figures in sixteenth century Ottoman garments as if the theme was a local event.
Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centered on the Quran and the teachings of Muhammad, the religion's founder. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number approximately 1.9 billion worldwide and are the world's second-largest religious population after Christians.
The Kaaba at Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest Islamic site
Calligraphy showing the word Allah in Arabic in Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
A 16th century Siyer-i Nebi image of the angel Gabriel visiting Muhammad
A Quran manuscript resting on a rehal, a book rest for the holy text
