Tā-Hā: (115–119) And We had already taken a covenant...

It should be noted that this is the sixth instance of the story of Adam (peace be upon him) in the Qur'an:

• First in Sūrat al-Baqarah.
• Then in al-A'rāf.
• Then in al-Ḥijr.
• Then in al-Isrā'.
• Then in al-Kahf.
• And here.

There are several ways this verse relates to what preceded it:

1. Fulfilling a Promise: Since the Almighty had said, {Thus We relate to you some of the news of what has passed} (20:99), He followed it by recounting this story to fulfill the promise made in that verse.
2. Context of Warning: After stating, {And We have diversified in this [Qur'an] threats, that they may become righteous or that it may cause them to remember} (20:113), He followed it with Adam's story. It is as if He is saying: The obedience of the children of Adam to Satan and their failure to guard against his whispers is an ancient matter. We had already taken a covenant with Adam before these people to whom We diversified the threats, emphasizing the warning by saying: {Indeed, this is an enemy to you and your spouse}. Yet, despite this, he forgot and abandoned that covenant. Thus, the command for humanity to guard against Satan is an ancient one.
3. Human Weakness: After telling the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), {And say, "My Lord, increase me in knowledge"} (20:114), the story of Adam follows. After God covenanted with him and strongly renewed the warning against the enemy, Adam forgot. This indicates the weakness of human power in maintaining vigilance, thus necessitating seeking help from the Lord to grant success in acquiring knowledge and to avert heedlessness and forgetfulness.
4. Contrast in Conduct: When the Prophet (peace be upon him) was told, {And do not hasten with the Qur'an before its revelation to you is complete} (20:114), it showed his intense zeal regarding religion, exceeding what was obligatory (an ifrāṭ or excess). When describing him with ifrāṭ, the text describes Adam with tafrīṭ (negligence/falling short) in that matter, as he was lax and failed to guard himself, leading to forgetfulness. Thus, the former is described with negligence and the latter with excess, to show that humanity cannot be free from some kind of slip.
5. Justification for Hastiness: When the Prophet (peace be upon him) was told, {Do not hasten}, his heart felt constrained, and he thought, "If I had not rushed into something improper, I would not have been forbidden." It was said to him: If you did what was forbidden, it was out of eagerness for worship and safeguarding the revelation. Your father (Adam) committed what was improper due to laxity and failing to guard himself. Therefore, your matter is better than his.

Regarding the Almighty's statement: {And We had already taken a covenant from him before}: There is no doubt that the covenant refers to a command or prohibition from God, similar to how a king's commands or testaments are referred to as a covenant. The exegetes said: We covenanted with him not to eat from the tree, nor even approach it.

Regarding the phrase {before}, there are several interpretations:

1. Before these people to whom We diversified the threats in the Qur'an.
2. Ibn 'Abbās said: We covenanted with him before he ate from the tree, that he should not eat from it.
3. It means before Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the Qur'an, which is the view of al-Ḥasan.

As for {so he forgot}: We have discussed this exhaustively in Sūrat al-Baqarah, and we will reiterate a small part here. There are two views on forgetting:

1. It means the opposite of remembering. He was admonished for failing to guard himself and be extremely precise, which led to forgetfulness. Al-Ḥasan (may God have mercy on him) used to say: "By God, he never disobeyed except through forgetfulness."
2. Nisyān (forgetting) here means ترك (abandonment). He abandoned the covenant to guard against the tree and ate from its fruit.

It is also read: {fa-nusiya} (so he was forgotten), meaning Satan forgot him (i.e., made him forget). Under this interpretation, it is possible that he committed the sin without interpretation (ta'wīl), or he committed it with interpretation. This discussion was previously covered in Sūrat al-Baqarah.

As for {and We did not find in him any resolve}, there are several points of discussion:

First Inquiry: The word wajadna (We found) can mean knowledge (as in, We did not know him to have resolve), or it can mean the opposite of non-existence, as if saying, "We found non-existence of resolve in him."

Second Inquiry: Resolve ('azm) means determination and steadfastness. The phrase {and We did not find in him any resolve} can mean:

• He had no resolve to commit the sin (which leans toward praise).
• He had no resolve to abandon the sin.
• He had no resolve for vigilance and guarding against heedlessness.
• He had no resolve for caution in the manner of ijtihād (independent reasoning), if we hold that his error was one of ijtihād.

As for {And [mention] when We said to the angels, "Prostrate to Adam," and they prostrated, except for Iblīs, who refused}: This involves several issues:

1. Were all angels commanded, or only some?
2. What is the meaning of prostration?
3. Was Iblīs one of the angels or not? If not, how was the exception valid, and why was he commanded to prostrate?
4. Does this indicate that Adam was superior to Muhammad (peace be upon him) or not?
5. Regarding the description of Iblīs as abā (refused/was arrogant): How did this refusal necessitate disbelief? Was he a disbeliever initially, or did disbelief result from that refusal?

Note that these issues were covered exhaustively in Sūrat al-Baqarah.

As for {So We said, "O Adam, indeed, this is an enemy to you and your spouse. Then let him not evict you from the Garden, lest you suffer}: This raises several questions:

First Question: What was the cause of this enmity? Answer: There are several views:

1. Iblīs was envious. When he saw the signs of God's favors upon Adam, he envied him and became his enemy.
2. Adam was a young scholar (due to {And He taught Adam the names of all things}), while Iblīs was an old ignorant man because he asserted his virtue based on his origin (lineage), which is ignorance. The ignorant old man is always an enemy to the learned youth.
3. Iblīs was created from fire, and Adam from water and clay; thus, enmity exists between their origins, and this enmity remained.

Second Question: Why did God say, {Then let him not evict you from the Garden}, when it is God who expels them from the Garden? Answer: Since it was through his whispering that the action leading to expulsion occurred, attributing the consequence to him is valid.

Third Question: Why was the action of suffering (shaqā') attributed solely to Adam, despite Eve sharing in the act? Answer: There are two views:

1. The suffering of the husband, who is the guardian and leader of his household, encompasses the suffering of his dependents. Just as his happiness includes theirs, the statement was attributed specifically to him while maintaining the rhyme scheme.
2. Shaqā' here refers to the toil in seeking sustenance, which falls upon the man, not the woman. It is narrated that a red ox was sent down to Adam, and he used it for plowing while wiping sweat from his brow.

As for {Except that you will not be hungry therein or be unclothed, Or that you will not be thirsty therein or be exposed to the sun}: This contains several points:

First Issue: The reading varies: wa-innaka (with fatḥa on anna) or wa-innaki (with kasra on anna). The fatḥa reading connects it to the preceding negative command: {that you will not be hungry therein...}. If one asks: How can anna follow an (since wāw replaces an), as one does not say anna Zaydun munṭaliq? We reply: The wāw is not exclusively placed to substitute for an. It substitutes for any operative particle. Since it is not specifically a particle of affirmation, it is not prohibited for them to combine, just as combining an and anna is prohibited.

Second Issue: Satiety, quenching thirst, clothing, and shelter from the sun are the pivots around which human affairs revolve. God mentioned the attainment of these things for Adam in Paradise without the need for effort or seeking. He mentioned them using the negative form of their opposites—hunger, nakedness, thirst, and exposure to the sun—to alert Adam to the types of hardship from which he was warned, encouraging him to be extremely cautious about the cause that would lead him to them. All these matters seem to be an explanation of the suffering mentioned in {lest you suffer}.

{So Satan whispered to him, saying, "O Adam, shall I direct you to the Tree of Eternity and a kingdom that will not decay?" Then they both ate from it, and their private parts became apparent to them, and they began to fasten over themselves from the leaves of the Garden. And Adam disobeyed his Lord and erred [by choosing the wrong path]. Then his Lord chose him, accepted his repentance, and guided him.}