Short answer
The Quran says Adam and his wife both ate from the tree Allah had forbidden after Shaytan deceived them, and both repented and were forgiven. Islam does not blame Eve alone. The Quran does not name the tree or its fruit, and the guesses in some commentaries (wheat, grapes, figs) are not confirmed.
Sunni creed holds that prophets are protected from major sins and deliberate disobedience, though a slip (zallah) can occur. Adam's eating from the tree is understood as such a slip, which Allah forgave; al-Fiqh al-Akbar says slips and mistakes can occur from the prophets.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
Allah placed Adam and his wife in the Garden and told them not to approach one tree. Shaytan whispered to them: "Your Lord did not forbid you this tree except that you become angels or become of the immortal" (7:20), and swore he was sincere. They ate, their nakedness appeared, and they began covering themselves with leaves. Then they said: "Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers" (7:23).
The Quran puts the act on both of them, or on Adam: "Adam and his wife ate of it" (20:121), and Shaytan "whispered to him" (20:120). Nowhere does it say Eve tempted Adam. So the idea that women carry a special guilt for the fall has no basis in Islam.
How can a prophet disobey? The Quran says Adam "forgot; and We found not in him determination" (20:115). Scholars explain his act as a lapse from forgetfulness or a mistaken reading of the command, not defiance. The Quran calls it disobedience because a lapse is serious for someone of his rank, and then says "his Lord chose him and turned to him in forgiveness and guided [him]" (20:122). Some scholars also said it happened before he was made a prophet.
Which tree was it? The Quran does not say, and the commentators who named one relied on reports that are not certain. Knowing it would add nothing. What matters is the lesson: Shaytan deceives, people slip, and Allah forgives the one who turns back. See do Muslims believe in original sin? and the story of Prophet Adam.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Al-A'raaf 7:20
فَوَسْوَسَ لَهُمَا ٱلشَّيْطَٰنُ لِيُبْدِىَ لَهُمَا مَا وُۥرِىَ عَنْهُمَا مِن سَوْءَٰتِهِمَا وَقَالَ مَا نَهَىٰكُمَا رَبُّكُمَا عَنْ هَٰذِهِ ٱلشَّجَرَةِ إِلَّآ أَن تَكُونَا مَلَكَيْنِ أَوْ تَكُونَا مِنَ ٱلْخَٰلِدِينَ ﴿٢٠﴾
But Satan whispered to them to make apparent to them that which was concealed from them of their private parts. He said, "Your Lord did not forbid you this tree except that you become angels or become of the immortal."
Shows Shaytan deceived both of them.
Quran, Surah Al-A'raaf 7:23
قَالَا رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَآ أَنفُسَنَا وَإِن لَّمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ ٱلْخَٰسِرِينَ ﴿٢٣﴾
They said, "Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers."
Shows that both repented.
Quran, Surah Taa-Haa 20:115
وَلَقَدْ عَهِدْنَآ إِلَىٰٓ ءَادَمَ مِن قَبْلُ فَنَسِىَ وَلَمْ نَجِدْ لَهُۥ عَزْمًۭا ﴿١١٥﴾
And We had already taken a promise from Adam before, but he forgot; and We found not in him determination.
Shows Adam's act was a lapse, not defiance.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3409
Sahih... أَنْتَ آدَمُ الَّذِي أَخْرَجَتْكَ خَطِيئَتُكَ مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ ...
"Musa said: You are Adam, whose error brought you out of Paradise."
From the hadith of the argument between Adam and Musa, where Adam answers that it had been decreed before he was created.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Fiqh al-Akbar (Imam Abu Hanifa), Section on the prophets. States that the prophets are free of minor and major sins and disbelief, though slips and mistakes can occur.
- Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Commentary on Surah al-Baqarah, verse 35. Notes the different views on the tree and that its identity brings no benefit.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.