Surah Al-A'raf, Ayah 22

وَطَفِقَا يَخْصِفَانِ عَلَيْهِمَا مِن وَرَقِ الْجَنَّةِ

(And they began to cover themselves with the leaves of Paradise.) "Using fig leaves." This statement has an authentic chain of narration leading to Ibn `Abbas. Mujahid said that they began to cover themselves with the leaves of Paradise, "Making them as a dress (or garment)." Commenting on Allah's statement,

يَنزِعُ عَنْهُمَا لِبَاسَهُمَا

(Stripping them of their raiment) 7:27 Wahb bin Munabbih said, "The private parts of Adam and Hawwa' had a light covering them which prevented them from seeing the private parts of each other. When they ate from the tree, their private parts appeared to them." Ibn Jarir reported this statement with an authentic chain of narration. Abdur-Razzaq reported from Qatadah, "Adam said, `O Lord! What if I repented and sought forgiveness' Allah said, `Then, I will admit you into Paradise.' As for Shaytan, he did not ask for forgiveness, but for respite. Each one of them was given what he asked for." Ad-Dahhak bin Muzahim commented,

رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَآ أَنفُسَنَا وَإِن لَّمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَـسِرِينَ

("Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You forgive us not, and bestow not upon us Your mercy, we shall certainly be of the losers.") "These are the words that Adam received from his Lord."

Commentary

The story of Sayyidna 'Adam (علیہ السلام) and Iblis mentioned in the present verses has appeared in the fourth section of Surah Al-Baqarah.

Detailed comments have been given in the Tafsir of that Surah. If needed, please see Ma‘ariful-Quran, English Translation, Volume I, Pages 170-187.

Paradise with all its vast expanses was open to Adam and his spouse. There were innumerable types of good things in it. And they had all the freedom to use them in whatever manner they liked. In the midst of countless permitted things, they were prohibited the use of only one thing. Satan used this prohibition as a vantage point from which to attack them. He incited them to wrongdoing by saying that the thing from which they were kept away was the most important thing in Paradise, the whole secret of holiness and eternity was hidden therein. Adam and his spouse were influenced by Satan’s continuous urging and finally ate the fruit of the forbidden tree. But, when they did this, the result was entirely the opposite of what they had expected. This disobedience of theirs removed the cloak of safety from their bodies. They became absolutely helpless in a world where they had had every convenience and total safety. This indicates the special weapon used by Satan to deceive man into distancing himself from God’s grace and succour. His strategy was to belittle in the eyes of man the extensive world of legitimate gifts from God and to inflate the importance of the few prohibited things, by presenting them in an attractive light, all the while reassuring man of the immense advantages concealed within them. In performing this task, Satan treats everybody according to his tastes and circumstances. He will misguide some by making them hate health-giving food and teaching them that, if they want to have wonderful health, they should take to drinking wines; a man may feel that he should consolidate his own position in order to defeat his opponent, but Satan will poison his mind by suggesting that the most effective method of defeating his opponent is to start destructive activities against him; for another there will be ample opportunities to adopt the policy of self-improvement, but Satan will teach him that indulging in protests and demands is the shortest way to achieve success; yet another might have countless religious tasks before him which he may perform without there being any clash with the Government of the day, but Satan will create the misunderstanding that only if un-Islamic rulers are unseated can Islam’s perfect system prevail there and then throughout the whole country; and so on.