As Salamu 'Alaykum,
Most University Educated Ministers and Theologians all declare that Eve's intention wasn't to rebel against Allah, but the result of doubt concerning Adaam's instructions. When Eve responded to Shaytan's deceit, she said," we are not to eat or even touch it." However, there is no record of Allah saying to Adam anything about touching the tree. There is much speculation as to why Eve thought that they weren't to touch it. Perhaps Adam understood the wisdom in avoiding sin by staying as far as possible from it instead of trying to find where the line is drawn so we can move as close as possible without going out of bounds. Another important factor is that Allah did not say "on the day that thou eateth of the fruit thou shalt die." He said ,"On the day that thou eateth of the fruit thou shalt surely die." Allah is saying that from the very moment you eat of the fruit your death is a certainty. You will die. There is no doubt. Death will be your destination from that point on.
Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
Gen 3:2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
Gen 3:3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
Gen 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
Gen 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Gen 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
Gen 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Gen 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
Gen 3:9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
Gen 3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
Gen 3:11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
Gen 3:12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
Gen 3:13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
Gen 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Gen 3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
Gen 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Gen 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Gen 3:20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
Gen 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
Gen 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
Gen 3:23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
Gen 3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
Some interesting points in this chapter is Adam blamed the woman whom Allah had given him (Indicating that it was the woman's fault and Allah's for giving him a companion.) The woman blamed the serpent.
Gen 3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
What would the loss of bliss and eternal life cause ? Sorrow? What would death mean to the human race? The need for more conceptions to replenish the earth as people died. Perhaps, Allah was saying that because of your loss your sorrow will be multiplied as will the number of children you will conceive because of what you have done. I don't have an explanation of the last two conditions. This is a theme carried over into the New Testament. There are many views as to what is meant by headship. A funny story happened at a friends church. He preached a fire and brimstone sermon on men need to step up and take on the mantle of headship over their wives and wives needed to be submissive to their husbands. After church we were going out to eat. My pastor friend turned to his wife and said, "Honey, may I have $20.00. I started to laugh out loud. The pastor asked me why I was laughing. I told him I found it amusing that the head had to ask for money. His reply was, "Well, brother, my wife has a Master Degree in Finance; so, as the head, I delegated the authority of handling the money to my wife." It made perfect sense to me. I have never had to rule over my wife. She has on rare occasions become stubborn about things like wearing a head covering. I told her why I felt she should wear a head covering and showed her in the bible where it was required. Lately, she mentioned that she was beginning to think she might wear "scarfs" like the Muslim women because it did look nice and was modest. My wife is as of now a Christian although she doesn't except the trinity.
So, I have to agree that it is a misunderstanding that Allah is punishing women for the sin of Adam.
".. Thus did Adam disobey his Lord, so he went Astray. Then his Lord chose him, and turned to him with forgiveness, and gave him guidance." (Quran 20:121-122)
"That no burdened person (with sins) shall bear the burden (sins) of another. And that man can have nothing but what he does (of good and bad). And that his deeds will be seen, Then he will be recompensed with a full and the best recompense [fair] " (Quran 53:38-41)
fitrah prevents them initially from disbelieving the existence of God. They must really fight themselves for a long time and be continually persuaded by those who are around them to believe otherwise. This is how they end up worshipping fire, stones, statues, multiple gods, and other things. It is forced upon them in spite of their fitrah as they grow up.
This is affirmed by Qur’an 30:30 when we read that:
“So set thy purpose (O Muhammad) for religion (deen) as a man by nature upright the nature (framed) of Allah in which He hath created man (fitrah). There is no altering (the laws of) Allah’s creation. That is the right deen, but most men know not.”
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