Those who hold this view are themselves divided into two opinions:
- That the garden was in the heavens, for Allah caused the two of them to descend from it. This is the position of al-Ḥasan.
- That it was on earth, for Allah tested them there by forbidding them that particular tree while permitting all other fruits. This is the view of Ibn Yaḥyā, and it occurred after Iblīs had been ordered to prostrate to Adam—and Allah knows best which of the two is correct.(1)
Such are his words. His statement therefore records three opinions and suggests that he personally suspends judgment on the question. For this reason Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Rāzī, in his Tafsīr,(2) cites four views: the three transmitted by al-Māwardī and a fourth—namely, to withhold judgment altogether. He also attributes the opinion that the garden was in heaven yet not the Garden of Refuge to Abū ʿAlī al-Jubbāʾī.
The supporters of the second opinion have posed an objection that calls for a reply. They say: There is no doubt that, when Iblīs refused to prostrate, Allah expelled him from the Divine Presence(3) and commanded him to depart and descend. This command was not a legal ruling that could be defied; it was a decretive command that admits of no opposition. Hence He said, “Depart from it, disgraced and banished” (al-Aʿrāf 18); and He said, “Descend from it—never is it for you to act proudly therein” (al-Aʿrāf 13); and He said, “So leave it, for you are accursed” (Ṣād 77). In each verse the pronoun refers to the Garden, or to heaven, or to the lofty station; whichever it is, it is clear that by divine decree he had no right to remain—either as a resident or even in passing—in the place from which he was expelled.
They further argue: The Qurʾānic narrative plainly shows that he whispered to Adam and addressed him, saying, “Shall I lead you to the Tree of Immortality and to a dominion that never decays?” (Ṭā Hā 120); and that he said, “Your Lord has only forbidden you this tree lest you become angels or become among those who live forever (20); and he swore to them, ‘Indeed, I am a sincere adviser to you’ (21); thus he lured them with deception” (al-Aʿrāf 20–22). This clearly indicates that he was with them in their Garden.
It has been answered that he may have encountered them in the Garden merely in passing and not as one who dwells there, or that he whispered to them while standing at its gate or from beneath the heaven. Each of these possibilities warrants examination, and Allah knows best.
Among the evidences advanced by the advocates of this view is what ʿAbd Allāh, the son of Imām Aḥmad, recorded in the Appendix: from Hudbah ibn Khālid, from Ḥammād ibn Salamah, from Ḥumayd, from al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, from ʿUtayy ibn Ḍamrah al-Saʿdī, from Ubayy ibn Kaʿb, who said:
“When death approached Adam, he desired a cluster of grapes from the Garden. His children set out to fetch it for him, but the angels met them and said, ‘Where are you going, O children of Adam?’ They replied, ‘Our father longs for a cluster of grapes from the Garden.’ The angels said to them, ‘Turn back, for…’”