When after a while in the garden, Adam and his wife eventually approached the tree, Iblis began convincing them that
20:120,7:20"Your Lord has not forbidden you this tree except that you may not both become two angels or that you may (not) become of the immortals".
He was implying that Allah was deceiving them by wishing them to remain weak and mortal creatures, and that he was their well wisher. He could show them how to rise above their ingrained weaknesses. The tree in itself had no particular powers but was the bait through which his evil purpose could be achieved.
The object being
7:20"to reveal to them what was hidden from them of their shamefulness".
This shows that from the begining, mankind is ingrained with a sense of shame for which he feels the need to cover, and that it is contrary to human nature for one's private parts to be openly exposed. This denies the distorted Judeo-Christian image most often represented in arts, of Adam and Eve walking around naked in the garden. It is interesting to note that the account does not give the intricate details of how, through the medium chosen by Iblis, Adam and Eve's shamefulness, ie nakedness were exposed. This is highly relevant for the timeless applicability of the lesson of not exposing one's shamefulness inapropriately
7:22"So, he (Satan) lured them with falsehood. So, when they tasted the tree, their shamefulness/nakedness became revealed to them".
Mankind have always been enticed to expose their private parts inapropriately, in many different circumstances, even religious
7:27"let not the Shaitan cause you to fall into affliction as he expelled your parents from the garden, pulling off from them both their clothing that he might show them their nakedness, he surely sees you, he as well as his host, from whence you cannot see them".
And it is interesting to note, knowing how widespread and normal the sight of one another's shameful body parts has become, that the Quran places that objective as the most primary goal of Iblis.
After the account of Adam and Eve and the manner by which they were deceived into exposing their nakedness, Allah turns to mankind, saying that
7:26"We sent down to you clothing to hide your nakedness".
Allah attributes here to Himself the ability to cloth oneself in order to give it a blessed aspect, considering how it diametrically opposes the evil entities' most basic desire for mankind. It is "sent down" by God, a phrase used for rainwater, or even revelation. Through the term "reeshan" the verse then mentions the fact that there is absolutely nothing wrong in using that clothing for embelishment.
The Quran in general doesnt deny the use of means of all sorts with the objective of beautifying one's appearance, and at all circumstances, including during worship. This sharply contrasts with the corrupt notion of associating piety with disregard for physical appearance and hygiene, as is often the case whether in Judaism, Christianity or the pagan religions. But it immediately strikes a balance by stating that the primary goal of clothing is to guard from moral and spiritual corruption so this factor of embelishment should not be wrongly channeled
35:12,7:31"O'children of Adam! wear your beautiful apparel at every time and place of prayer, and eat and drink but do not act extravagantly; verily He does not like the extravagant (ones)".
Therefore no type of clothing is better from that perspective than the clothing of taqwa/God-consciousness. Man is thus told to keep his garments in a state of purity 74:4. The "provisions of God-consciousness" are used in the same sense in 2:197. This shows that an Islamic "dresscode" is one that is clean and pure, provides sufficient covering for spiritual and physical protection, is agreeable aesthetically without evoking arrogance. It is in this light that one should understand the prophetic saying
“God has cursed those women who add hair extensions, practice tattooing and those who have themselves tattooed, those who reshape their eyebrows, and those who create a space between their teeth artificially to look beautiful, and hence changing the features created by God".
These practices are no different from any other allowed beautifying practices such as make-up and henna. The difference is that the practices mentioned in the hadith were, according to the Arabic traditions of the time, indications of a woman’s lack of chastity. Therefore, the prohibition of these practices was actually aimed at preventing promiscuity or the violation of the woman’s honor when people associate her with such traits.
The whole passage therefore ends with a warning to mankind
7:27"O children of Adam, let not the Shaitan cause you to fall into affliction as he expelled your parents from the garden, pulling off from them both their clothing that he might show them their private parts".
After they ate from the tree and saw that their condition didnt change as promised to them by Iblis (they didnt become immortal angels), Adam and Eve realized their transgression as often happens when a sincere person comes back to his senses after a mistake or a sin, or when caught doing something wrong. They realized the importance of God's advise in regards to Iblis. Iblis was certainly not their well wisher as he was trying to portray himself. He had instead deceived them into inappropriately showing their nakedness
7:20-2"So, the shaytan whispered/waswasa to the two of them..And he swore to them both: Most surely I am a sincere adviser to you. So, he lured/fadallahuma them with falsehood.." 4:120"He gives them promises and excites vain desires in them; and the Shaitan does not promise them but to deceive".
From a linguistic perspective, dallahuma stems from d-l-w used for the dangling of the bucket in a well to pull out water from it. It implies the anticipation of good results since succeeding in getting water is a good result and good expectation. It is also used in the context of animal hunting, slowly making it approach, attracted by a bucket at the end of a rope which is progressively drawn closer. Through the use of this word, as well as of waswasa, what transpires is that Iblis' deception succeeded only after many persistent and gradual exhortation. All this was possible because of their forgetfulness of God's advise
20:115"nasiya/he forgot, and We found no firmness of purpose in him".
What both Adam and his wife forgot was God's warning as regards Iblis' intentions towards them
"Surely he is your open enemy".
They genuinely thought he was their well wisher. That situation might have occured some significant time after God's warning as regards Iblis and the tree where he was lurking. Negligence and forgetfulness of a warning typically occur in such a manner, after a lapse of time. Their misdeed made them of the "thalimeen". The word means "to oppress". In the Quran it can be used for oppressing another or oppressing oneself. It is the latter that is meant for Adam and Eve because in Quranic terminology, all sins, deliberate or not, are considered a harm to the self. It was not rebellion and willful transgression that made Adam and Eve sin. Their subsequent feelings of shame and remorse even before God confronted them testifies to this fact (contrary to the example in 2:54). Allah Himself states it was forgetfulness of his warning that lead them to be prone to Iblis' whisperings. Their sin was not preceded by repeated and willful transgressions, revealing a rebellious tendency, as seen in 6:44,32:14.
All this reinforces the fact that their transgression was unintentional and the Quran declares that unintentional sins are mistakes 2:225,33:5. This paralells with the HB's account of the incident that eating from the tree was not a deliberate sin, but a mistake (cheit).
As their senses came back to them, they realized what his true purpose was, and now knowing that the exposition of one's private parts is an unnatural, evil inspired deed, began immidiately piling up tree leaves upon themselves and sewing them
7:22"he mislead them through deceit; so when they tasted of the tree, their private parts became manifest to them, and they began to cover themselves with pieced-together leaves from the garden".
As stated in the HB
Gen3:7"And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves and made themselves girdles".
They were then called out and confronted for their transgression
7:22"Did I not forbid you both from that tree and say to you that the Shaitan is your open enemy?".
They were told that although they had now lost all advantages they had in the garden in regards to general physical comfort, they would still find provision on the Earth until an appointed time 2:36,7:24. Adam and Eve accepted the consequences of their disobedience and took on themselves the full responsibility of their act, and immidiately asked God to forgive them 7:23. In the Bible, they began immaturely fingerpointing eachother and refused to repent after which God banished them from the Garden.
This actually is one of the Quran's lessons from the story, when you blame Allah (as for example many do today when pointing to the alleged incompatibility of pre-knowledge and freewill, and as many did in the past as in Muhammad's time) you are like Iblis. But when you express genuine, humble curiosity you are like the angels who become worthy of being educated by God Himself. Another positive response is taking responsibility for a mistake, as did Adam and Eve, and thus earned God's guidance, were shown the way to His mercy, taught how to invoke His forgiveness
2:37,7:23,20:122"Then his Lord chose him, so He turned to him and guided (him)"
(as a side note, the HB speaks of there being proper ways to seek forgiveness from God, and the possibility of not knowing that proper way Isa47:11).
Because of both their ability to take on responsibility, their forgiveness came without delay as denoted with the particle "fa" 2:37. It is also worthwhile to note the use of talaqqa in 2:37 in regards to the guidance of Adam. It is a word denoting a pleasant encounter, it is used in the Quran in the context of the angels receiving the righteous' soul at death and also welcoming the dwellers of heaven. This further stresses that God did not resent Adam following the incident, Adam met his Creator with pleasant words.
This sums up the Creator's interraction with the first human vicegerents.
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