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wa-ʾidh qulnā li-l-malāʾikati sjudū li-ʾādama fa-sajadū ʾillā ʾiblīsa ʾabā wa-stakbara wa-kāna mina l-kāfirīna
And when We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate before Adam,’ they prostrated, but not Iblis: he refused and acted arrogantly, and he was one of the faithless.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Al-Baqarah, Verses 34 - 36
And when We said to the angels: ‘Prostrate yourselves before Adam.’ They all prostrated themselves except Iblis; he refused and was full of pride, and so he became one of the infidels. (2:34)
And We said: ‘O’ Adam, dwell you and your spouse in the Garden and eat of the plentiful therein (both of you) wherever you desire, but do not approach this tree, lest you become one of the unjust’. (2:35)
But Satan caused them to fall there from and brought them out from the state (of felicity) in which they had been. And We said: ‘Get down all of you, and be enemies one of another, and for you on the earth will be your dwelling place and your means of livelihood - for a time’. (2:36)
Adam in The Garden
In the former statements, the high rank and glory of Man was discussed. Now, in these verses, another aspect of the subject is dealt with. At first, to call upon our minds, the Qur’an says:
And when We said to the angels: ‘Prostrate yourselves before Adam.’ They all prostrated themselves except Iblis; he refused and was full of pride… (2:34)
Yes, he was proud and it was for this very pride that he became one of the unbelievers:
…and so he became one of the infidels… (2:34)
It should be noted that the above verse is the most valid piece of evidence and a vivid witness to the magnificence and nobility of Man whom, after his being created, all the angels were commissioned to make obeisance and pay homage to, and bow before that splendid creation. He was really appropriate for the position of being the divine deputy and His vicegerent on the earth. This one, who had such a high glorious rank, that was apt to bring up, from his seed, some refined and respectful children, some of whom would be prophets, was worthy of such obeisance and honour.
You may consider the position of an ordinary learned person who knows some definite formulas in a branch of science and think of how immensely we respect him. Then, the position of Adam with all of his glory and vast knowledge about the world of being is obvious.
Explanations
Why Did Iblis Disobey?
We know that ‘satan’ is a common noun that envelops both the first Satan and all other satans. But ‘Iblis’ is a proper noun which refers to the same one that tempted Adam (‘a). According to the verses of the Qur’an, Iblis was not of the same nature as the angels, but he was from a different genus i.e. of the Jinn, of the nature of matter, who had been assembled among the angels. One of the verses wherein Iblis is spoken of as a Jinn is as follows:
And when said We unto the angels: ‘Prostrate ye unto Adam’: then they (all) prostrated but Iblis, he was of Jinn... (18:50).
His motive in this disobedience was pride and a special bigotry which had dominated his behaviour. He imagined that he was superior to Adam (‘a) and he should not have been ordered to prostrate himself before him (‘a). He thought Adam should prostrate before him. The explanation of this idea will be discussed later, in comments referring to Surah al-A’raf, 7:12. The cause of his blasphemy was also that he considered the wise command of Allah rather inappropriate. He not only disobeyed practically but also protested theoretically. Thus, his pride and self-conceit annulled a lifetime of his worshipping and rendered it worthless! Beware; pride has many effects of ‘this kind’!
The phrase:
…so, he became one of the infidels (2:34)
shows that before this command, too, he had changed his path from the path of angels and obeying the command of Allah and had had ideas resulting from pride in mind. Perhaps, he had told himself that if the order of obeisance were given to him, he would certainly never obey it. The phrase: ‘…what you conceal’, in verse 2:33, may hint to this meaning. This idea is also referred to in a tradition from Imam Hasan ‘Askari, the eleventh Imam (‘a), cited in Tafsir al-Qummi.5
Was The Prostration for Allah or For Adam?
There is no doubt that / sajdah / or a formulated prostration with the purpose of worshipping is deserved by none but Allah alone and the meaning of ‘Unity of Worship’ means the same: that we worship and make obeisance to none else other than Allah, or it will be ‘shirk’, (i.e. associating the object with Allah). Therefore, it is beyond doubt that the infallible beings like the angels prostrated themselves for Allah, but it was for the creation of such a splendid being, Adam, that they obeyed Him by prostrating. Or, if they prostrated for Adam, their prostration was a kind of ‘obeisance’ not an act of worshipping.
In the book’ ‘Uyun al-Akhbar’ by Shaykh al-Saduq, it is cited that Imam ‘Ali Ibn Musa ar-Ridha’ (‘a) said: “The angels’ prostration was for the adoration of worshipping Allah, on one side, and for the obeisance and respect of Adam (‘a), on the other side, because we (Ahl al-Bayt) were in his seed.”6 However, after that episode with Iblis and the trial of the angels, Adam was ordered that he and his spouse ought to abide in Paradise:
And We said: ‘O’ Adam, dwell you and your spouse in the Garden and eat of the plentiful therein (both of you) wherever you desire, but do not approach this tree, lest you become one of the unjust’. (2:35)
It is understood from the verses of the Holy Qur’an that Adam (‘a) was created to live on the earth, this very terrestrial globe, but, at the beginning He had temporarily placed him (and his wife) in a beautiful and prosperous Garden, bountiful with blessings and free from any trouble and incommodity. This arrangement occurred, maybe, because Adam was not acquainted with the process of living on the earth. It was difficult for him to tolerate immediately all the troubles therein.
Therefore, at first, he was to obtain some more information about the kind of life to expect on the earth, and hence, it stood to reason that he should remain for a length of time in the Garden and learn the necessary skills there in order to find out that life on earth is accompanied with accepting some responsibilities and performing some duties whose accomplishments would bring his felicity, development and continuity of blessings, whereas, their refusal would cause him to be involved with pain and hardship.
Also, he must know that although he has been created free, this freedom is limited. He cannot do whatever he wishes, but he must do without some of the things existing in this world for his own good. And again, he need know that it is not so that if he does a wrong or an err all the doors of felicity and happiness will be closed to him. He can return and repent and promise not to do anything against the order of Allah, and in such a case, when his repentance is accepted, he will return to the divine blessings.
Adam (‘a) had to remain in that environment to gain some experience in order to be able to recognize his friend and his enemy, to learn how to live on the earth. Yes, there were a series of skills which were necessary for him to learn before stepping onto the earth. Those were the things that both Adam (‘a) and his children needed for their future lives. Hence, the one who was created to be the vicegerent of Allah on the earth might stay in the Garden, perhaps, so that some instructions could be given to him for his information and practical use.
The following enlightening paragraph cited in al-Mizan upon the idea may also be mentioned here. “It should not be overlooked that even when Allah pardoned them (the couple) after their repentance, He did not return them to the Garden - they were sent down to the earth to live therein. If their eating of the tree, the coveting of their private parts and the life of this world were not a confirmed divine plan, and an irrevocable predetermined decree, they would have been returned to their place in the Garden as soon as they were forgiven for their mistake.
In short, it was the divine plan that they should spend some time in the Garden to get them prepared for the life in this world; and their removal from the Garden, according to the causal relation decreed by Allah, was caused by their eating from the forbidden tree and becoming aware of their nakedness, and this happened because they listened to the whispering of Satan.”7 Adam found himself in a position that it was best for him to follow the instruction of Allah about restraining from eating of the forbidden tree. The whisperer, Satan, had sworn to be busy whispering and making Adam (‘a) and his children stray.
As some other verses of the Qur’an indicate, Satan assured Adam (‘a) that if he and his wife ate from that tree they would become angels and would live in the Garden forever. Satan even swore to them both that he was their sincere adviser:
…Most surely I am a sincere adviser to you, (7:21).
But Satan caused them to fall there from, and brought them out from the state (of felicity) in which they had been… (2:36)
Yes, they were removed from the Garden where they had been in ease and tranquility, far from any pain and trouble. This event took place as the direct result of the effect of Satan’s deceit. Then the Qur’an says:
…and We said: ‘Get down all of you and be enemies one of another...’ (2:36)
In this enmity, Satan was on one side, and Adam (‘a) and his wife were on the other side.
...and for you on the earth will be your dwelling place and your means of livelihood for a time’. (2:36)
It was at this time that Adam (‘a) realized that he had really done injustice to himself, because he was removed from the Garden for his submission to the whispers of Satan, and was to sojourn in a place full of pain, toil, and trouble. True that Adam (‘a) was a prophet and was immaculate, but, as we will discuss later, if a prophet commits an err; Allah will react severely towards him as if an ordinary person had committed it. It is the same for the ordinary people when they commit sins.
The Heavy Forfeit Paid by Adam
The Late Allamah Tabatabaie pointed out his point of view about this subject concerning Adam (‘a) and his spouse as follows: “The injustice or wrong that they had done was against their own selves; it was neither a sin (as this term is used in the Shari’ah) nor an injustice against Allah. It shows that the prohibition was in the nature of advice, pointing out to them what was good for their own comfort; it did not have the force of an ordained law. Adam and his wife did wrong to themselves, because their disregard for that divine advice caused their removal from the Garden.
When a man commits a sin (i.e. offence, from the Shari’ah point of view), he is given a punishment. Then if he repents and his repentance is accepted, the punishment is completely removed, and he is returned to his previous position as though he had not committed the sin at all. If Adam (‘a) and his wife were guilty of such a sin, they should have been returned to their place in the Garden soon after their repentance was accepted. But it was not done. It clearly shows that the prohibition did not have the force of an ordained law; it was only advice. Even so, neglecting it had its natural effect on both of them, and they had to leave the Garden. But this removal from the Garden was not a punishment for any sin or crime; it was the natural consequence of the wrong they had done against their own selves.”8
For a more detailed explanation about the subject, an expressive narration from Hazrat Ridha’, the eighth Imam (‘a), mentioned in ‘Uyun al-’Akhbar, p. 108 and 109 which is also referred to in Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 11, pp. 78 and 104, can be studied, as well as another one on p. 156 from Imam al-Baqir (‘a). Muhammad Jawad Mughniyyah, in his well-known: At Tafsir al-Kashif, Vol. 1, pp. 84-86 has also cited some considerable details upon the matter. All of these references can surely be helpful in clarification of the meaning.
Footnotes