Transliteration:( Qaalah bitoo ba'dukum liba'din aduwwunw wa lakum fil ardi mustaqarrunw wa mataa'un ilaaheen )
"He (Allah) said, 'Get down; some of you are enemies to others. And for you, there is a dwelling place on earth and provision for a time' [44]."
From this we learn that both Hazrat Adam and Bibi Hawa (may Allah be pleased with them) offered the dua, “O our Lord, we have wronged ourselves…” (S7:V23), while still in Paradise. After being sent to the earth, they wept with remorse for hundreds of years. Eventually, they received inspirational words of prayer from Allah Almighty, through which their repentance was accepted. These words, according to Tafsir, were sought through the intercession of the Holy Prophet ﷺ, as referenced in the verse: “Then Adam learnt certain words from his Lord…” (S2:V37). Those who consider the Paradise dua as the final repentance are contradicting the meaning of S2:V37, since those words were revealed later and are distinct.
The phrase “some of you are enemies to others” can mean that the devil is an open enemy to man, or that man is an enemy to the devil. It may also refer to enmity among human beings, or the believers being enemies of the infidels, and vice versa.
By this is meant that the place of residence for both man and devils is the earth, but it is of a temporary nature. After death, the permanent abode of devils and their followers will be Hell, while the permanent abode of the believers will be Paradise.
24. (Allah) said: “Get down, one of you an enemy to the other. On earth will be a dwelling place for you and an enjoyment for a time.” 25. He said: “Therein you shall live, and therein you shall die, and from it you shall be brought out (resurrected).”
It was said that,
(Get down), was addressed to Adam, Hawwa’, Iblis and the snake. Some scholars did not mention the snake, and Allah knows best. The enmity is primarily between Adam and Iblis, and Hawwa’ follows Adam in this regard. Allah said in Surah Ta Ha,
(“Get you down (from the Paradise to the earth), both of you, together…”) ﴿20:123﴾. If the story about the snake is true, then it is a follower of Iblis. Some scholars mentioned the location on earth they were sent down, but these accounts are taken from the Israelite tales, and only Allah knows if they are true. If having known these areas was useful for the people in matters of religion or life, Allah would have mentioned them in His Book, and His Messenger would have mentioned them too. Allah’s statement,
(On earth will be a dwelling place for you and an enjoyment for a time.) means, on earth you will have dwellings and known, designated, appointed terms that have been recorded by the Pen, counted by Predestination and written in the First Record.
(He (Allah) said: “Therein you shall live, and therein you shall die, and from it you shall be brought out (resurrected).”) This Ayah is similar to Allah’s other statement,
(Thereof (the earth) We created you, and into it We shall return you, and from it We shall bring you out once again.) ﴿20:55﴾. Allah states that He has made the earth a dwelling place for the Children of Adam, for the remainder of this earthly life. On it, they will live, die and be buried in their graves; and from it, they will be resurrected for the Day of Resurrection. On that Day, Allah will gather the first and last of creatures and reward or punish each according to his or her deeds.
(7:24) Allah said: ‘Go down; [14] you are enemies one of the other. For you there is dwelling and provision on the earth for a while.’
14. God’s command that Adam and Eve ‘go down’ should not be misunderstood to mean that their departure from Paradise was by way of punishment. The Qur’an has made it clear many a time that God accepted Adam and Eve’s repentance and pardoned them. Thus the order does not imply punishment. It rather signifies the fulfilment of the purpose for which man was created. For elaboration see Towards Understanding the Qur’an, vol. 1, (Surah Al-Baqarah, ayat 35) note 43 and (Surah Al-Baqarah, ayat 38) note 53.
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