Indexed OCR Text

164
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 30 - 33
Beside demonstrating the superiority of Adam WILL in
knowledge, Allah dispelled the misgivings of the angels with regard to
the evil propensities in man by the short and simple answer, fuel 5
BAK : "Certainly, I know what you do not know." There is a subtle
suggestion here - what makes man fit for viceregency is just the
peculiarity which, in the eyes of the angels, made him unfit for this
function. For, a deputy or viceregent is needed on the earth just for
the purpose of preventing blood-shed and disorder; if there is no
possibility of disorder in a place, where is the need for sending there
an administrator? Thus, it was the Divine Will and Wisdom that, just
as Allah had created beings as innocent and sinless as the angels, or
beings as totally evil as Satan and his progeny, or beings like the jinns
in whom evil dominated over good, He would also create beings in
whom good and evil should be equally mixed, who should try to
conquer the evil in themselves and to grow in goodness so as to seek
and attain the pleasure of their Creator.
Allah is the creator of the language
(2) This episode, according to Imam al-Ash'ari, shows that
language as such has been created by Allah Himself, and not invented
by man - its use by different kinds of men has later on produced the
many forms of language.
(3) One should note a subtle suggestion here in the use of two
words. In asking the angels for the names of things, Allah said, 2431 :
: أثبتّهُمُ ,to do so, He said عليه السلام Tell Me"; but in commanding Adam"
"Tell them." The difference in the mode of expression shows that
Adam WJI ue was given the rank of a teacher, and the angels that of
pupils. It is thus an indication of his superiority over them. Another
thing the episode indicates is that an increase or decrease is possible
in the degree of knowledge the angels possess, for they were given,
through Adam WWWJIde, at least a primary knowledge about a thing
which they did not know before.
Man is the viceregent of Allah on the earth
(4) These verses tell us that a viceregent was appointed to keep
order on the earth and to promulgate divine laws. From here we learn
the basic principles for the governance of men on the earth. The

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 30 - 33
ultimate sovereignty in the universe belongs to Allah Himself, as is
explicitly stated in many verses of the Holy Quran: UM1218:
"Judgment belongs to Allah alone" (6:57); ◌ِلَهَ مُلِكُ السَّمَوْتِ وَالْأَرْض :"The
sovereignty of the skies and the earth belongs to Him alone" (9:116); vi
"2;23 : "Verily, His is the Creation and the Command." (7:54)
But He has, in His wisdom, chosen to send His viceregents to the
earth for maintaining spiritual and temporal order. Their function is
to announce and promulgate divine commandments, to teach men how
to abide by these laws, and sometimes even to exercise temporal power
as well as spiritual authority under divine guidance. The appointment
is made directly by Allah Himself, and is in no sense a reward for the
good deeds or the spiritual effort of the individual concerned. There is
a total consensus of all the authentic scholars of the Islamic Ummah
on the doctrine that prophethood is not a thing which one can at-
tain through one's personal effort or on the merit of one's good deeds,
but that Allah Himself, in His supreme knowledge and wisdom, choos-
es certain individuals for acting as His messengers, prophets and vice-
regents. The Holy Qur'an has explicitly declared it in several
verses:ُّأَللهُ يَصْطَفِىُ مِنَ الْلَئِكَةِ رُسُلا ◌َّمِنَ النَّاسِ إِنَّ اللّهَ سَمِعْ بَصِبُر :"Allah chooses His
messengers from among the angels and from among men; surely Allah
is All-Hearing, All-Seeing" (22:75);َأَللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ حَيْثُ يَجُعَلُ رِسِلْتَه :"Allah knows
best whom to entrust with His message" (6:124).
These viceregents receive divine commandments directly from
Allah, and then promulgate them in the world. The chain of
viceregents began with Adam JI de and continued in the same way
upto the Holy Prophet Muhammad
The Holy Prophet & was the last Caliph of Allah on earth
(5) The Holy Prophet & came to the earth as the last viceregent
(Khalifa), the last Messenger (Rasul) and the last prophet (Nabiyy) of
Allah, endowed with certain special qualities peculiar to him which he
does not share with any other prophet. We may mention some of these
characteristics:
(a) Each of the earlier prophets was sent for the guidance of a
particular country or people, and his authority was limited to his
jurisdiction alone, - for example, Musa and 'Isa - (Moses and Jesus

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 30 - 33
Christ عليهم السلام) were sent to Bani Isra'il (the Israelites). But the Holy
Prophet & has been sent for the guidance of all the men and all
the jinns, and his authority extends to all the members of the two
species. The Holy Qur'an has declared the universality of his
قُلْ يَاَيُّهَا الْتَّاسُ إِنْىٌ رَسُولُ اللهِ إِلَيْكُمُ جَسِبْعَاِالَّذِىُ لَهَ مُلُكُ السَّمُوتِ وَ:prophethood in these words
'' : "Say: O mankind, I am the messenger of Allah to you all, of Him
to whom belongs the sovereignty of the skies and of the earth" (7:158).
A hadith of the Sahih of Muslim reports the Holy Prophet & as having
said that he had been made superior to all other prophets in six
things. The first of these is, of course, the universality of his
prophethood.
(b) Just as the viceregency and prophethood of all the earlier
prophets was limited to particular peoples and countries, in the same
way it was also limited to specific periods; when the age of one prophet
was over, another prophet would come to take his place as the new
viceregent. On the contrary, the Holy Prophet Muhammad ( has been
sent by Allah as the last of all prophets; his prophethood is not circum-
scribed within a specific period, but shall last till the end of time.
(c) It has so happened that the teachings and the Shari'ah of each
of the earlier prophets would remain intact for a time, but then
gradually people would start deviating from them and distorting them
till they became unrecognizable; at this stage Allah would send a new
prophet with a new Shari'ah. But the Shari'ah of the Holy Prophet
is to remain alive in its integral form upto the end of the universe.
Allah has taken upto Himself the responsibility of protecting the
words and the meanings of the Holy Qur'an:
إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَّلْنَ الذِّكُ وَ إِنَّا لَهْ تَخْفِظُونَ
"It is We who have sent down the Remembrance (i.e. the Holy
Qur'an) and We are its Protector" (15:9).
Similarly, He has made a special provision for the preservation of
the Hadith which contains the teachings of the Holy Prophet g that is
to say, in spite of all the vicissitudes of time there shall remain till the
Doomsday a group of people who will preserve these teachings and
transmit them accurately to others, and who will receive help and
protection from Allah Himself. Since Allah has ordained the survival

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 30 - 33
of the Holy Qur'an and the Hadith, there is obviously no need for a
new prophet or messenger or viceregent and no room for a new
Shari‘ah.
(d) Contrary to the case of all the earlier prophets, the prophethood
and viceregency of the last of them, Muhammad (, , is not limited to a
particular period, but is to continue upto the end of time, and those
who succeed him for the preservation of spiritual and temporal order
in the world, are to be, not the viceregents of Allah, but the viceregents
of the Holy Prophet
and his deputies. A hadith reported by
al-Bukhari and Muslim both says:
كانت بنو إسرائيل تسوسهم الأنبياء ، كلما هلك نبى خلفه نبى وانه ،
لانہی بعدی وسیکون خلفاء فیکثرون
"The Israelites were governed by their prophets. When a
prophet died, another would come to take his place. And be-
ware, no prophet is to come after me. Of course, there will be
my deputies (Khulafa'), and there will be many of them."
The issue of Caliphate after the Holy Prophet
(e) Allah has ordained that after the Holy Prophet & his Ummah,
or the Islamic community, shall as a body enjoy the privilege which
has been that of the prophets WJI +Le . That is to say, the Ummah as a
collective body has been declared to be innocent and under the special
protection of Allah Himself, so that it will never unanimously agree
upon a doctrinal error or a deviation, and hence any decision which
has been arrived at in religious matters through the consensus of the
Ummah is to be regarded as manifestation of Divine Commandment.
That is why the consensus of the Ummah has been accepted as the
third source of the Shari'ah, the first two being the Holy Qur'an
and the Hadith. For the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has himself
said, لن تجتمع امتى على الضلالة :"My Ummah shall never collectively agree
upon error." And we have already referred to another hadith which
tells us that no matter how much the world has changed or how
indifferent people have grown to the Truth, there shall always remain
in the Islamic Ummah a group of people who will defend and preserve
the Truth, and who will finally win.
(6) Since it has been ordained that the Islamic Ummah as a body

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 30 - 33
shall never go wrong, the responsibility of choosing a deputy to the
Holy Prophet ¿ has also been entrusted to it. Now, for the governance
of the earth the legitimate way is that the Ummah should select a
Khalifah who, once chosen, would solely be responsible for the
maintenance of spiritual and temporal order. And it is also possible
that there should be a single Khalifah for the whole world.
The first to succeed the Holy Prophet as his deputies were the
First Four Great Khalifahs, known as al-Khulafa' al-Rashidun (or
the rightly-guided ones, commonly translated as the 'Orthodox Ca-
liphs'), and the Khilafat order functioned according to the proper
principles upto the end of their time. So, their decisions are not
merely temporary judgments, but have a permanent legislative val-
ue, and carry an authority in their own degree, for the Holy Prophet
has said, عليكم بسنتي وسنة الخلفاء الراشدين :'Follow my way steadfastly, and
the way of the rightly-guided Khalifahs.'
After the age of the rightly-guided Khalifahs, different rulers
appeared in different regions, but none of them can be described as a
Khalifah of the whole Islamic community in the proper sense of the
term, though they may be called the Amirs of particular regions. When
it became practically impossible for all the Muslims of the world to
agree upon one man as their Khalifah, and it became customary to
have a separate Amir for each region, people accepted the principle
that the man who had been chosen or acknowledged by the majority of
the Muslims in a country, should be called the Amir of that country.
The basis for this procedure has been provided by the Holy Qur'an
itself: 2222; : "And they conduct their affairs by mutual
consultation" (42:38).
The modern legislative assemblies are a form of mutual
consultation, with the difference that they are quite free to make
whatever laws they like according to their own opinion, while an
Islamic legislative assembly, its members and their Amir all shall be
bound by the law which Allah has sent us through the Holy Prophet
g. There are certain specific conditions for the membership of an
Islamic assembly as well as for the choice of an Amir. And, most

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 30 - 33
important of all, Jaws must be made within the bounds of the basic
principles laid down by the Holy Qur'an and Sunnah, the authority of
which the assembly cannot have the right to question.
Let me give a brief summary of the whole discussion. The verses
which tell us of how Allah informed the angels about his intention to
send a viceregent to the earth, provide us with some of the
fundamental principles of the governance of man :-
(a) The sovereignty of the skies and of the earth belongs to Allah
Himself.
(b) The function of promulgating the Commandments of Allah on
the earth is performed by a viceregent who is at the same time
. صلى الله عليه وسلم a messenger of Allah and His Prophet
(c) The chain of such viceregents ends with the Holy Prophet
. صلى الله عليه وسلم for he is the last Messenger and Prophet
(d) Now the function of viceregency is performed by the deputies of
. صلى الله عليه وسلم the Holy Prophet
(e) Such a deputy (Khalifah) is to be chosen by the Ummah or
Islamic community.14
14. (1) Some Modernists have zealously taken to the habit of interpreting
these verses as implying that man as a viceregent of Allah is required to
make a 'progress' in 'Science' - that is, in the empirical study of physical
phenomena; a so-called 'Muslim' translator of the Holy Qur'an has even
had the temerity to translate the name 'Adam' by the English word
'Man', thus denying the existence and prophethood of Adam Ml ale . In
order to dispel such grave errors and distortions of word and meaning,
let us point out that the 'names' which Allah taught to Adam Mult ale do
not refer merely to the chemical or biological or psychological properties
of things and men, but to their essential qualities and aptitudes - we are
using the word 'essential' in the technical and metaphysical sense of the
word in which it was originally used in the West too. Maulana Ashraf
Ali Thanavi adds in his 'Bayan al-Qur'an' that the knowledge of the
'names' even includes a knowledge of the injunctions of the Shari'ah as
to the distinction between the lawful and the unlawful. Then, there are
many great Sufis who maintain that Adam WILL was given the
knowledge of 'the names of Allah' - not of all the divine names in detail,
of course, for it is not possible for a created being to comprehend the
Infinite, but of divine names in a summary form. This interpretation
Continued

170
Surah Al-Baqarah 2: 34
Verse 34
وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَئِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لِأُدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلَّ اِبْلِيُسَءَ ابى
وَاسْتَكْبَرَ وَكَانَ مِنَ الْكُفِرِيُنَ 0
And when We said to the angels: "Prostrate before
Adam!" So, they prostrated, all but Iblis. He refused,
and joined the infidels." (Verse 34)
The episode recounted in the foregoing verses has shown how the
angels came to learn that Adam WJI ale was superior to them in so far
as he possessed the forms of knowledge necessary for the function of
Continued
has been advanced by as authentic a commentator as Qadi Thanaullah
of Panipat in his 'Tafsir al-Mazhari'. In the explanation of this subtle
point we may say that every thing that exists reflects some divine
attribute, which in its turn is a manifestation of a divine name; thus,
divine names are the essential principles or roots of all things, and one
who knows divine names does also know things in their inner natures.
(2) With regard to the question of the viceregency of Allah, we cannot
pass over a very serious distortion of the authentic doctrine which has
been introduced by the Modernists and seems to be growing in currency.
Under the influence of Western Humanism, and specially in their
indifference to doctrinal matters, the Modernists have come to identify
the prophet and the father of mankind, Adam WILL totally with the
biological species called 'man', and have made out as if every individual
member of this species, unconditionally and without any qualifications,
is born to be a viceregent of Allah. The error has been promoted by a
thoughtless misreading of Sufi metaphysical texts and Sufi poetry. What
our Modernists have never cared to learn is the concept of degrees and
their distinctions. The Sufis, no doubt, often speak of 'man' as being the
viceregent of Allah, but what they are actually referring to is not a
biological organism or species, but 'Al-Insan Al-Kamil', 'the Universal
Man' - a term which the orientalists have wrongly rendered as 'the
perfect man', thus introducing ethical implications in the sphere of pure
metaphysics. In the writings of the Sufis, prose and poetry both, 'Man'
also stands for 'the Total and Essential Reality of man' (Al-Haqiqah
al-Jami'ah al-Insaniyyah). Now, the Universal Man par excellence is the
Holy Prophet & this is the first degree of "manhood" to which belong
the Aulia' (Men of Allah or the great saints) and those rulers who dealt
justice according to the Shari'ah.
Then, there are lower degrees pertaining to the pious and the virtuous
Muslims down to the lowest degree where stand people who are sinful,
yet, being Muslims, can hope for salvation. Allah alone knows best as to
Continued

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 34
divine viceregency, while they themselves did not, nor did the jinns.
Now, Allah willed to manifest this superiority in a visible and concrete
form. So, He commanded the angels to prostrate themselves before
Adam WuJI ale in his honour. They obeyed except Iblis or Satan who, in
his pride, refused to do so.
If we go by the words of the Holy Qur'an, the command was given
to the angels alone, but, in excepting Iblis from those who obeyed, the
text also suggests that the command was given to all the created
beings that existed at that time and possessed understanding,
including the jinns as well as the angels. But the Holy Qur'an
mentions the angels alone, because when superior beings like the
angels were required to show their respect for Adam JIle , inferior
creatures like the jinns must, it goes without saying, have been
ordered to do the same.
Angels prostrate before Adam
(1) In this verse, the angels have been commanded to prostrate
themselves before Adam WJIde . Another verse of the Holy Qur'an
tells us that the parents and the brothers of Yusuf (Joseph) JIale on
reaching Egypt, prostrated themselves before him (12:100). Evidently
such a prostration cannot have been intended as an act of worship, for
worshipping anyone other than Allah is an act of association (Shirk)
and infidelity (Kufr), and hence cannot possibly be allowed by any
Continued
who belongs to which degree; below the degree of the blessed
Companions one can never speak with certitude. If we allow ourselves to
associate vicreregency with an ordinary Muslim, it would only be
viceregency, so to say, by reflection, just as the 'Iman of every Muslim is
only a reflection of the 'Iman of the Holy Prophet ! . Any way, the
necessary condition of receiving even a faint reflection of viceregency
and "Manhood" is that one should be a Muslim, for, as the Holy Qur'an
has explicitly declared, 'Allah shall not now accept any faith except
Islam.' As for attributing viceregency of "Manhood" to common man as
such is concerned, it can at best only be viceregency, to use Aristotelean
terms, in potency and not in act - it cannot be effective unless it is
actualized through a total submission to the Shari'ah and a strenuous
spiritual effort and waiting upon the grace of Allah. In fact, the highest
excellence open to man now is to be in word and deed and thought a
perfect follower of the Sunnah, the way of the Holy Prophet .

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2:34
Shari'ah. So, it appears that in the days of the ancient prophets
prostrating oneself before somebody must have been just an act of
courtesy or a way of showing one's respect, and enjoyed the same value
as we do in our own days things like a simple greeting, a hand-shake,
the kissing of hand, or standing up in someone's honour. Imam
Al-Jassās has said in his Ahkam al-Qur'an that it was permissible in
the Shari'ah of the earlier prophets Je to prostrate
oneself in honour of one's elders, but that the Shari'ah of the Holy
Prophet has forbidden gestures like prostrating oneself, or bowing
down very low or standing with one hand placed on the other in the
manner of the Salah before someone, all of which may suggest an act
of worship, and has allowed only greeting (Salam) and hand-shake as
a gesture of courtesy or respect.
It is easy to understand the raison d'etre of such a prohibition.
Association, infidelity and the worship of anyone other than Allah
are things which in their nature go against the very principle of
'Iman (faith), and cannot therefore be tolerated by any Shari ah. There
are, however, certain acts and gestures which are not in themselves
acts of 'association' or infidelity, but may, on account of the ignorance
or indifference of people, become a prelude to 'association' and
infidelity. So, the Shari'ahs of the earlier prophets did not forbid such
acts in an absolute manner, but prevented them from being used as
the instruments of 'association' and infidelity. For example, making
pictures of living things is not in itself an act of 'association' or
infidelity, and was hence permissible in the earlier Shari'ahs. In
speaking of how the jinns used to serve Sulayman JI le (Solomon)
the Holy Qur'an itself says: ◌َيَعْمَلُونَ لَهُ مَايَشَآءُ مِنُ مَّحَارِيُبَ وَتَائِيل :"They made for
him whatever he liked - places of worship, and pictures." (34:13)
Similarly, prostrating oneself before somebody as a gesture of respect
was permissible in the earlier Shari'ahs. But gradually the practice
opened the way to 'association' and infidelity on account of people's
ignorance and thoughtlessness, and even caused grave distortions in
the Shari'ahs of different prophets, which had to be rectified by other
prophets and other Shari'ahs.
Since the Holy Prophet @ is the last of all the prophets and
messengers of Allah, and his Shari'ah is the last of all Shari'ahs and is

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2: 34
to remain valid upto the end of time, Allah has, in order to protect it
against all distortion, stopped every chink through which 'association'
or idolatry could possibly enter. That is why this Shari'ah has strictly
forbidden all those practices which had at one time or another served
as a means towards 'association' or idol-worship.
For example, making pictures of living things has been totally
banned; prostrating oneself before somebody, even as a mark of
respect, has been forbidden; it is not permissible to offer one's Salah
(prayer) at those hours of the day which the infidels had reserved for
worshipping their gods, for even this slight and external
correspondence might lead to 'association'; and, according to a Hadith
reported by Muslim, one is not allowed to call one's slave an "abd", nor
is a slave allowed to call his master a "rabb" - the words respectively
signify "a slave" and 'one who gives nurture', and are as such
harmless, but they can be misconstrued, and may mislead ignorant
slaves or helpless and subjugated people into the worship of their
masters: hence the prohibition.
With regard to the question of prostration, we may add that,
according to some authentic scholars, Salah, the basic form of Islamic
worship, comprises of four kinds of actions - standing upright, bowing,
sitting down, and prostrating oneself; the first two of these, standing
up and sitting down, are actions which one habitually does in the
course of one's daily chores, and which one also performs as acts of
worship in the course of a Salah (prayer), but the other two, bowing
down and prostrating oneself, are actions which one does not go
through as a matter of habit, and which are characteristically
associated with Salah (prayer) and 'Ibadah (worship); hence it is that
the Islamic Shari'ah has identified them with acts of worship, and
forbidden the Muslims to bow down or prostrate themselves before
anyone other than Allah.
Given that the Holy Qur'an itself speaks of prostration as a
mark of respect, one would wish to know on what grounds it has
been affirmed that the Islamic Shari'ah has forbidden this practice.
As to this question, we may point out that several well-known
narrations coming down to us from the Holy Prophet & through quite
a large number of his blessed Companions, are there to establish that

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 34
prostrating oneself before somebody as a mark of respect is unlawful
(haram). To cite only one such narration, the Holy Prophet & has
said that, if he could allow people to prostrate themselves before
anyone other than Allah as a mark of respect, he would have
commanded wives to prostrate themselves before their husbands.
This clearly shows that prostration as a mark of respect is absolutely
forbidden, and no allowance can, in this respect, be made in favour of
any created being. We may add that the Hadith we have just referred
to has come down to us through twenty Companions, while, according
to Tadrib al-Rawi, the famous book on the fundamentals of the science
of Hadith, a Tradition which has been reported by only ten
Companions is called Mutawatir, and enjoys the same authority in the
matter of injunctions as the Holy Qur'an.
(2) The Holy Qur'an describes Iblis or Satan as an infidel. His
infidelity does not arise from disobedience in his action, for, according
to the Shari'ah, giving up an obligation in practice is only a sin and a
transgression, and does not constitute infidelity. Iblis became an
infidel, because he had defied and challenged a divine commandment,
and had, in refusing to prostrate himself, virtually said that, in his
opinion, Adam عليه السلام was not worthy of it.
(3) Iblis had attained such a high degree in science and knowledge
that he was called Ta'us al-Mala'ikah :"The Peacock Among the
Angels." How did he, then, come to commit such a suicidal error?
Some scholars say that it was because of his pride and vanity that
Allah took back from him the wealth of knowledge and understanding,
and hence he came to act like an ignorant fool. Others have suggested
that his error was due to self-love and ambition. The famous
commentary, 'Ruh al-Bayan' resolves the question by quoting a line of
verse in Arabic which shows that once the aid of Allah has been
withdrawn from a man, he can no longer save himself from sins, and
all the effort he makes only serves to push him farther and farther
into misguidance. May Allah, in his mercy, save all of us from such a
fate! The commentary draws from it the conclusion that one should
not be vain about one's learning or one's deeds or even about one's
'Iman (faith), for Iman is valid only if it lasts till one's final breath and
into the first stage of one's journey to the other world.

175
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 :35 - 36
Verses 35-36
يَأْدَمُ اسْكُنُ أَنْتَ وَ زَوْجُكَ الْجُنَّةَ وَكُلَا مِنْهَا رَغَدًا حَيْثُ
وَقُلْنَا
شِئْتُمَا وَلاَ تَقُرَبَا هَذِهِ الشَّجَرَةَ فَتَكُوْنَا مِنَ الظُّلِمِيْنَ 0
فَازَلَّهُمَا الشَّيْطُنُ عَنْهَا فَآَخْرَجَهُمَا مِمَّا كَانَا فِيْهِ وَقُلُّنَا
اهْبِطُوا بَعْضُكُمُ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوُّهُوَلَكُمُ فِى الْأَرْضِ مُسْتَقَرُّ وَّ
مَتَاعٌ إِلَى حِيْنِ ٥
And We said, "O Adam, dwell, you and your wife, in
Paradise, and eat at pleasure wherever you like, but do
not go near this tree or you shall join the
transgressors." Then, Satan caused them to slip from
it, and brought them out of where they had been. And
We said, "Go down, you all, some of you enemies of
some; and on the earth there will be for you a dwelling
place and enjoyment for a time." (Verses 35 - 36)
This is a continuation of the story of Adam WILde . When his
superiority over the angels and his fitness for the role of viceregent
had been announced to the angels and been acknowledged by them,
and Iblis had been condemned as an infidel and expelled from
Paradise on account of his pride and his defiance of divine authority,
Adam and Hawwa >JI L+Le (Eve), his wife, received a command from
Allah to live in Paradise and enjoy its blessings. But they were also
instructed not to eat the fruit of a particular tree. Now, having been
disgraced because of Adam WILde , Iblis or Satan had an account to
settle with him, and as soon as he got the opportunity, he tricked them
into eating from this tree. Because of this error on their part, they too
were ordered to leave Paradise, and to go down and live on the earth.
They were at the same time warned that their existence on the earth
would no longer be full of perpetual bliss as it had been in Paradise,
but that there would be dissension and enmity among men, their
progeny, which would spoil the joy of earthly life.
Since these events took place after Adam WJI u had been created
and the angels had been commanded to prostrate themselves before
him, some scholars have concluded from it that the creation of Adam
JI ue and the prostration of the angels took place somewhere outside
Paradise, and that he was sent there later on. But the words of the
Holy Qur'an do not exclude the other interpretation that both the
:

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2:35-36
events took place in Paradise, but that he had not been told at that
time where he was to live, which was done later.
When Adam and Hawwa WI Lee were sent to live in Paradise,
they were allowed to eat whatever they liked 'at pleasure' - the Arabic
word in the text being 'Raghadan', which signifies provision for which
one does not have to work, and which is never exhausted nor falls
short. Thus, their life was totally free from all care.
They were commanded not to go near a certain tree - which was an
emphatic way of asking them not to eat its fruit. The tree has not been
given a specific name either in the Holy Qur'an or in the Hadith. Some
commentators say that it was wheat, others say that it was a fig-tree
or a grape-vine. But it is not really necessary to make specific what
the Holy Qur'an has left vague. (See Qurtubi) 15
According to the Holy Qur'an, it was Satan who 'caused them to
slip' (azallahuma). It clearly shows that the error and disobedience of
Adam and Hawwa WJI Lade was not of the kind which technically
constitutes a sin, but arose out of a misunderstanding produced by
Satan. They ate the forbidden fruit, because Satan had cleverly
deceived them. 16
A question arises here as to how Satan got into Paradise for
seducing Adam and Hawwa WILL , 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
15. Even the Bible does not name the tree. As to the apple being the fruit
concerned, it is only a popular misunderstanding arising from the fact
that the Latin word "Malum" means an "apple" as well as a "sin, or
evil."
16. We may note that in the previous episode the Holy Qur'an used the
name Iblis - a word which comes from the root Balas, 'to be
disappointed', and hence signifies "one who has lost all hope of receiving
the grace of Allah." In the present episode he has been called
Al-Shaytan - a word which comes from the root Shatn, "to be far away",
and hence signifies "one who has been removed far away from the mercy
of Allah." Iblis is a proper name, while Shaytan is the name of a genus.
When the Holy Qur'an speaks of Al-Shaytan, it always refers to Iblis.
But the common noun Shaytan, or its plural Shayatin refers to the
genus, which includes men and jinns both. It would be interesting to
add that the root Shayt means 'the excess of anger and rage', and may
possibly be the basis of the word Shaytan.

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 35 - 36
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 WILL 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 to face.
The Holy Qur'an says that Satan (0 :"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
In commanding Adam and Hawwa >JI Lule to go down from Para-
dise, Allah also said, ',' 24'': '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 be-
tween Satan on the one hand, and Adam and Hawwa' JI Lede and
their progeny on the other, would continue on the earth too. But if Sa-
tan, as some scholars maintain, had already been expelled, then the
addressces are Adam and Hawwa' >JI Lule and their progeny; the im-
plication would now be that Adam and Hawwa' >JI Lute would have to
undergo a double punishment, firstly that of being banished from Par-
adise, secondly that of seeing enmity arise among their children which
must make life unpleasant for parents. (Bayan 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.
Adam and Hawwa in Paradise
(1) In allowing Adam and Hawwa >JI L+le to eat at pleasure, and
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.

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 35 - 36
in forbidding them to go near the tree, Allah used, according to the
text of the Holy Qur'an, the verbs for the dual number, thus including
both in the address. But in asking them to live in Paradise Allah did
not address both of them, but said: @3;af : "You and your wife." This
form of address yields two legal principles: (a) the husband is
responsible for providing a dwelling-place for his wife (b) for the
purpose of dwelling the wife is dependent on the husband, and she
must live in the house in which her husband lives.
(2) In this context the Arabic word 'uskun (live) suggests that
their stay in Paradise was to be temporary, not permanent which is a
usual condition for the ownership of a house. Allah did not say that
Paradise had been given to them, but only asked them to live there, for
Allah knew that certain things were going to happen on account of
which they would have to leave this dwelling-place. Moreover, the
right to 'own' a dwelling-place in Paradise is earned through 'Iman
(faith) and good deeds, which one can acquire only after the Day of
Judgment. The Fuqaha' (jurists) have derived from it the principle
that, if a man asks someone to live in his house, the other man does
not thereby acquire the ownership of the house nor the right to a
permanent stay. (Qurtubi)
(3) In allowing Adam and Hawwa >JI LIde to eat at pleasure,
Allah used the verb for the dual number, and said: """ meaning 'eat
both of you'. This indicates that in the matter of food the wife is not
subservient to her husband, but can eat whatever she needs or likes,
as can the husband.
(4) Allah also allowed them to eat from wherever they liked. This
shows that man has the right to move freely from one place to another
according to his needs or wishes.
(5) Allah did not want them to eat the fruits of a certain tree, but
as a precautionary measure He commanded them not to approach it
even. It is from here that the Fugaha' have derived one of the basic
principles of Islamic law, which requires that the things or actions
which are likely to serve as means to sin or as its instruments are
equally forbidden. That is to say, there are certain things which are

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not forbidden in themselves, but when there is a danger that in
making use of them a man would become involved in an unlawful
activity, they too have to be forbidden.
The Prophets are innocent of all sins
(6) As we have seen here, Adam WJI ule had been forbidden to eat
the fruit of a certain tree, and had also been warned against the
machinations of his enemy, Satan, and yet he had eaten the forbidden
fruit. It is seemingly a sin, while the Holy Qur'an, the Hadith and
rational arguments too establish the innocence and sinlessness of all
the prophets. There is an absolute consensus of the four great Imams
of Islamic law and of all the authentic scholars on the doctrine that
each and every prophet is innocent of and protected against all sins,
major or minor. Some people have suggested that prophets are not
protected against minor sins, but the majority of authentic scholars
does not agree with this opinion. (Qurtubi) It is necessary for prophets to
be thus protected, because they are sent down to be the guides of men -
if a guide can go against the commandments of Allah and commit a
sin, major or even minor, people would no longer be ready to trust his
word or deed. If one cannot have trust and faith even in the prophets,
how can the work of spiritual guidance be possible? Hence the
necessity of prophets being sinless.
The Holy Qur'an does, however, relate certain incidents which tend
to suggest that a certain prophet committed a sin, and drew upon him-
self the displeasure of Allah. The story about Adam WII ude eating the
forbidden fruit is one such instance. According to the consensus of the
authentic scholars, in all cases a prophet comes to commit an error
through a misunderstanding or just forgetfulness, and it is never a de-
liberate and wilful transgression of divine commandment. As is well-
known, a Mujtahid is one who possesses the necessary qualifications
for finding out through analogical deduction the rule for a case regard-
ing which no specific commandment is present in the Holy Qur'an or
the Hadith; if he makes a mistake in determining the rule, he still re-
ceives a reward from Allah for having made the effort. The mistake
made by a prophet is always of this nature, or is due to oversight and
hence pardonable, and cannot be called a 'sin' in the technical sense.
Moreover, a prophet, being under the protection of Allah, can never

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 35 - 36
show oversight or forgetfulness in things which are directly concerned
with his prophetic and legislative function, but only in personal
matters. (See al-Bahr al-Muhit)
The station of the prophets, however, is so exalted, that even a
little oversight on the part of a great man is considered to be a great
error. That is why such slips on the parts of certain prophets have
been described in the Holy Qur'an as 'sins', and Allah has shown his
displeasure too, although they are not 'sins' in their nature.
As for the error committed by Adam >JI commentators have
advanced several explanations :-
(a) A certain tree was pointed out to Adam WJILe as being
forbidden. But it was not this particular tree alone that was intended,
but all the trees of this kind. The Hadith too relates a similar case.
Holding a piece of silk and some gold in his hand, the Holy Prophet
said that those two things were forbidden to the men in his Ummah.
Obviously the ban does not apply to these very pieces of silk and gold
alone, but to silk and gold as such. But it is quite possible for someone
to imagine that only the particular pieces which the Holy Prophet
held in his hand were forbidden. Similarly, Adam WILde thought
that the prohibition applied only to the particular tree which had been
pointed out to him. Satan exploited this misunderstanding, and
assured him on oath that, being a well-wisher, he could never advise
him to do something which was wrong or harmful, and that the
forbidden tree was quite different, and not the one from which he was
asking him to pluck a fruit.
(b) Satan may have suggested to Adam WJILL that the
prohibition was valid only upto a period after he had been created, just
as infants are denied heavy food till they have grown up, and that
since Adam WWJILL had now grown stronger, the ban too had been
lifted.
(c) It is equally possible that, when Satan told him that if he ate
this fruit, the eternal bliss of Paradise would be guaranteed for him,
Adam WILL forgot the prohibition. This verse of the Holy Qur'an
seems to give credence to such a possibility : فَنَسِىَ وَلَمْ نَجِدُ لَهَّ عَزُمًا :"Adam

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 37 - 39
forgot, and We did not find him steadfast." (20:115)
Anyhow, the essential point is that Adam WILL did not
deliberately and wilfully disobey Allah; all that he did was an act of
oversight or the kind of mistake which a Mujtahid can make. The error
was not, properly speaking, a sin, but Adam JI -Je being so close to
Allah, and in view of his station of a prophet, even this lapse was
regarded as very serious, and described as a 'sin' in the Holy Qur'an.
But the Holy Qur'an tells us that when he repented and prayed for
pardon, Allah forgave him.
Verses 37-39
قَتَلَقَّى أَدَمُ مِنْ رَتِّهِ كَلِمْتٍ فَتَابَ عَلَيْهِ دِنَّهُ هُوَ الشَّرَابُ
الَّحِيمُ ) قُلْنَا اهْبِطُوا مِنْهَا جَمِيْعَا فَإِمَا يَأْتِيَنَّكُمُ قِنِّىٌّ هُدَّى
فَمَنْ تَبِعَ هُدَاىَ فَلَا خَوْفٌّ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَاَهُمْ يَحْزَنُوُنَ ا وَالّذِيْنَ
كَفَرُوا وَكَذَّبُوا بِالِنَآ أُولَتِكَ أَصْحُبُ النَّارِهُمُ فِيْهَا خُلِدُوُنَ 0
Then Adam learnt certain words (to pray with) from
his Lord; so, Allah accepted his repentance. No doubt
He is the Most-Relenting, the Very-Merciful. We said,
"Go down from here, all of you. Then, should some
guidance come to you from Me, those who follow My
guidance shall have no fear, nor shall they grieve. As
for those who disbelieve, and deny Our signs, they are
the people of the Fire - they shall be there forever."
(Verses 37-39)
Adam's prayer to Allah
The earlier verses have related how Adam JI ule came to commit
an error through the seduction of Satan, and how he was commanded
to leave Paradise and to go down to the earth. He had never
experienced the displeasure of Allah before, nor heard such words of
reproach. He could not bear it, and in the tumult of remorse at once
wanted to beg humbly for pardon. But he was also afraid that by being
importunate he might draw on himself more displeasure. Then, being
a prophet, he knew Divine Majesty as ordinary men cannot. So, the
fear and the awe dumbfounded him, and he could not utter a word.
But Allah knows what passes through men's hearts, and He is also the

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 37 - 39
Most-Merciful and the Most-Generous. Seeing the agony of remorse in
Adam WuJI-de , Allah accepted his repentance, and his grace taught
him the words of a prayer so that he could beg for pardon.
Thus pardon was granted to Adam WJI ule but Divine wisdom had
all the same its own plans in sending him down to the earth - for
example, starting through his progeny a new species, man, to be
placed between the angels and the jinns; submitting men to the
injunctions of the Shari'ah by giving them the power of choice,
however limited; instituting divine viceregency among them, and
promulgating among them the prohibitions and the commandments of
the Shari'ah, so that this new creature may be capable of making a
spiritual progress and of attaining a station denied even to the angels.
Allah had announced these purposes even before creating Adam de
I am going to": إنّيْ جَاعِلٌ فِى الْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً :when He said to the angels , السلام
create a deputy on the earth." (2:30)
Descension of Adam was not a punishment
That is why the command for Adam >JI ue to go down to the earth
was not withdrawn even when he had been pardoned: only the mode
was now altered. Earlier the command had been given in the mode of
authority, and the sending down to the earth intended as a
punishment: hence the reference to the enmity among men. Now, it
was in the mode of wisdom, and the sending down to the earth, an
honour - the honour of viceregency. Hence the reference to things
viceregency involves. In commanding Adam and Hawwa WI Lele and
their progeny to live on the earth, Allah told them that He would be
sending down to men His guidance - that is, the injunctions of the
Shari'ah - through revelation, and that those who follow it faithfully
shall be free from sorrow and anxiety - in other words, they shall not
have to grieve about any loss in the past, nor to worry about some
misfortune in the future.
In speaking of how Allah taught Adam WILL the words of a
prayer so that he could offer his repentance properly, the Holy Qur'an
uses the word Talaqqa, which means 'accepting and welcoming a
person or thing eagerly', and thus indicates his attitude in receiving
the phrases. (See Kashshaf and Ruh al-Ma'ani)

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 37 - 39
As to what these phrases were, different things have been
reported from different Companions, may Allah be pleased with them,
but the generally accepted report is that of the blessed Companion
Ibn 'Abbas, at All+, according to which these phrases are just the
ones which the Holy Qur'an cites in a different place:531, 3 tens of
Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if" تَغْفِرْلَنَا وَتَرُحَمْنَا لَنَكُوِّنَنَّ مِنَ الْخَسِرِيْنَ
You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be
among the losers." (7:23)
The Arabic word for repentance is taubah which means 'a return'.
So, taubah is not merely an emotional attitude as the English word,
'repentance' seems to suggest. The word taubah is used with reference
to Allah as much to men. When the word taubah is employed in case
of a man, it signifies a necessary combination of three things:
(a) Acknowledging one's sin as a sin, being ashamed of it and
feeling remorseful.
(b) Giving up the sin altogether.
(c) Making up one's mind firmly never to indulge in it again.
If any one of these three elements is missing, the taubah is not
genuine. Thus, it is not enough for one's salvation merely to utter the
words of repentance, unless the words are supported by remorse for
the sins committed in the past, abstinence from them in the present
and determination of not giving way to them in the future. So much
for the use of the word taubah with reference to man.
In the present passage, the Holy Qur'an uses the word with
reference to Allah, and the phrase concerned literally signifies 'Allah
returned to Adam'. It means that Allah again turned to him with His
mercy and grace, and accepted his taubah.
Injunctions and related considerations :
(1) Asked as to what a man should do if he happens to have com-
mitted a sin, several great scholars and Sufis have been saying that he
should do exactly what his first parents, Adam and Hawwa WI Late
did - that is, he should be sincerely ashamed of his deed, make up his
mind never to indulge in it again, and pray to Allah for His pardon as