Tafseer of The Cow · Al-Baqara · 2:37
Then Adam received from his Lord [some] words, and He accepted his repentance. Indeed, it is He who is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: فَتَلَقَّى آدَمُ مِنْ رَبِّهِ كَلِمَاتٍ ("Then Adam received words from his Lord")
Abū Jaʿfar said: As for the explanation of His words "Then Adam received (fa-talaqqā Ādam)": concerning this it has been said that it means that he took them up and accepted them. Its root is the verbal pattern tafaʿʿul, derived from al-liqāʾ (the meeting), as when a man goes to meet another man and receives him upon his arrival after an absence or a journey. So too is the saying "Then he received" (fa-talaqqā): it is as though he went to meet it and received it with acceptance at the moment it was revealed to him or it was communicated to him. Its meaning, then, is: Allah extended to Adam words of repentance, and Adam received them from his Lord and took them from Him in repentance, whereupon Allah turned in forgiveness to him on account of his uttering them and his accepting them from his Lord. As [in the following]:
774 – Yūnus ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His words: "Then Adam received words from his Lord" — the verse. He said: He extended to the two of them this verse: رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَا أَنْفُسَنَا وَإِنْ لَمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ ("Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we shall surely be among the losers") [Surah Al-Aʿrāf: 23].
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Some have read: "Then words received Adam from his Lord" (fa-talaqqā Ādama min rabbihi kalimātun), making the words the subject that received Adam. Although that is permissible from the standpoint of Arabic — since everything a man receives has [also] received him, and what he meets has met him, so that the speaker is free to direct the action upon whichever of the two he wishes and to make whichever of the two he chooses the subject of the action — I hold that nothing is permissible in the recitation of the Qurʾān except placing "Adam" in the nominative as the one who receives the words, on account of the consensus of the authoritative proof among the reciters (al-qaraʾa) and the exegetes among the scholars of the earlier and later generations, that the receiving is ascribed to Adam and not to the words. It is not permissible to oppose that upon which they are agreed with the statement of someone in whom error and mistake are possible.
The exegetes differed concerning the precise content of the words that Adam received from his Lord. Some of them said the following:
775 – Abū Kurayb related this to us, saying: Ibn ʿAṭiyya related to us, on the authority of Qays, on the authority of Ibn Abī Laylā, on the authority of al-Minhāl ibn ʿAmr, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "Then Adam received words from his Lord, whereupon He turned in forgiveness to him." He said: [Adam said:] O Lord, did You not create me with Your hand? He said: Yes indeed. He said: O Lord, did You not breathe of Your spirit into me? He said: Yes indeed. He said: O Lord, did You not cause me to dwell in Your paradise (janna)? He said: Yes indeed. He said: O Lord, does Your mercy not precede Your wrath? He said: Yes indeed. He said: Do You see, if I repent and reform myself, will You return me to paradise? He said: Yes.
He said: Those, then, are His words: "Then Adam received words from his Lord."
776 – ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥasan related to me, saying: Muslim related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Muṣʿab related to us, on the authority of Qays ibn al-Rabīʿ, on the authority of ʿĀṣim ibn Kulayb, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, something similar.
777 – Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: My father related to me, saying: My uncle related to me, saying: My father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His words: "Then Adam received words from his Lord, whereupon He turned in forgiveness to him." He said: Adam said to his Lord when he had disobeyed Him: Lord, do You see, if I repent and reform myself? Then his Lord said to him: I shall return you to paradise.
778 – Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His words: "Then Adam received words from his Lord." It has been transmitted to us that he said: O Lord, do You see, if I repent and reform myself? He said: Then I shall return you to paradise. He [Qatāda] said: And al-Ḥasan said: The two of them said: رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَا أَنْفُسَنَا وَإِنْ لَمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ ("Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we shall surely be among the losers").
779 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Ādam al-ʿAsqalānī related to us, saying: Abū Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, on the authority of Abū al-ʿĀliya, concerning His words: "Then Adam received words from his Lord." He said: When Adam had committed the sin, he said: O Lord, do You see, if I repent and reform myself? Then Allah said: Then I shall return you to paradise. That belongs to the words. And among the words is also: رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَا أَنْفُسَنَا وَإِنْ لَمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ ("Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we shall surely be among the losers").
780 – Mūsā ibn Hārūn related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn Ḥammād related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "Then Adam received words from his Lord." He said: [Adam said:] Lord, did You not create me with Your hand? It was said to him: Yes indeed. He said: And did You breathe of Your spirit into me? It was said to him: Yes indeed. He said: And does Your mercy precede Your wrath? It was said to him: Yes indeed. He said: Lord, had You decreed this for me beforehand? It was said to him: Yes. He said: Lord, if I repent and reform myself, will You return me to paradise? It was said to him: Yes. Allah the Exalted said: ثُمَّ اجْتَبَاهُ رَبُّهُ فَتَابَ عَلَيْهِ وَهَدَى ("Then his Lord chose him, turned in forgiveness to him, and guided him") [Surah Ṭā-Hā: 122].
Others said the following:
781 – Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related this to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Rufayʿ, who said: Someone who heard ʿUbayd ibn ʿUmayr related to me that he said: Adam said: O Lord, my sin that I committed — is it something You had decreed for me before You created me, or something I brought forth of myself? He said: No, it is something I had decreed for you before I created you. He said: Just as You decreed it for me, then forgive it me. He [ʿUbayd] said: Those, then, are the words of Allah: "Then Adam received words from his Lord."
782 – Ibn Sinān related to us, saying: Muʾammal related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Rufayʿ, who said: Someone who heard ʿUbayd ibn ʿUmayr informed me, something similar.
783 – Ibn Sinān related to us, saying: Wakīʿ ibn al-Jarrāḥ related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Rufayʿ, from someone who heard ʿUbayd ibn ʿUmayr saying: Adam said — and he mentioned something similar.
784 – Al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Abū Nuʿaym related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Rufayʿ, who said: Someone who heard ʿUbayd ibn ʿUmayr informed me, something similar.
785 – Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Al-Thawrī informed us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, on the authority of ʿUbayd ibn ʿUmayr, something similar.
Others said the following:
786 – Aḥmad ibn ʿUthmān ibn Ḥakīm al-Awdī related this to me, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Sharīk related to us, saying: My father related to us, saying: Ḥuṣayn ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, on the authority of Ḥumayd ibn Nabhān, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiya, that he said: His words "Then Adam received words from his Lord, whereupon He turned in forgiveness to him": Adam said: O Allah, there is no god but You, glory be to You and with Your praise; I ask You for forgiveness and turn to You in repentance; turn in forgiveness to me, for truly You are the Ever-Relenting, the Merciful.
787 – Al-Muthannā ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Abū Ghassān related to us, saying: Abū Zuhayr informed us — and Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq al-Ahwāzī related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad informed us, saying: Sufyān and Qays related to us — both on the authority of Khuṣayf, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His words: "Then Adam received words from his Lord." He said: They are His words رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَا أَنْفُسَنَا وَإِنْ لَمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا ("Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us"), until he brought them to their end.
788 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to me, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid; he used to say concerning the words of Allah "Then Adam received words from his Lord" that the words were: O Allah, there is no god but You, glory be to You and with Your praise; Lord, truly I have wronged myself, so forgive me, for truly You are the best of those who forgive. O Allah, there is no god but You, glory be to You and with Your praise; Lord, truly I have wronged myself, so have mercy upon me, for truly You are the best of those who show mercy. O Allah, there is no god but You, glory be to You and with Your praise; Lord, truly I have wronged myself, so turn in forgiveness to me, for truly You are the Ever-Relenting, the Merciful.
789 – Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: My father related to us, on the authority of al-Naḍr ibn ʿArabī, on the authority of Mujāhid: "Then Adam received words from his Lord" — those are His words رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَا أَنْفُسَنَا وَإِنْ لَمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا ("Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us") — the verse.
790 – Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid: "Then Adam received words from his Lord." He said: [Adam said:] O Lord, will You turn in forgiveness to me if I repent? He said: Yes. Then Adam repented, and his Lord turned in forgiveness to him.
791 – Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His words: "Then Adam received words from his Lord." He said: Those are His words رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَا أَنْفُسَنَا وَإِنْ لَمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ ("Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we shall surely be among the losers").
792 – Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said: Those are His words رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَا أَنْفُسَنَا وَإِنْ لَمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ ("Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we shall surely be among the losers").
These statements which we have transmitted from those from whom we have transmitted them, although they differ in wording, their meanings agree in that Allah, exalted be His praise, extended to Adam words, and that Adam received them from his Lord, accepted them, and acted upon them, and that through uttering them and acting upon them he repented to Allah for his sin, confessing his guilt, excusing himself before his Lord for his sin, and expressing regret over what he had earlier done in contravention of His command. Thereupon Allah turned in forgiveness to him on account of his acceptance of the words that he received from Him, and on account of his regret over the previously committed sin.
That to which the Book of Allah points is that the words that Adam received from his Lord are the words about which Allah reported concerning him that he uttered them, excusing himself thereby before his Lord and confessing his guilt, namely His words: رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَا أَنْفُسَنَا وَإِنْ لَمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ ("Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we shall surely be among the losers"). That which those who contradict this statement of ours — from among the statements that we have transmitted — have said is not to be rejected as invalid; it is, however, a statement for which there is no witness from a proof that one is obliged to accept, such that it would be permissible for us to ascribe it to Adam and to assert that it belongs to what he received from his Lord upon his return to Him from his sin. And this report which Allah gave concerning Adam — concerning his utterance which He extended to him and which he uttered in repentance to Him for his sin — is an instruction from Him, exalted be His remembrance, to all who are addressed by His Book, concerning the manner in which one repents to Him for sins, and a reminder to those who are addressed by His words: كَيْفَ تَكْفُرُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَكُنْتُمْ أَمْوَاتًا فَأَحْيَاكُمْ ("How can you disbelieve in Allah, when you were dead and He brought you to life") [Surah Al-Baqarah: 28], pointing to the place of repentance from that in which they find themselves, namely disbelief (kufr) in Allah, and to the fact that their deliverance from the error in which they persist is like the deliverance of their father Adam from his sin — together with His reminding them of the favors that were earlier bestowed upon them, with which He favored their father Adam and others of their forefathers.
The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: فَتَابَ عَلَيْهِ ("whereupon He turned in forgiveness to him")
Abū Jaʿfar said: His words "whereupon He turned in forgiveness to him (fa-tāba ʿalayhi)" mean: to Adam. The "h" (the hāʾ) in "ʿalayhi" (to him) refers back to "Adam." And His words "whereupon He turned in forgiveness to him" mean: He granted him repentance for his sin. Repentance (al-tawba) means: return to Allah, and the return to His obedience from that which He detests of disobedience toward Him.
The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: إِنَّهُ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ ("truly, He is the Ever-Relenting, the Merciful") (37)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The explanation of His words "truly, He is the Ever-Relenting, the Merciful" is that Allah, exalted be His praise, is the One who accepts the repentance of whoever turns to Him in repentance — among His sinful servants — for his sins, the One who refrains from requiting him when he returns to His obedience after his disobedience, for the sin he earlier committed. We have already mentioned that the meaning of the servant's repentance to his Lord is his return to His obedience and his turning to that with which He is pleased, by abandoning that which angers Him from the matters in which he persisted of that which his Lord detests. So too the relenting of Allah toward His servant is that He grants him that, and turns for him from His wrath against him to satisfaction with him, and from the punishment (al-ʿuqūba) to pardon and forgiving him.
As for His words "the Merciful (al-Raḥīm)": that means that He bestows upon him, together with the repentance, mercy. And His mercy toward him is the remission of his offense and His forgiving him the punishment for his transgression.
