Surah Taa-Haa (20) — Ayah 122

(Ayah 122) ➊ The meaning of { ثُمَّ اجْتَبٰهُ رَبُّهٗ: ’’جَبَي يَجْبِيْ‘‘} (ض) is to draw or pull something towards oneself, as He said: «{ اَوَ لَمْ نُمَكِّنْ لَّهُمْ حَرَمًا اٰمِنًا يُّجْبٰۤى اِلَيْهِ ثَمَرٰتُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ }» [ القصص : ۵۷ ] "And have We not established for them a secure sanctuary, to which fruits of all kinds are drawn?" The meaning of {’’اِجْتَبَي‘‘} (in the form of ifti‘āl) is to take something for oneself, to select. The meaning of Allah Almighty drawing Adam (peace be upon him) towards Himself and selecting him is that He inspired in his heart the thought of repentance, granted him the ability to repent, and taught him the words of repentance, as He said: « فَتَلَقّٰۤى اٰدَمُ مِنْ رَّبِّهٖ كَلِمٰتٍ فَتَابَ عَلَيْهِ» [ البقرۃ : ۳۷ ] "Then Adam learned from his Lord some words, so He accepted his repentance." According to the Qur’an, those words were: «{ رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَاۤ اَنْفُسَنَا وَ اِنْ لَّمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَ تَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُوْنَنَّ مِنَ الْخٰسِرِيْنَ }» [ الأعراف : ۲۳ ] In {’’ اجْتَبٰهُ رَبُّهٗ ‘‘}, the word {’’ رَبُّهٗ ‘‘} is pointing towards the reason for this selection.

➋ { فَتَابَ عَلَيْهِ وَ هَدٰى :} means He accepted his repentance and guided him, that is, set him on the straight path and granted him steadfastness upon it. Ibn ‘Ashur has written that wherever the words {’’اِجْتِبَاء‘‘} and "guidance" come together in the Qur’an, it means the granting of prophethood, as He said: «{ وَ اجْتَبَيْنٰهُمْ وَ هَدَيْنٰهُمْ اِلٰى صِرَاطٍ مُّسْتَقِيْمٍ }» [ الأنعام : ۸۷ ] and He said: «{ اِجْتَبٰىهُ وَ هَدٰىهُ اِلٰى صِرَاطٍ مُّسْتَقِيْمٍ }» [ النحل : ۱۲۱ ] and the third verse is this one.

➌ The sin of Adam (peace be upon him), due to repentance and seeking forgiveness, became a means for him to attain an even higher status than before. From this, the wisdom of Allah Almighty becomes apparent as to why He did not make it impossible for prophets to err, and that is for the Messenger to become a model and example for his ummah in repentance and seeking forgiveness after making a mistake. Because the remorse, lamentation, resolve not to repeat, and constant seeking forgiveness for a past mistake after an error are so beloved to Allah Almighty that if a human did not err, after which he would repent and seek forgiveness, then Allah Almighty would remove the progeny of Adam and bring another people who would sin, then seek forgiveness, and Allah Almighty would forgive them. [ مسلم، التوبۃ، باب سقوط الذنوب بالاستغفار والتوبۃ : ۲۷۴۹، عن أبي ھریرۃ رضی اللہ عنہ ] Then what limit is there to the mercy and grace of that Compassionate Lord, who even turns previous sins into good deeds after repentance. See Surah Al-Furqan (70). May Allah Almighty include us sinners among those who repent in this way. (Ameen)

➍ After eating from the tree, here the acceptance of repentance is mentioned first and the command to descend to earth is mentioned afterwards, although the actual sequence was that as soon as they ate from the tree, they were expelled from Paradise. But here, the acceptance of Adam’s (peace be upon him) repentance and the granting of prophethood is mentioned first so that the listeners may know the outcome of Adam (peace be upon him), how excellent it was.

122. 1. Some people, reasoning from this, say that the aforementioned mistakes by Adam (علیہ السلام) occurred before prophethood, and that he was granted prophethood after this. But we have explained the reality of this 'disobedience' on the previous page; it does not contradict infallibility. Because such admonition and advice, which is not related to the preaching of the message or legislation, but rather to personal actions, and even in this, the cause has been attributed to weakness, then it is only due to their greatness and elevated status that even a minor mistake by the great is considered significant. Therefore, the meaning of the verse is not that after this we chose him for prophethood, but rather that after regret and repentance, we reinstated him to the same position that he previously held. The decision to send him down to earth was based on Our will, wisdom, and expedience; it should not be understood from this that Our wrath descended upon Adam.

The tafsir of this ayah is included with the following verse(s).