Surah Taa-Haa (20) — Ayah 120

(Ayah 121,120) ➊ { فَوَسْوَسَ اِلَيْهِ الشَّيْطٰنُ … :} In the Quran, the attribution of Satan’s whispering and causing to slip is, in some verses, made only towards Adam (peace be upon him), and in others, towards both Adam and Hawwa (Eve) (peace be upon them). It appears that, in reality, Satan whispered only into the heart of Adam (peace be upon him); the mention of Hawwa (peace be upon her) is in the sense of her following him. Therefore, the notion that has become popular among the masses—that Satan first caused Hawwa (peace be upon her) to slip and then, through her, gained control over Adam (peace be upon him)—is absolutely wrong and baseless, and is derived from Isra’iliyat. For details of both verses, see Surah Al-A’raf (20, 21).

➋ {وَ عَصٰۤى اٰدَمُ رَبَّهٗ فَغَوٰى … :} The incident of Adam (peace be upon him) is indeed astonishing: such a great person, whom Allah Almighty created with His own hands, made the angels prostrate to him, granted him perfect intellect, bestowed upon him every blessing in His Paradise, clearly informed him of Satan’s enmity, and even warned him that obeying the enemy would result in expulsion from Paradise—such a great person, whom his most Merciful Lord forbade from only one thing, yet, despite all these favors from his Lord and clear knowledge of Satan’s enmity, how did he end up disobeying his Lord due to Satan’s enticement? Whoever reflects on this incident will only become more astonished, and will ultimately reach the conclusion that no one can prevent or remove Allah’s decree, and that, no matter how clear and strong the evidence, it only benefits when Allah Almighty has decreed and destined it. (Razi) From the narration in Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, etc., regarding Musa (peace be upon him) questioning Adam (peace be upon him) and his response, the same point is understood. If anyone argues from this hadith that, since the sin was written in Allah’s decree, what is our fault and why are we blamed?—the answer is that Adam (peace be upon him) gave this response after his repentance was accepted and his sin was forgiven. Before this, when Allah Almighty asked them: «{ اَلَمْ اَنْهَكُمَا عَنْ تِلْكُمَا الشَّجَرَةِ }» [ الأعراف : ۲۲ ] “Did I not forbid you from that tree?”—they neither made an excuse of destiny nor blamed Allah Almighty for their fault, but clearly admitted: «{ رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَاۤ اَنْفُسَنَا وَ اِنْ لَّمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَ تَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُوْنَنَّ مِنَ الْخٰسِرِيْنَ }» [ الأعراف : ۲۳ ] “Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy on us, we will surely be among the losers.” In contrast, Iblis, instead of admitting his sin, blamed it on Allah Almighty: «{ قَالَ فَبِمَاۤ اَغْوَيْتَنِيْ لَاَقْعُدَنَّ لَهُمْ صِرَاطَكَ الْمُسْتَقِيْمَ }» [ الأعراف : ۱۶ ] “He said, ‘Because You have led me astray, I will surely sit in wait for them on Your straight path.’” Making destiny an excuse without seeking forgiveness for sin is wrong. Another answer, which is even stronger, is that Musa (peace be upon him) did not ask Adam (peace be upon him) why he disobeyed; rather, he blamed him for expelling his descendants from Paradise and putting them in hardship, whereas one is not blamed for hardship, even if it comes due to a mistake; rather, one is consoled. For example, if an accident happens due to someone’s mistake, instead of blaming them for the mistake, they are consoled in their hardship, saying that such was written in Allah’s decree, so do not grieve. Accordingly, it is narrated in Sahih Muslim that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ اِحْتَجَّ آدَمُ وَ مُوْسٰی، فَقَالَ مُوْسَی يَا آدَمُ ! أَنْتَ أَبُوْنَا، أَنْتَ خَيَّبْتَنَا وَأَخْرَجْتَنَا مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ، فَقَالَ لَهُ آدَمُ أَنْتَ مُوْسَی، اصْطَفَاكَ اللّٰهُ بِكَلَامِهِ، وَخَطَّ لَكَ بِيَدِهِ، أَتَلُوْمُنِیْ عَلٰی أَمْرٍ قَدَّرَهُ اللّٰهُ عَلَيَّ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَخْلُقَنِيْ بِأَرْبَعِيْنَ سَنَةً؟ فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : فَحَجَّ آدَمُ مُوْسَی، فَحَجَّ آدَمُ مُوْسَی] “Adam and Musa (peace be upon them) debated, so Musa (peace be upon him) said, ‘You are our father; you disappointed us and expelled us from Paradise.’” So Adam (peace be upon him) said to him: “O Musa! Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, chose you for His speech and wrote (the Book) for you with His own hand. O Musa! Do you blame me for a matter which Allah had decreed for me forty years before He created me?” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “So Adam prevailed over Musa in argument, so Adam prevailed over Musa in argument.” [ مسلم، القدر، باب حجاج آدم و موسٰی صلی اللہ علیہما وسلم : ۲۶۵۲ ]