95. Here the command, which was given to Prophet Adam, has not been mentioned, which was: You must not eat the fruit of this tree. This has been mentioned at other places but has been omitted here because the emphasis here is on this weakness of man that he is easily seduced by Satan in spite of the forewarnings and admonitions to this effect.
96. Both knew that Satan was their enemy, for Adam himself had witnessed the demonstration of his enmity, when he had refused to bow down before him and declared in plain words: I am better than him. You created me of fire and him of clay. (Surah Al-Aaraf, Ayat 12); (Surah Suad, Ayat 76), see also (Surah Al-Hijr, Ayat 33). Should I bow before the one whom You created out of clay. And then added: Just consider was he worthy of this that You have exalted him over me. (Surah Al-Isra, Ayats 61-62). Then Satan did not rest content with this bragging of superiority but evinced his jealousy by giving an open challenge that he would prove it by seducing Adam. (Surah Al_Aaraf, Ayats 16, 17); (Surah Al-Hijr, Ayats 36-42); (Surah Al-Isra, Ayats 62-66); (Surah Suad, Ayats 82-83).
97. This was to forewarn both of them of the consequences of disobedience of the command.
98. This is the explanation of the distress which they had to undergo immediately after their expulsion from the Garden. Here instead of mentioning the high and perfect blessings of the Garden, only four basic necessities of life have been stated, namely, food, drink, dress, and shelter, as if to say: In the Garden you are being supplied with all these necessities without any labor from you. But if you succumb to the temptations and seduction of Satan, you will be totally deprived not only of these facilities but also of the higher blessings of the Garden. In that case, you will have to work so hard for these necessities that very little energy and time and leisure will be left with you to strive for higher aims of life.
99. According to this verse, it was Adam whom Satan primarily wanted to seduce and not Eve. Though according to (Surah Al-Aaraf, Ayat 20), he tempted both of them and both were seduced, but Satan’s efforts were mainly directed to Adam. On the contrary, according to the Bible, the serpent first tempted the woman to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree and then she seduced her husband. (Genesis, 3).
100. According to this verse, Satan tempted Adam to eat the fruit of the tree so that he might get eternal life and everlasting kingdom, and according to (Surah Al-Aaraf, Ayat 20), he put an additional temptation in their way, saying that they would become angels and immortal.
101. No sooner did they disobey the command, they were deprived of all the facilities, but naturally the immediate effect of this as felt by them was that they were stripped of their garments. Then gradually, as they felt thirsty, hungry etc. they realized that they had been deprived of all the facilities that they enjoyed in the Garden.
102. It is worth while to understand the nature of human weakness which helped Satan to seduce Adam and Eve. They succumbed to seduction because Satan tempted them in the garb of a true friend and well-wisher even though they knew well that he was their enemy. For, Adam had a direct knowledge of the envy and enmity of Satan, who had challenged to seduce and ruin him in his very presence. Allah had also warned them to guard against the envy of and the temptations by Satan and had informed them of the consequences of disobedience. Above all, Adam and Eve still believed in Allah and never thought of intentional disobedience. But in spite of this, when Satan tempted them in the garb of a friend, they disobeyed their Lord: they forgot the command for the time being for lack of fineness of purpose. And since then this human weakness has persisted in their descendants during all ages.
103. “His Lord chose him” because he did not disobey Him intentionally and did not persist in sin arrogantly. As soon as he realized his error, he felt ashamed of it and asked Allah’s pardon: O our Lord, we have wronged ourselves gravely. If You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we shall be totally ruined. (Surah Al-Aaraf, Ayat 23). In contrast to Adam and Eve, Satan was cursed because he not only disobeyed his Lord but also persisted in his sin, and boldly challenged Him that it was He Who was responsible for his disobedience, for He had preferred Adam whom He had created of clay over him whom He had made of fire.
104. That is, Allah not only pardoned him but also gave him guidance and taught him the way to follow it. 1
105. “A life of hardship” does not mean a life of poverty. It means that such a one shall be deprived of the peace of mind, even though he may be a millionaire or the ruler of a vast empire. For, the one who will turn away from the admonition will win all the worldly successes by unlawful means and, therefore, will always be suffering from pangs of a guilty conscience and deprived of the peace of mind and real happiness.
106. Here the story of Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) ends. In the light of this part of the story which has been related here and at other places in the Quran, I have come to the conclusion (and correct knowledge is with Allah alone) that the vicegerency of the earth was the same as was initially bestowed on Adam in the Garden, which might have been created in the heavens or on this earth. Anyhow the vicegerent of Allah was supplied gratis with all the necessities of life and the angels were placed under his command for service. This was to enable him to discharge the high and noble obligations of vicegerency, without any worry about the procurement of the necessities of life. But in order to make him permanent in this office, it was necessary to put him to a test so that all his capabilities, excellences and weaknesses might be known. Accordingly, he had to take his test in which some of his weaknesses came to the surface. He was prone to be seduced by greed and temptation. He did not remain firm in obedience. He was capable of forgetfulness. That is why he was given the vicegerency as a trial on the earth for a fixed term up to the Day of Judgment. During this period of trial, he had himself to make arrangements for the necessities of life though he was allowed to exploit all the resources of the earth and to rule over other creatures. The trial is this: does he or does he not obey his Lord in spite of having the power to obey or not to obey. And if he forgets or is seduced by greed, does he or does he not repent through warning and admonition, when he realizes his error. At the same time, his Lord has warned him that a full and perfect record of all his deeds and misdeeds is being kept, and that he shall be judged on the Day of Reckoning in accordance with it. Those who will come out successful will be given permanent vicegerency and that eternal life and everlasting kingdom by which Satan seduced him. The righteous servants will become the heirs to the Garden, if they had obeyed their Lord or repented after forgetfulness. It should also be noted well that life in the Garden will not merely be to eat, drink and be merry, but there will be such higher things to achieve as no human being can conceive in this world. That is why only those blessings of the Garden have been mentioned in the Quran which can be comprehended by human beings in this world.
It will be worthwhile to make a comparative study of the account of Adam and Eve as given in the Quran with that given in the Bible. According to Genesis:
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree, the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying: Of every tree of the garden thou mayst freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. (2:725). Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. She took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. And He said, who told thee that thou west naked? Hast thou eaten, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom thou gayest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the woman said, the serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every blast of the field. Upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception, in sorrow thou shall bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which 1 commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread. Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them. And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever: Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. (3 :1-23).
It is obvious that the Bible has not done justice to Adam and Eve, nay, even to God Himself. On the other hand, the account given in the Quran is itself a clear proof that the stories given in it have not been copied from the Bible; for the Quran not only corroborates those parts of the Bible which have remained un-tampered but also corrects its wrong statements.
107. The Quran has described the different conditions and experiences through which the criminals will pass from the Day of Resurrection to the time of their entry into Hell: You were neglectful of this, now We have removed the curtain from before you and your sight has become very sharp. (Surah Qaaf, Ayat 22). He is only deferring them to the Day when all eyes shall stare with consternation. They will be running in terror with heads uplifted and eyes fixed upwards and hearts void. (Surah Ibrahim, Ayats 42-43). We have fastened the augury of every man to his own neck and on the Day of Resurrection We will bring forth a writing which he will find like an open book. (It will be said to him:) Here is your record: read it. Today you can yourself reckon your account. (Surah Al-Isra, Ayats 13-14). In the light of the above and this (verse 126), it appears that in the Hereafter, the criminals shall be enabled to see the horrible sights and to realize the consequences of their evil deeds, but in other respects they will be like the blind man who cannot see his way and is deprived of even a staff to feel his way, nor is there anyone to guide him. So he stumbles and is knocked about and does not know where to go and how to satisfy his needs. This very state has been expressed thus: You forgot Our Revelations when they came to you, so you are being forgotten today, as if, you were blind and had no one to look after you.