Surah 2

Surah 2:37

"Then Adam received certain words from his Lord, and He turned to him (in forgiveness). Surely He – He is the One who turns (in forgiveness), the Compassionate."
Adam repents and supplicates to Allah Verses 2:37
Show Full Scripture Context (2:37) — 1 Verse
Verse 37

فَتَلَقَّىٰٓ ءَادَمُ مِن رَّبِّهِۦ كَلِمَٰتٖ فَتَابَ عَلَيۡهِۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلتَّوَّابُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ

Then Adam received certain words from his Lord, and He turned to him (in forgiveness). Surely He – He is the One who turns (in forgiveness), the Compassionate.

Quoted Scripture
"37. Then Adam received from his Lord Words. And his Lord pardoned him (accepted his repentance). Verily, He is the One Who forgives (accepts repentance), the Most Merciful."

Adam repents and supplicates to Allah

It was reported that the above Ayah is explained by Allah's statement, {They said: "Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You forgive us not, and bestow not upon us Your mercy, we shall certainly be of the losers"} as Mujahid, Said bin Jubayr, Abu Al-'Aliyah, Ar-Rabi' bin Anas, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, Muhammad bin Ka'b Al-Qurazi, Khalid bin Ma'dan, 'Ata' Al-Khurasani and 'Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam have stated. As-Suddi said that Ibn 'Abbas commented on, {Then Adam received from his Lord Words} "Adam said, 'O Lord! Did You not created me with Your Own Hands?' He said, 'Yes.' He said, 'And blow life into me?' He said, 'Yes.' He said, 'And when I sneezed, You said, 'May Allah grant you His mercy.' Does not Your mercy precede Your anger?' He was told, 'Yes.' Adam said, 'And You destined me to commit this evil act?' He was told, 'Yes.' He said, If I repent, will You send me back to Paradise?' Allah said, 'Yes.'" Similar is reported from Al-'Awfi, Said bin Jubayr, Said bin Ma'bad, and Ibn 'Abbas. Al-Hakim recorded this Hadith in his Mustadrak from Ibn Jubayr, who narrated it from Ibn 'Abbas. Al-Hakim said, "Its chain is Sahih and they (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it."

Allah's statement, {Verily, He is the One Who forgives (accepts repentance), the Most Merciful} (2:37) means that Allah forgives whoever regrets his error and returns to Him in repentance. This meaning is similar to Allah's statements, {And whoever does evil or wrongs himself} and {And whosoever repents and does righteous good deeds}.

The Ayat mentioned above, testify to the fact that Allah forgives the sins of whoever repents, demonstrating His kindness and mercy towards His creation and servants. There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah, the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful. {Know they not that Allah accepts repentance from His servants}

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.