Chapter Three

Adam And Satan

Allah, all praise
and glory is to Him, expelled Satan and got him out of what he once had. Satan
got out expelled, cursed and disparaged. Allah, all praise and glory is to Him,
has threatened whoever follows the devil with torment in Hellfire.

Allah, The Most
Exalted and Ever-Majestic, has prepared in Paradise – as we have previously
mentioned – places to accommodate all His creatures, since the time of Adam
(peace be upon him) till the Last Hour befalls. And He has also prepared in
Hellfire places to all His creatures, since Adam till the Last Hour befalls. If
all creatures obey, Allah’s Blessings in Paradise will be great enough for them
all and if all creatures disobey, Allah’s Torment in Hellfire will come upon
them all.

Allah willed that
Adam and Eve should undergo a practical experience on how they and their
offspring can confront the evil insinuations of the devil to be fortified
against him, and learn for sure that the devil is a liar in his promises and he
only brings evil, misguidance and loss of blessings.

Allah, all praise
and glory is to Him, says what means:

“And ‘O Adam,
dwell, you and your wife, in paradise and eat from wherever you will but do not
approach this tree, lest you be among the wrongdoers.’” (Al-A‘râf, 7: 19)

From this glorious
Ayah we learn that Adam and Eve have dwelt in a paradise or a garden but many scholars
said that the meant garden in the glorious Ayah is the Paradise of Eternity in
the Hereafter, which drove some orientalists and others to ask: “How can
Satan enter the Paradise of those obedient to Allah and whisper evil to Adam
and Eve and tempt them into sin? How can Satan, the sinner and the outcast from
Allah’s Mercy, who is doomed to eternal torment in Hellfire, enter the Paradise
of Eternity?”        

And how can Adam
and Eve enter the Paradise of Eternity and get out of it? Although Allah, all
praise and glory is to Him, has decreed that whoever enters the Paradise of
Eternity will live in it forever?

We say to them all
that you did not understand the import of “ ÌäÉ” (Jannah: Paradise) in
the Noble Qur’an. There is what we call in Arabic language “prevalent usage”;
the word has many meanings but is usually used for one, so whenever man says it
that meaning specifically comes to mind. From that cause when we hear the word “Jannah”
we only think of the Paradise of Eternity, because it is the true Paradise. But
Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, has used “Jannah” in the Noble
Qur’an to refer to various meanings. Linguistically, Al-Jannah means As-Satir
[veil, screen, cover, shelter…], therefore it is used to designate a shady
place rich in ample, diverse trees so that when man walks therein these trees
shade and conceal him with their interlaced branches from those outside this Jannah,
thus they no longer can see him. At the same time he finds in it all the means
of living, hence he does not need to get out of it and that is the linguistic
meaning of Jannah.

It is not The Paradise of Eternity

If we search the
Noble Qur’an we will find that the Noble Qur’an has used the word Jannah
for more than one meaning. The Noble Qur’an used it with its linguistic meaning
of Satir [veil, screen, cover, shelter…] and with its religious meaning
of the Paradise of Eternity. We find many Ayat holding these two meanings as
the Saying of Allah, all praise and glory is to Him:

{æóÇÖúÑöÈú áóåõã ãøóËóáðÇ ÑøóÌõáóíúäö ÌóÚóáúäóÇ
áöÃóÍóÏöåöãóÇ ÌóäøóÊóíúäö ãöäú ÃóÚúäóÇÈò æóÍóÝóÝúäóÇåõãóÇ ÈöäóÎúáò æóÌóÚóáúäóÇ
ÈóíúäóåõãóÇ ÒóÑúÚðÇ {(ÇáßåÝ¡
18: 32)

Which means:

“And present to
them an example of two men: We granted to one of them two gardens(6) of grapevines, and We bordered them with palm trees
and placed between them [fields of] crops.” (Al-Kahf, 18: 32)

And the Ayah in
which Allah says:

{ÃóíóæóÏøõ ÃóÍóÏõßõãú Ãóä Êóßõæäó áóåõ ÌóäøóÉñ ãøöä
äøóÎöíáò æóÃóÚúäóÇÈò ÊóÌúÑöí ãöä ÊóÍúÊöåóÇ ÇáÃóäúåóÇÑõ áóåõ ÝöíåóÇ ãöä ßõáøö
ÇáËøóãóÑóÇÊö} (ÇáÈÞÑÉ¡ 2: 266)

Which means:

“Would one of
you like to have a garden of palm trees and grapevines underneath which rivers
flow in which he has from every fruit?” (Al-Baqarah, 2: 266)

And the Ayah in
which Allah says:

{ áóÞóÏú ßóÇäó áöÓóÈóÅò Ýöí
ãóÓúßóäöåöãú ÂíóÉñ ÌóäøóÊóÇäö Úóä íóãöíäò æóÔöãóÇáò ßõáõæÇ ãöä ÑøöÒúÞö
ÑóÈøößõãú æóÇÔúßõÑõæÇ áóåõ ÈóáúÏóÉñ ØóíøöÈóÉñ æóÑóÈøñ ÛóÝõæÑñ} (ÓÈá 34: 15)

Which means:

“There was for
[the tribe of] Saba’ in their dwelling place a sign: two [fields of] gardens on
the right and on the left. [They were told], ‘Eat from the provisions of your
Lord and be grateful to Him. A good land [have you], and a forgiving Lord.’”
(Saba’, 34: 15)

In all these
glorious Ayat Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, used the word “Jannah”
to refer to a worldly garden or paradise.  

Some scholars said
that Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, differentiated between the paradises or gardens
of worldly life and the Paradise of the Hereafter by using the definitive form (ÇáÌäÉ) [Al-Jannah] to designate
the Paradise of the Hereafter alone and the indefinite word (ÌäÉ) [Jannah] without “"Çá (Al: equivalent to the definite article the) to designate worldly paradises or
gardens, which is incorrect, based on the fact that a worldly garden is also
referred to with the definite article “Al” as in the Ayah in which Allah,
Blessed and Exalted is He, says:

{ÅöäøóÇ ÈóáóæúäóÇåõãú ßóãóÇ ÈóáóæúäóÇ ÃóÕúÍóÇÈó ÇáúÌóäøóÉö
ÅöÐú ÃóÞúÓóãõæÇ áóíóÕúÑö ãõäøóåóÇ ãõÕúÈöÍöíäó } (ÇáÞáã¡ 68: 17-18)

 

Which means:

“Verily, We
have tried them as We tried the people of the garden, when they swore to pluck
the fruits of the (garden) in the morning. Without saying: Inshâ' Allâh (If
Allah will).” (Al-Qalam, 68: 17-18)

The speech in the
two aforesaid Ayahs is about a paradise or a garden from the gardens of this
world. Thus, the two definite letters Alf-Lam “Al” do not mark the word Jannah
and serve to make it only designate the Paradise of Eternity.  And here we must pause a little to
discuss some opinions that claim that Adam and Eve used to live in the Paradise
of Eternity and when they disobeyed Allah, He expelled them from paradise and
send them down to live in misery on the earth!

We reply by saying

that such opinions are absolutely untrue, because Allah, all praise and glory
is to Him, before creating Adam has already assigned his mission in life.
Please read the Ayah in which Allah, The Most Exalted and Ever-Majestic, says
what means:

“And [mention,
O Muhammad], when your Lord said to the angels, ‘Indeed, I will make upon the
earth a successive authority.’” (Al-Baqarah, 2: 30)

Thus, before creating
Adam the purpose of creating him was his living on the earth and making it a
prosperous place and filling it with life.

The second
important issue is that if Adam was expelled from paradise because he disobeyed
what is our guilt to inherit sin and misery? That would disagree with the
Justice of Allah embodied in His Saying, all glory is to Him, which means:

“And no bearer
of burdens will bear the burden of another.” (Fâtir, 35: 18)

Each person is hold
accountable only for his own deeds and will never be questioned about what his
parents did, nor his forefathers nor his children, because every man bears only
his own good or bad deeds. Hence, it is impossible that Adam lived in the
Paradise of Eternity then he was expelled from it because he disobeyed and we
bore the consequences of that sin. It is impossible that we inherited that sin
and are tortured by it through our expulsion from paradise, because (according
to that logic) had not Adam sinned we would have been living in paradise. To
such claimers we say that this opinion opposes the Justice of Allah Who never
allows that sin should be inherited.

But why did Allah
made Adam and Eve live in a paradise after creating them?

We say that there
is wisdom behind that, for Adam was created to receive from Allah the Law of ‘Do
and Do not do.’ Only through this Law life thrives on the earth. Anything
that Allah commands to be done if not done the earth would be corrupted and
anything that Allah forbids if done the earth would be corrupted.

Allah, Blessed and
Exalted is He, placed Adam and Eve in that paradise to put them through a
practical experience in applying the Divine Law and to give them a practical
warning against Satan mission’s of distorting the Divine Law. Satan’s mission
is to push Adam and his offspring towards committing what Allah has forbidden
and turn them away from doing what Allah has commanded. Thus, if Allah says: “Do
not drink intoxicants (all kinds of alcoholic drinks)” the devil will
beautify to mankind drinking intoxicants, and if Allah says: “Perform Salah”
the devil will beautify to them
abandoning Salah.

Truly, an
experience simple in carrying out but is indeed great in its meaning and
significance. It was a practice to Adam on what will happen to him when he
obeys Allah and what will happen to him when he obeys Satan. Therefore, Allah,
all praise and glory is to Him, brought Adam and provided him with all the
means of living in a place called “Jannah” and He said to Adam (what
means):

“And ‘O Adam,

dwell, you and your wife, in paradise and eat from wherever you will but do not
approach this tree, lest you be among the wrongdoers.’ (Al-A‘râf, 7: 19)            

The First Heavenly Laws     

Allah, all praise
and glory is to Him, has clarified to Adam the merits and privileges he will
have in this place wherein he shall dwell, saying (what means):

“Indeed, it is
[promised] for you not to be hungry therein or be unclothed. And indeed, you
will not be thirsty therein or be hot from the sun.” (Tâ­-Hâ, 20: 118-119)

Meaning in this
paradise or garden you shall have enough food and you shall never be naked, and
you shall never be thirsty nor feel tired; all is permissible to you except one
tree which you should not approach nor taste its fruits.

And that is the Law
of Allah on the earth: He permits to us too many things and forbids only
little. Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, warned Adam and Eve against
their enemy Satan, saying (what means):

“So We said, ‘O
Adam, indeed this is an enemy to you and to your wife. Then let him not remove
you from paradise so you would suffer.’” (Tâ-­Hâ, 20: 117)

Truly, that was a
sufficient warning to be alert and watchful to Satan’s enmity and close one’s
ears to his evil insinuations and never to believe his lies.

Allah, be ever
gloried His Majesty and Might, gave Adam all the elements of life, from food
that satisfied the needs of his body without any excrement. Allah, The Most
Exalted, nourishes the fetus within its mother’s womb as much as is needed for
it to grow without discharge of any excretion. Because food is supplied in
proportion to growth, likewise in the paradise the food of Adam was in
proportion to need.  

We must repeat here
that the paradise Adam lived in was not the Paradise
of Eternity because eternal life in Paradise would only follow worldly life. It
is the reward for faithful following of the Law of Allah in this world, thus it
cannot precede worldly life but is subsequent to it.

So, the paradise
Adam lived in is a place that embraces all means and requisites of survival. We
must notice that Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, warned Adam and Eve
saying: “But do not approach this tree” and did not only say, “Do not
to eat from this tree”…why? Because Allah wants to protect Adam and his
offspring from temptation. Had He only said “Do not eat” it would have
signified that it was permissible for Adam and Eve to go near the tree and sit
beside it and contemplate its fruits, and then they would have been surely
seduced by the tasty appearance of the fruits and their color and agreeable
odor and consequently eat from it.  

But Allah, Blessed
and Exalted is He, wanted to protect Adam from his own self and from the temptation
he might be subjected to and the soul might fail to resist. This protection
that Allah wanted to grant to Adam, and to his offspring after him, is the only
true protection against sinning. Because the moment you approach a thing
forbidden by Allah your soul inclines to it, and perhaps proximity to it might
drive you to commit that which is forbidden.

We also observe
that Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, commands us not to approach the
most grievous sins, saying (what means):

 

“That [has been
commanded], and whoever honors the sacred ordinances of Allah – it is best for
him in the sight of his Lord. And permitted to you are the grazing livestock,
except what is recited to you. So avoid the uncleanliness of idols and avoid
false statement.” (Al-Hajj, 22: 30)

The Truth [Al-Haqq:
one of the Beautiful Names of Allah], Blessed and Exalted is He, did not just
say: Do not worship the idols, because this would mean that it is lawful
to go to the places where idols are worshipped and sit there. For going and
sitting at such places might tempt us – Allah forbid – to worship idols.  Moreover, read the Saying of Allah,
which means:

“O you who have
believed, indeed, intoxicants, gambling, [sacrificing on] stone alters [to
other than Allah], and divining arrows are but defilement from the work of
Satan, so avoid it that you may be successful.” (Al-Mâ’idah, 5: 90)

A strict warning,
which means not to ever get near them. The strange thing is that sometimes you
find some people who try to argue that Allah, all praise and glory is to Him,
did not forbid intoxicants (all kinds of alcoholic drinks)!! And they demand to
bring them an Ayah from the Noble Qur’an in which Allah, Blessed and Exalted is
He, says: Intoxicants are forbidden to you!!!!     

 

To such skeptics we
say: the command of shunning and avoiding is stronger than forbidding. Had
Allah, The Most Exalted and Ever-Majestic, said: Intoxicants are forbidden
to you, the forbidden thing would only have been drinking intoxicants, and
in such case people would have produced alcoholic drinks, traded in them,
prepared the places where they are served and drunk, waited on their drinkers
and sat with them. As long as we do not drink intoxicants and as long as the
prohibition was limited to drinking we would have committed all this. But the
command of avoidance and shunning has essentially forbidden to come near the
places of drinking all kinds of alcoholic drinks or to produce them or trade in
them or sit with those who drink intoxicants. Therefore, the command of
avoidance and shunning is certainly stronger than the prohibition. That is why
Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, ordered Adam and Eve not to come near
the forbidden tree, otherwise they would certainly wrong themselves.

The Start of Sin

But what did Satan
do? He hungered to throw down Adam and Eve into sin, so what did he do? Allah,
all praise and glory be is Him, says:

{ÝóæóÓúæóÓó áóåõãóÇ ÇáÔøóíúØóÇäõ áöíõÈúÏöíó áóåõãóÇ
ãóÇ æõæÑöíó ÚóäúåõãóÇ ãöä ÓóæúÁóÇÊöåöãóÇ} (ÇáÃÚÑÇÝ: 7¡ 20)

“But Satan whispered to them to make
apparent to them that which was concealed from them of their private parts.’”
(Al-A‘râf, 7: 20)

         

The Saying of the
Truth “æÓæÓ” (waswas:
to whisper evil) signifies that the dialogue passed in whispers. Al-Waswasah
[devilish insinuation or evil whispering] is temptation to do evil, for
the one who calls to goodness does not care if he spoke loudly; but calling to
evil and sin is only spoken in hushed tones.

Al-Waswasah
in Arabic language is the ringing sound of gold. The ringing of gold and jewels
is a sound that attracts people, tempts them and engages their attention. In Waswasah
(evil whispering) there must be temptation, because if you wanted to turn
people away from the Law of Allah you must lure them with winning some worldly
pleasure.

Here we must pause
to interpret the Saying of Allah, “But Satan whispered to them” because
the common misconception is that Satan first tempted Eve and then Eve tempted
Adam and adorned to him sin until he ate from the tree and were it not for Eve,
Adam would have remained in paradise!

We reply be saying
that Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, has cleared Eve of that lie. The
part of the Ayah saying what means: “But Satan whispered to them” is a
proof that Satan has adorned sin to Adam same as Eve. In other words, Satan
misled both Adam and Eve, and Eve was not the one who tempted Adam but Satan
allured them together. 

But what was
Satan’s aim from this evil whispering? His aim was that Adam and Eve disobey
their Lord and be punished as he was punished by expulsion from Allah’s Mercy.
The punishment here was the appearance of the shameful (private) parts of Adam
and Eve. The shameful parts are the parts that make you feel shame to look at.
Because the innate nature of man makes him feel shame to have his private parts
disclosed before people.

Before Adam and Eve
ate from the tree none of them had ever seen the private parts of the other,
not even his own private parts. Adam neither saw his own private parts nor
those of Eve. Also, Eve neither saw her own private parts nor those of Adam.
Allah has screened them both from each other.

Scholars have
exerted themselves in trying to know how the private parts of Adam and Eve were
screened from themselves. Some said that they had coverings over them. Other
said that the nails of Adam and Eve were long, reaching their feet, and they
covered the private parts then by sin these nails disappeared.

We should not
concern ourselves with this, for Allah, all praise and glory is to Him,
screened the private parts of Adam and Eve however He willed. By a strong
light, because when light is strong we cannot see things through it. Light when
weak allow us to distinguish things and when strong hides them from us. Whether
Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, screened the private parts of Adam and
Eve by cloth or nails or a light, the important thing is that the private parts
were screened before their eyes.

And The Shameful Parts of Man were Disclosed

The question is why
are we offended when our private parts are disclosed? The private parts are the
organs of excretion. We are careful to uncover the parts through which we take
in food, i.e. the mouth, but at the same time we are very careful to hide the
parts through which excrement comes out.

In an attempt to
explain this some scholars said: the private parts remind us of disobeying
Allah, because when disobedience occurred the private parts appeared.
Therefore, we want to cover them because they are a symbol of sin, for sin is a
shame that man ever tries to hide and feel shame of, and take pains not to be
seen by people. When man has lawful money, he brings it out in front of all
people, and fear nothing, but when he has stolen, ill-gotten money he tries to
hide it from the whole world. Sin in all its states is a shame that people are
careful to hide and conceal.

But how did Satan
tempt Adam and Eve? How did he make them fall into sin?

Read the glorious Ayah relating what means:

“He said, ‘Your
Lord did not forbid you this tree except that you become angels or become of
the immortal.’” (Al-A‘râf, 7: 20)

Satan sneaked to
them from the side of what the human soul craves and desires: an eternal life,
endless and everlasting, and an eternal kingdom that never decays. Therefore,
when Satan wanted to tempt Adam and Eve into eating from the tree, he said to
Adam as the Noble Qur’an relates to us (what means):

“Then Satan
whispered to him; he said, ‘O Adam, shall I direct you to the tree of eternity
and possession that will not deteriorate?’” (Tâ­-Hâ, 20: 120)

Satan is a liar in
what he said. Had it truly been the Tree of Eternity, Satan himself would have
eaten from it and become immortal. But he asked Allah to keep him alive till
the Day of Judgment, for he knew for sure that Allah is the Originator of life,
He Alone can keep it or take it.

Here we have to
warn against Satan’s art in temptation, he strives to lead man to the misbelief
that the Law of Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, harms him and profits
him not; that true benefit is in sin. Therefore, Satan said to Adam and Eve
that Allah has forbidden them to eat from this tree to prevent them from having
an eternal kingdom and an eternal life, for man hates poverty and death. He
wants to live forever. Hence, Satan came to them saying, “If you want
eternity and sovereignty, you have this tree before you.” He swore to them
by Allah as relates the Noble Qur’an saying (what means):

“And he swore
[by Allah] to them, ‘Indeed, I am to you from among the sincere advisors.’”
(Al-A‘râf, 7: 21)

Satan swore by
Allah that he only wished to give them sincere advice, and they believed the
satanic oath. They believed that Satan wished them goodness. Therefore, Allah,
all praise and glory is to Him, reproached Adam and Eve for believing the
Devil’s oath, though Allah, be ever gloried His Majesty and Might, has clearly
shown to them that Satan is their enemy who never wishes for them any goodness
as relates the Ayah, saying (what means):

“And their Lord
called to them, ‘Did I not forbid you from that tree and tell you that Satan is
to you a clear enemy?’” (Al-A‘râf, 7: 22)

But Adam and Eve
who both felt deep regret, never imagined that one of the creatures of Allah
would falsely swear by Allah. Therefore, Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with
him) said, “The believer can be deceived by swearing by Allah.”  Meaning if you approached a believer in
the Name of Allah you could easily deceive him.   

‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar
used to manumit the slaves who performed the prayers well, thus whenever the
slaves saw him they would start offering the prayers with solemnity and
submissiveness. So, people said to ‘Abdullah, “The salves deceive you
to manumit them.” ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar replied, “Whoever deceives us in
the Name of Allah we would be deceived for him.”

The Truth, all
praise and glory is to Him, says (what means):

“So
he made them fall, through deception. And when they tasted of the tree, their
private parts became apparent to them, and they began to fasten together over
themselves from the leaves of paradise.” (Al-A‘râf, 7: 22)

Here we must stop
and deliberate, none should think that Satan led Adam and Eve into error at one
time, but it was preceded by a number of stages. Satan first deceived them to
make them draw near the tree, then he adorned in their eyes the beauty of its
fruits, their sweetness, their pleasant color and fragrance. Then he lured them
into eating! Thus, sin occurred in stages and not at a blow. The Messenger of
Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) says, “Temptations will be presented to hearts as reed mat (is
woven) stick by stick.” Consequently, we must be attentive to the
fact that drawing near sin definitely causes us to fall into it.

Then what happened?
Did Adam and Eve repeat the sin and they ate time and again from the tree?
Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, says, “And when they tasted of the tree”,
meaning as soon as they tasted it. There was not persistence in repeating the
act of disobedience on their part. Right after tasting the tree the private
parts appeared, so they hurried to hide them by leaves of the garden. This
means that they needed more than one leaf to hide the private parts.

This shows us the
Justice of Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, Who first warned them against
violation, and informed them about reward and punishment, so that punishment is
then justly earned and deserved. That is why there is no retroactive laws in
the Divine Legislation. In Divine Justice there is no incrimination without a
proviso, and the proviso was forbidding Adam and Eve to draw near this tree and
that Satan was an enemy to them. The interrogative Saying of Allah, “Did I
not forbid you from that tree,” 
signifies that there is only one answer, “Yes O Lord, You did forbid
us.” 

The aim from this
practical trial was that Allah, all praise and glory is to Him, protects Adam,
Eve and their offspring from Satan, and make them learn well that he is a liar
in all his promises. That he wishes for them evil even if he pretended to be a
well-wisher.  And that the mission
of Satan is to use all his wiles to entice Adam and his offspring into sin and
cause them to fall into what Allah has forbidden.

But has the battle
ended? It did not…it continued and would continue till the Last Hour.