SURAH AL-BAQARAH
Ayah 36
فَأَزَلَّهُمَا ٱلشَّيۡطَـٰنُ عَنۡہَا فَأَخۡرَجَهُمَا مِمَّا كَانَا فِيهِۖ
وَقُلۡنَا ٱهۡبِطُواْ بَعۡضُكُمۡ لِبَعۡضٍ عَدُوٌّ
وَلَكُمۡ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ مُسۡتَقَرٌّ وَمَتَـٰعٌ إِلَىٰ حِينٍ
But Satan “made both of them slipped” by it (the tree), got both of them out from the (blisful) state both of them were in, and We said, “Descend all! (from the heavens to the Earth), some of you as enemies to some other. And for you in the Earth a temporary residence and provision for your appointed stay.”
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فَأَزَلَّهُمَا ٱلشَّيۡطَـٰنُ عَنۡہَا
"But Satan “made both of them slipped” by it (the tree)"
In this ayah, Allah tells us very briefly that Satan caused Adam and Hawwa to slip but the details of what and how Satan did it is not stated here but is told in another Surah. This is the style of the Qur’an where a brief intro is mentioned which will make you curious so that you keep reading.
Adam and his spouse were blissfully living in Paradise. It was human nature that once you settled in a place full of pleasure and zero worries, you will not want to get out of it. Both of them did not realize that the blissful living was a test.
Looking at how this couple were enjoying themselves, Satan out of overwhelming envy, had been monitoring and exploring any sign of weakness within them. He was already chased out of paradise after the prostration incident. However scholars guessed that he was able to linger around outside of Paradise in order to talk to Adam(a.s).
Iblees knew of the prohibition put upon Adam and his wife NOT to go near a tree. The tree has fruits, so the fruits are prohibited to be eaten too. Hence Iblees hatched out a plan. Iblees called out to speak to Adam(a.s) from outside the perimeter of Paradise. He started befriending them. Iblees even said an oath of him being a sincere Advisor who was concern of their future.
His goal was to tempt both of them to approach the forbidden tree so he will create a lie. Adam and Hawwa do not know what is a lie. Day by day Satan will whisper to them. Something like this (in layman language): Are you not curious WHY Allah does not want the two of you to go near that Tree?
Humans are always curious and will want to know why. He said that the reason Allah forbade them eating from the tree was to prevent them from being Angels and living forever in paradise. In another ayah, Iblees described the tree as “Khuld” (tree of eternity). Cunningly he had enticed the natural human desires.
Paraphrasing what's in Surah al 'Araf, Iblees continued his lies:
That Tree is the Tree of Life. Whoever goes near or eats from that Tree will have eternal life among the Angels. This was what Iblees wants for himself. That was his ambition. He informed the two of them that they will not be living in Paradise for Eternity. Iblees whispering to them caused an increase in desires and temptation. He encouraged both of them to go near the tree. The Ayaat mentioned exposing their private parts to each other.
When both of them are "high" in their temptations, they finally eat from the tree and suddenly only now they realized that their "aurat" (private parts) have been exposed. Scholars said that all these while, their "aurat" were covered by "lights". Once they ate from the tree, the lights disappeared, and they are now stark naked. Both of them rushed to get the leaves from other surrounding trees to cover themselves up.
The pleasurable experience of feeding one’s desire freely and everywhere in Paradise was too great an influence that both of them forgot of Allah’s prohibition of the tree. Adam(a.s) had to make a decision whether to obey Allah’s command or to follow up on Iblees's whisperings. The desire of living permanently in Paradise was too tempting an offer.
The decision finally materialized. Adam(a.s) and his wife not only approached the tree, but they went further by eating from it. It was a moment of carelessness, a slip of them which was triggered by the whispers of Satan.
So both of them ate from the tree hoping to remain in Paradise. Instead, they were sent out of Paradise. They might have stayed longer if they have not ate from the tree, but Allah knows best. It was just a matter of time that human will not be able to resist the temptation and the curiosity. Only guidance from the Master will be able to save him.
Adam slipped. He had made a bad decision. It was a mistake. Even though both of them decided to go to the tree, but as was mentioned that the Man is the one to make the final decision. So the responsibility bears heavily on Adam(a.s).
In Islam, there is no such thing as blaming his wife for tempting him. He is the head of the family and he is responsible of whatever going on in the family.
Christians said that Eve was the cause that humans were expelled out of paradise to Earth or else all of us will be living in Paradise. The word “Evil” comes from the name “Eve”. She influenced/seduced man (Adam) to eat from the tree. They are putting the blame on one person i.e. the woman. Woman’s Right association nowadays should be angry at this accusation.
The Qur’an said both of them slipped by the trickery of Satan. Men and women are responsible for his or her own action. But in a family, the man of the house bears responsibility. Ultimately it is the leader who is the decision maker eg. The manager of a soccer club, the king of an empire, the principal of a school, president of a country, etc. bears the responsibility in all final decisions.
The Christian narrative was that eating from the tree was the greatest sin that mankind ever made since human had to suffer living on earth as punishment consisting of all the violence, crime, war and destruction as you read the news everyday.
How could this grave sin was described as merely a "slip" in the Qur'an?
A "slip" is a momentary lost of focus or forgetfulness. It was not a mistake deserving to be punished harshly. Allah described it casually. Satan was the one that made both of them momentarily forgot the prohibition. In our daily lives, it was expected that Satan will try to make us to slip. That’s why the numerous reminders in the Quran for us not to let our guards down. We are not to follow up on Satan’s whispering.
If it was only a "slip", why then was Adam(a.s) and Hawa sent to earth right after that act?
At first look, Satan managed to unsettled both of them from being in paradise. On second look, it was Allah’s decree that this is the time for both of them to go to Earth.
Once Adam(a.s) executed his very first decisive decision (“as the man of the house”), he and his wife were ready to be sent to Earth where knowledge, decision making and making mistakes made them complete human.
This was Allah's plan all along. Humans are created to be tested. Humans are to make decisions on their own. The Angels do not make decisions. The first ever decision that Adam(a.s) made was a slipped. Wisdom gained from mistakes made. Allah did not intervened when Iblis was whispering to Adam (a.s). He let Adam(a.s) to choose.
The first criteria of being a human was to have intellect. The second criteria of becoming a human was of making "Choices". Humans making wrong choices are a part of life and are expected to bounce back from the experience.
Contemplation of those mistakes enabled Adam(a.s) to grow in his wisdom and character. Humans are to grow like the trees. Adam(a.s) ate from the tree and he is supposed to grow like the tree he ate from.
A human is not designed to be stagnant, no growth in knowledge, in wisdom, in action, in worship, in being closer to Allah, etc.
The seed of decision making is put into Adam(a.s) in this incident. From this seed, a tree will grow with many branches of knowledge, leaves that provide nutrients to the tree just like divine guidance providing human to sustain and increase in his spiritual health.
Knowledge and Eeman (Faith) are to grow year by year. The Angels never make any mistakes, hence there is no such thing as to grow in something.
When we are living surrounded with luxury and bombarded with materialism everyday, our hearts have been filled with it and will be very difficult to let go as we had leaned from Adam(a.s) and Hawwa story. We are supposed to do Tadabbur Al-Quran everyday in order to bring us back to the path of our Master and not the path influenced by Satan.
Allah spoke to both Adam(a.s) and Hawwa.
[Surah al-'Araf] "Did I not forbid the TWO of you from that tree and tell you that Satan (Iblis) to you is a clear enemy?"
From this, we know that BOTH of them have been earlier warned about Iblees. They are supposed to remind each other of the dangers of Satan.
We, the Muslims, have been warned (in the Qur'an) to clear ourselves from the tricks of Satan, whether in religion or in our way of living. We are to remind each other.
The first trick of Satan is for humans to expose their Aurat. Even for a very religious person, the sexual desires is still in him. Satan needs to trigger that desire by exposing him to see the aurat of women all around him. Both men and women are to dress modestly. Teach our children to dress modestly.
ٱهۡبِطُواْ “ihbiToo” = descend! (plural = 3 or more)
"Go down all of you". Meaning the two humans and iblees.
-> The two humans were sent to Earth because Earth was created/designed/prepared for humans to live, breed and manage Earth. It was an honor as Khaleefah on Earth. Anyone who passed the test on Earth, will be rewarded Paradise.
-> Iblees was originally from Earth, went up to heaven and was ousted out of paradise, placed on Earth because of his rebellion. It was a humiliation. He may feel that all his effort in achieving high Ranks came crashing down because of Adam(a.s). He blamed Adam(a.s) for it. He was very angry with Adam(a.s). He lived on Earth through the centuries with his never ending hatred and envy towards humankind. In the end, he will be placed in Hell.
We summarized what he felt:
Feeling INSULTED being chased out of Paradise.
Feeling INSULTED by being lower than DIRT!
Feeling INSULTED of being shamed.
Embarrassed of what the Angels are thinking of him.
The uncontrollable grudge, jealousy when seeing Adam (a.s) in Paradise having a better life than him.
The heightened demand of wanting Adam to serve him as he is superior and more senior than Adam (a.s).
The self-centered attitude of only thinking of himself. (Me,Me,Me!)
بَعۡضُكُمۡ لِبَعۡضٍ عَدُوٌّ
"some of you as enemies to some other."
Firstly, Allah reminded us that syaithan (iblees and his followers) are our enemies. An enemy that we cannot see. He had asked for a long life until the end of the world so that he could come from all sides to seduce, disturb, whisper and trigger humans to commit sins and evil on Earth. Syaithan will not stop their attacks. They are our enemies that we are to protect ourselves from in every moment of our lives.
We are constantly bombarded by satan's whispering to deviate from Allah's Deen. We can't see satan whispering. An enemy that constantly hanging around us that we cannot see. Even with satan's constant bombardment, we are able to worship Allah. That is spiritual strength.
A Muslim Jinn can see the satan Jinn. We cannot see the satan Jinn but we can see the Human satan (Surah An-Naas). Humans have been enemies and fighting each other with the existence of Human Satans. Allah acknowledged what the Angels had predicted.
Traits of Human satan exists in both the "civil" sphere and the religious sphere.
It is relatively easy to recognize the wrongdoings in the "civil" sphere but it is complicated to handle the wrongdoings and deviation in the religious sphere.
But this is not a justification of not creating Adam(a.s).
Constantly invoking Allah for divine Guidance is the path to be safe. We recite Al-Fatihah at least 17 times everyday, where we invoke Allah's guidance. Out of Allah's Mercy and Wisdom, reciting Al-Fatihah 17 times a day has been made obligatory (Fardhu 'Ain) because of the very dangerous issue of Guidance and Misguidance. Satan diligently finding all sort of ways to deviate people of faith hence we need a protective shield.
My advice is just be a "Simple Practicing Normal Muslim" without the intention of belonging to a "special" group. Simple living following the Sunnah, we will be on the safe path.
وَلَكُمۡ فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ مُسۡتَقَرٌّ وَمَتَـٰعٌ إِلَىٰ حِينٍ
"And for you in the Earth a temporary residence and provision for your appointed stay"
مُسۡتَقَرٌّ “mustaQor” = “settlement”. The detailed Arabic meaning is a place that is temporary.
مَتَـٰعٌ = The original word is not provision but tool.
This world is temporary and is just a tool.
You don’t enjoy a tool. You don’t admire a screwdriver or are entertained by a hammer. Hence this world is a tool and not meant only for entertainment. You use the hammer or screwdriver for a while and you let go off the tools once you are done. The same goes with this world. You use it to please your Master. When you are done, it’s time to let go and return to your Master.
There was no anger from God. He told Adam, okay, please go to this location, where I have provided all the provisions (food, water, etc). Dwell in that location for the time being. When it is time, God will call you back up to Him. It was a casual speech. Just like when you arrive at a hotel and the counter person said,"Here are your keys. Your room number is 315. You will find there are some fruits and refreshments that we have placed for your enjoyment. On your checkout date, please return the key here."
~~~~~~~~Tangent~~~~~~~~~~
A Scholar/Mufassir of the Qur’an once went to live with the desert beduins in order to know the exact meaning of the word mata' مَتَـٰعٌ. He did not want to ask them, but he wanted to listen how this word was being used in their daily life. A girl lost her comb when a goat ran away with it. The girl shouted “Give me back my mata' ! “
A tool is where you hold it in your hand, not in your heart. This worldly life and all it’s glitters are supposed to be in your hands for you to use and not for you to love in your heart.
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You can be a poor person but your heart is longing for personal worldly materials. You can be a wealthy person but you have been using the wealth to help people and not arrogant about it. It’s in your hand to decide.
Some religion believed that the more personal wealth you get out of this world is prove that God loves you more than others. Therefore they will be competing to be richer than the other person. While some believed exactly the opposite that you should leave all worldly materials and desires so that the more poor and wretched your life is, the more God loves you.
Our Deen teaches if you have the relevant ability, go ahead and get this worldly materials as tools to enslave yourself to the Master. Become a better slave to God. That is the primary reason for material wealth, not for personal ego.
Prophet Sulaiman a.s (King Solomon) had all the wealth for him and he was the beloved of Allah too. King Zulqarnain had all the power and materials but he is an obedient slave of Allah. Our Prophet s.a.w was given a piece of land after the battle of Hunayn, 100 camels during Hajj, and so on. One camel is equivalent to one car in our modern times. What if you own a land in our modern times? We will enjoy the wealth for our own selves opposite to what the Prophet s.a.w did.
Up to now, Allah had showed to the Angels the 3 Criteria that were in Humans but were never a part of the Angels :-
(1) Having Intellect (the Angels do not need great intellect to execute their role)
(2) Making Choices (Making decisions - the Angels never had to make any decision )
(3) Patience in Suffering (The Angels never suffer )
Humans :-
(1) having the intellect to reason out which is the truth and which is false, which is good and which is bad, which is right and which is wrong, etc. and to manage the earth.
(2) after having the power to reason, now comes the responsibility of making a choice between right and wrong, good and bad, truth and falsehood, etc.
(3) may suffer as a result of their choices. You may suffer by telling the truth. You may escape suffering by telling a lie. It's a choice of doing the right or wrong thing. A leader may inflict suffering on people of other nation for his own benefit and for his own country's benefit. It's a choice to be evil or to be kind. A group of people will withstand suffering in fighting the injustice done to their nation. It's a choice whether to fight or run away.
However, God reminded Adam that while you were on Earth, you and the generations of humans will go through a suffering process in the form of humans becoming enemies with one another. What ?? God created humans with the tag "Suffering" attached to us ?? Why must HE created us with this "Suffer" issue ?? Hence we arrived at the THIRD criteria of being a Human which is = Suffering.
Again there was no punishment from God. "Suffering" in this world is not a punishment from God. Moses(a.s) suffered during the time of Pharoah. Jesus(a.s) suffered at the treatment by the Romans and fellow Jews. Muhammad(s.a.w) suffered by the action of his own people. All the good Messengers of Allah went through the process of suffering in this world. Were all those called punishment?
(Subsequent ayaat will reveal the answer of why human must go through sufferings).
Allah was showing to the Angels that this new creature has the potential to do good even though they have to go through sufferings. They have the ability to refrain from doing evil even though they have the power to execute evil. Therefore this creature was an amazing creature unlike what the Angels thought.
Well that seemed easy for a God to create humans tagged with sufferings. But humans going through sufferings were something very hard and painful for us. Why humans need to go through sufferings? Why not take "suffering" out of the equation and we will still be doing good deeds? For an atheist who had gone through bad childhood experience of sufferings, he is still searching for an answer.
Adam had no idea that he was created to live on Earth. When Allah made the announcement of a khaleefah on Earth, Adam was not created yet. Iblees and the Angels already knew. No matter whether Adam mistakenly ate from the tree or not, both of them will still be sent to Earth.
Eating from the tree was a triggering point in sending them to Earth. The purpose of using a tree to test Adam (a.s) is a point of interest for us to explore the question of “Why a tree?”.
A tree grows from a seed.
It needs the right ingredients eg. water, sunlight, good soil with nutrients, etc. to grow big and healthy.
As time passed, it grew with many branches and leaves.
It gives benefits to animals such as shading from the hot sun, fruits and leaves for consumption, safety from predators or danger, a home, etc.
Compare the resemblance of what human supposed to be:
Human started from a tiny clot of blood (the concept of a seed).
Physically it needs food and nutrients to grow. To grow spritually, it needs the correct ingredients, eg. God conciousness, piousness, righteousness, worshipping Allah, etc.
As time passed, physically his skills, talents, knowledge, experience, grew. Spiritually, he grew in compassion, patience, endurance, gratitude, etc.
He is of benefits to other people. Feed people who are hungry, support the oppressed, spread knowledge, invite people to the path of God, etc.
Allah put the seed of compassion in us, the seed of being merciful, the seed of being peaceful, the seed of being truthful, being wise, etc. It is up to us to choose whether to water these seeds and nurture them to grow to its full potential or choosing to stop the growth.
Why do we need these, eg. compassion, mercy, patience, generous, forgiving, wisdom, helping others, etc ?
It is because we need a common platform with Allah since Allah is Compassion, Mercy, Patience, Generous, Forgiving, Wise, A Helper, etc. The more items that we have on the same platform as Allah, the more is our relationship and bond with Him. Only when relationship and bond grows, then we reached the ultimate goal of loving Allah. When you did all these correctly, then Allah loves you back. Then that is the ultimate success. It is not even about Paradise. It is only about Allah.
Look at this analogy: You are in foreign land where the people do not speak your language and their culture is very alien to you. Suddenly you saw someone from your own country. You feel happy and relief. This is because both of you share a common platform, eg. same country of origin, same language, same culture, etc. You will be able to communicate with him easily.
If we have a common platform with Allah, our Solah will be more focused, our deeds will be sincere, we will have a bond with Allah and we will be God conscious whenever and where ever we are.
Finally, you will not grow in your Compassion, Mercy, Patience, Generosity, Forgiving, Wisdom, as a Helper, etc. If there are no sufferings on earth, all these attributes will not manifest to exits. Now you see the Wisdom behind it.