Al-Baqarah · Madani · ayah 35 of 286

Al-Baqarah 2:35

وَقُلْنَا يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُ ٱسْكُنْ أَنتَ وَزَوْجُكَ ٱلْجَنَّةَ وَكُلَا مِنْهَا رَغَدًا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمَا وَلَا تَقْرَبَا هَـٰذِهِ ٱلشَّجَرَةَ فَتَكُونَا مِنَ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ

“And We said, "O Adam, dwell, you and your wife, in Paradise and eat therefrom in [ease and] abundance from wherever you will. But do not approach this tree, lest you be among the wrongdoers."”

Saheeh International

Essence

The whole Garden was opened to Adam and his wife; only one tree was closed, and even its nearness was to be avoided.

A reflection

One tree among a garden

A man who embraced Islam last month spends forty minutes in a supermarket, anxiously reading every label. Gelatine, emulsifiers, E-numbers. He leaves with almost nothing. A friend who has been Muslim all his life laughs kindly. 'Start in the fruit and veg aisle,' he says. 'All of it is yours.'

The first command in human history had this shape. 'Eat from it freely and abundantly, wherever you wish.' Only then: 'But do not approach this tree.' A classical linguist notices the proportion. Allah opened the garden in the widest possible way. He did not limit what they ate or where, so that no excuse remained for reaching towards one tree among countless others.

The word raghadan paints the permission. The lexicons describe it as the best of living: wide, rich and easy. A herdsman arghada his flock when he let it graze wherever it liked. Plenty, one lexicon says, that never wears you out.

Many people experience religion as a list of prohibitions. The ayah reverses the picture. The default is open-handed generosity. The forbidden is small, specific and named. And even that one 'no' was for their sake: 'lest you be among the wrongdoers', that is, those who wrong themselves.

Allah needs nothing from our obedience. He is free of all need (35:15). 'Whoever strives, strives only for himself' (29:6). The single tree was not a prize He was guarding. It was a danger He was guarding them from.

There is a quiet freedom in seeing faith this way. Many people now feel hemmed in by rules they do not understand, or by a constant fear of getting things wrong. The ayah invites a different posture. Enjoy, with gratitude, the enormous garden of what is permitted. Keep away from the few things named. 'Truly, in the remembrance of Allah hearts find rest' (13:28).

The new Muslim goes back the next week. He starts with the fruit aisle, and he enjoys it.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.