( قَالَ اهْبِطُوا) ([Allah] said, “Descend): The order is said in plural for a group and not only for two people, while in Surah Taha it is directed to just two (Adam and Eve), saying:

 قَالَ اهْبِطَا مِنْهَا جَمِيعًا ۖ بَعْضُكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّ

([Allah] said, “Descend both of you from Paradise – all, [your descendants] being enemies to one another.) (Taha: 123)

So, it is for all three of them: Adam, Eve, and Satan.

As aforementioned, Adam was created for the earth. Allah (swt) says:

 وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ إِنِّي جَاعِلٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً ۖ قَالُوا أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَن يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ الدِّمَاءَ وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ ۖ قَالَ إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

(And [mention, O Muhammad], when your Lord said to the angels, “Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority.” They said, “Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood, while we declare Your praise and sanctify You?” Allah said, “Indeed, I know that which you do not know.”) (Al-Baqara: 30)

But Allah (swt) wanted to prepare him through a command and a prohibition in: (do not approach).

( بَعْضُكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّ) (being to one another enemies): There will be enmity amongst the sons of Adam themselves. As for Satan’s enmity, it existed before that in the Paradise of preparation.

(وَلَكُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ مُسْتَقَرٌّ وَمَتَاعٌ إِلَىٰ حِينٍ ) (And for you on the earth is a place of settlement and enjoyment for a time): This is the Divine Law. Earth will be our place of residence and enjoyment for a limited period. This is what Adam and Eve were trained for, that in life there is both a right way and a wrong way; a straight path and a crooked path; right and wrong; lawful and unlawful things; and that human beings were allowed to choose. The Prophet (saws) said about human beings:

“All the sons of Adam are sinners, but the best of sinners are those who are given to repentance.”[1]

Their repentance will be accepted when they admit their mistakes.

The story of Adam is revealed in Surah Al-Baqara, in Surah Taha, and in this Surah Al-A’raaf, as well as in other Surahs. Each scene in these Surahs complements a scene in another one, and when they are all put together, we will have a complete comprehension of the Story of Adam and Eve with the damned Satan and of what happened to them in the Paradise of preparation, as it is mentioned in the Holy Quran. Satan was never in the Paradise of the Afterlife, neither were Adam and Eve, because they were not created to live in Heaven but rather to be Allah’s (swt) vicegerents on earth. The eternal Paradise is the place where people will be rewarded after this worldly life.

[1] al-Mustadrak Ala-as-Sahihain, Part 4, P. 272, Hadith No. 7617.