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Did Adam (peace be upon him) forget or disobey, as there are verses in the Qur'an indicating his forgetting and verses indicating his disobedience?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Scholars have mentioned two interpretations regarding the meaning of "forgetfulness" attributed to Adam, peace be upon him:

The first: It means abandonment, and this does not contradict intentionality. Abandonment does not contradict intentionality, and "forgetfulness" in the Arabic language can be used to mean abandonment, even if intentional.

The second: It means heedlessness, i.e., the forgetfulness that is the opposite of remembrance. In this case, forgetfulness was held accountable during Adam's time, as forgiveness for forgetfulness and error is a characteristic exclusive to the Muhammadan Ummah.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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