Then He warned Adam against Iblīs’s evil and temptation, saying:

(19–23) “O Adam, dwell in the Garden, you and your wife, and eat from wherever you wish; but do not approach this tree, lest you become wrongdoers. Then Satan whispered to them in order to expose to them what had been concealed of their private parts. He said, ‘Your Lord has forbidden you this tree only lest you become angels or become immortal.’ And he swore to them, ‘I am indeed a sincere adviser to you.’ Thus he lured them down through deception. Then, when they tasted of the tree, their private parts became exposed to them, and they began fastening leaves of the Garden over themselves. Their Lord called out to them, ‘Did I not forbid you that tree and tell you that Satan is a manifest enemy to you?’”

That is, Allah Most High commanded Adam and his wife Eve—whom Allah had graciously given him so that he might find tranquility in her—to eat from the Garden wherever they wished and enjoy whatever they desired therein. He did, however, designate a particular tree for them and forbid them to eat from it. Allah knows best what kind of tree it was, and identifying it is of no benefit to us. He prohibited them from eating from it, as indicated by His words, “lest you become wrongdoers.”

They continued to obey Allah’s command until their enemy Iblīs made his way to them through his cunning. He whispered to them, deceiving them and obscuring the truth from them. He said, “Your Lord has forbidden you this tree only lest you become angels”—that is, of the same kind as the angels—“or become immortal,” as He says in another verse: “Shall I direct you to the Tree of Eternity and a kingdom that never decays?”

Along with saying this, he swore to them by Allah: “I am indeed a sincere adviser to you.” That is, I am among those who sincerely advise you in telling you what I have told you. They were deceived by this, and at that moment desire overcame reason.

“Thus he lured them down”—that is, he brought them down from their lofty rank of remaining far removed from sins and acts of disobedience to becoming stained with their filth. They therefore proceeded to eat from it.

“Then, when they tasted of the tree, their private parts became exposed to them.” That is, the private parts of each became visible after having been concealed. Thus, their inward nakedness—their loss of piety at that moment—affected their outward clothing: it fell away, exposing their private parts. When these became visible, they felt ashamed and began fastening leaves from the trees of the Garden over their private parts in order to cover themselves.

“Their Lord called out to them” while they were in that state, rebuking and reproaching them: “Did I not forbid you that tree and tell you that Satan is a manifest enemy to you?” Why, then, did you commit what had been forbidden and obey your enemy?