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Volume 1: Surah Baqarah, Verses 35-39
And We
said: “O Adam! dwell you and your wife in the Garden and eat (you
both) from it (freely) a plenteous (food) wherever you
(two) wish and do not approach (you two) this tree, for then
you (two) will be of the unjust” (35). But the Satan made
them both slip from it and drove them out of what they were in; and We
said: “Get down, some of you being the enemies of others; and there is for
you in the earth an abode and a provision for a time” (36). Then
Adam received (some) words from his Lord, so He returned to him
mercifully; surely He is Oft-returning (to mercy), the Merciful
(37). We said: “Get down you there from all together; and if there
comes to you a guidance from Me, then whoever follows My guidance, no fear
shall come upon them, nor shall they grieve (38). And (as to)
those who disbelieve in, and belie, Our signs, they are the inmates of
the fire, in it they shall abide- (39).
* * * *
*
COMMENTARY
QUR’AN And We said: -O Adam! dwell you and your
wife. . . ":
Although the
story of the angels' prostration before Adam has been repeated several
times in the Qur'ân, that of his placement in the Garden has been given in
three places only:
First:
The verses given above, from Chapter 2 (the Cow).
Second:
In Chapter 7 (the Elevated Places): And (We said): "O
Adam! dwell you and your wife in the Garden; so eat from where you desire,
but do not go near this tree, for then you will be of the unjust- (19).
But the Satan whispered an evil suggestion to them that he might make
manifest to them what was hidden from them of their nakedness, and he
said: ---Your Lord has not forbidden you from this tree except that you
may not both become two angels or that you may (not) become of the
immortals" (20). And he swore to them both: "Most surely I am a sincere
adviser to you- (21). Then he caused them to fall by deceit; so when they
tasted of the tree, their nakedness became manifest to them, and they both
began to cover themselves with the leaves of the Garden; and their Lord
called out to them: "Did I not forbid you both from that tree and say to
you that the Satan is your open enemy?" (22). They said: "Our Lord! We
have been unjust to ourselves, and if Thou forgive us not, and have
(not) mercy on us, we shall certainly be of the losers " (23). He
said: Get down, some of you being the enemies of others, and there is for
you in the earth an abode and a provision for a time (24). He (also)
said: ---Therein shall you 'live, and therein 'shall you die, and from
it shall you be raised" (25).
Third:
In Chapter 20 (Tâ-Hâ): And certainly We had
covenanted unto Adam before, but he forgot; and We did not find in him any
determination (115). And when We said to the angels: "Prostrate before
Adam -, they did prostrate, but Iblis (did it not); he refused
(116). So we said. -0 Adam! Surely this is an enemy to you and to your
wife; therefore let him not drive you both forth from the Garden so that
you should be put to toil (117); Surely it is (ordained) for you
that you shall not be hungry therein nor bare of clothing (118); and that
you shall not be thirsty therein nor shall you feel the heat of the sun-
(119). But the Satan whispered an evil suggestion to him; he said: "0
Adam! Shall I guide you to the tree of immortality and a kingdom which
decays not?" (120). Then they both ate of it, so their nakedness appeared
unto them, and they both began to cover themselves with leaves of the
Garden, and Adam disobeyed his Lord, so he got astray (121). Then his Lord
chose him, so He turned to him and guided (him) (122). He said:
"Get down you two there from, all (of you), one of you (is) enemy
to another. So if there comes to you guidance from Me, then whoever
follows My guidance, he shall not go astray nor be unhappy (123). And
whoever turns away from My remembrance, his shall surely be a straitened
life, and We will raise him, on the Day of Resurrection, blind- (124). He
shall say: "My Lord! why hast Thou raised me blind, and I was a seeing one
indeed?" (125) He will say: "Even so: Our signs came to you, but you
forgot them; even thus shall you be forsaken this day- (126). And thus do
We recompense him who is extravagant and does not believe in the signs of
his Lord; and certainly the chastisement of the hereafter is severer and
more lasting" (127).
The context,
and particularly the opening words of the story, "Verily 1 am going to
make in the earth a vicegerent", clearly show that it was for the earth
that Adam was created; it was the original plan that he should live and
die in the earth. Allâh had temporarily placed the couple in the Garden to
test them in order that their nakedness might be uncovered to them. Also
the context in all three places shows that the order to the angels to
prostrate before Adam, and then to Adam to stay in the Garden is a single,
continuous, story. It all shows that Adam (a.s.) was created specifically
for the earth, and the way to send him down was through the Garden as
mentioned in the Qur'ân: It was shown that he was superior to the angels
and, therefore, more qualified for the vicegerency of Allàh; then they
were told to prostrate before him, in acknowledgement of his superiority;
then he was placed in the Garden but forbidden to go near a particular
tree; so that on eating from it they should become aware of their
nakedness and then be sent down to the earth. It means that the last link
in this chain was their becoming aware of their private parts - it was
this factor which irrevocably showed that they were fit for this earth,
ready for this life. “As-Saw'ah”, (literally means shame, disgrace,
private part of the body. In this story it has been used in the last
meaning, as may be seen from the words, “and they both began to cover
themselves with leaves of the Garden”. That is why we have translated it
as “nakedness”.) However, their awareness of their pudenda proved that in
addition to their spiritual qualities, they had also animal instincts and
desires ingrained in them. It naturally made them dependent on nutrition
and growth. Iblis wanted them to become aware of their nakedness. Adam and
his wife were given earthly, human existence and were at once placed in
the Garden without any delay; they were not given time to perceive and
understand their nakedness or its concomitants; they had not yet
comprehended the life of this earth and its necessities. When they were
sent to the Garden their connection with the spiritual world, including
the angels, was strong; their link with it was not weakened. It should be
noted that Allàh has said, “what was hidden from them”; He has not said,
“what had been hidden from them”; it may be inferred from the expression
used that their nakedness could not remain hidden for ever in this life;
it was hidden for only a short period when they were placed in the Garden.
The uncovering of their nakedness with all its concomitants was a
predetermined fact and it depended upon their eating from that tree. That
is why Allàh had told them: “therefore let him not drive you both forth
from the Garden so that you should be put to toil”; thereafter, the Satan
“drove them out of what they were in”.
It should not
be overlooked that even when Allàh pardoned them after their repentance,
He did not return them to the Garden - they were sent down to the earth to
live therein. If their eating of the tree, the uncovering of their private
parts and the life of this world- were not a confirmed divine plan, an
irrevocable predetermined decree, they would have been returned to their
place in the Garden as soon as they were forgiven their mistake. In short,
it was the divine plan that they should spend sometime in the Garden to
get them prepared for the life in this world; and their removal from the
Garden, according to the causal relation decreed by Allàh, depended on
their eating from the tree and becoming aware of their nakedness, and it
happened because they listened to the whispering of the Satan.
Allàh says:
“And certainly We had covenanted unto Adam before, but he forgot”. Which
covenant does this verse allude to? Does it refer to the admonition, “and
do not approach (you two) this tree, for then you (two) will be of the
unjust”? Or to the warning, “surely this (i.e., the Satan) is an enemy to
you and to your wife”? Or does it refer to the general covenant made with
all human beings in general and with the prophets in particular?
The first
possibility is out of question altogether. Allàh says: “But the Satan
whispered an evil suggestion to them . . . and he said: ‘Your Lord has not
forbidden you from this tree except that you may not become two angels or
that you may (not) become of the immortals…’” Obviously, when Adam and his
wife committed the error and tasted of the tree they were aware of the
prohibition - even the evil suggestion of the Satan had begun with a
reference to it. And Allàh says in this verse that “We had covenanted unto
Adam before, but he forgot; and We did not find in him any determination.”
It, therefore, could not refer to that prohibition, because Adam had not
forgotten it at all.
The second
suggestion - that the covenant might refer to the warning against the
Satan - is not so wide of mark; still it is not supported by apparent
meaning of the verses. The said warning was given to both Adam and his
wife, while this verse refers to a covenant made especially with
Adam.
It leaves us
with the last alternative that the covenant means the general covenant
which was made with the whole mankind and more particularly with the
prophets. This verse (about the covenant with Adam and his forgetting it)
occurs at the beginning of the story in the chapter of Tà-Hà, and the
story concludes with the words, “So if there comes to you guidance from
Me, then whoever follows My guidance, he shall not go astray nor be
unhappy. And whoever turns away from My remembrance, his shall surely be a
straitened life, and We will raise him, on the Day of Resurrection, blind.
He shall say: ‘My Lord! why hast Thou raised me blind, and I was a seeing
one indeed?’ He will say: ‘Even so: Our signs came to you, but you forgot
them; even thus shall you be forsaken (literally: forgotten)
today.’”
These
concluding verses perfectly fit that opening one. To turn away from the
remembrance of Allàh is not different from forgetting the covenant of
Allàh. Add to it the use of the same verb (you forgot them) in the
next verse. All these references arc perfectly compatible with the
covenant made with the souls of the human beings about the Mastership of
Allàh and their own servitude. That covenant obliged the man that lie
should never forget that Allàh is his Lord, the Ruler and Master of his
affairs; nor should he lose sight of the fact that he is a wholly owned
slave of Allàh; that he has no authority whatsoever over his benefit or
harm; nor does he has any control over his life, death or resurrection; in
short he owns neither his person, his characteristics nor his
actions.
The error that
stands opposite to this remembrance is forgetfulness -- man forgets his
Lord and His All-encompassing Mastership; he becomes engrossed in his own
self, getting bogged down more and more in the mire of this world’s
attractions.
Look at this
world’s life, with all its diversity; and see how it spreads its tentacles
in all directions. Note how it is shared by the believer and the
unbeliever both. And then find out how the two groups respond to its joy
and sorrow. How different is their respective attitude towards this life’s
success and failure, happiness and unhappiness, content and discontent,
relief and suffering. These factors affect the two groups - the believers
and the unbelievers - in entirely different ways. The believer has the
knowledge of Allàh and the unbeliever lacks this knowledge. And it causes
all the differences in their respective behavior. Every man looks at this
world; a world that is submerged in all types of misfortunes and
disasters: a life followed by death, a health ruined by disease, a
prosperity eaten away by poverty, a comfort destroyed by discomfort, a
gain nullified by loss - this is, in a nutshell, the life of this world.
The believer knows that everything and every affair belongs to Allàh;
nothing is independent of God, the Lord. Every thing and every affair
emanates from Him; and all that originates from Him is good and beautiful,
nothing but beauty and splendor, goodness and excellence, can come from
Him. And because all things and all affairs issue forth from his Lord and
Master, he thinks that all is elegant and fine; he dislikes nothing and
fears nothing; everything in his eyes is likeable, except that which his
Master tells him to dislike. He subjugates his likes and dislikes to those
of his Master. In short, all his attention is fixed to the pleasure of his
Master. He knows that everything is the sole property of God; none else
has any share in anything. That being the case, why should he worry how
the Master manages His own property? He does not think that he is
competent to meddle in the affairs of his Lord. This submission to Allàh
creates a perfect tranquility, a truly happy life, untarnished by
unhappiness; a light without darkness, a joy without sorrow, a benefit
without harm, and a riches without want. It all happens because he
believes in Allàh and in His mastership.
On the other
hand is the unbeliever who does not know Allàh. By cutting himself off
from the one and only Master, he has to bow his head before every
creature. He believes that everything is independent in its actions - that
it has a power of its own to benefit or to harm, to do good or evil.
Consequently, he remains in constant fear of everything; he is ever
apprehensive of every real or imagined danger. He is always grieving for
want has befallen him, longing for the opportunities he has missed. He
feels nostalgia for the prestige or wealth that is gone; breaks his heart
for the children, relatives or friends who have left him. He is
inextricably trapped by the attractions of the world; he relies on them
and has trust in them; and when any thing goes wrong, he sinks into
despair. Then as soon as he makes a virtue of necessity and is resigned to
that misfortunate, a new calamity overwhelms him. In this way, He always
driven from pillar to post, with a heavy heart and a gloomy countenance;
“thus does Allàh lay uncleanliness on those who do not believe”.
It can be
seen, in the light of the above discourse, that forgetting the covenant
and unhappiness of this world’s life, both are interrelated - the later
springs from the former. This tact becomes clearer if we compare the
wordings of the verse 20:123-124 with those used in the verse under
discussion. The former says: So if there comes to you guidance from Me,
then whoever follows My guidance, he shall not go astray nor be unhappy.
And whoever turns away from My remembrance, his shah surely be a
straitened life, and We will raise him, on the Day of Resurrection, blind.
And the same idea has been expressed in this verse in the following
words: . . . then whoever follows My guidance, no fear shall come upon
them, nor shall they grieve.
It may be
inferred from these verses that the forbidden tree was of such a nature
that if one ate from it he would certainly be entangled in the troubles
and misfortunes of this life he would spend his life in this world,
heedless of his own place, forgetting his Lord. Probably Adam (a.s.)
wanted to combine the fruit of that tree with the covenant that he had
entered into with his Lord. But he could not succeed, the fruit had its
effect, he forgot the covenant and fell into the troubles and toils of
this world. Then he was saved when he repented before Allàh and Allàh
turned to him with mercy.
QUR’AN:
and eat (you two) from it (freely) a plenteous
(food):
“ar-Raghad” literally means happiness, well-being, good life
and affluence arghada ’l-qawmu mawàshiyahum means, “the people left
their cattle to graze wherever it liked. “Qawmun raghad” and
“nisà’un raghad” means people (or women) having a life of
plenty and opulence.
QUR’AN:
and do not approach (you two) this tree;
The context
shows that actual prohibition was of eating from it; but they were told
not even to approach it; the prohibition was couched in these terms for
emphasis. What was really forbidden is seen from the : so when they
tasted of the tree, their nakedness became manifest to them (7:22),
and . . . they both ate of it, so their nakedness appeared unto them
(20:121).
QUR’AN:
for then you (two) will be of the unjust:
az-Zàlimin is the nomen agentis of az-zulm (=
injustice, to do wrong). It is not from az-zulmah (= darkness), as
has been suggested by someone. Adam and his wife acknowledged their
wrong-doing, and the Qur'an quotes them as saying: “Our Lord! we have
been unjust to ourselves, and if you forgive us not, and have (not) mercy
on us, we shall certainly be of the losers” (7:23).
This clause
has been changed in Chapter 20 to “so that you should be put to toil”; and
the toil has further been explained in these words: Surely it is
(ordained) for you that you shall not be hungry therein (i.e.
in the Garden) nor bare of clothing; and that you shall not be thirsty
therein nor shall you feel the heat of the sun (20:118-119). Clearly,
the injustice and wrong-doing, mentioned in the verse 2:25, was to bring
in its wake the toil of this world - hunger, thirst, nakedness and other
discomforts. The injustice or wrong that they had done was against their
own selves; it was neither a sin (as this term is used in the shari‘ah)
nor an injustice against Allàh. It shows that the prohibition was in
the nature of an advice pointing out to them what was good for their own
comfort; it did not have the force of an ordained law. Adam and his wife
did wrong to themselves, because their disregard to that divine advice
caused their removal from the Garden.
When a man
commits a sin (i.e. an offence, from the shari’ah point of view),
he is given a punishment. Then if he repents and his repentance is
accepted, the punishment is completely waived off, and he is returned to
his previous position as though he had not committed the sin at all. If
Adam and his wife were guilty of such a sin, they should have been
returned to their place in the Garden soon after their repentance was
accepted. But it was not done. It clearly shows that the prohibition did
not have the force of an ordained law; it was only an advice. Even so,
neglecting it had its natural effect on both of them and they had to come
out of the Garden. But this removal, from the Garden was not a punishment
for any sin or crime; it was the natural consequence of the wrong they had
done against their own selves. (We shall write again on this subject, God
willing.)
QUR’AN:
But the Satan made them both slip from it:
The Satan
could have misled them by creating evil thoughts in their hearts, in the
same way as he misleads other human beings. But many verses, in the three
narratives quoted at the beginning of this commentary, show that the Satan
had appeared before Adam and his wife, and had talked to them face to
face:
So We said:
“O Adam! surely this is an enemy to you and to your wife” (20:117).
Allàh had pointed out the Satan to Adam, not by any verbal description but
by showing to him the person of the said enemy. (Note the demonstrative
pronoun, “this is”.)
(The Satan)
said: “O Adam! shall I guide you to the tree of immortality . . .”
(20:120). The speaker, that is, the Satan, must have talked to Adam face
to face.
And he
(i.e. the Satan) swore to them both: “Most surely I am a
sincere adviser to you” (7:21). Obviously, he was visible to Adam and
his wife and swore during his talk with them.
. . . and
their Lord called out to them: “Did I not forbid you both from that tree
and say to you that the Satan is your open enemy?” (7:22) It
indicates that the Satan was visible to Adam and his wife. If the Satan
had misled them by creating evil thoughts into their minds without
appearing before them, they could have said to Allàh that they were not
aware that that thought was put into their minds by the Satan; that they
mistook it to be their own thought because the Satan had not appeared
before them.
They used to
see and recognize the Satan. Likewise, other prophets - all of them
covered by Allàh’s protection - used to see and recognize him if and when
he came to them. Many traditions mention such encounters in the stories of
Nùh, Ibrâhim, Musa, ‘Isa, Yahya, Ayyùb, Ismà‘il and Muhammad (may Allàh
bless him and his as well as the prophets).
The
above-quoted verses as well as the verse 7:20 (and he said:
“Your Lord has not forbidden from this tree except that…”) also show
that the Satan had visited then near that tree in the Garden. He entered
the Garden, talked to them and put evil suggestion before them. He was
able to do so because the Garden was not the Garden of eternal abode. The
Qur’àn also says that Adam, his wife and the Satan all were removed from
the Garden together. (Of course, Allàh had said to the Satan: “Then get
down from this, for it does not befit you to behave proudly therein”
(7:131). But the pronouns “this” and “therein” may refer to the angels
or to the heaven. It may mean: Get down from the company of the angels;
or, get down from the heaven as it is a place of honor.)
QUR’AN:
and We said: “Get down, some of you being the enemies of
others…”:
The second
person pronouns, used in this verse, are plural, which denote at least
three persons. Clearly, it was addressed to Adam, his wife and the Satan.
The Satan was turned out of the heaven and/or the company of the angels
before (as described above). This verse combines in itself that previous
order too; and manifests the firm decree of Allàh establishing enmity
between Iblis on one side and Adam and his wife and their descendants on
the other. It also promulgates another decree that they shall live in the
earth, die therein, and be raised again from it.
It may safely
be said that the whole human race (Adam together with his descendants) is
covered by the last mentioned decree: Therein shall you live, and
therein shall you die, and from it shall you be raised (7:25).
This verse comes at the end of the story (in Chapter 7) which begins with
the following words: And certainly We created you, then We fashioned
you, then We said to the angels: “Prostrate before Adam”…
(7:11). In both verses plural pronouns have been used; and it is an
indication that the creation and the decree to live and die in the earth
includes more than two, that is, other human beings too besides Adam and
his wife.
The story of
Adam may have been used by Allàh to represent the rise, fall and rise
again of the whole mankind. Adam was the first representatives of
humanity, and his life was a symbol, a miniature, of the human beings
life-span in this world.
The angels
were told to prostrate before Adam, because he was the vicegerent of Allàh
in the earth. It has been mentioned earlier that this vicegerency was
bestowed on the whole mankind. The angels prostrated before Adam, as he
was the symbol of humanity, the representative of his race.
Adam and his
wife were placed in the Garden and then were sent down from there because
they had eaten of the forbidden tree. Every man may see his own face in
this mirror. His soul, before coming to this world, enjoyed the sublime
and lofty existence; his abode was spiritually near to his Lord - a place
of joy and happiness, of splendor and light; in the company of purified
companions and spiritual friends, near to Allàh, the Lord of the worlds.
Then he opted for this transient life, and was at once entangled in the
troubles and toils of this world; leaving that purified existence, he was
attracted to this tedious and odious life.
Adam at once
repented and prayed for the mercy of Allàh. In the same way, man may
return to Allàh and consequently to the eternal abode of honor and bliss.
But if he took the wrong turning, did not try to return to Allàh, and, in
short, followed his base desires, he would change the, bounty of Allàh
into disbelief and ungratefulness, would direct himself to the place of
disgrace - to the hell; and how evil that resting place is!
QUR’AN:
Then Adam received (some) words from his Lord so He
returned to him mercifully:
“at-Talaqqi” (= to receive) signifies “to learn”. It was
this learning of the words that paved the way for the repentance of
Adam.
“At-Tawbah” literally means to return; generally it is used
for repentance, because when a man repents, he returns to his Lord. This
verb is at times ascribed to Allàh (as in this verse), and signifies that
Allàh returns or restores the servant to His grace and mercy. In other
words, He accepts the plea of the servant and forgives his sins. At other
times it is attributed to the servant; then it signifies the servant’s
return to Allàh, that is, his repentance from his sins.
At-Tawbah
(repentance) of man is flanked on both sides by two tawbahs
(mercies) of Allàh. Man can never do without the mercy of Allàh. He
needs mercy and help of Allàh to turn away from sins; only then he may
return to Allàh, may repent from his sins; then again the mercy of Allàh
comes forward, and his repentance is accepted. Therefore, an accepted
repentance of man issues forth from the mercy of Allàh, and also ends on
His mercy. The verse 9:118 clearly mentions this fact: then He returned
to them (mercifully) so that they might return (i.e. might
repent).
What were the
words which Adam received from his Lord? Some people think that it refers
to their invocation reported in Chapter 7: They said: “Our Lord! We
have been unjust to ourselves, and if thou forgive us not, and have
(not) mercy on us, we shall certainly be of the losers” (7:23).
But this view is not supported by the sequence of the events. Adam and his
wife had addressed that invocation before they were told to get down from
the Garden (7:24); and it was after getting that order that he “received
some words” from Allàh, as is clear from the verse 2:36-37. Therefore,
“some words” cannot refer to that previously uttered invocation.
There may,
however, be another explanation: When Allàh announced to the angels that
He was going to make a vicegerent in the earth, they said: “Wilt Thou
place in it such as shall make mischief in it and shed blood, while we
celebrate Thy praise and extol Thy holiness?” Allàh did not say that their
accusation against the would-be vicegerent was wrong; His only answer was
that He taught Adam all the names. There must have been something deep,
meaningful and relevant in this teaching of the names; otherwise, the
angels could not be satisfied, their objection could not be answered. The
names taught to Adam must have contained some such thing that would come
to the rescue of man if he sinned, would save him from disgrace if he
erred. Probably, the words received at the time of repentance were related
to the names taught to him in the beginning.
It cannot be
denied that Adam (a.s.) did wrong to himself by placing himself in this
world - a crossroads of happiness and unhappiness; had he been ensnared by
it he would have perished; but he chose to return to his original place of
spiritual bliss and was saved; he had to undergo, in this process, untold
miseries and unbearable hardships. In any case, he put himself in so much
trouble that he became “unjust” to himself. The question arises as to why
Allàh selected this hard way to send him from the Garden to the earth. The
fact, however, remains that in this process he attained to such heights of
eternal bliss and spiritual perfection as would have been impossible to
reach without coming down to the earth - and that too with a stigma of
mistake.
The events
leading to his removal from the Garden and, later, to the acceptance of
his repentance showed to him his true reality - how humble, dependent,
deficient and servile he was; and at the same time he came to realize that
every difficulty of this world leads to manifold case in the next life;
every unpleasantness here results in enhanced pleasantness there; every
trouble in the obedience to Allàh brings in its wake the pleasure of Allàh
and His unlimited reward; the process continues until the servant reaches
the sublime presence of his Lord. Adam knew, through his own experience,
taste of many of the beautiful attributes of Allàh: His forgiveness,
turning mercifully to the servants, covering their mistakes, bestowing
mercy on them, putting them in the shadow of His compassion and grace -
these are some of the divine attributes which He has especially reserved
for the sinners. Adam could not know and understand them without passing
through the stages which Allah had decreed for him.
This, however,
was his repentance; it made ordination of a shari‘ah essential. It
was necessary for Adam and his descendants to know which path they should
take so as to reach their destination, the abode of bliss and happiness.
His repentance brought him to the stage where promulgation of religion and
ordination of the shari‘ah was inevitable.
That is why
Allàh frequently mentions the repentance before the belief: Stand fast
then (in the right path) as you are commanded, as also he who has
turned (to Allàh) with you… (11:112); And most surely I am
most forgiving to him who repents and believes and does good .
. . (20:82). There are many such verses in the Qur'àn.
QUR’AN:
We said: “Get down you therefore all together; and if there comes to
you a guidance from Me, then whoever follows My guidance, no fear shall
come upon them, nor shall they grieve. And (as to) those who
disbelieve in, and belie, Our signs, they are the inmates of the fire, in
it they shall abide “.
This is the
essence of religion ordained, for the first time, for Adam (a.s.) and his
descendants. Allàh has condensed the whole religion in these two
sentences; nothing has been added, nor can be added to it up to the Day of
Resurrection.
Ponder on this
story and particularly the narrative of Chapter 20. You will see that
Allàh had issued two decrees in respect of Adam and his descendants. When
he ate from the tree, it was decreed that he should get down to the earth
and spend his life therein - a life of trouble and toil. And when he
repented, it was ordained that he and his descendants should be honored
with divine guidance. The first decree initiated the earthly life for him;
the second, issued after his repentance, bestowed dignity and grace to
that life, by providing it with divine guidance. From then on, man’s life
is composed of two lives: A material, earthly life and a spiritual,
heavenly one. It may be inferred from repetition of the order to “get down
“ in this narrative: “Get down, some of you being the enemies of
others; and there is for you in the earth an abode and a provision for a
time” (2:36). “Get down you therefrom all together- and if there
comes to you a guidance from Me…” (2:38).
Repentance of
Adam (2:37) occurred between these two orders. The sequence shows that
Adam had repented before their departing from the Garden, although lie had
slipped from his earlier position of honor. It may also be inferred from
the change in the styles of the following verses: Allàh said to Adam, when
placing him in the Garden, “do not go near this tree” (7:19); but
when they ate from it, their Lord called out to them: “Did I not forbid
you both from that tree…” (7:22). Note the demonstrative pronoun,
“this”, (for a nearer object) in the former speech, and “that” (for a
farther one) in the latter. Also contrast the verb, “said”, (showing
proximity) of the former with “called out” (showing distance) of the
latter. All this together supports the above-given explanation that at the
time of the second order Adam was still in the Garden but not in his
earlier honored place.
“Get down,
some of you being the enemies of others; and there is for you in
the earth an abode and a provision for a time” (2:36; 7:24).
“Therein shall you live, and therein shall you die, and from it shall
you be raised” (7:25). The verses indicate that the life on the earth
was very different from that in the Garden. This life is firmly connected
with the earth, full of difficulties and hardships. Man, in this life, is
created from the earth, then after death is returned into it, and will, on
the Day of Resurrection, be raised from it, This life is different from
that of the Garden. It follows that Adam had lived a heavenly - and not
earthly life in the Garden.
This
observation gives us a certainty that the Garden of Adam was in the
heaven, although it was not the Garden of eternal abode from which one is
never turned out.
What is meant
by “the heaven”? We shall, God willing explain it somewhere else.
Now, we come
to the mistake of Adam. The explanation given under various verses throws
sufficient light on this subject. But the importance of the topic
justifies its recapitulation in a systematic way:
The verses
obviously say that he had committed a mistake and disobeyed the divine
command: “ . . . for then you (two) will be of the unjust”; “and Adam
disobeyed his Lord, so he got astray”, and they too acknowledged their
error: “Our Lord! We have been unjust to ourselves, and if Thou forgive us
not, and have (not) mercy on us, we shall certainly be of the losers.” But
on meditating on the verses, and particularly on the admonition not to eat
of the tree, we come to a definite conclusion that the said prohibition
was not in the nature of an authoritative command; it was rather like an
advice to guide Adam to his good and comfort. The following proof
irresistibly lead us to this conclusion:
First:
Allàh said in this, as well as in Chapter 7, that eating of the tree
would be an injustice, a wrong-doing (for then you will be of the
unjust). The same result has been described two as “toil” (so that
you should be put to toil); and the “toil” has been explained in the
terms of worldly needs and troubles, because it was ordained “for you that
you shall not be hungry therein (i.e., as long as you remained in the
Garden) nor bare of clothing; and that you shall not be thirsty therein
nor shall you feel the heat of the sun”. It seems clear that it was to
protect them from these worldly troubles and toils that they were told not
to go near that tree, The prohibition, therefore, was not more than an
advice; certainly it was not an authoritative command. Going against an
advice does not entail a sin, does not involve rebellion against the
adviser. The injustice, mentioned in this story, therefore, means their
doing wrong against their own selves, putting themselves in this world’s
hardship and toil; but it cannot mean the sin committed by a servant
against his master.
Second:
When a servant repents, that is, returns to Allàh, his Lord, and the
Lord accepts that repentance, all the effects of the sin are erased, as
though he had not committed any sin at all. If the prohibition against
eating from the tree had the force of an authoritative command, an
ordained law, Adam and his wife should have been returned to their place
in the Garden as soon as their repentance was accepted. But they were not.
It decisively proves that the prohibition was of advisory nature like
telling someone not to put his hand in a fire; if he does not listen to
the advice, his hand would certainly burn, and the subsequent apology
would not unburn it, even if the apology was accepted. Likewise, Adam and
his wife disregarded the advice, and as a result of eating from the tree,
had to go out of the Garden and live in the earth a life of trial and
hardship. Their repentance could not take them back to the Garden as their
coming to the earth was the natural and inevitable result of that
action.
The
prohibition, in short, was not a law ordained by the Master - like the
announcement that the shari'ah would be punished. if it were like
such a command, the repentance would have rubbed out the effect of
disobedience and they would have been sent back to the Garden straight
away.
Third: We said: "Get down you therefrom all together; and
if there comes to you a guidance from Me, then whoever follows My
guidance, no fear shall come upon them, nor shall they grieve. And (as
to) those who disbelieve in, and belie, Our signs, they are the inmates
of the fire, in it they shall abide." These verses have put in a
nutshell all the detailed laws, rules, and regulations sent by Allah for
the mankind, through His angels, books and apostles. And it was the first
shari'ah which Allâh ordained for the world, the world of Adam and
his descendants. It was ordained after the second order to "get down" -
and the order to "get down" was not a legislative, but a creative,
command, resulting from his eating of the tree.
It means that
at the time when Adam partook of the tree, no shari'ah was ordained
yet, and no law was promulgated. Therefore, whatever Adam did was not a
transgression against any law of the shari’ah, nor was there any
sin or crime involved in acting against that advice.
Question:
The order to the angels and Iblis to prostrate before Adam was an
authoritative command, and it was given before the order to Adam not to go
near that tree. Therefore, it is difficult to believe that at that time
there was no obligatory law.
Reply:
We are talking about Adam and his descendants, and not about the
angels and Iblis. It is irrelevant whether the angels and Iblis were given
a compulsory order before Adam was placed in the Garden.
Question:
If the prohibition were of an advisory nature, Allah would not have
described its disregard in the terms of "injustice", "disobedience", and
"going astray".
Reply:
We have already explained that the "injustice" done by Adam and his
wife was against their own selves; it was not a sin against Allâh.
"al-Isyan "
(disobedience) literally means to resist, or to
yield with difficulty. The Arabs say: I broke it and it was broken; I
broke it fa-'asa but it resisted, or yielded to my pressure with
difficulty. Not heeding an order is called al-'isyân, because one
does not yield to that enjoinment or prohibition. This resistance may
occur against an advice as much as against a compulsory order. The word in
itself does not imply sinning; it all depends on the nature of the order
that was disregarded.
Of course,
nowadays we, the Muslims, use this word as synonymous to sinning. And now
it has become a terminology of the shari'ah (or of the Muslims),
used for disobedience to an authoritative command. But
this later transformance cannot effect its original or literal meaning for
which it was used in the Qur'ân.
"al-Ghawâyah" (= to go astray) literally means inability of
a man to look after his interests; not managing one's affairs properly.
This word by itself does not indicate committing a sin or crime. It is the
context that determines its value. Its emphasis changes depending on
whether the neglected order was an advice or an authoritative
command.
Question: Then
why did they repent? Why did they say, "and if Thou forgive us not, and
have (not) mercy on us, we shall certainly be of the losers?"
Reply:
at-Tawbah (repentance) means to turn to. And the word can be
used in various meanings, depending on context.
A servant
rebels against his master, and thereafter returns to him and asks for his
forgiveness; the master, if he so wishes, pardons him, and gives him his
previous rank and position.
A doctor tells
a patient not to eat certain fruits, lest his illness be prolonged or the
disease be complicated. The patient disregards the prohibition and, as a
result, puts his life in danger. Now he feels embarrassed and repents
before the doctor, asking for his forgiveness, begging him to prescribe
for him a medicine to enable him to regain his health and vigor. The
doctor may tell him that now it will be necessary for him to undergo a
long and difficult treatment, adding that if he persevered in the
prescribed regimen his health would be much better than before.
The
significance of the other words used in the narrative, like forgiveness,
mercy and loss, may likewise change with the context.
TRADITIONS
al-Qummi
('Ali) narrates, in his at-Tafsir, from his father (Ibrahim ibn
Hashim) who narrates, from as-Sadiq (a.s.) (omitting the chain of
intervening narrators, although it was fully described by his Shaykh). He
said: "as-Sadiq" (a.s.) was asked about the Garden of Adam whether it was
a garden of this world or one of the hereafter's. He (a.s.) said: 'It was
a garden of this world, wherein the sun and the moon rose. Had it been a
Garden of the hereafter, he would not have come out of it.' He (a.s.)
further said: 'Allah placed him in the Garden and allowed him its freedom
with the exception of the tree. (It was done) because here was a creature
of Allah who could not survive without (some) enjoinment and prohibition,
nor (could it continue) without food, cloth, shelter and marriage; nor
could he know, without divine help, what was beneficial to him from what was harmful. Then came to him Iblis and
told him: “if you (two) ate from this tree, which Allàh bas forbidden You,
You (two) would become two angels and would abide in the Garden for ever,
and if you (two) did not eat from it, Allàh would turn you out from the
Garden;” and he swore to them that he was a sincere adviser to them; as
Allàh quotes his words: Your Lord has not forbidden you from this tree
except that you may not both become two angels or that you may (not)
become of' the immortals. And he swore to them both: “Most surely I am a
sincere adviser to you.” Adam believed in his words, and they (i.e.
Adam and his wife) ate from the tree; and they became as Allàh says:
their nakedness became manifest to them; what Allàh had clothed
them with of the (attires of the) Garden dropped away from them, and they
both began to cover themselves with the leaves of the Garden; and their
Lord called out to them: Did I not forbid you both from that tree and
say to you that the Satan is your open enemy? They said, as Allàh
quotes them: “Our Lord! We have been unjust to ourselves; and if
Thou forgive us not, and have (not) mercy on us, we shall certainly be of
the losers.” Thereupon Allàh said to them: “Get down, some of you
being the enemies of others; and there is for you in the earth an abode
and a provision for a time. He (the Imam) said: “that (time) is the
Day of Resurrection”. He further said: “Then Adam descended on the (hill
of) as-Safà – and it got this name because Safiyu ’llàh (= the
sincere friend of Allàh, i.e. Adam) came down on it; and Hawwà’ (Eve)
descended on the (hill of) al -Marwah - and it was named al -Marwah
because al-mar'ah (= the woman) descended on it. Then Adam remained
in prostration for forty days, weeping for the Garden. So Jibril (Gabriel)
came to him and said: ‘Did Allàh not create you with His hand, and (did He
not) breath into you from His spirit, and (did He not) made His angels
prostrate before you?’ He said: ‘Certainly.’ (Then Jibril said:) ‘and He
ordered you not to eat from the tree and you disobeyed Him?’ Adam said:
‘Iblis swore to me falsely.’
The author
says: There are other traditions too from Ahlu ’l-bayt (a.s.)
to the effect that the Garden of Adam was of this world; although some of
them are from the same Ibràhim ibn Hàshim.
The phrase, “a
garden of this world”, bas been used in contrast to the Garden of
everlasting abode. It indicates a state between this world and the
hereafter. Adam’s garden was not the Garden of everlasting abode, but
neither was it a garden like that of ours al-Barzakh is the state,
place and time between one’s death and the Day of Resurrection. The said
Garden may be called a Garden of al-Barzakh, and it may well have been
situated in this world. The sentences, “Adam descended on the (hill of)
as-Safà”, and “Hawwà’ descended on the (hill of) al-Marwah”, indicate
that, before it, they were somewhere above this world. The interpretation
of “a time” with the “Day of Resurrection” is also revealing. Man remains
in al-Barzakh after his death, and at the same time he remains in the
earth. Many Qur’ânic verses use these expressions interchangeably.
For example:
He will say: “How many years did you tarry in the earth?” They will
say: "”We tarried a day or part of a day but ask those who keep account.
He will say: “You did tarry but a little - had you but known (it)”
(23:112-114). And at the time when the Hour shall come, the guilty
shall swear (that) they did not tarry but an hour; thus they used to utter
lies. And those who are given knowledge and faith will say: “Certainly you
tarried according to the decree of Allàh till the Day of Resurrection, but
you did not know” (30:55-56).
Apart from
that, many traditions of Ahlu ’l-bayt (a.s.) show that the Garden
of Adam was in the heaven, and that he and his wife descended from the
heaven. For the one who is familiar with the language of traditions, it is
not difficult to believe that the said Garden was in the heaven and that
they had descended from the heaven to the earth, even if they were created
in the earth itself and live therein all along. These expressions are not
any different from those which say that the Garden is in the heaven, and
yet say that the grave is an orchard from the orchards of the Garden or a
pit from the pits of the Fire. Many similar expressions are found in the
traditions. Any lingering doubt will be removed when we shall write about
the heaven, God willing.
There is no
mention in the correct and reliable traditions as to how Iblis found his
way to Adam and his wife, or as to what means he adopted for this purpose.
Some traditions mention the serpent and peacock as the two helpers of
Iblis in his endeavor to mislead Adam and his wife; but they are extremely
unreliable. Obviously, such traditions were interpolated under the
influence of Judaism. This story has been taken from the Jews, and to make
this point clear, we are quoting it from the Bible (King James version).
The story is given in the book of Genesis:
“And the Lord
God formed man of the dust of ground, and breathed into his nostrils the
breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the Lord God planted a
garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And
out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to
the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the
garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And went out of Eden
to water the garden; and from thence a river it was parted, and became
into four heads. The name of the first is Pison: that is it which
compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; And the gold of
that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of
the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land
of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which
goeth towards the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. And
the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it
and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree
of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil, thou shall not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest
thereof thou shalt surely die. And the Lord God said, It is not good that
the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And out of
the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every fowl of
the air, and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and
whatsoever Adam called every living that was the name thereof. And Adam
gave names to creature, tail cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to
every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet
for him. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and be
slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead
thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a
woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my
bones and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was
taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother,
and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And they were
both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. Now the serpent
was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God has made.
And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every
tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the
fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in
the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither
shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye
shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof,
then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and
evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it
was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she
of the fruit , and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and
he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they
were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves
aprons. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in
the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the
presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God
called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard
thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid
myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten
of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the
man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the
tree, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this
that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I
did eat. And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done
this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the
field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days
of the life; And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between
thy seed and her seed, it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his
heel. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy
conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire
shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he
said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast
eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat
of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it
all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to
thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face
shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out it wast
thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. And Adam
called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. Unto
Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and
clothed them. And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of
us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take
also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the Lord
God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence
he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the
garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to
keep the way of the tree of life.” (Genesis, ch. 2: vs. 7 to ch. 3: vs.
24)
Compare the
narrative of the Qur’àn with that of the Bible, then ponder on various
traditions narrated in the Shi‘ah or Sunni books; you will come to know
many revealing differences. But we are not going into it because it is
beyond the scope of this book.
Question:
How could Iblis enter the Garden and mislead Adam therein? The
question arises because:
i) The Garden
is a place of cleanliness and purity, wherein there
shall be nothing vain nor any sin (52:23);
ii) The garden
is in the heaven, and Iblis was already turned out therefrom when he
refused to prostrate before Adam. Then get out of it, for
surely you are driven away (15:34). Then get down from this,
for it does not befit you to behave proudly therein (7:13).
Reply: (i) The Qur’àn disallows vain
and sinful acts in the Garden of eternal abode (in which the believers
shall be placed after resurrection) and the Garden of al-Barzakh wherein
they are placed after death. But it is silent about the Garden of Adam, in
which he was placed together with his wife before man was sent to this
world and given any authoritative law. Rather, it may be said that it
shows not only possibility of disobedience therein, but also its
occurrence. Proof: This very disobedience of Adam and his wife.
Moreover,
vanity and sin are relative terms; and they do not occur until man comes
into this world, and is given some authoritative laws to follow.
ii) The
argument may be replied as follows:
a. It cannot
be definitely said that the clauses, "get down of it" and "get down from
this" were meant to turn Iblis out of the heaven, because "the heaven" has
not been mentioned in preceding sentences. The order, therefore, could
mean, 'get out of the ranks of the angels', or 'get down from the honor
and dignity given to thee'.
b. May be, the
order to get down or to get out meant only that he could not live or stay
in the heaven with the angels. If so, then it was not a prohibition
against occasionally going or ascending thereto. This interpretation is
supported by the verses which describe the Satans' occasional goings upto
the heaven to eavesdrop the conversations of the angels. For example:
And We have guarded it (i.e. the heaven) against every accursed
Satan, but he who steals a hearing; so there follows him a visible flame
(15:17 - 18). Also, it has been narrated that
before the time of 'Isâ (a.s.), the Satans were going up to the seventh
heaven; when he was born they were barred from the fourth heaven and
above; then after the birth of the Prophet they were barred from all the
heavens.
c. There is no
mention in the Book of Allâh that Iblis had entered the Garden. Therefore,
the question does not arise at all. It has, of course, been narrated in
the traditions; but they are not al-mutawâtir; and possibly the
narrators have described the story in their own words, and not exactly as
the lmâm said.
Utmost that
may be put as evidence that Iblis had entered the Garden is the verse:
and he (i.e. the Satan) said: "Your Lord has not forbidden you
from this tree except that you may not become two angels. . . "
(7:19), as he had used the pronoun, "this", ("this tree") which
denotes nearness. But if it is taken. to mean nearness in place, it would
give the same meaning in Allâh's command, . . . do not go near this
tree (7:18). Surely it, cannot be said that the pronoun
indicates that Allâh was in that place near the tree.'
'Abdu 's-Salâm
al-Harawi said: "I said to ar-Ridâ (a.s.): 'O son of the Messenger of
Allâh! tell me about the tree from which Adam and Hawwâ' ate, what was it?
Because people do have different views about it; some have narrated that
it was a wheat-plant, and others have reported that it was the tree of
envy.' He said: 'All this is true.' I said: 'Then what do
these explanations, with their differences, mean?' He said: 'O son of
as-Salt! verily the tree of the Garden bears (fruits of) many kinds; and
it was a wheat-plant and (yet) it bore grapes; and it was not like a tree
of this world. And when Allâh raised the status of Adam by making the
angels prostrate before him and by placing him in the Garden, he said:
"Has Allâh created any man superior than me?" And Allâh knew what had came
into his mind; so He called out to him: "Raise your head, O Adam! and look
at the pillar of the Throne." So, he looked at the pillar of the Throne
and found written on it: "There is no god except Allâh; Muhammad is the
Messenger of Allâh; 'Ali ibn Abl TâIib is the Leader of the faithful, and
his wife, Fâtimah is the Chief of the women of the worlds, and al-Hasan
and al-Husayn are the Chiefs of the youths of the people of the Garden."
Adam said: "O my Lord! who are they?" He, Mighty and Great is He said: "O
Adam! they are (from) your off-springs; and they are better than you and
all My creation; and if it were not (for) them, I
would have not created you, nor the Garden, nor the fire, nor the heaven,
nor the earth. So be careful not to look at them with envious eyes;
otherwise, I will turn you out of My nearness.” But he looked at them with
envious eyes and entertained the hope of (attaining to) their rank. So,
the Satan got the better of him, until he ate from the forbidden tree; and
got the better of Hawwà’, and she looked at Fàtimah with envious eyes
until she too, like Adam, ate from the tree. Thereupon, Allàh turned them
out of His Garden, and got them down from His nearness to the earth.’”
(‘Uyùnu ’l-akhbàr)
The author
says: This matter has been described in many traditions, some more
detailed than this; others, more concise. In this tradition, the lmàm has
confirmed that the tree was the wheat-plant, and also that it was the tree
of envy. The former implies that the tree was not worthy of attention of
the people of the Garden; the later indicates that it was too lofty to
come within the grasp of Adam and his wife (as a tradition says that it
was the tree of the knowledge of Muhammad and his progeny).
Apparently,
the two interpretations are totally different from each other, and the
tradition seems a problematic one. But if you ponder on the covenant
referred to earlier, you will see that both meanings are complementary,
and not mutually exclusive. Adam (a.s.) wanted to combine the pleasures of
the Garden - a place of nearness to Allàh, where it was necessary to
always keep the covenant before one's eyes, and not to let one's attention
divert to anyone or anything else - with the forbidden tree - which would
bring all the world's troubles in its wake; but he failed in his endeavor,
was sent down to the earth because he had been heedless of the said
covenant and of its demands, It was reserved for the Prophet to combine
these two seemingly apposite factors; it was he who, for the first time,
harmonized this world with the next, synchronized the matter with the
spirit, and brought into being a whole man.
However, Allàh
again guided Adam aright, chose him for His vicegerency, and as a result
of his repentance, raised him above the worldly desires and made him
remember again the forgotten covenant.
“But he looked
at them with envious eyes and entertained the hope of (attaining to) their
rank”: The second clause explains the first; Adam wanted that he too
should attain to that status; it was not that he was envious (i.e., had
any ill will) against them. Envy is a vice, while aspiring to raise one’s
status is not.
Now let us
look at the following two traditions:
1. Ath-Thumàli
narrates from Abù Ja’far (a.s.) that he said: “Allàh made a covenant with
Adam that he should not go near the tree. But when the time came when,
according to the knowledge of Allàh, he was to eat of it, he forgot (the
covenant) and ate from it. And that is (the meaning of) the words of
Allàh: And certainly We had covenanted unto Adam before, but he forgot;
and We did not find in him any determination.” (Kamàlu ’d-din)
2. Al-’Ayyàshi
narrated in his at-Tafsir from one of the two (i.e., the fifth or
the sixth) Imams, that he was asked as to why Allàh punished Adam for his
forgetfulness. He said: “He had not forgotten; and how could he forget
when he had remembered it (very well) and (even) Iblis had told him:
Your Lord has not forbidden you from this tree except that you May not
both become two angels or that you may (not) become of the
immortals.”
The way to
harmonize these seemingly conflicting traditions is clear if one applies
to them the foregoing explanation.
Abu ’s-Salt
al-Harawî said: “al-Ma’mùn gathered for ‘Ali ibn Mùsà ar-Ridà (a.s.)
people of various sects from among the Muslims, the Jews, the Christians,
the Magians, the Sabaeans and all other religions. Nobody stood (for
religious discussion with the lmàm) but that he was forced to accept his
(Imàm’s) arguments and was put to silence. Then stood before him ‘Ali ibn
Muhammad ibn al-Jahm and said to him: ‘Do you believe in the sinlessness
of the prophets? O son of the Messenger of Allàh!’ He said: ‘Yes.’ He
(‘Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Jahm) said: ‘Then what would you do with the
words of Allàh: and Adam disobeyed his Lord, so he got astray?
…’ Then said our master, ar-Ridà (a.s.): 'Woe unto
you! O 'Ali! Have fear of Allah (in your heart) and do not ascribe
indecencies to the prophets of Allâh, and do not interpret by your own
opinion the Book of Allah (Mighty and Great is He!) Verily Allâh (Mighty
and Great is He!) says: . . . but none knows its interpretation except
Allâh and those who are firmly rooted in knowledge (3:7). As
for the words of Allâh, and Adam disobeyed his Lord, so he got astray,
(the fact is that) Allâh (Mighty and Great is He!) had created Adam
(to be) His proof in His earth and (to be) His vicegerent in His towns; He
had not created him for the Garden; and the disobedience was (done) by
Adam in the Garden, and not in the earth; (and it came to pass) so that
the measures of the decree of Allâh (Mighty and Great is He) might be
fulfilled. So when he was sent down to the earth and was made (Allah’s)
proof and vicegerent, he was protected (i.e. became sinless), as Allâh
says: Surely Allah chose Adam and Nuh and the descendants of Ibrahim
and the descendants of 'Imran above all the worlds. ' " (3:33)
(al-Amali, as-Saduq)
The author
says: The sentence, "and the disobedience was . . . in the Garden",
points to what we have already mentioned that there was no religious law
ordained in the Garden; and that Adam (a.s.) even before his creation, was
destined to live in the earth; and, therefore, the disobedience was of an
advice, and not of an ordained law. In this context, there appears no
reason why anyone should try (as someone has done) to explain away this
tradition in a round-about way.
'Ali ibn
Muhammad ibn al-Jahm said: "I was present in the court of al-Ma'mun; and
Ali ibn Musa was there with him. And al-Ma'mun said to him: 'O son of the
Messenger of Allâh! Is it not your belief that the prophets are sinless?'
He said: 'Yes.' (al-Ma'mum) said: 'Then what is the meaning of the words
of Allâh, the High: and Adam disobeyed his Lord, so he got astray?'
(The Imam) said: 'Verily Allâh said to Adam: dwell you and your
wife in the Garden and eat (you both) freely wherever you (two)
wish and do not approach (you two) this tree, (pointing to a
tree) for then you (two) will be of the unjust. Allah did
not say to him: Do not eat from this tree nor from
another tree of its kind. And they did not eat from it; they ate from
another (similar) tree because the Satan whispered evil suggestion to them
and said: "Your Lord has not forbidden you from this (i.e. the
other similar) tree; He has only forbidden you from approaching
that one; and He has not forbidden you from that three except that you
may not both become two angels or that you may not become of the
immortals. " And he swore to them both: "Most surely I am a sincere
adviser to you. "And Adam and Hawwa' had not seen before that anyone
swearing falsely in the name of Allah; thus he caused them to fall by
deceit and they ate from that (tree) because they believed in his oath in
the name of Allâh. And it all happened before Adam was made a prophet, and
it was not a big sin leading 'one to the fire; it was only a forgiven
minor (sin) that is permissible to the prophets before they begin
receiving revelation. But when Allâh chose him and made him prophet he
became sinless, not committing any minor or major sin. Allâh (Mighty and
Great is He!) has said: Surely Allâh chose Adam and Nuh and the
descendants of Ibrahim and the descendants of 'Imran above all the worlds.
('Uyunu 'l-akhbâr)
The author
says: as-Saduq (May Allâh have mercy on him!) after narrating the
tradition in full, has commented as follows:
"Strange that
'Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Jahm, in spite of his open hostility towards, and
enmity and hatred of, Ahlu 'l-bayt (a.s.), should narrate this
tradition."
This comment
only looks at the belief of the sinlessness of the prophets which this
tradition purportedly proves; but as-Saduq (May Allah have mercy on him!)
did not look deep into its implications. The reported reply is not in
accord with the well-known belief of the lmâms of Ahlu 'l-bayt,
that all the prophets were fully protected from all major and minor
sins before as well as after getting the prophethood.
Moreover, the
reply presumes that the verse does not mean what it apparently says.
According to this tradition, the verse, "Your Lord has not forbidden you
from this tree except that you may not both become two angels . . . ",
should be read as follows: “Your Lord has not forbidden you from this
(i.e. the other similar) tree; He has only forbidden
you from approaching that one; and He has not forbidden you from that tree
except that you may not both become two angels . Such deletions are
against the norms of eloquence. The quoted speech of the Satan clearly
shows that he was instigating them to eat from the very tree that was
forbidden, holding out to them the hope of becoming angels or immortals:
“Your Lord has not forbidden you from this tree except that you
may not both become two angels or that you may (not) become of the
immortals.” “O Adam! shall I guide you to the tree of immortality and a
kingdom which decays not?” The narrator, that is, ‘Ali ibn Muhammad
ibn al-Jahm, had himself been given the correct and complete answer in the
court of al-Ma’mùn, as the preceding tradition shows; therefore, there is
something wrong in this narration of his, although some parts may be
somehow interpreted correctly.
As-Sadùq has
narrated (through his chain) from al-Bàqir (a.s.), through his
forefathers, from ‘Ali (a.s.) that the Messenger of Allàh (s.a.w.a.) said:
“Adam and Hawwà’ stayed in the Garden, (till they were sent out of it) for
seven hours according to the (counting of the) days of the world, until
Allàh sent them down on the same day.”
‘Abdullàh ibn
Sinan said: “Abù ‘Abdillàh (a.s.) was asked and I was present there: ‘How
long did Adam and his wife stay in the Garden until their mistake removed
them from it?’ He said: ‘Verily Allàh breathed His spirit into Adam after
the midday on Friday; then created his wife from his lowest rib; then He
made His angels prostrate before him and placed him in His Garden the same
day. And by God! he did not stay therein but six hours of the same day
until he disobeyed Allàh. Thereupon, Allàh removed them both from it after
the sunset, and they were put into the courtyard of the Garden till the
morning; then their nakedness became manifest to them; and their Lord
called out to them: “Did I not forbid you both from that tree?”
Adam felt ashamed and bowed (his head) and said: “Our Lord! We have
been unjust to ourselves and we confess our sins; therefore,
forgive us (our sins).” Allàh said to them: “Get down you both
from My heavens to the earth; because no sinner shall remain in
My nearness - neither in My Garden nor in My heavens." ' "
(At-Tafsir, al-'Ayyàshi)
The author
says: The tradition gives a new detail, that Adam and Hawwà’ were
removed first from the Garden to its courtyard and then from the courtyard
to the earth. There are some indications in the Qur’àn to support this
information:
First:
They were twice told to “get down” (vide vs. 2:36 and 2:38). It was a
creative, and not a legislative, order, and a creative order takes effect
the instant it is given.
If the first
order told them to get down to the earth, there was no question of their
not getting down to the earth at once; and, therefore, the second order
would be superfluous. But in the light of this tradition the two commands
would be perfectly in order.
Second:
As mentioned in the commentary, this idea may be inferred from the
changed verbs and pronouns of the verses. Allàh describes in these words
his talk with Adam when he was being placed in the Garden: And We said:
“O Adam! dwell you and your wife in the Garden . . . and do
not approach (you two) this tree. But after they had eaten from
the tree, their Lord called out to them: “Did I not forbid you
both from that tree?” The verb, “We said” of the former has been
changed to “called out to them” in the latter; as the demonstrative
pronoun, “this tree” (showing nearness) was replaced by “that tree”
(showing distance). These changes show that Adam had been removed, by the
time of the second address, from his original place of nearness in the
Garden to a distant place - which the tradition describes as the
courtyard.
But this
tradition says that Hawwà’ was created from the lowest rib of Adam; it is
a Biblical story which has been totally rejected by the lmàms of Ahlu
’l-bayt, (as will be seen from the traditions which will be quoted
under the verses of the creation of Adam). This tradition, therefore, is
unacceptable unless this expression is taken to mean that Hawwà’ was
created from the clay left over from the creation of Adam and which was
lying near his lowest rib.
Whether he
stayed in the Garden for six hours (as this tradition says) or seven (as
the former says) is not very important, because such things are mere
approximation.
It is reported
from the fifth or the sixth Imàm (peace be on them both) that he said
about the verse, then Adam received (some) words from his Lord,
that (the words were as follows): “There is no god except Thee; Glory
be to Thee, O Allàh! and praise! I have committed evil and been unjust to
myself; therefore, forgive me (my sin) and Thou art the best of the
forgivers. There is no god except Thee; Glory be to Thee, O Allàh! and
praise! I have done wrong and been unjust to myself; therefore, have mercy
on me, and Thou art the best of the forgivers. There is no god except
Thee; Glory to Thee, O Allàh! and praise! I have committed evil and been
unjust to myself, therefore, have mercy on me, and Thou art the best of
those who have mercy. There is no god except Thee; Glory be to Thee, O
Allàh! and praise! I have done wrong and been unjust to myself; therefore,
forgive me (my sin) and turn to me (with mercy) surely Thou. Thou alone,
art oft-returning (with mercy), the Merciful.” (Al-Kàfi)
The author
says: This theme has been narrated also by as-Sadùq, al-‘Ayyàshi,
al-Qummi and others; nearly the same thing has been narrated through the
Sunni chains; and it may possibly be inferred from the apparent meaning,
of the verses.
Al-Kulayni has
written in al-Kàfi: “And another tradition says in respect of this
verse: (Adam) had asked from (Allàh) by the right of Muhammad and ‘Ali and
Fàtimah and al-Hasan and al-Husayn.”
The author
says: This explanation too has been narrated by as-Sadùq, al-‘Ayyàshi,
al-Qummi and others. A nearly similar tradition has been narrated through
the Sunni chains. It is reported in ad-Durru ’l-manthùr that the
Prophet said: “When Adam committed the sin that he committed, he raised
his head towards the heaven and said: ‘I beseech Thee, by the right of
Muhammad, to forgive me.’ Allàh revealed to him (i.e. asked him through
revelation): ‘And who is Muhammad?’ He said: ‘Blessed is Thy name! When
Thou created Me, I raised my head towards Thy Throne and saw written
therein: There is no god except Allàh; Muhammad is the Messenger of Allàh.
Thus I knew that no one could be more honored in Thy presence than him
whose name Thou hadst placed with Thy name.’ Thereupon, Allàh revealed to
him: ‘O Adam! Verily he is the last of the prophets, from thy descendants;
and if it were not for him, I would have not created thee.’
The author
says: Although these traditions seem not to be in accord with the
apparent meaning of the verse, on deeper consideration this explanation
does not look so far-fetched. The sentence, “Then Adam received (some)
words from his Lord”, shows that he was taught those words by the Lord,
and that he had got that knowledge before his repentance. Also, it is
known that Allàh had taught him all the names. Allàh
told the angels that He was going to make in the earth a vicegerent;
they said: “Wilt Thou place in it such as shall make mischief in it and
shed blood, while we celebrate Thy praise and extol Thy holiness? He said:
“Surely I know what you do not know”. And He taught Adam the names, all of
them. There must have been something in those names to wipe out every
injustice, to erase every sin and to cure every spiritual and moral
disease; otherwise, the objection of the angels could not be answered -
Allàh did not say a single word to refute the angels’ assertion; all He
did was to teach Adam all the names. It means that those names could cure
all the ills of humanity; the angels understood it and surrendered to the
knowledge and wisdom of Allàh. We have earlier explained that those names
were sublime creations hidden from the heavens and the earth; they were
intermediaries to convey the grace and bounties of Allàh to His creation;
and no creature would be able to attain to its perfection without their
assistance. At this stage, we may refer to some traditions which say that
Adam saw the figures of Muhammad and his Ahlu ’l-bayt, and also
their light at the time he was taught the names; and the ones which
mention that he saw them when Allàh took out his offspring from his back;
and the others which describe his seeing them in the Garden. However,
Allàh has not identified those words, and has used it as a common noun,
“(some) words”; nevertheless, the Qur’àn has clearly used the expression,
“word”, for an individual being, as for example, in the verse 3:45:
Allàh gives you good news of a word from Him whose name is the
Messiah, ‘Isà son of Maryam . . .
Some exegetes
have written that the “words”, mentioned in this verse, refer to the plea
of Adam and his wife reported in Chapter 7: They said: “Our Lord! We
have been unjust to ourselves, and if Thou forgive us not, and have (net)
mercy on us, we shall certainly be of the losers.”
But the
sequence of events does not support this view. The repentance of Adam,
according to the narrative of Chapter 2, had occurred after his coming to
the earth. The verse (2:37) describing the repentance comes after the
verse (2:36) that mentions his descent to the earth. But they had
uttered that plea while they were still in the Garden, before coming down
to the earth. The plea is given in verse 7:23, and the order to “get down”
comes after that in verse 7:24. Apparently, this plea was in response to
their admonition by Allàh: “Did I not forbid you both from that tree
. . .?”; they wanted to declare their servitude and to surrender
themselves to Allàh; acknowledging that all the authority was in the hands
of Allàh and He might do what He pleased; He was their Lord, and they had
put themselves in danger of loss by being unjust to themselves.
As-Sàdiq
(a.s.) said: “Verily, Mùsà asked his Lord to let him meet Adam; and he was
joined with him (i.e., Adam). Mùsà said to him: ‘O father! Did Allàh not
create you with His hand, and breathe into you of His
spirit; and make the angels prostrate before you, and order you not to eat
of the tree? Then why did you disobey Him?’ (Adam) said: ‘O Mùsà! How long
before my creation did you find my mistake (mentioned) in the Torah?’ He
said: ‘Thirty thousand years before.’ (Adam) said: ‘That is it.’” As-Sàdiq
(a.s.) said: “Thus refuted Adam the argument of Mùsà.” (At-Tafsir,
al-Qummi)
The author
says: as-Suyùtî has narrated in ad-Durru ’l-manthùr approximately
similar traditions, through various chains, from the Prophet.
Al-Bàqir
(a.s.) said: “By God, Allàh had surely created Adam for the world, and He
gave him place in the Garden, in order that he might disobey Him and thus
He might return him to that for which He had created him.” (‘'Ilalu
'sh-shara 'i)
The author
says: A tradition of the same theme, narrated by al-‘Ayyàshi from
as-Sàdiq (a.s.), concerning an angel friend of Adam, has been quoted
earlier.
A Syrian asked
‘Ali (a.s.) as to which valley in the earth was the most honored. He
(a.s.) said: “The valley called Saràndib wherein Adam descended from the
heaven.” (Al-Ihtijàj)
The author
says: In contrast to it, there are numerous traditions showing that he
had descended at Mecca (and some of them have been quoted above). Maybe,
he first came down to Saràndib and then got down to Mecca.
It has been
reported by at-Tabaràni, Abu ‘sh-Shaykh (in his al-‘Azamah) and Ibn
Marduwayh, from Abù Dharr, that he said: “I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah!
What do you say, was Adam a prophet?'’ He said: ‘Yes. He was a prophet
(and) an apostle; Allàh talked to him before; He had told him: “O Adam!
dwell you and your wife in the Garden.”
The author
says: The Sunnis have narrated almost similar traditions through
various chains.
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