وَلَوْ أَنَّنَا 322 الأعراف
فَدَلَّاهُمَا بِغُرُورٍ فَلَمَّا ذَاقَا الشَّجَرَةَ بَدَتْ لَهُمَا سَوْآتُهُمَا وَطَفِقَا يَخْصِفَانِ عَلَيْهِمَا مِنْ وَرَقِ الْجَنَّةِ وَنَادَاهُمَا رَبُّهُمَا أَلَمْ أَنْهَكُمَا عَنْ تِلْكُمَا الشَّجَرَةِ وَأَقُلْ لَكُمَا إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ لَكُمَا عَدُوٌّ مُبِينٌ ﴿۲۲﴾ قَالَا رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَا أَنْفُسَنَا وَإِنْ لَمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ ﴿۲۳﴾
﴾22﴿ Fadallaahumaa bighuroor; falammaa zaaqash shajarata badat lahumaa saw aatuhumaa wa tafiqaa yakhsifaani 'alaihimaa minw waraqil jannati wa naadaahumaa Rabbuhumaaa alam anhakumaa 'an tilkumash shajarati wa aqul lakumaaa innash Shaitaana lakumaa 'aduwwum mubeen
﴾23﴿ Qaalaa Rabbanaa zalamnaaa anfusanaa wa illam taghfir lanaa wa tarhamnaa lanakoonanna minal khaasireen
﴾22﴿ So he deceive them and sent them down, so when they tasted that tree, their privy parts appeared to them, and they started sticking the leaves of the trees of Jannah on themselves And he called both of them, their Lord, did I not forbid you from this tree, and I did not tell you that indeed Satan is your obvious enemy
﴾﴿23 They said both, O Lord, we have harmed ourselfs, and if you do not forgive us and have mercy on us, we will certainly be among the losers
[22] (فَدَلَّاهُمَا) – The “fa” indicates that they acted immediately upon Iblīs’s whispering.
“Dallāhumā” means he brought them down—either:
From obedience to disobedience,
Or from a high rank to a lower one,
Or it may carry the meaning of “azallahumā” (caused them to slip).
(بِغُرُورٍ) – "With deception": Ghurūr refers to presenting advice outwardly while hiding harm inwardly.
(سَوْآتُهُمَا) – Here, the literal meaning (i.e., private parts) is intended.
This is proven by the following sentence, where they begin covering themselves with leaves.
According to Baḥr al-Muḥīṭ, some said “saw’āt” here means faults or the hardship of life becoming exposed, and that they were not physically uncovered—
But this interpretation contradicts the apparent meaning of the Qur’an and is a baseless interpretation without evidence.
[23] Ẓulm (ظلم) here means deficiency—i.e., "we have reduced our own share" by being expelled from Paradise.
(وَإِنْ لَمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا) – “If You do not forgive us”: This does not mean forgiving a sin, because they did not commit a sin in the technical sense. Rather, it means covering and concealing (i.e., putting a veil over their mistake).
The meaning of mercy (رَحِمْتَنَا) in this context is being saved from repeating such actions in the future.
Alternatively, this du‘āʾ reflects humility and brokenness, not necessarily an admission of sin. This is the habit of the righteous and the spiritually close—they regard even their minor shortcomings as major.
Sharbīnī wrote that this was only an act contrary to what was best (khilāf al-awlá), and it happened out of forgetfulness, as mentioned in verse 115 of Surah Ṭāhā.
More detailed explanation is found in Surah al-Baqarah.