Surah 7. Al-A'raf, Ayah 20

Lit., "so as to make manifest to them that of their nakedness which [hitherto] had been imperceptible to them": an allegory of the state of innocence in which man lived before his fall from grace - that is, before his consciousness made him aware of himself and of the possibility of choosing between alternative courses of action, with all the attending temptations towards evil and the misery which must follow a wrong choice.

Lit., "or [lest] you become of those who are enduring": thus instilling in them the desire to live forever and to become, in this respect, like God. See note [106] on 20:120 .

The transition from the name "Iblis" to the name "Satan" is similar to that in ii. 36, where it is explained in n. 52.

Our first parents as created by Allah (and this applies to all of us) were innocent in matters material as well as spiritual. They knew no evil. But the faculty of choice, which was given to them and which raised them above the angels, also implied that they had the capacity of evil, which by the training of their own will, they were to reject. They were warned of the danger. When they fell, they realised the evil. They were (and we are) still given the chance, in this life on a lower plane, to make good and recover the lost status of innocence and bliss.