Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi

Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi — Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi

O Adam, dwell thou and thy spouse in the Garden, and eat from wheresoever you will, but come not near this tree. Adam has four names: Adam, vicegerent, mortal, and man. He was called Adam because he was created from the surface [adīm] of the earth, drawn from every region. Thus He said, “[We created man] from an extraction of clay” [23:12]. In other words, he was extracted from every region- sweet and briny, soft and hard. In Adam's clay were salty and sweet, coarse and soft, so the natures of his children became diverse. Among them are both sweet-tempered and bad-tempered, open and closed, generous and stingy, easy-going and difficult, black and white. Elsewhere He said, “He created man from dried clay, like pottery” [55:14]. Pottery is dried clay that gives off sound and is full of noise. In other words, the Adamite is noisy, his head full of tumult and turmoil, attached to talking. Elsewhere He said, “from clinging clay” [37:11], from a clay that is sticky, clings to every- thing, and mixes with everyone. Elsewhere He said, “from fetid mud” [15:26], a clay that is dark and black. Thus He taught him his measure so that he would not transgress his stage. He was shown his own root so that, if he should see generosity, he would not see it from himself. He would know that eminence lies in nurture [tarbiya], not in soil [turba]. What arises from soil? Wrongdoing, ignorance, and harshness. Adam disobeyed his Lord [20:121]. What arises from nurture? The generosity of guidance, the acceptance of repentance, and caresses. Surely God chose Adam [3:33]. The fruit of nurture is what He says: “He loves them, and they love Him” [5:54]. MaḤmūd went to the house of Ayāz. He saw all the property, blessings, gold, silver, jewels, multicolored silks, and robes of honor that MaḤmūd had given to him and bestowed upon him. In a corner he saw an old cloak made of patches of cloth hanging from a nail. He said, “So, what is this?” Ayāz answered, “This one is me in all my helplessness and abasement. All that beauty, adorn- ment, and all that exaltedness and delight are you. When I look at this, I see my own incapacity and know my own worth. When I look at that, I see you and know that it belongs to you, so I am delighted and lift my head.

Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi — Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi

Then Satan whispered to them to show them their shameful parts that were hidden from them. This also is a mark of solicitude and a proof of generosity, for they sinned, but He turned it over to Satan's whispering. Then He increased the solicitude. He said, “to show them their shameful parts that were hidden from them.” He said: “He made their pudenda appear to them, but not to others.” They say that afterwards, Adam and Iblis met. Adam said, “You wretch! Do you know what you did to me and what dust you stirred up in my road?” Iblis said, “O Adam, I take it that I took you from the road. Tell me then, who took me from the road?” They also say that both of them turned away from the command, but there is a difference be- tween the two. Adam slipped because of appetite, and Iblis slipped because of pride. Being pride- ful is worse than satisfying appetite. When a sin arises from appetite, there is room for pardon. When a sin arises from pride, faith gets lost in it. The report has come, “Magnificence is My cloak and tremendousness My shawl-if anyone contends with Me in either, I will smash him.”