• Among the lessons is the superiority of knowledge: when the angels recognized Adam’s merit through the knowledge he had been given, they understood his perfection and that he deserved honor and veneration.
• Another lesson is that whoever has been favored by Allah with knowledge must acknowledge that blessing and say, as the angels and the messengers said: Subḥānaka lā ʿilma lanā illā mā ʿallamtanā ("Glory be to You; we possess no knowledge except what You have taught us") ⦗Al-Baqarah 2:32⦘. He must also avoid speaking on matters of which he has no knowledge. Knowledge is one of the greatest gifts, and gratitude for it lies in admitting that it comes from Allah, praising Him for imparting it, teaching the ignorant, confining oneself to what one truly knows, and remaining silent about what one does not know.
• A further lesson is that Allah has presented this story as a point of reflection, and that envy, arrogance, and greed are among the most dangerous traits for a servant. Iblīs’s pride and envy of Adam led him to the fate you know; Adam and his wife’s eagerness drove them to eat from the tree. Had Allah’s mercy not overtaken them, it would have destroyed them. Yet the mercy of Allah perfects the deficient, mends the broken, saves the doomed, and raises the fallen.
• It also teaches that when a servant falls into sin, he should hasten to repentance and confession, repeating with a sincere heart and true contrition what our two parents said. Allah has recounted the manner of their repentance only so that we might follow their example, attain happiness, and escape destruction.
Likewise, He has informed us of Satan’s threats and of his unshakable resolve to mislead us by every means, only so that we may ready ourselves against this enemy who has openly declared such deep-rooted enmity. Allah wishes us to resist him with all the power at our disposal:
• by avoiding his paths and footsteps and shunning the causes that might land us in his snares;
• and by erecting strongholds—sound daily litanies, heartfelt remembrances, and the various supplications of protection.