Surah Al-Baqara 2:36 — Meaning, Translation & Reflection

فَأَزَلَّهُمَا ٱلشَّيْطَٰنُ عَنْهَا فَأَخْرَجَهُمَا مِمَّا كَانَا فِيهِ ۖ وَقُلْنَا ٱهْبِطُوا۟ بَعْضُكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّۭ ۖ وَلَكُمْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ مُسْتَقَرٌّۭ وَمَتَٰعٌ إِلَىٰ حِينٍۢ

English: But Satan made them slip, and removed them from the state they were in. We said, ‘Get out, all of you! You are each other’s enemy. On earth you will have a place to stay and livelihood for a time.’

Bengali: অনন্তর শয়তান তাদের উভয়কে ওখান থেকে পদস্খলিত করেছিল। পরে তারা যে সুখ-স্বাচ্ছন্দ্যে ছিল তা থেকে তাদেরকে বের করে দিল এবং আমি বললাম, তোমরা নেমে যাও। তোমরা পরস্পর একে অপরের শক্র হবে এবং তোমাদেরকে সেখানে কিছুকাল অবস্থান করতে হবে ও লাভ সংগ্রহ করতে হবে।

Meaning & Reflection

'But Satan made them slip from it and removed them from where they had been. And We said: Go down, some of you enemies to others; and on the earth you will have a dwelling and provision for a time.' Ibn Ashur and al-Saadi note how the enemy operated — 'azallahuma', made them *slip*: not a frontal assault but a subtle nudge that dislodged them from where they belonged, costing them their home. Ask yourself: notice the method — a *slip*, not a leap. The enemy rarely tempts me to abandon everything at once; he engineers a small slip, one seemingly minor step across a line, that dislodges me from a place of safety and sets a whole descent in motion. And note the sober outcome: a life on earth of dwelling and provision, but only 'for a time'. My whole worldly existence is framed here as a temporary lodging that began with a slip. What small 'slip' is the enemy currently working on me — the minor compromise that looks harmless but is designed to dislodge me from where I belong?

Grounded in classical tafsir: Ibn Ashur, al-Saadi, Ibn Kathir.

Reflect with the Five Lenses

Maani's framework for Tadabbur (heart-centred reflection) on Surah Al-Baqara 2:36:

• Wording. Look closely at the specific words and structure. Which word stands out, and why might Allah have chosen it here?
• Quranic Worlds. Place the verse in its context — what is happening around it, and what world does it open up?
• Personal Experience. Ask not just what this means, but what it means TO me and FOR me, right now in my life.
• Connections. How does this verse connect to other verses, to the Sunnah, or to themes across the Quran?
• General Lessons. What timeless lesson or action point can I carry away and live by?