Tafsir al-Baghawi - Al-Baghawi - (1/83)

Tafsir al-BaghawiAl-Baghawi

to a class of trees. Others said that it concerned a particular tree, though they differed over which tree it was. Ibn Abbas, Muhammad ibn Kaʿb, and Muqatil said that it was the wheat plant. Ibn Masʿud said that it was the vine. Ibn Jurayj said that it was the fig tree. Qatadah said that it was the Tree of Knowledge, containing knowledge of everything. Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said that it was the camphor tree. (1)

“Then you would become among the wrongdoers”: that is, those who harm themselves through disobedience. The root meaning of wrongdoing is to place something where it does not belong.

“Then Satan caused them to slip”: Satan induced Adam and Hawwa to slip—that is, he called them to commit the lapse. Hamzah recited it, “Then Satan removed them,” meaning that he drove them away. The word Satan has the morphological pattern fayʿāl and derives from shaṭana (to be far removed). He was given this name because of his remoteness from goodness and mercy. “From it”: from Paradise. “Thus he brought them out of what they had been in”: namely, bliss.

This was because Iblis wished to enter in order to whisper to Adam (2) and Hawwa, but the guardians prevented him. He then came to the serpent, which was a friend of Iblis and among the most beautiful of creatures. It had four legs like those of a camel and was among the guardians of Paradise. Iblis asked it to admit him into its mouth, so it did. It passed by the guardians with him, unaware of him, and brought him into Paradise.

Al-Hasan said: He only saw them at the gate of Paradise, because they used to go out of it. When Adam entered Paradise and saw the bliss within it, he said, “If only it could last forever!” Satan seized upon this statement and approached Adam by way of everlasting life. When he entered Paradise, he stood before Adam and Hawwa, who did not know that he was Iblis. He wept and wailed in a manner that grieved them; he was the first to wail. They said to him, “What makes you weep?” He replied, “I weep for you both: you will die and leave behind the blessing in which you now live.” This settled in their hearts, and they became distressed. Iblis then left, but later came back to them and said, “O Adam, shall I direct you to the Tree of Immortality?” Adam refused to accept this from him, but he swore to them both by Allah that he was indeed a sincere adviser to them. Thus they were deceived, for they did not think that anyone would swear falsely by Allah. Hawwa hastened to eat from the tree, then offered some to Adam, until he too ate from it.

Saʿid ibn al-Musayyib used to swear by Allah that Adam did not eat from the tree while he was in his right mind. Rather, Hawwa gave him wine to drink, and when he became intoxicated, she led him to it, and he ate. (3)

(1) Ibn Jarir al-Tabari states in his Tafsir: “The correct position is that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, forbade Adam and his wife from eating a particular tree among the trees of the Garden, to the exclusion of all its other trees. Yet they did what Allah had forbidden them to do and ate from it, as Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has described. We have no knowledge of precisely which tree it was, because Allah has provided His servants with no proof of this in the Quran or in the authentic Sunnah. How, then, could it be known? It has been said that it was a wheat tree, a grapevine, or a fig tree. It may have been one of these; but this is knowledge which, if someone possesses it, does not benefit him, and if he is ignorant of it, his ignorance does not harm him.” Al-Razi, in his Tafsir, and other exegetes likewise favored leaving the matter unspecified, and this is the correct view. See: Tafsir al-Tabari, ed. Mahmud Shakir, 1:520-521; Tafsir Ibn Kathir, 1:146. (2) Added from manuscript B. (3) No authentic report establishes this disagreement concerning how and why Adam ate from the forbidden tree, around which many exegetes have spun numerous stories. It concerns matters of the unseen, which require established textual transmission. These stories may have been taken from the Israiliyyat (Israelite reports). The claim that Adam drank wine and was therefore not in his right mind is unsound, for the wine of the Garden has no intoxicating effect. What is correct is that he forgot and ate, as Allah Most High has informed us. See: Ahkam al-Quran by Ibn al-Arabi, 1:19; al-Muharrar al-Wajiz by Ibn Atiyyah, 1:254-456; al-Bahr al-Muhit by Abu Hayyan, 1:161. Shaykh Muhammad Abu Shahbah refuted the Israelite reports concerning the interpretation of the verse, “Satan caused them both to slip”; see his al-Israiliyyat wa al-Mawduat fi Kutub al-Tafsir, pp. 250-251.

النَّهْيُ عَلَى جِنْسٍ مِنَ الشَّجَرِ. وَقَالَ آخَرُونَ: عَلَى شَجَرَةٍ مَخْصُوصَةٍ، وَاخْتَلَفُوا فِي تِلْكَ الشَّجَرَةِ، قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ كَعْبٍ وَمُقَاتِلٌ: هِيَ السُّنْبُلَةُ وَقَالَ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ: هِيَ شَجَرَةُ الْعِنَبِ. وَقَالَ ابْنُ جُرَيْجٍ: شَجَرَةُ التِّينِ، وَقَالَ قَتَادَةُ: شَجَرَةُ الْعِلْمِ وَفِيهَا مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، وَقَالَ عَلِيٌّ ﵁: شَجَرَةُ الْكَافُورِ (١) ﴿فَتَكُونَا﴾ فَتَصِيرَا ﴿مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ﴾ أَيِ الضَّارِّينَ بِأَنْفُسِكُمَا بِالْمَعْصِيَةِ، وَأَصْلُ الظُّلْمِ، وَضْعُ الشَّيْءِ فِي غَيْرِ مَوْضِعِهِ. ﴿فَأَزَلَّهُمَا﴾ اسْتَزَلَّ ﴿الشَّيْطَانُ﴾ آدَمَ وَحَوَّاءَ أَيْ دَعَاهُمَا إِلَى الزَّلَّةِ: وَقَرَأَ حَمْزَةُ: فَأَزَالُهُمَا، أَيْ نَحَّاهُمَا "الشَّيْطَانُ" فَيْعَالُ مِنْ شَطَنَ، أَيْ: بَعُدَ، سُمِّيَ بِهِ لِبُعْدِهِ عَنِ الْخَيْرِ وَعَنِ الرَّحْمَةِ، ﴿عَنْهَا﴾ عَنِ الْجَنَّةِ ﴿فَأَخْرَجَهُمَا مِمَّا كَانَا فِيهِ﴾ النَّعِيمِ، وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ إِبْلِيسَ أَرَادَ أَنْ يَدْخُلَ لِيُوَسْوِسَ ﴿إِلَى﴾ (٢) آدَمَ وَحَوَّاءَ فَمَنَعَتْهُ الْخَزَنَةُ فَأَتَى الْحَيَّةَ وَكَانَتْ صَدِيقَةً لِإِبْلِيسَ وَكَانَتْ مِنْ أَحْسَنِ الدَّوَابِّ، لَهَا أَرْبَعُ قَوَائِمَ كَقَوَائِمِ الْبَعِيرِ، وَكَانَتْ مِنْ خُزَّانِ الْجَنَّةِ فَسَأَلَهَا إِبْلِيسُ أَنْ تُدْخِلَهُ فَمَهَا فَأَدْخَلَتْهُ وَمَرَّتْ بِهِ عَلَى الْخَزَنَةِ وَهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ فَأَدْخَلَتْهُ الْجَنَّةَ، وَقَالَ الْحَسَنُ: إِنَّمَا رَآهُمَا عَلَى بَابِ الْجَنَّةِ لِأَنَّهُمَا كَانَا يَخْرُجَانِ مِنْهَا وَقَدْ كَانَ آدَمُ حِينَ دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ وَرَأَى مَا فِيهَا مِنَ النَّعِيمِ قَالَ: لَوْ أَنَّ خُلْدًا، فَاغْتَنَمَ ذَلِكَ مِنْهُ الشَّيْطَانُ فَأَتَاهُ الشَّيْطَانُ مِنْ قِبَلِ الْخُلْدِ فَلَمَّا دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ وَقَفَ بَيْنَ يَدَيْ آدَمَ وَحَوَّاءَ وَهُمَا لَا يَعْلَمَانِ أَنَّهُ إِبْلِيسُ فَبَكَى وَنَاحَ نِيَاحَةً أَحْزَنَتْهُمَا، وَهُوَ أَوَّلُ مَنْ نَاحَ فَقَالَا لَهُ: مَا يُبْكِيكَ؟ قَالَ: أَبْكِي عَلَيْكُمَا تَمُوتَانِ فَتُفَارِقَانِ مَا أَنْتُمَا فِيهِ مِنَ النِّعْمَةِ. فَوَقَعَ ذَلِكَ فِي أَنْفُسِهِمَا فَاغْتَمَّا وَمَضَى إِبْلِيسُ ثُمَّ أَتَاهُمَا بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ وَقَالَ: يَا آدَمُ هَلْ أَدُلُّكَ عَلَى شَجَرَةِ الْخُلْدِ؟ فَأَبَى أَنْ يَقْبَلَ مِنْهُ، وَقَاسَمَهُمَا بِاللَّهِ إِنَّهُ لَهُمَا لَمِنَ النَّاصِحِينَ، فَاغْتَرَّا وَمَا ظَنَّا أَنَّ أَحَدًا يَحْلِفُ بِاللَّهِ كَاذِبًا، فَبَادَرَتْ حَوَّاءُ إِلَى أَكْلِ الشَّجَرَةِ ثُمَّ نَاوَلَتْ آدَمَ حَتَّى أَكَلَهَا. وَكَانَ سَعِيدُ بْنُ الْمُسَيَّبِ يَحْلِفُ بِاللَّهِ مَا أَكَلَ آدَمُ مِنَ الشَّجَرَةِ وَهُوَ يَعْقِلُ وَلَكِنْ حَوَّاءُ سَقَتْهُ الْخَمْرَ حَتَّى إِذَا سَكِرَ قَادَتْهُ إِلَيْهَا فَأَكَلَ (٣) .

(١) قال ابن جرير الطبري في التفسير: "الصواب في ذلك أن يقال: إن الله جل ثناؤه نهى آدم وزوجته عن أكل شجرة بعينها من أشجار الجنة دون سائر أشجارها، فخالفا إلى ما نهاهما الله عنه، فأكلا منها كما وصفهما الله جل ثناؤه به، ولا علم عندنا بأي شجرة كانت على التعيين، لأن الله لم يضع لعباده دليلا على ذلك في القرآن، ولا في السنة الصحيحة. فأنى يأتي ذلك؟ وقد قيل: كانت شجرة البر، وقيل: كانت شجرة العنب، وقيل: كانت شجرة التين، وجائز أن تكون واحدة منها، وذلك علم، إذا علم لم ينفع العالم به علمه، وإن جهله جاهل لم يضره جهله به"، وكذلك رجح الإبهام الرازي في تفسيره وغيره من المفسرين وهو الصواب. انظر: تفسير الطبري بتحقيق محمود شاكر: ١ / ٥٢٠-٥٢١، تفسير ابن كثير: ١ / ١٤٦. (٢) زيادة من (ب) . (٣) هذا الخلاف في كيفية وسبب أكل آدم من الشجرة المنهي عنها، والذي أكثر المفسرون من القصص حوله، لم يثبت فيه خبر صحيح، وهو من علم الغيب الذي يحتاج إلى نقل ثابت بشأنه، ولعل هذه القصص مأخوذة من الإسرائيليات، وكون آدم شرب الخمر فكان في غير عقله، غير صحيح، لأن خمر الجنة لا غول فيها، والصحيح أنه نسي وأكل كما أخبر الله تعالى عنه، انظر: أحكام القرآن لابن العربي: ١ / ١٩ والمحرر الوجيز لابن عطية: ١ / ٢٥٤-٤٥٦، والبحر المحيط لأبي حبان: ١ / ١٦١، وقد فند الشيخ محمد أبو شهبة الروايات الإسرائيلية في تفسير هذه الآية "فأزلهما الشيطان" انظر كتابه: "الإسرائيليات والموضوعات في كتب التفسير: ٢٥٠-٢٥١.