WHO IS ZALIM?

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BY
Shaikh Jalilu Issah

In the name of Allah, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful

English Transliteration

[002.036 Waqulna ya adamu oskun anta wazawjuka aljannata wakula minha raghadan
haythu shi/tuma wala taqraba hathihi alshshajarata fatakoona mina alththalimeena]

[002.036 Faazallahuma alshshaytanu AAanha faakhrajahuma mimma kana feehi

waqulna ihbitoo baAAdukum libaAAdin AAaduwwun walakum fee al-ardi mustaqarrun
wamataAAun ila heenin]

Translation

[002.035 We said: "O Adam! dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden; and eat of the
bountiful things therein as (where and when) ye will; but approach not this tree, or ye run
into harm and transgression." ]
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Shaikh Jalilu Issah

[002. 036 Then did Satan make them slip from the (garden), and get them out of the state
(of felicity) in which they had been. We said: "Get ye down, all (ye people), with enmity
between yourselves. On earth will be your dwelling-place and your means of livelihood -
for a time."

Exegeses:

Now we are talking about Almighty Allah, Adam, and the angles. We have been told
that when the Iblis or the Satan when he refused to prostrate before Adam, then Allah
said to Adam to stay with his wife in the garden. Here Almighty Allah asked Adam in
the paradise or in the garden. We have to consider that which paradise Allah asked
Adam to live with his wife. Was it the paradise that Allah made a promise with all the
believers or this was a different kind of paradise? This question comes in our mind.
Allah says as soon as a man enters the paradise he would
stay over there for ever. There is no exit from that paradise. Had this paradise been for
Adam and Eve, then how would they have come out of it? And one more question comes
in our mind that if the paradise wherein no exit does prevail for the entrants of it, then
how Iblis entered it? If it had been the paradise where exit does not prevail then how
Adam and Eve came out? Finally the question is that what kind of paradise was in which
Adam and Eve used to live and they were expelled from it?
The sixth Imam of Ahlul Bayt Imam Jaffer Saddique solves this riddle. He says
the paradise where Adam and Eve was, that is the paradise of this world.
It is not the paradise Allah promised the believers that they would go there. And then

Allah says the paradise is the sun and the moon

they appeared into the paradise that they live in.

Imam Jaffer Saddique (AS) said is that paradise that

the Almighty Allah has promised the believers, he said it was impossible it could have
been possible for Adam and his wife Eve to come out of it. Because Allah Subhana-Wa-
Ta’aala said the previous verse about the paradise when
Allah Subhana-Wa-Ta’aala talked about the He said
those people would be there for
ever. So therefore, this paradise that Allah Subhana-Wa-Ta’aala has placed Adam and
Eve was not the paradise that the Almighty Allah has promised the believers. That’s why
they were able to come out of the paradise.
If it had been the paradise Allah promised, then Iblis would not have been able to
get into the paradise. Iblis entered the paradise and convinced Adam to eat what Allah
forbade for him. Here it is proved from that it was not the paradise what has been
promised by Allah Subhana-Wa-Ta’aala for the believers to enter for their noble and
pious works in the mundane world. And this paradise is for the pious and we all know
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Shaikh Jalilu Issah

that Iblis is not pious so how it is possible that he may have entered the paradise
promised solely for the believers?
When Allah promised the paradise for the believers He described in detail that
there are blessings that those believers would enjoy them. And that blessing is forbidden
for those who are not believers. On the Day of Judgment the disbelievers would say that
the blessings of the Allah Subhana-Wa-Ta’aala were made haram on them. That’s why
they are entitled to enter the paradise promised for the believer’s. And one more point
worth considering that Iblis would not have been able to enter the paradise what was
promised for the believers. So it means that was another form of the paradise. This is
Allah who knows better what to do and for whom and when to do for the creatures of
His.
The paradise where Adam and Eve were there was no condition on them to eat
what they wanted to eat. Every part of the paradise was within their access. Allah only
put one condition on them that they were strictly directed not to eat the fruit of the
forbidden tree. But the satan beguiled them. Allah very clearly hod told them that in
case of eating the fruit of the forbidden tree they would be one of the tyrants. The
instructions were very clear that don’t come near the tree.
And in the same pattern Allah talked about Zina (adultery). Allah told us that the
fornication is haram. Allah said do not even come closer to
Zina. We must think and give our mind to the commandment that what is the meaning of
coming closer to Zina. It is that we should not look at the women with the lascivious
sights. It is haram. Even if you talk about the woman it is haram for us. The holy Quran
says that don’t come near the sin whatsoever it might be. Because when we go closer to
some kind of sin or offense we may get involved in it. And then we may commit that sin.
So prevention and abstinence is better than being closer to such affairs. We should be
more and more distant from the sin or crimes. The closer we are the more prone we are
to it.
We have different types of tyrants. Actually when we say Al Zalim. It comes
from the word Al Zulm. It means to put something the way it does not belong to. This
process is called Al Zulm. It is opposite of Al Adel. Adel has come from Adaala, the
justice. It means to put something where it belongs to. So a man does and put the things
in order he is called Aadil. And if the man does not discharge such kind of duty he is
called Al Zalim. And this Zalim is of two sorts. We have Zalimulli nafsehee, and other
is Zalimulligharey. A man can be a tyrant of himself. That is Zalimulli nafsehee. When
a man becomes unjust with himself. And when a man becomes unjust with other people
he is called Zalimulligharey. When a man does not support the people and commits
wrong acts and crimes he is called Al Zalim. The same applies on the Zani who commits
fornication. If a person commits some crime first time it does not matter. There is a door
of tauba (repentance) for him. The man with one time of corruption is not called Al Zalim until
he commits the crime more than one time.
Satan or the serpent made Adam and his wife Eve slip and they were urged upon to eat
the fruit of forbidden tree. When a man commits sin he slips and when he does not commit sine

he is up. Allah says Shaitan was the main cause for them to
slip and fall down. And what were the consequences the holy Quran said
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then the Lord expelled them from the paradise. They were
expelled from the enjoyment what they were having in the paradise. They were expelled from all
those happy moments what were provided to them in the heaven. Because they slipped and the
cause was the shaitan. They were not tyrants. They had no problem in the life of paradise. But
Allah expelled them according the divine justice, which is only known to Him perfectly. Then
they were sent down on the earth. Allah said that from now on you and your wife are the enemies
of one another. All the blessings were taken away from them. It was the punishment for them to
be enemy for one another. They were separated. It is one of the punishments of Allah for them.
Still in this modern world the prisoner are kept in isolation. This is severe type of
punishment for them. And this kind of punishment every man and woman would get on the Day

of Judgment. Allah said on the

Day of Judgment Allah said you would come to Me individually. You would not come with
others. You would be alone. This is a punishment. Because a man wants to have a company of
someone. By nature man is gregarious. So to be away from the dear ones and near ones is a

punishment for him. And Allah said and the earth

would be your dwelling place. The earth your dwelling place would provide you the sustenance.
And what you get from the earth is not for ever it is for the stipulated time.
We believe that all the prophets are infallible. They don’t and can not commit sins. They
were born in such a divine system where there is no concept of any sin in the chip of their minds.
But the holy Quran tells us that Adam committed a sin. He disobeyed the orders of Allah. Allah
had told not to come closer to the forbidden tree. But the holy Quran told us that shaitan came
over there and beguiled them to eat the fruit of the forbidden tree. They committed what Allah
Subhana-Wa-Ta’aala had told them in clear words not to do it.
Other school of thought say that the prophets may commit sins. They are infallible when
they come to deliver the preaches of Allah Subhana-Wa-Ta’aala. They say that they can commit
the great sins and they can commit the small sins. We the Ahlul Bayt followers say that the
Imams and prophets are infallible. There is no concept of committing any sin. From the first
breath of life to the last breath of the life they are unable to commit any kind of sin. We firmly
believe in. Now we have to justify it. Our answer is that yes it is true.
But what Adam did in Arabic we call it Tarkul Aullaa. It means that when you two good
things one is good and one the best. Adam left a best to good thing. When someone leaves the
best for a good thing it means Tarkul Aullaa.
Let me further define it that suppose we have two types of sins to commit. We
have Azalbunbisbee and then we have Azalbunbutlaq. Azalbunbisbee is a sin. But if it is
to be seen from other angle it would give you a look of a sin. But it would be a sin if
viewed from other angle. You have different people in your surroundings. There might
also be Islamic scholars, and then you have a businessman for example. People expect
from the Islamic scholar to be respectful in the community and even some makrooh
(undesirable though not punishable) are not viewed with the reference of the Islamic
scholar. For example eating on the street. Perhaps there would be no problem for you.
But if you have a scholar with a servant eating on the street, they would criticize him.
This is Azalbunbisbee. It looks sin from other angle and does not look a sin from other
different angle.
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If you have a great scholar like Imam Khumeni walking on the street eating,
people would criticize him that he looks awkward to eat on the street. He should go in a
place of high respect and dignity. But if some other may do it we would have no
problem. This is called Azalbunbisbee.
Now we come to the Azalbunbutlaq. It is absolutely sin. And it does not matter
who commits it. So we are of the view that Adam did not commit Azalbunbutlaq. The
slip of Adam would be called Tarkul Aullaa. We have two types of forbiddance in Islam.
One is called and then we have . The is the
forbiddance Allah Subhana-Wa-Ta’aala tells you do not do it. And if you did it there is a
punishment behind it. And then we have this is different from the first
one. And when you forbid for something or you recommend it. For example a doctor
tells someone not to eat sugar, because a man might be sick doing this act. Allah said do
not lie. Would doctor punish you if you eat sweet? No. But Allah would punish us if we
committed a crime. It is called this is recommendation from the doctor
for you not to take sugar. So when Allah said not to eat the fruit of the tree. So when
Allah said to Adam not to eat the fruit of the tree – it was a recommendation from Allah
Subhana-Wa-Ta’aala. So in this condition and circumstance Adam had two choice to eat
the fruit of the tree or not to eat. It is called Tarkul Aullaa. If Adam did not follow the
recommendation of Allah, it does not mean that he committed a sin. He is still infallible.
He selected for him what was the best thing for him.

Further would be discussed in next session Inshallah!