Ibn Masʿūd: {Our Lord, and make us submissive to You and from our offspring a community submissive to You, and show them their rites} [Sūrat al-Baqara: 128], where he used the plural before there was any offspring, whereas in our recitation it is: "and show us our rites." It is like when a speaker says to another: "It is as if you have married, children were born to you, and you grew numerous and mighty," and similar forms of speech.

And we only said that this is necessary according to the interpretation we mentioned from Abū al-ʿĀliya, because Ādam was the Prophet during his lifetime after he was brought down to earth (1) and the Messenger from Allah, Majestic is His Praise, to his offspring. Thus, it is impermissible that he—being the Messenger ﷺ—was intended by His saying: "And if there comes to you guidance from Me," as an address to him and his wife, meaning: "if there come to you Prophets and Messengers from Me" (2) except according to the interpretation I have described.

And the statement of Abū al-ʿĀliya regarding that—although it is a facet of interpretation that the verse can bear—is closer to correctness than it, in my view, and more resembling the apparent reading of the recitation, that its interpretation is: O assembly of those brought down to earth from My heaven (3)—meaning Ādam, his wife, and Iblīs, as we mentioned earlier in the interpretation of the preceding verse—if there comes to you from Me a clarification of My command and obedience to Me, and guidance to My path and My religion, then whoever among you follows it, no fear shall come upon them, nor shall they grieve, even if disobedience to Me and opposition to My command and obedience had previously proceeded from them. By this, Majestic is His Praise, He informs them that He is the Acceptor of Repentance for whoever repents to Him from their sins, and the Merciful to whoever turns to Him, just as He described Himself by His saying: "Indeed, He is the Accepting of Repentance, the Merciful."

That is because the apparent address in that is only to those to whom Majestic is His Praise said: "Go down from it, all of you," and those who were addressed by it are those whom we named among the authoritative opinions of the Companions and the Successors from whom we have previously transmitted narrations. (4) And that—even though it was an address from Allah, Majestic is His Remembrance, to those who were brought down