Documentary Analysis of the Interpretive Narrations of the Forbidden Tree and its Semantic Relationship with the Ahl al-Bayt (PBUH)

During Adam and Eve's stay in paradise, God forbade them from approaching a particular tree. Despite the clear Divine prohibition, they ate from that tree anyway. The essence and reality of this tree has long been disputed amongst the exegetes. In this regard, some exegetes, by citing three particular interpretive narrations, have related the forbidden tree to the Ahlulbayt (the Holy Prophet and his immaculate progeny). Indeed, analyzing this claim and assessing it's authenticity with regards to whether it is able to indicate and prove the pre-existence of the Ahlulbayt and the light creation through a verse of the Qur'ān posseses great importance. This essay, by using an analytical-descriptive method, will analyze the three aforementioned narrations with respect to their chains of narration, their content, and their acceptance in the eyes of the exegetes and it will reach this conclusion that the forbidden tree possessed many different fruits however, amongst all those fruits, that which was attractive to Adam, the teacher and the subject of prostration of the angles, was the knowledge of Prophet Muhammad and his progeny (peace be upon them all). The desire to reach the position and status of the Ahlulbayt was what prompted Adam and Eve to eat from the tree. The contextual proofs confirm the conclusion extracted from these narrations. The interpretations of these three narrations affirm that the Ahlulbayt existed before Adam and Adam witnessed them in the form of lights and souls (metaphysical existence). Therefore, in accordance with this, it can be deducted that the verses that speak of the forbidden tree along with the narrations that interpret them indicates the pre-existence of the Ahlulbayt.