It is said in the commands of kings and their recommendations: The king ordered so-and-so and instructed him, and he resolved upon him, and he entrusted him. Allah, glorified and exalted is He, connected the story of Adam to His saying, 'And We have varied therein from the warning so that they may be conscious.' The meaning is: 'And I swear an oath that We commanded their father Adam and instructed him not to approach the tree, and We warned him of being among the wrongdoers if he approached it, and that was before their existence and before We warned them. He disobeyed what he was forbidden, and he was warned of the consequences of his disobedience, and he did not pay attention to the warning, just as they do not pay attention, as if he is saying: The foundation of the matter of the children of Adam is based on that, and their nature is deeply rooted in it. If you ask: What is meant by forgetfulness? I say: It may refer to forgetfulness that is the opposite of remembrance, and that he did not take the recommendation seriously, nor did he secure it with a firm heart and self-control, until forgetfulness arose from that. It may also refer to abandonment, meaning he abandoned what he was advised regarding guarding against the tree and eating its fruit. And it was read: 'So he forgot,' meaning the devil made him forget. The resolution is the determination and proceeding with the avoidance of eating, and to be steadfast in that steadfastness that would make the devil despair of tempting him. And existence: It may mean knowledge, and its two objects are 'for him a resolution,' and it may mean the opposite of non-existence, as if he said: 'And We did not give him a resolution.'