قُلْنَا اهْبِطُوا مِنْهَا جَمِيعًا ۖ فَإِمَّا يَأْتِيَنَّكُم مِّنِّي هُدًى فَمَن تَبِعَ هُدَايَ فَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ (38)
(2:38) We said, "Now go down, all of you from here. *53 Henceforth there shall come to you Guidance from Me now and again: whoever will follow it shall have neither fear nor sorrow
*53). The reiteration of this statement is significant. Wc have been told above that Adam repented and that his repentance was accepted by God. This means that the stain of sin was washed away and therefore no stain remained
On the contrary, God not only accepted Adam's repentance but also honoured him by endowing him with prophethood so that he might he able to direct his children correctly. The repetition of the order to leave Paradise and go down to earth is aimed at driving home the point that earth was not created as a place of punishment for man. On the contrary, man was put on earth to serve as God's vicegerent there. It was only to test man and thereafter to equip him for the performance of God's vicegerency that man was placed temporarily in Paradise. (See also n. 48 above.)