He is asking about the way in which Iblees whispered to our father Adam
Question

                Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, tells us in His holy Book that when Iblees (may Allah curse him) refused to prostrate to Adam, He, may He be glorified and exalted, expelled him from Paradise. I would like you to explain something I am confused about, which is how did Iblees whisper to our father Adam when Adam was in Paradise, at the time when Allah, may He be exalted, had expelled him (Iblees)?
Praise be to Allah.
	Firstly:

	We do not think 
	that the questioner or any other Muslim should focus too much on the details 
	of the stories that are told in the Qur’an, concerning which there is no 
	sound report from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), 
	because if there were any great benefit or wisdom in that, Allah, may He be 
	glorified and exalted, would have mentioned it in His Book, or the Messenger 
	(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) would have taught it to his 
	companions. So the Muslim should not let himself be distracted by that which 
	is less important from that which is more important, or by minor details 
	from the fundamentals.

	It was narrated 
	that al-Mugheerah ibn Shu‘bah said: The Prophet (blessings and peace of 
	Allah be upon him) said: “Verily Allah dislikes for you gossip, asking too 
	many questions, and wasting wealth.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (2408) and 
	Muslim (593).

	Ibn Hajar said 
	in Fath al-Baari (3/342):

	Ibn at-Teen 
	said: It may be that what is meant is asking about issues that are unclear, 
	or about what one does not need to ask about, therefore he (blessings and 
	peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Do not ask me about details that I have 
	not mentioned to you.” And I say: Interpreting it as referring to ambiguous, 
	unnecessary matters is more appropriate. End quote.

	Secondly:

	That also 
	includes indulging in discussion of the details of the way in which Iblees 
	(may Allah curse him) whispered to our father Adam and our mother Hawwa’ 
	(peace be upon them both). The Holy Quran only mentions the basics of the 
	incident, without discussing details of the nature of the whispering or the 
	way in which it happened. The clearest texts that speak of that are the 
	verses in which Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation 
	of the meaning):

	“Then 
	Shaytaan (Satan) whispered suggestions to them both in order to uncover that 
	which was hidden from them of their private parts (before); he said: ‘Your 
	Lord did not forbid you this tree save you should become angels or become of 
	the immortals.’

	And he (Shaytaan 
	(Satan)) swore by Allah to them both (saying): ‘Verily, I am one of the 
	sincere well-wishers for you both’”

	[al-A‘raaf 
	7:20-21]

	And

	“Then Shaytaan 
	(Satan) whispered to him, saying : ‘O Adam! Shall I lead you to the Tree of 
	Eternity and to a kingdom that will never waste away?’”

	[Ta-Ha 20:120].

	If we examine 
	the apparent meaning of the verses, it will become clear to us that this 
	whispering was verbal and in the form of a direct address. Some of the 
	scholars narrated that from the majority of commentators. Al-Qurtubi aid in
	al-Jaami‘ li Ahkaam al-Qur’an (1/312): Ibn Mas‘ood, Ibn ‘Abbaas and 
	the majority of the scholars said: He tempted them verbally, and the 
	evidence for that is the verse in which Allah, may He be exalted, says 
	(interpretation of the meaning):

	“And 
	he (Shaytaan (Satan)) swore by Allah to them both (saying): ‘Verily, I am 
	one of the sincere well-wishers for you both’”

	[al-A‘raaf 
	7:20-21].

	The apparent 
	meaning of the word translated here as swore is that it was done verbally. 
	End quote.

	But this 
	apparent meaning does not explain how Iblees was able to address these words 
	to Adam and Hawwa’, and whether he appeared in his regular form or disguised 
	himself to them, and whether he entered Paradise in a real sense or a 
	metaphorical one. All of these are matters of the unseen which we cannot 
	discuss without any proof or knowledge, unless we go by the reports which 
	have been narrated from some of the Sahaabah and Taabi‘een, which Ibn Jareer 
	at-Tabari (1/532) favoured and which originated with Wahb ibn Munabbih and 
	were based on the knowledge of the People of the Book. These reports say 
	that when Iblees wanted to tempt them, he entered the body of a snake, and 
	the snake had four legs, like a camel. It was one of the most beautiful 
	beasts that Allah had created, and when the snake entered Paradise, Iblees 
	emerged from its body. End quote.

	Or we may note 
	what was affirmed by Shaykh al-Ameen ash-Shinqeeti in Adwa’ al-Bayaan, 
	where he said:

	The commentators 
	mention concerning that the story of the snake, and that Iblees entered its 
	body in order to gain admittance to Paradise, without the angels who were 
	appointed over it realising that. All of that comes from the Israa’eeliyyaat 
	(stories from Jewish sources), and in fact there is no problem with that, 
	because it is possible that Iblees stood outside Paradise, soon after he was 
	expelled, in such a way that Adam could hear his words whilst he was in 
	Paradise. And it is possible that Allah admitted him to Paradise in order to 
	test Adam and his wife, not by way of honouring Iblees. In rational terms 
	there is no problem with any of that, and the Qur’an says that Iblees spoke 
	to Adam and swore an oath to him in order to tempt him and his wife thereby. 
	End quote.

	Rather what 
	concerns us in this regard is that we should believe with faith in which is 
	no doubt that this story did indeed happen as Allah has told us in His Book, 
	and that the seed of enmity was sown between Iblees and his troops and Adam 
	and his progeny: “Surely, 
	Shaytaan (Satan) is to man a plain enemy” 
	[al-Isra’ 17:53].

	So beware of him 
	as Allah has warned you, and seek help against him by means of sincere 
	devotion to Allah:

	“(Iblees 
	(Satan)) said: "By Your Might, then I will surely mislead them all,

	‘Except Your 
	chosen slaves amongst them (faithful, obedient, true believers of Islamic 
	Monotheism)’”

	[Saad 38:82-83].

	Beware, O slave 
	of Allah, lest you be among those who go astray:

	“(Allah) said: 
	"This is the Way which will lead straight to Me.

	Certainly, you 
	shall have no authority over My slaves, except those who follow you of the 
	Ghaween (Mushrikoon and those who go astray, criminals, polytheists, and 
	evil-doers, etc.)

	And surely, Hell 
	is the promised place for them all.

	It (Hell) has 
	seven gates, for each of those gates is a (special) class (of sinners) 
	assigned”

	[al-Hijr 
	15:41-44].

	And Allah knows 
	best.