فَتَلَقَّىٰ آدَمُ مِنْ رَبِّهِ كَلِمَاتٍ فَتَابَ عَلَيْهِ ۚ إِنَّهُ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ

قُلْنَا اهْبِطُوا مِنْهَا جَمِيعًا ۖ فَإِمَّا يَأْتِيَنَّكُمْ مِنِّي هُدًى فَمَنْ تَبِعَ هُدَايَ فَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ

وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَكَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِنَا أُولَٰئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ ۖ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ

"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." [2: 37-39]

Adam's (عليه السلام‎) Prayer to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى)

The earlier verses have related how Adam +(عليه السلام‎ ) 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 (سبحانه وتعالى) 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 (سبحانه وتعالى) knows what passes through men's hearts, and He is also the Most-Merciful and the Most-Generous. Seeing the agony of remorse in Adam (عليه السلام‎ ), 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 (عليه السلام‎), 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 (سبحانه وتعالى) had announced these purposes even before creating Adam (عليه السلام‎), when He said to the angels: ''I am going to create a deputy on the earth." (2:30)

Descension of Adam (عليه السلام‎) was not a punishment

That is why the command for Adam (عليه السلام‎) 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. -H ence the reference to things viceregency involves. In commanding Adam (عليه السلام‎) and Hawwaa' (عليها السلام) and their progeny to live on the earth, Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) 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 (سبحانه وتعالى) taught Adam (عليه السلام‎) the words of a prayer so that he could offer his repentance properly, the Holy Qur'iin 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)

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 (رضي الله عنهما), according to which these phrases are just the ones which the Holy Qur'an cites in a different place, "Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if 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 tawbah which means 'a return'. So, tawbah is not merely an emotional attitude as the English word, 'repentance' seems to suggest. The word taubah is used with reference to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) 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 (سبحانه وتعالى), and the phrase concerned literally signifies 'Allah returned to Adam'. It means that Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) 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 committed a sin, several great scholars and sufis have been saying that he should do exactly what his first parents, Adam (عليه السلام‎) and Hawwaa' (عليها السلام) 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 they had: "Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers." (7:23) The prayer of Musa (Moses) (عليه السلام‎) was of the same nature: "My Lord, I have wronged myself. Forgive me."(28:16) And when Yunus, (Jonah) (عليه السلام‎) made a mistake, he too prayed: "There is no God but You. Pure are you. I have certainly become one of the unjust." (21:87) (See Qurtubi)

(2) As we have seen in the previous verses, the Holy Qur'an attributes the error of judgment to Adam (عليه السلام‎) and Hawwa' (عليها السلام) both by using the verb azallahuma which indicates the dual number and thus means that Satan 'caused both of them to slip.' In recounting how Allah commanded them 'to go down' to the earth, the Holy Qur'an again uses the verb for the plural number, thus including Hawwa' (عليها السلام) in the command. On the contrary, in speaking of the taubah (repentance) of Adam (عليه السلام‎) and the acceptance of his taubah by Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), verse 37 mentions him alone, and, employing the verb for the singular, leaves out Hawwa' (عليها السلام). Even in other places, the Holy Qur'an attributes the error to Adam (عليه السلام‎) alone - for example, 'Adam disobeyed his Lord.' (20:121)

A possible explanation for the omission of Hawwa' (عليها السلام) in such a context is that Allah wants woman to be kept hidden from prying eyes, and, in order to provide a cover for her, has not referred to her explicitly while speaking of sin and divine wrath. But when it comes to the question of taubah, the prayer which Allah taught to Adam (عليه السلام‎) employs a verb in the plural number - "Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves", and thus the Holy Qur'an leaves no room for the supposition that the error of Hawwa' (عليها السلام) was not pardoned, or that she did not offer repentance. Moreover, woman being inclusive to man in most situations, it was not necessary to mention her specifically every time the story was told. (Qurtubi)

(3) The Arabic word Taubah signifies much more than the English word 'repentance'; similarly, the words Ta'ib and Tawwab mean much more than simply 'one who repents.' Imam Al-Qurtubi (رحمه الله) says that the word Tawwab is used with reference to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) as well as to man.

For example, the Holy Qur'an applies the word to man in the phrase: "Surely Allah loves those who repent" (2:222) - and in al-tawwabin, 'those who return to Allah'; on the other hand, it speaks of Allah too as al-Tawwab: "He is the Most-Relenting, the Very-Merciful." (2:37)

So, with reference to man, the word signifies 'one who turns away from disobedience and sin, and returns to obedience', while with reference to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) it signifies 'one who accepts repentance, and turns to man with mercy and grace'. There is another word, Ta'ib which also means 'one who returns', but it is not permissible to use this word with reference to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى). For, in the case of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), only those nouns, adjectives and epithets are permissible which have been used in the Holy Qur'an and the hadith - all other words are disallowed, no matter what their lexical meanings are.

(4) Verse 37 shows that Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) alone has the authority to accept a man's repentance and to forgive his sins. By disregarding this principle, Jews and Christians fell into a great error, for they came to believe that if a priest or a saint forgave their sins,' Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) too did the same. Even some ignorant Muslims behave as if they too entertain such a belief. But all such notions are doctrinally false. No religious scholar or saint, 'Alim or murshid, has the authority to forgive sins; all he can do is to pray for the sinner, and seek Allah's (سبحانه وتعالى) pardon.

The Obedient Are Freed Of Worries

(5) Verse 38 promises two great rewards to those who follow divine guidance - they will have no fear, and they will not grieve. Fear is the anxiety one feels in apprehending some trouble or pain in the future. Grief is the sorrow arising from the loss of something valuable or from one's failure in attaining a desired object. One can see that these two rewards comprehend all the possible forms of comfort and peace. Then, the text of the Holy Qur'an makes a subtle distinction between the two. In saying that those who follow divine guidance will have no fear, it speaks in general terms and uses a noun - the Arabic phras is to be translated literally as 'no fear upon them'.

But in the next phrase the Holy Qur'an employs a verb, placing before it a pronoun as the subject. The literal translation of the phrase is: 'they shall not grieve'. The implication here is that being totally free from all sense of loss is possible only to Men of Allah or the saints (*) who follow divine guidance in all its details; as for the others, no man whether an emperor or a billionaire, can help being grieved at the loss of a valued object or the frustration of a desire, all of which is but a necessary part of the scheme of things. The 'friends of Allah' do not have to grieve, because they annihilated their own desires and their very will in submitting themselves totally to the will of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى).

The Holy Qur'an also tells us that those who go to Paradise will thank Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) for having removed from them all regret and sorrow: "All praise belongs to Allah who has put away all sorrow from us." (35:34). It means that some degree of sorrow is inevitable for every human being except those who have perfected and made fast their relationship with Allah (سبحانه وتعالى).

Let us make it clear that the verse does negate all grief and sorrow in the case of the 'friends of Allah', but the negation applies only to the loss of worldly things and the frustration of worldly desires. As for the anxiety about the other world and the fear of Allah and the deep sense of awe before His Glory, the 'friends of Allah' are far ahead of other men in these. It has been reported that the Holy Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) often appeared to be worried and in deep thought - this was not for fear of any trouble or loss in the worldly sense, but on account of his anxiety for his Ummah, and of his awe before Divine Glory.

Nor does this verse imply that prophets and saints should not feel the instinctive and all too human fear when confronted by things which are generally known to inspire dread. The Holy Qur'an itself relates how the prophet Musa (Moses) (عليه السلام‎) was struck with fear when his stick turned into a dragon: "Musa felt a fear in himself." (20:67)

But it was only an instinctive and physical fear, and the incident anyhow belongs to the early days of his prophethood, for when Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) said: 'Do not be afraid', the fear disappeared altogether. We may explain the incident in another way also. His fear did not arise as it does in the case of ordinary men, from the apprehension of some harm or hurt from the dragon, but from the likelihood that the extraordinary event might lead the Israelites into misguidance. So, this fear was not worldly, but other-worldly.

* The word "Saints" is very weak and only an approximate translation of the Arabic phrase "Awliya-Allah", 'the friends of Allah' - a concept which has only a faint resemblance with the Christian idea of a 'saint'. Consequently, the term 'men of Allah' has been used most frequently throughout this commentary] [Ma'ariful Qur'an, Volume 1]

» Posted by Seifeddine-M on 17th January 2011

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