Transliteration:( Fa azallahumash Shaitaanu 'anhaa fa akhrajahumaa mimmaa kaanaa fee wa qulnah bitoo ba'dukum liba'din 'aduwwunw wa lakum fil ardi mustaqarrunw wa mataa'un ilaa heen )
"Then Shaitaan caused the two to slip out [71] of it and removed them from the abode. And We said: 'Get down (all of you) [72] as enemies to one another. And you will have on the earth a place of settlement and provision for a time.' [73]"
At the time of this incident, Shaitaan (the devil) had already been expelled from Paradise, but he was not barred from entering it. He could still move in and out, and this access allowed him to mislead Hazrat Adam عليه السلام and Bibi Hawa.
This teaches us a profound lesson:
If Shaitaan could deceive a sinless Prophet in the purest place—Paradise—then no one in this worldly life should consider themselves safe from his guiles.
It reminds us to stay constantly vigilant, as Shaitaan’s tricks are subtle and persistent.
The command “Get down” was not only directed at Adam and Hawa, but also to their entire progeny, who were still within Adam’s backbone at the time.
Some scholars hold that Adam’s progeny, not Adam himself, were the real reason for his descent. Among his descendants were disbelievers, hypocrites, and sinners who were unfit for Paradise.
If Adam had remained in Paradise, these corrupt souls would have been born there, which would not be appropriate for such a pure realm. Therefore, it was Allah’s will to send Adam to earth to separate the righteous from the corrupt.
The plural verb form in “Get down, all of you” reflects this inclusive command.
The phrase “some of you are enemies to others” also refers primarily to enmity among humans—as Hazrat Adam himself held no malice or hatred. The enmity mentioned here would manifest through his offspring.
Historically, Hazrat Adam was placed on a mountain in India, and Bibi Hawa was left in Jeddah—a separation that was later resolved by divine guidance.
The earth was declared their temporary home, a place to settle, live, and be sustained—but only “for a time”, meaning until death.
Their return to Paradise would come after purification and testing on earth.
The tafsir of Surah Baqarah verse 36 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Baqarah ayat 35 which provides the complete commentary from verse 35 through 36.
(2:36) But Satan caused both of them to deflect from obeying Our command by tempting them to the tree and brought them out of the state they were in, and We said: “Get down all of you; henceforth, each of you is an enemy of the other,[50] and on earth you shall have your abode and your livelihood for an appointed time.”
50. This means that Satan is the enemy of man, and vice versa. That Satan is the enemy, of man is obvious enough, for he tries to drive him off the course of obedience to God and leads him to perdition, but one might wonder how man could be referred to as the enemy of Satan. The fact is that man’s essential humanity makes this enmity incumbent upon him. Man, however, is often deceived by Satan and befriends him owing to the temptations that he holds out to him. This kind of friendship does not mean that the basic, irreconcilable clash of interests between man and Satan has been resolved. It only means that one of the two (Satan) has defeated and successfully trapped the other (man).
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