The Three Stages of Human Fall from the Perspective of the Quran and Hadiths

Adam and his descendants have been created, directly and indirectly, from inanimate matter. The creation of Adam followed an ascending trajectory: from the inanimate stage (soil), he progressed to the vegetal stage with growth, then attained animal life with movement and sensation, and finally, by receiving the divine spirit, reached the human stage and the rank of vicegerency of God (khalīfat Allāh). The children of Adam, upon entering the world, can—by utilizing their innate capacities—progress toward higher perfections such as the station of the Godwary (muttaqīn), divine pleasure (riḍwān), and ultimately the rank of the Perfect Human (insān kāmil). God has bestowed upon man intellect and free will, breathed His spirit into him, and honored him. Yet sometimes, despite all the divine favors bestowed upon him, man not only fails to strive toward the station of the “Perfect Human” and proximity to God, but falls from his human rank to even lower levels. This raises unanswered questions: Does man fall from his humanity all at once? Is his fall confined to a single stage? Does he descend completely to one particular level? The present research seeks to answer these questions. This study, employing a theoretical and library-based method with a descriptive-comparative approach, examines the stages of man’s fall from the rank of humanity. Drawing on verses of the Noble Quran, it becomes clear that the fall of man from the human rank occurs in two general forms: first, a fall observable in this world, referred to as maskh (metamorphosis). At times, a person advances so far along the path of ugliness and deviation that his inner reality—his hidden essence—manifests outwardly. The Quran mentions instances in which, by divine will and wisdom, certain individuals were transformed in this world into forms such as apes and swine. Second, a fall observable in the Hereafter, termed the inner fall or the embodiment of deeds (tajassum al-aʿmāl). This is, in reality, an inner metamorphosis. The fall of man occurs in three stages: The first stage of man’s fall from humanity is his descent to the animal rank. The second stage is his descent to the vegetal rank—i.e., after falling to 
the animal level, he falls further to the vegetal level. The third stage is his descent to the inanimate rank—i.e., after falling to the vegetal level, he falls to the inanimate level.




30                                                                       Studies of Qur̓anic Sciences, Vol. 7, No. 4, 2025




Through examination of Quranic verses and narrations, this article arrives at the following findings:
1) Despite abundant blessings, man may permanently fall from his rank.
2) Human fall has both an outward dimension and an inward/spiritual-stationary dimension.
3) The outward fall, in the form of apparent metamorphosis, is observable; the fall
in station, however, is perceptible only with the eye of the unseen and, on the Day of Resurrection, through the embodiment of deeds.
4) Man’s fall from the human rank to lower levels takes place in three stages.
5) According to Quranic verses, the first stage of the fall is descent to the animal rank. Its causes and signs include: lack of rational thinking, turning away from the remembrance of God, disbelief and absence of faith, disobedience to God, and following base desires.
6) According to the luminous verses of the Noble Quran, descent to the vegetal rank is the second stage of the fall. Its causes and signs include: the entrenchment of previous sins as a firmly rooted trait or habit (malaka), committing acts that incur divine curse, and inner corruption and impurity.
7) Based on the verses, descent to the inanimate rank is the third stage of human fall. Its causes and signs include: previous sins becoming constitutive of one’s essence, loss of a sound heart (qalb salīm), and committing acts that lead to divine gradual withdrawal (istidrāj).