The Quran

Preface

فَأَزَلَّهُمَا الشَّيطانُ عَنها فَأَخرَجَهُما مِمّا كانا فيهِ ۖ وَقُلنَا اهبِطوا بَعضُكُم لِبَعضٍ عَدُوٌّ ۖ وَلَكُم فِي الأَرضِ مُستَقَرٌّ وَمَتاعٌ إِلىٰ حينٍ

Yusuf Ali

Then did Satan¹ make them slip from the (garden), and get them out of the state (of felicity) in which they had been. We said: “Get ye down, all (ye people²), with enmity between yourselves. On earth will be your dwelling-place and your means of livelihood³ - for a time.”

“Iblis” in verse 34 is apparently the Power of Evil, with the root idea of desperateness or rebellion “Satan” in this verse is the Power of Evil with the root idea of perversity or enmity. Note the appropriateness of the term on each occasion. Also, “slipping” from the Garden denotes the idea of Evil gradually tempting man from a higher to a lower state. (Cf. 7:20).
God’s decree is the result of man’s action. Note the transition in Arabic from the singular number in 2:33, to the dual in 2:35, and the plural here, which I have indicated in English by “All ye people.” Evidently Adam is the type of all mankind, and the sexes go together in all spiritual matters. Moreover, the expulsion applied to Adam, Eve, and Satan, and the Arabic plural is appropriate for any number greater than two. (Cf. n. 3983).
Man’s sojourn in this lower state, where he is partly an animal of this earth, is for a time. But he must fulfill his lower duties also, for they too are a part of his spiritual training. (Cf. n. 1007).