that no one would swear falsely by Allah, and so he was deceived by him.

“So he lured them with deception. When they tasted of the tree, their nakedness became apparent to them, and they began covering themselves with leaves from Paradise. Then their Lord called out to them: ‘Did I not forbid you both from that tree and tell you that Satan is a clear enemy to you both?’” (22)

“So he lured them with deception,” that is, he deceived them. One may say, “So-and-so continues to lure another with deception,” meaning that he continues to deceive him and address him with embellished yet false speech.

It is also said that he brought them down from the rank of obedience to the state of disobedience. Such a descent can only be from a higher level to a lower one. Lowering also refers to letting down a bucket into a well. One may speak of a person lowering himself or lowering another. Al-Azhari said: Its original sense is that of a thirsty person lowering a bucket into a well in order to draw water, but finding no water; thus, he has been let down by deception. Deception is to display sincere counsel while concealing treachery.

“When they tasted of the tree, their nakedness became apparent to them.” Al-Kalbi said: When they ate from it. It is narrated from Ibn Abbas that he said: Before they had swallowed it, the punishment overtook them. The punishment was that “their nakedness became apparent to them”: their private parts were exposed, and their garments fell away from them, until each of them saw of the other’s nakedness what had previously been concealed from him. They had not seen this before. Wahb said: Their clothing was made of light. Qatadah said: It was a covering of nails with which Allah had clothed them; when they fell into sin, their nakedness became apparent to them, and they felt ashamed. ⦗128/b⦗

“And they began”: that is, they set about “covering themselves,” patching, attaching, and joining “with leaves from Paradise”—namely, fig leaves—until they became like a garment.

Al-Zajjaj said: They placed one leaf upon another in order to cover their nakedness. It is narrated from Ubayy ibn Kab that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “Adam was a tall man, like a towering palm tree (1), with abundant hair on his head. When he fell into sin, his nakedness became apparent to him, though he had never seen it before. So he fled through Paradise. A tree of Paradise caught him by his hair and held him fast. He said to it, ‘Release me!’ It said, ‘I will not release you.’ Then his Lord called out to him, ‘O Adam, are you fleeing from Me?’ He said, ‘No, my Lord, but I felt ashamed before You.’” (2)

“And their Lord called out to them: ‘Did I not forbid you both from that tree?’” That is, from eating of it. “And did I not tell you that Satan is a clear enemy to you both?”