Surah Al-Baqara (2) — Ayah 35

(Ayah 35) ➊ In this verse, the third virtue of Adam (peace be upon him) is mentioned: after having the angels prostrate to him, he was granted residence in Paradise. The apparent meaning of the verse is that Hawwa (Eve) had already been created at that time. For details about her creation, see Surah An-Nisa (1) and Surah Al-A'raf (189).
➋ What kind of tree was this? Allah Almighty did not mention it, nor did the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) inform us. If it had been necessary or beneficial to know, it would certainly have been told. Some commentators have named wheat, grape, fig, etc., but all these statements are without evidence.
➌ {وَ لَا تَقْرَبَا.....:} In order to avoid eating from this tree, He also forbade going near it. From this, the legal principle of blocking the means (sadd al-dhara'i) is established, meaning that it is also necessary to avoid anything that leads to something forbidden. For example, to avoid adultery, going near it is also prohibited, as He said: «{ وَ لَا تَقْرَبُوا الزِّنٰۤى }» [ بنی إسرائیل : ۳۲ ] "And do not go near adultery." To avoid the forbidden, it is commanded to avoid doubtful things. Nu'man bin Bashir (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Indeed, the lawful is clear and indeed, the unlawful is clear, and between them are some doubtful matters that many people do not know. So whoever avoids the doubtful matters will protect his religion and his honor completely, and whoever falls into doubtful matters will fall into the unlawful, like a shepherd who grazes (his flock) near a forbidden pasture, it is likely that he will soon graze in it. Beware! Every king has a forbidden pasture, and the forbidden pasture of Allah is His prohibited things." [ مسلم، المساقاۃ والمزارعۃ، باب أخذ الحلال و ترک الشبہات : ۱۵۹۹ ] Similarly, to prevent Allah from being insulted, He forbade insulting false deities: «{ وَ لَا تَسُبُّوا الَّذِيْنَ يَدْعُوْنَ مِنْ دُوْنِ اللّٰهِ فَيَسُبُّوا اللّٰهَ عَدْوًۢا بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ }» [ الأنعام : ۱۰۸ ] "And do not insult those whom they invoke other than Allah, lest they insult Allah in enmity without knowledge."

35. 1 This is the third virtue of Hazrat Adam ؑ, that Paradise was made his abode and granted to him.
35. 2 What was this tree? There is no clarification about it in the Quran or Hadith. It has been made famous as the wheat tree, which is baseless. There is neither any need for us to know its name nor is there any benefit in it.

35. Then We said, "O Adam [48], dwell, you and your wife [49], in Paradise [50], and eat freely from wherever you wish. But do not approach this tree [51], or else you both [52] will be among the wrongdoers."

[48]
Adam (peace be upon him) and the Theory of Evolution:

It should be clear that Adam (peace be upon him) is not a link in the chain of evolution, as nowadays Darwin's theory of evolution is taught in colleges, etc., that man is a descendant of the monkey or its cousin. Whereas the figure of Adam (peace be upon him) was made by Allah Almighty with His own hand [38: 75] then He breathed into him from His own spirit [15: 19، 38: 72]. It is from this infusion of the spirit that understanding, the power of will, choice, discernment, and deduction were created in man, which are not found in any other creature.

[49]
An Objection Regarding the Creation of Hawwa (Eve) and Its Answer:

Sayyidah Hawwa, who was created from the rib of Sayyiduna Adam (peace be upon him). Some people, who wish to prove "equality of men and women" from the Shariah, say that Sayyidah Hawwa was also created from the same clay or substance from which Sayyiduna Adam (peace be upon him) was created, and they argue that in ﴿خَلَقَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا﴾ the pronoun "haa" is feminine. If Hawwa had been created from Adam (peace be upon him), the pronoun should have been masculine. This argument is wrong for two reasons. First, because the pronoun "haa" refers to ﴿نَفْسٍ وَّاحِدَةٍ﴾, which is feminine, and second, because: It is explicitly mentioned in the ahadith that Sayyidah Hawwa was created from the rib. Therefore, do not try to straighten her, otherwise you will break her. So treat her with kindness. [بخاري۔ كتاب الانبياء باب خلق آدم و ذريته] ﴿و قول اللّٰه تعالىٰ وَاِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَليِٰٕكَةِ اِنِّيْ جَاعِلٌ فِي الْاَرْضِ خَلِيْفَةً﴾

[50]
Is the Paradise Earthly or Heavenly? This debate also continues as to whether this paradise was earthly or heavenly. Some people consider it earthly and place its location in Aden or Palestine. But in our opinion, this "al-jannah" is the same as is well-known among Muslims, and according to the belief of Ahl al-Sunnah, it has already been created. Adam (peace be upon him) and Hawwa were commanded to dwell in this paradise so that they would know that their real abode is this. However, by settling them here, it was also intended to test to what extent Adam (and likewise his progeny) obey Allah in the face of satanic temptations.

[51]
For this test, a tree in paradise was chosen, that you must not go near this tree. Apart from this, you may eat the fruits of all the trees in paradise. Was this forbidden tree wheat, or grape, or something else? This debate is fruitless, and in view of the intended purpose, there was no need to mention it.

[52]
The Literal Meaning of Zulm (Wrongdoing):

The literal meaning of zulm is to unjustly remove something from its original place and put it elsewhere, and this word is used in a very broad sense. That is, any act of injustice, whether it relates to the rights of Allah or the rights of people, is zulm. In other words, the word zulm can be applied to every sin, and the word zalim (wrongdoer) to every sinner. In this verse, zulm refers both to disobedience to Allah, the Lord of Glory, and to excess against oneself, because of which they had to leave paradise.