2:37 Al-Baqara (The Cow)

{ فَتَلَقَّى آدَمُ } أي: تلقف وتلقن, وألهمه الله { مِنْ رَبِّهِ كَلِمَاتٍ } وهي قوله: { رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَا أَنْفُسَنَا } الآية، فاعترف بذنبه وسأل الله مغفرته { فَتَابَ } الله { عَلَيْهِ } ورحمه { إِنَّهُ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ } لمن تاب إليه وأناب. وتوبته نوعان: توفيقه أولا, ثم قبوله للتوبة إذا اجتمعت شروطها ثانيا. { الرَّحِيمِ } بعباده, ومن رحمته بهم, أن وفقهم للتوبة, وعفا عنهم وصفح.

قيل إن هذه الكلمات مفسرة بقوله تعالى: " قالا ربنا ظلمنا أنفسنا وإن لم تغفر لنا وترحمنا لنكونن من الخاسرين" ورُوي عن مجاهد وسعيد بن جبير وأبي العالية والربيع بن أنس والحسن وقتادة ومحمد بن كعب القرظي وخالد بن معدان وعطاء الخراساني وعبدالرحمن بن زيد بن أسلم وقال أبوإسحاق السبيعي عن رجل من بني تميم قال: أتيت ابن عباس فسألته ما الكلمات التي تلقى آدم من ربه؟ قال: علم شأن الحج. وقال سفيان الثوري عن عبدالعزيز بن رفيع أخبرني من سمع عبيد بن عمير. وفي رواية قال مجاهد عن عبيد بن عمير أنه قال: قال آدم يا رب خطيئتي التي أخطأت شيء كتبته علي قبل أن تخلقني أو شيء ابتدعته من قبل نفسي؟ قال "بل شيء كتبته عليك قبل أن أخلقك" قال: فكما كتبته علي فاغفر لي. قال فذلك قوله تعالى "فتلقى آدم من ربه كلمات فتاب عليه" وقال السدي عمن حدثه عن ابن عباس فتلقى آدم من ربه كلمات قال: قال آدم عليه السلام: يا رب ألم تخلقني بيدك؟ قال له بلى. قال: ونفخت في من روحك؟ قيل له بلى قال: أرأيت إن تبت هل أنت راجعي إلى الجنة؟ قال نعم. وهكذا رواه العوفي وسعيد بن جبير وسعيد بن معبد عن ابن عباس بنحوه ورواه الحاكم في مستدركه من حديث ابن جبير عن ابن عباس وقال صحيح الإسناد ولم يخرجاه. وهكذا فسره السدي وعطية العوفي. وقد روى ابن أبي حاتم ههنا حديثا شبيها بهذا فقال: حدثنا علي بن الحسين بن إشكاب حدثنا ابن عاصم عن سعيد بن أبي عروبة عن قتادة عن الحسن عن أبي بن كعب قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم "قال آدم عليه السلام أرأيت يا رب إن تبت ورجعت أعائدي إلى الجنة؟ قال نعم فذلك قوله "فتلقى آدم من ربه كلمات "وهذا حديث غريب من هذا الوجه وفيه انقطاع: وقال أبو جعفر الرازي عن الربيع بن أنس عن أبي العالية في قوله تعالى: فتلقى آدم من ربه كلمات فتاب عليه. قال إن آدم لما أصاب الخطيئة قال أرأيت إن تبت يا رب وأصلحت؟ قال الله "إذا أدخلك الجنة" فهي الكلمات ومن الكلمات أيضا "ربنا ظلمنا أنفسنا وإن لم تغفر لنا وترحمنا لنكونن من الخاسرين" وقال ابن أبي نجيح عن مجاهد أنه كان يقول في قول الله تعالى فتلقى آدم من ربه كلمات فتاب عليه. قال الكلمات: اللهم لا إله إلا أنت سبحانك وبحمدك رب إني ظلمت نفسي فاغفر لي إنك خير الغافرين اللهم لا إله إلا أنت سبحانك وبحمدك رب إني ظلمت نفسي فارحمني إنك خير الراحمين اللهم لا إله إلا أنت سبحانك وبحمدك رب إني ظلمت نفسي فتب علي إنك أنت التواب الرحيم. وقوله تعالى "إنه هو التواب الرحيم" أي إنه يتوب على من تاب إليه وأناب كقوله "ألم يعلموا أن الله هو يقبل التوبة عن عباده" وقوله "ومن يعمل سوءا أو يظلم نفسه" الآية وقوله "ومن تاب وعمل صالحا" إلى غير ذلك من الآيات الدالة على أنه تعالى يغفر الذنوب ويتوب على من يتوب وهذا من لطفه بخلقه ورحمته بعبيده لا إله إلا هو التواب الرحيم.

Adam repents and supplicates to Allah

It was reported that the above Ayah is explained by Allah's statement,

قَالاَ رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَآ أَنفُسَنَا وَإِن لَّمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَـسِرِينَ

(They said: "Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You forgive us not, and bestow not upon us Your mercy, we shall certainly be of the losers.") (7:23) as Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Abu Al-`Aliyah, Ar-Rabi` bin Anas, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, Muhammad bin Ka`b Al-Qurazi, Khaلlid bin Ma`dan, `Ata' Al-Khurasani and `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam have stated. As-Suddi said that Ibn `Abbas commented on,

فَتَلَقَّى ءَادَمُ مِن رَّبِّهِ كَلِمَاتٍ

(Then Adam received from his Lord Words) "Adam said, `O Lord! Did You not created me with Your Own Hands' He said, `Yes.' He said, `And blow life into me' He said, `Yes.' He said, `And when I sneezed, You said, `May Allah grant you His mercy.' Does not Your mercy precede Your anger' He was told, `Yes.' Adam said, `And You destined me to commit this evil act' He was told, `Yes.' He said, `If I repent, will You send me back to Paradise' Allah said, `Yes."' Similar is reported from Al-`Awfi, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Sa`id bin Ma`bad, and Ibn `Abbas. Al-Hakim recorded this Hadith in his Mustadrak from Ibn Jubayr, who narrated it from Ibn `Abbas. Al-Hakim said, "Its chain is Sahih and they (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it."

Allah's statement,

إِنَّهُ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ

(Verily, He is the One Who forgives (accepts repentance), the Most Merciful) (2:37) means that Allah forgives whoever regrets his error and returns to Him in repentance. This meaning is similar to Allah's statements,

أَلَمْ يَعْلَمُواْ أَنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ يَقْبَلُ التَّوْبَةَ عَنْ عِبَادِهِ

(Know they not that Allah accepts repentance from His servants) (9:104),

وَمَن يَعْمَلْ سُوءاً أَوْ يَظْلِمْ نَفْسَهُ

(And whoever does evil or wrongs himself) (4:110) and

وَمَن تَابَ وَعَمِلَ صَـلِحاً

(And whosoever repents and does righteous good deeds) (25:71).

The Ayat mentioned above, testify to the fact that Allah forgives the sins of whoever repents, demonstrating His kindness and mercy towards His creation and servants. There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

Thereafter Adam received certain words from his Lord with which He inspired him a variant reading of Ādamu has accusative Ādama and nominative kalimātu meaning they the words came to him and these were those of the verse Lord we have wronged ourselves Q. 723 with which he supplicated and He relented to him that is He accepted his repentance; truly He is the Relenting to His servants the Merciful to them.

A question arises here as to how Satan got into Paradise for seducing Adam and Hawwa (علیہما السلام) 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 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 (علیہ السلام) 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 o face.

The Holy Qur'an says that Satan فَأَخْرَ‌جَهُمَا :"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

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.

In commanding Adam and Hawwa (علیہما السلام) to go down from

Paradise, Allah also said, بَعْضُكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّ: '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 between Satan on the one hand, and Adam and Hawwa' and their progeny on the other, would continue on the earth too. But if Satan, as some scholars maintain, had already been expelled, then the addressees are Adam and Hawwa' (علیہما السلام) and their progeny; the implication would now be that Adam and Hawwa (علیہما السلام) ' would have to undergo a double punishment, firstly that of being banished from Paradise, secondly that of seeing enmity arise among their children which must make life unpleasant for parents. (Baran 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.

Then Adam received from his Lord some words. Then He spoke with the lid on, not letting out the details, lest the secrets of love fall into the open and so that love's story would stay concealed. I said to her, “Halt [qifī].” She said, “Qāf.” She did not say, “I have halted,” thereby keeping the secret from the watchers. Nor did she say, “I will not halt,” thereby showing consideration for the lover's heart.3 Although the tongue of commentary does not speak of it, the folk of allusion say that it is likely that at the moment of farewell lovers say, “'When you depart from me, do not forget my covenant. Even if awareness of me dwindles one day, do not prefer another over me.'4 O Adam! Do not forget Our compact and do not choose anyone over Me.” The tongue of his state replied, “My heart is Your fellow-traveler and companion- how could it attach its love anywhere else? A heart for whom You are both spirit and awareness- how could it forget Your remembrance?”