Qurani app iconQuraniQuran, hadith, fiqh, prayer, and audio in one place
Browse

Tafsir of Al-A'raf 7:19

Surah Al-A'raf 7:19

ﲔ ﲕ ﲖ ﲗ ﲘ ﲙ ﲚ ﲛ ﲜ ﲝ ﲞ ﲟ ﲠ ﲡ ﲢ ﲣ

And "O Adam, dwell, you and your wife, in Paradise and eat from wherever you will but do not approach this tree, lest you be among the wrongdoers."

Tafsir

Mafatih al-Ghayb

Verse range: 7:19

Open in Qurani

Al-A'raf (The Heights): Verse 19

And [He said], "O Adam, dwell, you and your spouse, in Paradise..."

Know that this verse encompasses several issues:

  1. The Command {Dwell}: Whether it is a command of obligation (ta'abbud) or a command of permission and allowance, as there is no hardship involved, thus it is not subject to religious obligation (taklīf).
  2. Adam's Spouse: That Adam's spouse is Eve (Hawwā'), and we must mention how God created her.
  3. The Nature of the Garden: Whether that Garden was the Garden of Eternity (Jannat al-Khuld), or one of the gardens of Heaven, or one of the gardens of Earth.
  4. The Command {Eat}: That the statement {Eat} (fakulā) is a command of permission, not a command of obligation.
  5. The Prohibition {Do Not Approach}: Whether the statement {Do not approach} (wa lā taqrabā) is a prohibition of mere disapproval (nahy tanzīh) or a prohibition of absolute prohibition (nahy taḥrīm).
  6. The Tree: Whether {this tree} (hādhihi ash-shajarah) refers to one specific tree or the species/type of tree.
  7. The Identity of the Tree: What kind of tree that was.
  8. The Sin: Whether that sin was minor or major.
  9. The Consequence: What is meant by {so that you become of the wrongdoers} (fa takūnā min aẓ-ẓālimīn), and whether committing this act necessitates falling under the saying of the Almighty: {Indeed, the curse of Allah is upon the wrongdoers} (Hud: 18).
  10. Timing: Whether this incident occurred before Adam's prophethood or after it.

These ten issues have already been detailed and established in Surah Al-Baqarah, so we shall not repeat them here.

What remains for us to address from this verse is a single point: God Almighty said in Surah Al-Baqarah: {And eat from it freely} (Al-Baqarah: 35) using the conjunction wāw (and), whereas here He said: {Eat} (fakulā) using the conjunction fā' (so/then). What is the reason for this?

The answer is twofold:

The First View: The wāw implies absolute conjunction (gathering/permissibility in general), while the fā' implies conjunction following immediately (sequence/specific instance). Thus, what is understood from the fā' is a specific instance falling under the general meaning understood from the wāw. There is no contradiction between the specific and the general. Therefore, in Surah Al-Baqarah, the general category (permissibility) was mentioned, while in Surah Al-A'raf, the specific instance (the command related to the forbidden tree) was mentioned.

Al-A'raf (The Heights): Verses 20-22

**20.** Then Satan whispered to them both, to reveal to them that which was concealed from them of their private parts, and he said, "Your Lord has not forbidden you this tree except that you two become angels or become among those who abide eternally." **21.** And he swore to them both, "Indeed, I am to you a sincere advisor." **22.** So he deceived them with deception. And when they tasted of the tree, their private parts became apparent to them, and they began to fasten over themselves leaves from Paradise. And their Lord called to them, "Did I not forbid you from that tree and tell you that Satan is to you a clear enemy?"