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Fatwa CenterSatan whispered to Aadam (Adam) and Hawwaa’ (Eve), may Allaah exalt their mention
Question
How did the accursed Satan enter Paradise and whisper to Aadam (Adam), may Allaah exalt his mention?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu 'alyhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
There is a difference of opinion among scholars regarding the way in which Satan whispered to both Aadam and Hawwaa’ (Eve), may Allaah exalt their mention. According to Ibn Mas‘ood, Ibn ‘Abbaas 
and the majority of scholars, Satan whispered to them verbally. They quoted the following verse as proof of their view; Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {And he swore [by Allaah] to them, "Indeed, I am to you from among the sincere advisors."} [Quran 7:21]
Al-Baydhaawi 
mentioned that there is a difference of opinion whether he went before them and enticed them or did so by way of whispering. However, Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {[Allaah] said [to Satan], "Then get out of it [Paradise], for indeed, you are expelled.} [Quran 15:34] and, therefore, there is a difference regarding the way in which he managed to whisper to them after he had been expelled from Paradise. Regarding the interpretation of the verse, some scholars are of the view that before his disobedience, the accursed Satan used to honorably enter Paradise like the honorable angels; however, after this incident, Allaah The Almighty only allowed him to enter in humiliation and disgrace in order to be a test for both Aadam and Hawwaa’, may Allaah exalt their mention. Another view is that he stood at the door of Paradise, called them, then whispered to them.
According to a third view, he got himself into the mouth of a snake which took him inside Paradise. Referring to this, Al-Qurtubi transmitted on the authority of Wahb ibn Munabbih that the accursed Satan entered Paradise hiding in the mouth of a she-snake. After she had entered Paradise, he left her body, took from the fruit of the tree that Allaah The Almighty had forbidden Aadam and Hawwaa’, may Allaah exalt their mention, to eat from, then he first whispered to Hawwaa’,may Allaah exalt her mention, who ate from it. After that, he directed himself towards Aadam 
and enticed him. In this regard, it was also said that Hawwaa’ encouraged Aadam, may Allaah exalt their mention, to eat from the tree and told him that she had eaten from it but had not been harmed. After eating from the tree, their private parts appeared to them and they, therefore, became sinners. Afterwards, Allaah The Almighty ordered Aadam to descend to the earth from which he had been created. The snake was cursed after this incident and enmity was planted between her and the offspring of Aadam forever and, therefore, we are commanded to kill snakes.
Furthermore, Al-Qurtubi added that there is another group of scholars who are of the view that the accursed Satan did not enter Paradise to entice Aadam ; rather, he used his ability to whisper that Allaah The Almighty provided him with after he had been expelled from it. Referring to this, it was reported that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said that the accursed Satan circulates the mind of the human as his blood circulates his body. [Al-Bukhari]
Through the illustrated discussion above, it becomes clear that there is a difference among the scholars of Tafseer (Quranic exegesis) regarding the way in which the accursed Satan whispered to Aadam and Hawwaa’, may Allaah exalt their mention. It seems that the preponderant view is that which many of the scholars of Tafseer mentioned, which is the view of Ibn Mas‘ood and Ibn ‘Abbaas that the accursed Satan whispered to them verbally. They quoted the verse in which Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {And he swore [by Allaah] to them, "Indeed, I am to you from among the sincere advisors."} [Quran 7: 21] This is because swearing is obviously done verbally. Furthermore, they are of the view that Allaah The Almighty allowed the accursed Satan to enter Paradise after his disobedience, but in a humiliated and disgraced fashion.
Allaah Knows best.
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