Ibrahim ibn Adham said: “That mouthful has bequeathed us enduring sorrow.” Ibn Abbas and Qatadah said: Allah, exalted is He, said to Adam, “Was there not, among what I permitted you in Paradise, sufficient scope to avoid that tree?” He replied, “Indeed, my Lord—by Your might! Yet I never thought that anyone would swear falsely by You.” He said, “Then by My might, I shall surely send you down to the earth, and thereafter you will attain a livelihood only through toil.” So the two were brought down from Paradise. Though they had eaten there in abundance, Adam was taught the craft of ironworking and commanded to cultivate the land. He ploughed it and sowed it, then watered it; when the crop ripened, he reaped it, then threshed it, winnowed it, ground it, kneaded it, baked it, and ate it. He did not come to eat it until he had endured from it whatever hardship was decreed for him.

Saʿid ibn Jubayr related from Ibn Abbas that when Adam ate from the tree from which he had been forbidden, Allah, exalted is He, said, “What led you to do what you have done?” He said, “My Lord, Hawwa made it alluring to me.” He said, “Then I shall punish her by making her conceive only with hardship and give birth only with hardship; and I shall cause her to bleed (1) twice each month.” Hawwa wailed (2) at that, and it was said, “Wailing shall be yours, and your daughters’ (3).” When they had eaten, their garments fell away (4) from them, their private parts became exposed, and they were expelled from Paradise.

This is the meaning of His saying, “And We said, ‘Go down’”: that is, descend to the earth—meaning Adam, Hawwa, Iblis, and the serpent. Adam descended at Serendib, in the land of India, upon a mountain called Nud; Hawwa at Jeddah; Iblis at Aylah; and the serpent at Isfahan. (5) “You will be enemies to one another”: this refers to the enmity between Adam’s progeny and the serpent, and between the believers among Adam’s progeny and Iblis. Allah, Most High, said: “Indeed, Satan is a clear enemy to you both.” (al-Aʿraf 7:22)

Ahmad ibn Abd Allah al-Salihi informed us; Abu al-Hasan ibn Bishran informed us; Ismaʿil ibn Muhammad al-Saffar informed us; Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Saffar informed us; Mansur al-Ramadi narrated to us; Abd al-Razzaq informed us; Maʿmar informed us, from Ayyub, from Ikrimah, from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him. Ikrimah said: “I know this report only as one traced back to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him: that he used to command that snakes be killed, and he said, ‘Whoever leaves them unharmed out of dread or fear of one seeking vengeance is not of us.’” (6) Musa ibn Muslim added, from Ikrimah, in the report: “We have not made peace with them since we fought them.” [It has also been narrated that he forbade killing snakes that dwell in houses. Abu Saʿid al-Khudri narrated from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him: “There are jinn in Medina who have embraced Islam. If you see any of them, give it notice for three days; if it appears to you after that, then kill it, for it is only a devil.” (7)] (8)