How Could Such a Great Nabī Commit Such a Mistake?

Whenever you read this ayah, or hear about this story, do you ever wonder: how could such a great nabī commit such a mistake? Do you ever wonder how come? Allah (swt) told him don't touch that tree, and then he went and ate from it. Do you ever wonder how could that happen? I think some of you may have had that idea: how come? This is a nabī of Allah (swt); how could he do that? By the way, at that time he was not a nabī yet; but later, on earth, he became a nabī.

Instead of thinking about why Ādam did so, why not think about yourself, that you are committing sins and mistakes? It is much more difficult to understand how we can commit sins. Because with Ādam, he did not have any experience whatsoever. He did not know about Shayṭān. He had only knowledge about Shayṭān, but he had no experience with him — and experience is different than knowledge. With Ādam, he knew that Shayṭān is his enemy, but he never experienced it. And even the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) says: laysa al-khabaru ka-l-muʿāyanah, knowing the news is not like seeing it. Ādam had the knowledge, but he didn't have any experience with Shayṭān yet.

We know what happened to Ādam, and we know what was caused by Shayṭān, and we have seen a history — a long history of mankind — and we are still committing the same mistake again and again. We should question that. We should not question the fact that Ādam committed this mistake. Because for Ādam it was a very innocent mistake, and Allah (swt) forgave him — because Ādam did not have any experience yet. And Allah (swt) wanted this to be a test for Ādam, so that he can learn from it; and this could be experience for Ādam, to prepare him, because he will be a nabī of Allah (swt). It's a preparation for Ādam. Allah is preparing him.

Just like Allah (swt) was preparing Dāwūd through the mistake that he committed — and we are going to talk about that. Allah (swt) was preparing Dāwūd for the position of khilāfah. So Allah (swt) made him go through that judgment, and he made a mistake in it, and then Allah (swt) corrected that mistake for him. They say that Dāwūd after the mistake was better than he was before. So Allah (swt) was preparing Ādam, so that he would go through this experience and learn from it; and it would prepare him for living on this earth, to realise that Shayṭān, Iblīs, is your enemy.