What was the Forbidden Tree?

Various exegeses (tafāsīr) have been offered regarding the meaning of “the tree” (al-shajara). Interpretations include wheat, dates, grapes, camphor, envy, and the knowledge of the family of Muḥammad (s.a.w.). Abū Jaʿfar al-Ṭabarī states:

“The essence of the tree was known to Adam (a.s.). No specific evidence was established to identify it, and if God had deemed it necessary, He would have clarified it. Neither knowledge of it is beneficial, nor is ignorance of it harmful.”(102)

Imam al-Riḍā (a.s.) was asked which of these interpretations is correct. The Imam (a.s.) replied: “All of that is true.” When the questioner asked how these differences could be reconciled, the Imam explained: “The tree in question is not like the trees of this world that bear only one type of fruit. Rather, the tree of Paradise produces whatever fruit is desired; it was a tree of colocynth (ḥanẓal) with grapes in it. It is unlike the trees of this world.”(103)

From this narration, it can be inferred that what led Adam and Eve to eat from the tree and set the stage for their expulsion from Paradise and descent to Earth was the envious gaze they cast upon the exalted station of Muḥammad and the Family of Muḥammad (s.a.w.). This envy paved the way for their disobedience and subsequent deprivation. Furthermore, according to a narration from Imam Ḥasan al-ʿAskarī (a.s.), the forbidden tree was the tree of knowledge of Muḥammad and the Family of Muḥammad (s.a.w.), a tree exclusive to those noble ones. This tree bears both spiritual and material fruits, and whoever partakes of it with God’s permission will gain knowledge of the first and the last. However, those who consume from it without God’s permission will fail in their pursuit and be counted among the disobedient.(104)

The explanation of these two narrations and the reason behind the variations in the interpretations of the aforementioned tree will be discussed in the section on narrations.