Lesson from Dua of Adam AS (Prophet Series )

Adam As lived in Jannah. Allah swt said in Quran Surah A’raf :

(7:19) 0 Adam! Live you and your spouse in the Garden and both of you eat from it wherever you will, but never approach the tree or you shall become wrongdoers.’

(7:20) But Satan made an evil suggestion to both of them that he might reveal to them their shame that had remained hidden from them. He said: ‘Your Lord has forbidden you to approach this tree only to prevent you from becoming angels or immortals.’

(7:21) And he swore to them both: ‘Surely I am your sincere adviser.’

(7:22) Thus Satan brought about their fall by deceit. And when they tasted of the tree, their shame became vislible to them, and both began to cover themselves with leaves from the Garden. Then their Lord called out to them: ‘Did I not forbid you from that tree, and did I not warn you that Satan ‘is your declared enemy?’

(7:23) Both cried out: ‘Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You do not forgive us and do not have mercy on us, we shall surely be among the losers.

Reflection on Dua of Adam As

‘Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You do not forgive us and do not have mercy on us, we shall surely be among the losers.'(7:23)

Following lessons can be taken from the Ayah.(Lessons from tafsir of Quran)

(i) Modesty and bashfulness are inherent in human nature. The primary manifestation of this instinct is seen in the sense of shame that one feels when one is required to expose the private parts of one’s body in the presence of others. According to the Qur’an, this bashfulness is not artificial, nor an outcome of advancement in human culture and civilization. Nor is it something acquired as some misguided thinkers contend. On the contrary, modesty has been an integral part of human nature from the very beginning.

(ii) Such is human nature that man scarcely responds to an unambiguous invitation to evil. Those who seek to propagate evil are, therefore, forced to present themselves as sincere well-wishers of humanity.

(iii) Man is naturally, drawn towards lofty ideals such as the attainment of superhuman positions and the securing of immortality. Satan achieved his first victory in his bid to mislead man by appealing to the latter’s inherent desire to attain immortality. Satan’s most effective weapon is to promise man a more elevated position than his present one, and then set him on a course that leads instead to his degradation.

(vi) There is hardly any basis to assume that the forbidden tree had certain inherent qualities which could result in the exposure of Adam AS and Hawa AS’s private parts as soon as they had tasted its fruit. Instead of the forbidden tree possessing any extraordinary qualities, it was rather man’s disobedience to God which led to his fall from his original state. Initially, Adam AS and Hawa (As)’s private parts had remained hidden on account of special arrangements made by God. Once they disobeyed, they were deprived of that special Divine arrangement, and were left to themselves to cover their nakedness if they so wished.

(vii) This was a way, of conveying to mankind for all time that whenever he disobeys God, he will sooner or later be exposed; that man will enjoy God’s support and protection only so long as he remains obedient to Him. Once man transgresses the bounds of his obedience, he will be deprived of God’s care and protection and left to his own self. This idea is also embodied in many traditions from the Prophet (peace be on him). According to a tradition, the Prophet (peace be on him) prayed:

‘O God! I seek Your Mercy. Do not leave me to my own care even for the wink of an eye!’ (Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 5, P. 421 – Ed.)

(vii) Satan wanted to prove that man did not deserve, not even for a moment, the superior status which had been granted to him by God. However, Satan failed in the very first round of his efforts to discredit man. Granted, man did not fully succeed in obeying God’s command; rather, he fell prey to the machinations of his arch-enemy, Satan, and deviated from the path of obedience. Nevertheless, it is evident even in the course of this first encounter that man is a morally superior being. This is clear from many a thing.

First, whereas Satan laid claim to superiority, man made no such claim rather a superior status was bestowed upon him by God.

Second, Satan disobeyed God out of sheer pride and arrogance. But far from openly revolting against God out of his own prompting, man was disobedient under Satan’s evil influence.

Third, when man disobeyed God, he did so unwittingly, not realizing that he was committing a sin. ‘Man was beguiled into disobedience by Satan ,who appeared in the garb of man’s well-wisher. It was Satan who persuaded him to believe that in the fruit of the forbidden tree lay his good, that his action would lead him to the heights of goodness, not to the depths of evil.

Fourth, when Satan was warned, rather than confessing his mistake and repenting, he clung even more adamantly to disobedience. But when man was told that he had sinned, he did not resort to continued transgression as Satan did. As soon as man realized his mistake, he confessed his fault, returned to the course of obedience and sought refuge in God’s mercy.

This story draws a clear line between the way of Satan and the way that befits man. Satan’s way is characterized by rebellion against God, by arrogantly persisting in that rebellion even after having been warned, and by trying to mislead the righteously disposed towards sin and disobedience. As opposed to this, the way that befits man is to resist the evil promptings of Satan and to be constantly vigilant against Satanic machinations. But, if in spite of all these precautions, a man does swerve from the course of obedience, he should turn, as soon as he realizes his fault, to God in penitence and remorse and make amends.

This is the lesson that God conveys to man through this anecdote. The Qur’an seeks to impress upon the opponents of the Prophet (peace be on him) that the way, they are following is the way of Satan. To become indifferent to God’s Guidance, to take satans among men and jinn as their protectors and to persist in disobedience despite repeated warnings, amounts to adopting a Satanic attitude. It demonstrates that they have fallen prey to the snares of the arch-enemy and have been totally overpowered by him. This attitude will lead to their total undoing just as it led to Satan’s undoing. Anyone who has even an iota of understanding should heed and emulate the example of his foreparents – Adam and Eve – who repented and made amends after their disobedience.

Summary: If we turn to Alah SWT, the immodesty will go away from your life. If there is immodesty in our life,then we need to turn towards Allah swt.

Reference : Tafheem ul Quran

Note : I hope you are Well. As we announced in our last post that this month we will be focusing on the Prophets of Allah swt (Peace and mercy of Allah be in all of them );This is the first article of the Series alhumdulillah.

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