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 (Satan) led them into temptation through deception. Then, when they tasted from the tree, their shame became exposed to them, and they began to cover themselves with the leaves of Paradise. And their Lord called out to both of them: “Did I not forbid you from that tree, and did I not say to you that surely Satan is a clear enemy to you?”
﴾23﴿ Both of them said, “O our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy on us, we will surely 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.