Tafsir of Surah Al-Baqarah - Verse 37

Adam repents and supplicates to Allah

It was reported that the above Ayah is explained by Allah's statement,

قَالاَ رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَآ أَنفُسَنَا وَإِن لَّمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَـسِرِينَ

(They said: "Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You forgive us not, and bestow not upon us Your mercy, we shall certainly be of the losers.") (7:23) as Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Abu Al-`Aliyah, Ar-Rabi` bin Anas, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, Muhammad bin Ka`b Al-Qurazi, Khaلlid bin Ma`dan, `Ata' Al-Khurasani and `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam have stated. As-Suddi said that Ibn `Abbas commented on,

فَتَلَقَّى ءَادَمُ مِن رَّبِّهِ كَلِمَاتٍ

(Then Adam received from his Lord Words) "Adam said, `O Lord! Did You not created me with Your Own Hands' He said, `Yes.' He said, `And blow life into me' He said, `Yes.' He said, `And when I sneezed, You said, `May Allah grant you His mercy.' Does not Your mercy precede Your anger' He was told, `Yes.' Adam said, `And You destined me to commit this evil act' He was told, `Yes.' He said, `If I repent, will You send me back to Paradise' Allah said, `Yes."' Similar is reported from Al-`Awfi, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Sa`id bin Ma`bad, and Ibn `Abbas. Al-Hakim recorded this Hadith in his Mustadrak from Ibn Jubayr, who narrated it from Ibn `Abbas. Al-Hakim said, "Its chain is Sahih and they (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it."

Allah's statement,

إِنَّهُ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ

(Verily, He is the One Who forgives (accepts repentance), the Most Merciful) (2:37) means that Allah forgives whoever regrets his error and returns to Him in repentance. This meaning is similar to Allah's statements,

أَلَمْ يَعْلَمُواْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ يَقْبَلُ التَّوْبَةَ عَنْ عِبَادِهِ

(Know they not that Allah accepts repentance from His servants) (9:104),

وَمَن يَعْمَلْ سُوءاً أَوْ يَظْلِمْ نَفْسَهُ

(And whoever does evil or wrongs himself) (4:110) and

وَمَن تَابَ وَعَمِلَ صَـلِحاً

(And whosoever repents and does righteous good deeds) (25:71).

The Ayat mentioned above, testify to the fact that Allah forgives the sins of whoever repents, demonstrating His kindness and mercy towards His creation and servants. There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

A question arises here as to how Satan got into Paradise for seducing Adam and Hawwa (علیہما السلام) when he had already been expelled from there for refusing to prostrate himself. There are many possible ways in which he can have played his trick. Possibly he never met them, but planted the suggestion in their minds from afar - a thing which Satan can always do, and of which we have a specimen in the work of the hypnotists. It is equally possible that Satan, being one of the jinns whom Allah has given certain unusual powers denied to man, assumed the shape of a snake or of something else, and thus succeeded in entering Paradise. Perhaps it was because of this disguise that Adam (علیہ السلام) did not remember Allah's warning that Satan was his enemy. According to the Holy Qur'an, Satan assured them on oath that he was one of their well-wishers (7:21). It apparently suggests that he did actually meet them, and speak to them face o face.

The Holy Qur'an says that Satan فَأَخْرَ‌جَهُمَا :"brought them out" of the state in which they had been living. In actual fact, they were 'brought out' under a divine command, but since Satan served as a means and as an intermediary, the action has been attributed to him.17

17\. The words of the Holy Qur'an do not in the least imply that Satan had any power whatsoever to act on his own. So, any Manichean dualism is totally out of the question.

In commanding Adam and Hawwa (علیہما السلام) to go down from

Paradise, Allah also said, بَعْضُكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّ: 'Some of you (shall be the) enemies of some.' If Satan had not been turned out of the skies till then, he is included in this address, the implication being that the enmity between Satan on the one hand, and Adam and Hawwa' and their progeny on the other, would continue on the earth too. But if Satan, as some scholars maintain, had already been expelled, then the addressees are Adam and Hawwa' (علیہما السلام) and their progeny; the implication would now be that Adam and Hawwa (علیہما السلام) ' would have to undergo a double punishment, firstly that of being banished from Paradise, secondly that of seeing enmity arise among their children which must make life unpleasant for parents. (Baran al-Qur'an)

They were also told that the earth would be a temporary dwelling-place for them, and that they would have to leave it too, which also meant that they would not find real peace of mind there.

The practical lesson of the forbidden tree demonstrates how man goes astray by letting himself be deceived by Satan, and exceeding the bounds that God has laid down for him. As soon as he eats of the ‘forbidden fruit’, he is deprived of God’s grace or, in other words, Paradise. But this loss is not an irretrievable one. Man still has an opportunity to turn in repentance to his Lord, rectify his actions and seek forgiveness for his sins. When he turns to the Lord in repentance, God relents towards him, and cleanses him of his sins, as if he had never committed them. The preacher of truth is an ‘Adam’; it is for people to bow before him. If, carried away by pride and prejudice, they refuse to acknowledge his position, they are following in Satan’s footsteps. Such a denial amounts to having failed the test devised for man by God. God does not become plainly visible in this world; He reveals Himself through His signs, thereby testing his creatures. It is only those who can interpret His signs who will discover God Himself.