Now that we have learnt about Prophet Musa and overcoming fear, let’s now talk about Prophet Adam and the Shaytan.

Adam and Shaytan both made mistakes, but one is going to be rewarded and the other punished. 

Question: Can anyone tell me the one mistake that Adam  and Hawa made? 

Yes! They ate from a tree that Allah told them not to eat from. What did they do after they made a mistake?

They asked Allah to forgive them. They said:

رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَا أَنفُسَنَا وَإِن لَّمْ 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 will surely be among the losers.” [Surah Al-A’raf; 23]

Alhamdulillah, Allah accepted their tawba (repentance), and forgave them.

Question: What sin did the Shaytan commit?

Yes, he refused to bow down to Adam  even though Allah commanded him to do so. When Allah asked him why he refused to bow down, Shaytan responded by saying:

أَنَا خَيْرٌ مِّنْهُ خَلَقْتَنِي مِن نَّارٍ وَخَلَقْتَهُ مِن طِينٍ 

“I am better than him. You created me from fire and you created him from clay.” [Surat Al-A’raf; 12]

Question: Did Shaytan ask Allah to forgive him?

No, instead he promises that he will try his very best to lead those that believe in Allah on the wrong path. 

Question: What trait is that called, when you know you did something wrong but you refuse to ask for forgiveness?

Shaytan is arrogant in front of Allah , while Prophet Adam  knows that every blessing he has is due to Allah’s generosity.

Do you see the difference between the two? As long as we continue coming back to Allah , we need to have firm faith that Allah will forgive us. 

Let’s read this beautiful Hadith Qudsi together:

قَالَ اللهُ تَعَالَى : يَا ابْنَ ادَمَ ، إِنَّكَ مَا دَعَوْتََنِي وَرَجَوْتَنِي ، غَفَرْتُ لَكَ عَلَى مَا كَانَ مِنْكَ وَلَا أُبالِي . يا ابْنَ ادَمَ :لَوْ بَلَغَتْ ذُنُوبُكَ عَنانَ السَّماءِ ثُم اسْتَغْفَرْتَني ، غَفَرْتُ لَكَ . يَا ابْنَ ادَمَ : إِنَّكَ لَوْ أَتَيْتَنِي بِقُرَابِ الأَرْضِ خَطَايا ثُمَّ لَقِيتَني لَا تُشْرِكُ بِي شَيْأً ، لَأَتيْتُكَ بِقُرَابِها مَغْفِرَةً

I heard the Prophet Muhammad say: Allah the Almighty has said: “O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it.” [Tirmidhi]

So let’s never lose hope in the mercy of Allah and always remember to turn back to Him whenever we sin or make mistakes!