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political islam 369Creator was an act of disobedience(!). By Adam’s refusal to obey hisLord, he showed that he enjoyed freedom of choice. In his act ofdisobedience he appears as someone who has decided on his ownaccord and under no duress because he decided deliberately to actagainst God’s prohibition to go near the tree.But freedom of choice is not absolute and does not apply equally toeveryone. For a more well-rounded account of disobedience we needto explore other issues of Adam’s case, for example:– Did Adam disobey God’s prescription ( amr) to ‘dwell in theGarden’ or God’s proscription (nahy) not to ‘come near thetree"?– Why did God order the angels to bow down in front of Adamby His word: ‘We said’, while the same order to IblÊs was issuedby His command? 32 Is there, then, a difference between God’sword (qaul) and His command (amr)?– Does the story of Adam imply that there are further differencesbetween angels and jinns in terms of obedience to God’sorders?As for the first question, it is clear from the textual evidence thatAdam and his wife did not disobey God’s prescription (amr) to livein the Garden. If they had done so they would never have found thetree. Thus, they only disobeyed God’s proscription (nahy). It was thefirst ever proscription by God directed at human beings, becausebefore that (before human beings could think rationally, as Adamand his wife could) everything was allowed in the Garden. As for thesecond question, the different treatment of angels and jinns (IblÊs)indeed reveals two different methods by which God issues His commands.A divine word (qaul) is a compulsory rule that is irrevocableand irreplaceable, (‘We said: “Embark therein, of each kind two,male and female, and your family—except those against whom theword ( al-qaul) has already gone forth…”’, Håd 11:40). God’s wordis unchangeable because ‘“the word changes not before Me, and32‘We said [quln§] to the angels, “Bow down to Adam”: They bowed downexcept Iblis. He was one of the Jinns, and he broke the command of his Lord [amr inrabihi]…’ ( Al-Kahf 18:50).