In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The story of our mother Eve.
The lesson from the story of our mother Eve.
O Eve.
We have reached the end of this story.
From the stories of the Noble Qur'an.
The story of our mother Eve.
We began the story's episodes on the first day
of the blessed month of Ramadan.
And we conclude the story on the twenty-seventh day
of the month.
So, it is twenty-seven episodes.
I ask Allah, the Exalted, to accept them from us
and to benefit us all through them.
And today's episode, O Eve,
is about the general lesson from this story.
Muhammad Rashid Rida, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"As for the summary of its lessons,
it is that we must know ourselves,
with our instincts and our readiness for perfection,
and what hinders us from it,
diverting us from it towards deficiencies.
And the most beneficial thing that helps us in nurturing it (ourselves)
is Allah's covenant to us that we worship Him alone,
and that we do not worship Satan or anyone else with Him,
and that we remember Him and do not forget Him, lest we forget ourselves
and neglect to purify and polish it with the polish of repentance
whenever Satan's whispers taint it.
For if it is left,
it becomes rust and a corrupting imprint upon it.
And nothing has corrupted the souls of humankind and degraded them
except the negligence of their intellects and insights regarding it,
leaving them like a feather in the wind of desires and passions,
and the whispers of the devils of misguidance.
So, the intelligent person must know its value
and be more eager for it than their eagerness for any precious jewels they might possess
or cherished treasures.
For their eagerness for such things is only for its sake.
And they expend it when necessary on the most insignificant things it requires.
This is by seeking for it the utmost perfection it aspires to,
and holding it accountable each day, once or more, for the effort expended towards that goal,
and for combating what hinders it, such as desires and whispers.
And to set up the just scale for what is ambiguous to it among opinions and thoughts,
so that it may know the essence of truth and goodness and adhere to them,
and their opposites, evil and falsehood, and avoid them."
Sayyid Qutb, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"And indeed, it is not merely a story;
rather, it is a depiction of the reality of human beings,
to inform him of the reality of his nature and origin,
and the surrounding worlds,
and the destiny that governs his life,
and the path that Allah is pleased with for him,
and the trials he encounters,
and the fate that awaits him.
The first reality we draw from the story of human creation,
is, as we have said before,
the harmony between the nature of the universe
and the creation of the human being,
and the divine decree encompassing the universe and humanity,
which makes this creation a predetermined destiny, not a random occurrence.
It also makes the harmony between them the norm.
Those who do not know Allah, Glorified be He, nor appreciate Him as He should be appreciated,
measure His decrees and actions by their own petty human standards.
And we, by the grace of Allah and His guidance,
look at this vast universe,
and do not feel the panic and terror that the traveler James Jeans speaks of.
Rather, we feel awe and reverence for the Creator of this universe,
and we feel the grandeur and beauty manifested in His creation.
And we feel tranquility and familiarity with this friendly universe,
which Allah created,
and created us within it in harmony and coordination.
Its immensity startles us, just as its precision startles us,
but we do not panic or become distressed,
nor do we feel lost, nor do we anticipate destruction.
For our Lord and its Lord is Allah.
And we deal with it with ease and affection,
familiarity and trust.
And we expect to find within it our provisions and sustenance,
our livelihoods and our enjoyment.
And we hope to be among the grateful.
Allah, the Most High, says:
“And We have given you (mankind) power in the earth, and appointed for you therein livelihoods. Little give ye thanks!” (7:10)
"Little do you thank."
The second reality drawn from the story of human creation
is the dignity of this unique being among living creatures,
the magnitude of the role entrusted to him,
the breadth of horizons and scopes within which he operates,
and the diversity of worlds with which he interacts,
within the bounds of his servitude to Allah alone.
This stands in complete contrast to materialistic, positivist, and sensual doctrines,
which disregard his value as a fundamental, influential factor in the universe,
attributing all importance to matter and its deterministic effects.
Likewise, the magnitude of the role his Creator has given him is evident.
For the cultivation of a planet and its dominion through Allah's vicegerency therein,
regardless of the size of that planet,
is indeed a great matter.
And what becomes clear from the story and the collection of Qur'anic texts
It is thus uniquely created, not on Earth alone,
but in the entire universe.
For other realms, such as the angels and jinn,
and what only Allah knows of creation,
have other functions.
Likewise, they were created from other natures suited to these functions.
And humanity's unique possession of these characteristics and functions
is indicated by the saying of Allah Almighty:
“Lo! We offered the trust unto the heavens and the earth and the hills, but they shrank from bearing it and were afraid of it. And man assumed it. Lo! he hath proved a tyrant and a fool.” (33:72)
"Indeed, we offered the Trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they declined to bear it and feared it; but man [assumed it]." (Qur'an 33:72)
And man bore it.
“Lo! We offered the trust unto the heavens and the earth and the hills, but they shrank from bearing it and were afraid of it. And man assumed it. Lo! he hath proved a tyrant and a fool.” (33:72)
Thus, he is unique in the entire universe with characteristics,
including injustice and ignorance,
alongside relative choice,
and the capacity for progressive knowledge and self-will,
and the ability for justice and knowledge,
commensurate with the capacity for injustice and ignorance.
This duality itself
is his distinction that makes him unique.
This importance that the story and the totality of Qur'anic texts bestow
upon this human being
is not limited to his role as vicegerent of the Earth with these unique characteristics,
but its depiction is completed by contemplating the horizons and domains in which he moves,
and the worlds with which he interacts.
He interacts directly with his Glorious Lord, may He be exalted,
He who created him with His own hand,
and announced his birth in the highest assembly and in all existence through His utterance,
and granted him Paradise, to eat from it wherever he wills,
except for the forbidden tree.
Then He granted him vicegerency of the Earth thereafter by His command,
and taught him the foundation of knowledge,
as in the verse of Al-Baqarah.
“And He taught Adam all the names, then showed them to the angels, saying: Inform Me of the names of these, if ye are truthful.” (2:31)
This is what we surmise to be the capacity for symbolic representation through words and names for the signified and the named,
which is the foundation upon which the possibility of exchanging and generalizing knowledge throughout the entire human race is based.
As we mentioned in Surah Al-Baqarah.
And He gave him His counsel in Paradise and thereafter,
and entrusted him with the special capacities that distinguish his species with its characteristics.
And He sent him a messenger from among them with guidance.
And He inscribed mercy upon Himself, that He would overlook his slip and accept his repentance.
To the end of Allah's blessings upon this being unique in the entire universe.
He ascends to the highest heavens
and surpasses the ranks of the angels
when he dedicates his servitude to Allah
and progresses in it to its ultimate extent.
Likewise, he descends to below the level of a beast
when he takes his desires as his god
and abandons the characteristics of his humanity and wallows in animalistic mire.
And between these two domains
are dimensions vaster than between the heavens and the earth in the sensory world,
and the furthest reach
And this is not all for anyone other than humankind.
as this story and the rest of the texts suggest.
He said:
And the third reality
is that this being,
despite all its uniqueness, or because of it,
is weak in some aspects of its constitution,
to the point that it can be led to evil and plunged into the lowest depths
of its desires.
Among the foremost of its weaknesses is its desire for survival,
and its weakness towards the love of dominion.
And it is at its weakest and most abject state
when it strays from Allah's guidance
and surrenders to its whims,
or surrenders to its persistent enemy,
who has taken it upon himself to lead it astray
with relentless effort,
never tiring, nor abandoning any means.
And so, Allah's mercy towards him necessitated
not to leave him to his innate disposition alone,
nor to his intellect alone,
but to send messengers to him for warning and remembrance,
as will be mentioned in a subsequent verse, in the context of commenting on the story.
And this is the rock of salvation for him:
salvation from his desires by shedding his whims and fleeing to Allah,
and salvation from his enemy, who recoils and hides when his Lord is mentioned,
and His mercy and wrath are remembered,
and His reward and punishment.
All of these are strengthening factors for his will,
so that he may overcome his weakness and desires.
And his first training was in Paradise,
by imposing a prohibition upon him to strengthen this will,
and manifest it in the face of temptation and weakness.
And if he failed in the first test,
that experience became an asset for him in what was to come.
And among Allah's mercy towards him as well
is that He made the door of repentance open to him at all times.
So if he forgets and then remembers,
and if he stumbles and then rises,
and if he goes astray and then repents,
he will find the door open to him.
And Allah accepts his repentance
and overlooks his missteps.
So if he remains steadfast on his path,
Allah will change his bad deeds into good ones,
and multiply for him as He wills.
And He did not make his first sin a written curse upon him and his offspring.
There is no eternal sin.
And there is no inherited sin.
And no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another.
And he said:
And the fourth reality
is the seriousness and authenticity of the battle with Satan.
And its continuity and ferocity.
It has become clear from the context of the story
the insistence of this stubborn enemy on pursuing humankind in every state,
and on approaching them from every direction,
and on following them at every hour and moment.
He said:
The accursed one chose to practice this cunning
and to view its practice in the long term,
choosing this over pleading with Allah to forgive him for his sin in his open disobedience.
And he heard his command directly.
Then he clarified that he would sit for them on the path of Allah,
preventing them from following it.
And he only comes to them through their weak points and the avenues of desire.
And there is no protector for them from him
except by strengthening themselves with faith and remembrance,
and by fortifying themselves against his seduction and whispers,
and by rising above desires,
and by subjugating desires to Allah's guidance.
And the battle with Satan
is the main battle.
It is the battle against desires by following guidance,
and the battle against lusts by the strength of will,
and the battle against evil and corruption on earth,
to which Satan leads his allies,
by following Allah's law that benefits the earth.
And the battle within the conscience
and the battle in real life
are connected, not separate.
For Satan is behind them both.
And the tyrannies that arise on earth
to subjugate people to their dominion, their law,
their values, and their scales,
and to exclude Allah's dominion, His law, and the values and scales derived from His religion,
are merely human devils,
whom the jinn devils inspire.
And the battle with them
is the battle with Satan himself.
And it is not far from it.
And thus, the great battle is concentrated,
the long and fierce one,
in the battle with Satan himself and with his allies.
And the Muslim feels, as he engages in the battle with his desires and lusts,
and he engages in it similarly with the allies of Satan,
the tyrants on earth, their followers, and their lackeys.
And he engages in it with evil, corruption, and moral decay
that they establish around them on earth.
The Muslim feels, as he engages in all these battles,
that he is truly engaged in one serious battle,
a stern and fierce one.
Because his enemy in it is determined and persistent in his path,
and that jihad, from then on,
will continue until the Day of Resurrection,
in all its forms and spheres.
And that they will come to him from every direction, diverting him from Allah's guidance.
We ask Allah to protect us from the schemes of the devils among jinn and humans,
and to guide us to the straight path,
and to show us the truth as truth and grant us its following,
and to show us falsehood as falsehood and grant us its avoidance.
The story concludes by the grace of Allah, the Almighty.
And praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.
The story of our mother Eve.