{وعلم ءادم}
And We said: "O Adam, dwell." It is read: "This tree," where the origin is *yā* (the letter Y), and the *hā* (the letter H) is a substitute for it.
{فوسوس لهما الشيطان}
*Waswasa* (whispering) is to speak in a hidden, repetitive manner. From this comes the *waswasa* of jewelry (the jingling sound). It is an intransitive verb, like *walwalat* (wailing) of a woman or *wa‘wa‘at* (howling) of a wolf. A man is called *muwawwis* (with a kasra under the Waw); one does not say *muwawwas* (with a fatha), but rather *muwawwas lahu* (whispered to) or *muwawwas ilayhi* (whispered toward), meaning the one to whom the whispering is directed. *Waswasa lahu* means he performed the whispering for his sake; *waswasa ilayhi* means he cast it toward him.
{ليبدي لهما ما ووري عنهما من سوءاتهما}
He made this his goal, to cause them distress when they saw what they preferred to keep hidden, and that it should not be exposed. This is evidence that uncovering the private parts is among the gravest of matters, and that it has always been considered shameful in human nature and repulsive to the intellect.
If you ask: Why was the Waw with a damma in {ووري} (wūriya) not changed into a hamza, as you said regarding aw-yasil?
I reply: Because the second letter is a long vowel, like the alif in wārā. It has appeared in the recitation of Abdullah as awrā (with the change).
{إلا أن تكونا ملكين}
Meaning: except for the dislike that you both become angels. This is evidence that the status of angels is of a higher perspective, and that the human condition is of a lower rank. It is read: *malakayn* (with a kasra under the L), like His saying: {and a kingdom that does not decay} (Ta-Ha: 120).
{من الخالدين}
From those who do not die and remain dwelling in Paradise. It is read: *min saw’atihima* (singular), and *saw’atihima* (with a shadda on the Waw).
{وقاسمهما إني لكما لمن الناصحين}
He swore to them.
*If you ask:* *Muqasama* (reciprocal swearing) implies that you swear to your companion and he swears to you—you say "I *qasamtu* (swore with) so-and-so," meaning you made a pact, and *taqasama* means they made a pact. From this is His saying: {They said: "Swear by Allah that we will attack him by night"} (An-Naml: 49).
*I reply:* It is as if he said to them, "I swear to you both that I am among the sincere," and they said to him, "Do you swear by Allah that you are among the sincere?" Thus, it is termed *muqasama* (reciprocal swearing) between them. Or, he swore to them with sincerity, and they swore to him by accepting it. Or, the oath of Iblis is expressed in the form of *mufa‘ala* because he exerted himself in it with the intensity of one who is swearing a pact.
{فدلاهما بغرور}
He brought them down to eat from the tree by means of the deception with which he deluded them, through his swearing by Allah. Qatada said: "One is only deceived by the one who swears by Allah." Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) used to free his slave if he saw him praying well; his slaves would do this to seek freedom. When told they were deceiving him, he said: "Whoever deceives us by Allah, we are deceived for His sake."
{فلما ذاقا الشجرة}
They tasted the tree, finding its flavor as they began to eat from it. It is said: The tree was wheat. It is said: It was the grapevine.
{بدت لهما سوءاتهما}
The clothing fell away from them, and their private parts appeared to them. They had not previously seen them on themselves, nor one on the other. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "I did not see from him, nor did he see from me." Said ibn Jubayr said: Their clothing was of the nature of fingernails. Wahb said: Their clothing was a light that stood between them and the sight.
{يخصفان عليهما من ورق الجنة}
*Tafiqa* (began) means he started to do such-and-such. They began to patch leaf upon leaf over their private parts to cover themselves, just as a sandal is patched by placing one layer upon another and securing them with straps.
{ألم أنهكما عن تلكما الشجرة}
A rebuke from Allah, a reprimand, and an alert to their error in not being cautious of what Allah had warned them of regarding the enmity of Iblis. It is narrated that He said to Adam: "Did you not have, in what I granted you of the trees of Paradise, enough to spare you from this tree?" He replied: "Yes, by Your Might, but I did not think that any of Your creation would swear by You falsely." He said: "Then by My Might, I will cast you down to the earth, and you shall not attain a living except through toil." So he was cast down, taught the craft of iron, commanded to plow, so he plowed, watered, harvested, threshed, winnowed, ground, kneaded, and baked.
{قالا ربنا ظلمنا أنفسنا وإن لم تغفر لنا وترحمنا لنكونن من الخاسرين}
