Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:37

The meaning of "receiving the words": It means to welcome them by taking, accepting, and acting upon them once he learned them. It has also been recited with Adam in the accusative case and the words in the nominative case, implying that the words "met" him by reaching him and connecting with him.

If you ask: What are these words? I say: It is His saying, the Exalted: "Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves..." (Al-A'raf: 23).

• From Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him): "The most beloved speech to Allah is what our father Adam said when he committed the sin: 'Glory be to You, O Allah, and with Your praise, blessed is Your name, exalted is Your majesty, there is no god but You. I have wronged myself, so forgive me, for none forgives sins but You.'"
• From Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them): He said: "O Lord, did You not create me with Your hand? He said: 'Yes.' He said: 'O Lord, did You not breathe into me of Your spirit? He said: 'Yes.' He said: 'O Lord, did Your mercy not precede Your wrath? He said: 'Yes.' He said: 'O Lord, did You not settle me in Your Paradise? He said: 'Yes.' He said: 'O Lord, if I repent and reform, will You return me to Paradise?' He said: 'Yes.'"

The mention of Adam’s repentance sufficed without mentioning Eve’s, because she was a follower of him, just as the mention of women is often folded away in most of the Qur'an and Sunnah for this reason. However, He did mention her in His saying: "They both said, 'Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves...'" (Al-A'raf: 23).

"And He accepted his repentance" Meaning: He returned to him with mercy and acceptance.

If you ask: Why was "We said, 'Go down'" repeated? I say: For emphasis, and because of the addition attached to it: "And if there should come to you guidance from Me..."

If you ask: What is the response to the first conditional clause? I say: The second conditional clause and its response serve as the answer, similar to your saying: "If you come to me, then if you are able, I will do good to you." The meaning is: "If guidance comes to you from Me—by a messenger I send to you and a Book I reveal to you—as evidenced by His saying: 'But they who disbelieved and denied Our signs' in contrast to His saying: 'Whoever follows My guidance.'"

If you ask: Why was the word of doubt ('if') used, when the coming of guidance is inevitable and necessary? I say: To signal that faith in Allah and monotheism do not strictly depend on the sending of messengers and the revealing of books. Even if He had not sent a messenger or revealed a book, faith in Him and His oneness would still be obligatory due to the intellects He installed in them, the proofs He set up for them, and the capacity He gave them for reflection and deduction.

If you ask: The sin for which Adam was sent down—if it were a major sin, major sins are not permissible for prophets. If it were a minor sin, why did what happened to him occur—the removal of his garment, expulsion from Paradise, being sent down from the sky as was done with Iblis, and attributing to him error, disobedience, forgetting the covenant, lack of resolve, and the need for repentance? I say: It was nothing but a minor sin, overwhelmed by the actions of his heart—sincerity and righteous thoughts, which are the most sublime of deeds and the greatest of acts of obedience. What happened to him occurred only to magnify the sin, to make its nature appear grave, and to create awe, so that it might be a kindness (lutf) to him and his descendants in avoiding sins and fearing transgressions. It serves as a warning that if he was expelled from Paradise for a single sin, how then could one who possesses numerous sins enter it?

• Recitation: "Whoever follows My guidance" (faman tabi'a hudaya) is read according to the dialect of Hudhayl.
• Recitation: "There will be no fear" (fala khawfun) with the fatha (on the lam).

"O Children of Israel, remember My favor which I have bestowed upon you and fulfill My covenant [so that] I will fulfill your covenant, and be afraid of [only] Me. And believe in what I have sent down confirming that which is [already] with you, and be not the first to disbelieve in it. And do not exchange My signs for a small price, and fear [only] Me."