pleasures—save for one specific tree in that Garden, which He prohibited to them, saying, “And do not eat from this tree, lest the two of you become among the wrongdoers (1).”

He also said to Adam while granting him the enjoyment of that Garden: “Indeed, you will neither go hungry therein nor be unclothed (118); and you will neither suffer from thirst therein nor from the sun’s heat (119)” [Ta Ha: 118–119].

They remained in the Garden for as long as Allah willed, enjoying the condition He had described, while their enemy kept watching and lying in wait, searching for an opening. When he saw Adam’s delight in the Garden and his intense desire for its permanence, he approached him in a subtle way, appearing as a sincere and caring friend, and said, “O Adam, shall I direct you to a tree which, if you eat from it, you will live forever in this Garden and possess an everlasting kingdom that will never perish?”

He persisted in whispering, beautifying, seducing, promising, and tempting, showering them with seemingly benevolent counsel that was in fact the greatest deception, until he duped them; so they both ate from the tree that Allah had forbidden to them.

No sooner had they eaten than their nakedness became apparent to them, whereas before they had been concealed, and they “began to fasten” [al-Aʿrāf: 22] for themselves leaves from that Garden, sticking them to their bare bodies in place of clothing. Regret overwhelmed them, and the punishment for their disobedience appeared at once. Their Lord called out to them: “Did I not forbid you from that tree and say to you that Satan is an open enemy to you?” [al-Aʿrāf: 22].

Allah then cast into their hearts complete repentance and sincere turning back to Him, and Adam received words from his Lord. They both said: “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” [al-Aʿrāf: 23].

So Allah accepted their repentance and erased the sin they had committed. Yet the very warning He had given them—that they would be expelled from the Garden if they partook of that tree—was now inevitable and duly came to pass. They were therefore sent down to the earth, whose good is mixed with evil and whose joys are alloyed with sorrow.