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The Letter "Saad" (38:32)
فَقَالَ إِنِّىٓ أَحْبَبْتُ حُبَّ ٱلْخَيْرِ عَن ذِكْرِ رَبِّى حَتَّىٰ تَوَارَتْ بِٱلْحِجَابِ ٣٢
And he said, "Indeed, I gave preference to the love of good [things] over the remembrance of my Lord until it [i.e., the sun] disappeared into the curtain [of darkness]."
— Saheeh International
And he said: Lo! I have preferred the good things (of the world) to the remembrance of my Lord; till they were taken out of sight behind the curtain.
— M. Pickthall
Solomon (Sulaiman عليه السلام) is quoted as saying he preferred the love of ٱلْخَيْرِ over the remembrance of his Lord. He had missed praying his obligatory prayer, and the time had passed for it while he was busy with the horses.
The word ٱلْخَيْرِ occurs, in various grammatical forms, one hundred and ninety-six times in The Quran.
Interestingly, the Arabic translation of the Bible uses this same word to describe the mental effect, eating, from the forbidden tree, had on Adam:
21 وَكَسَا الرَّبُّ الإِلَهُ آدَمَ وَزَوْجَتَهُ رِدَاءَيْنِ مِنْ جِلْدٍ صَنَعَهُمَا لَهُمَا
22 ثُمَّ قَالَ الرَّبُّ الإِلَهُ: «هَا الإِنْسَانُ قَدْ صَارَ كَوَاحِدٍ مِنَّا، يُمَيِّزُ بَيْنَ الْخَيْرِ وَالشَّرِّ. وَقَدْ يَمُدُّ يَدَهُ وَيَتَنَاوَلُ مِنْ شَجَرَةِ الْحَيَاةِ وَيَأْكُلُ، فَيَحْيَا إِلَى الأَبَدِ». 23 فَأَخْرَجَهُ مِنْ جَنَّةِ عَدْنٍ لِيَفْلَحَ الأَرْضَ الَّتِي أُخِذَ مِنْ تُرَابِهَا. 24 وَهَكَذَا طَرَدَ اللهُ الإِنْسَانَ مِنْ جَنَّةِ عَدْنٍ، وَأَقَامَ مَلائِكَةَ الْكَرُوبِيمِ وَسَيْفاً نَارِيًّا مُتَقَلِّباً شَرْقِيَّ الْجَنَّةِ لِحِرَاسَةِ الطَّرِيقِ الْمُفْضِيَةِ إِلَى «شَجَرَةِ الْحَيَاةِ».
[Genesis 3 21-24, Arabic Translation: Kitab el Hayat]
21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side[e] of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
In the phrase 'knowing good and evil', the Hebrew word for 'good' is [טוֹב], pronounced as 'TOV'
Study of Hebrew word 'TOV': https://library.faithlabz.com/words/tov/ ; another explanation (video): https://bibleproject.com/videos/vocab-insight-tov-good/
'TOV' is translated generally as 'good'. Basically, as per the link above, it means something that functions properly, or is most suited for the purpose.
The Arabic translation uses the word (الْخَيْرِ).
In The Quran, the word الْخَيْرِ implies something that is 'chosen' for the purpose it is meant to serve, and that it is 'better', or 'best'.
It is interesting to go through the search result, realising the depth of meaning.
The last two results seem to shed light on why Adam had no choice in the matter of the whether to eat or not from the tree, as God had forbidden it:
The Stories (28:68)
وَرَبُّكَ يَخْلُقُ مَا يَشَآءُ وَيَخْتَارُ ۗ مَا كَانَ لَهُمُ ٱلْخِيَرَةُ ۚ سُبْحَـٰنَ ٱللَّهِ وَتَعَـٰلَىٰ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ ٦٨
And your Lord creates what He wills and chooses; not for them was the choice. Exalted is Allāh and high above what they associate with Him.
— Saheeh International
Thy Lord bringeth to pass what He willeth and chooseth. They have never any choice. Glorified be Allah and Exalted above all that they associate (with Him)!
— M. Pickthall
[https://quran.com/al-qasas/68]
The Combined Forces (33:36)
وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍۢ وَلَا مُؤْمِنَةٍ إِذَا قَضَى ٱللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُۥٓ أَمْرًا أَن يَكُونَ لَهُمُ ٱلْخِيَرَةُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِمْ ۗ وَمَن يَعْصِ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَـٰلًۭا مُّبِينًۭا ٣٦
It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allāh and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should [thereafter] have any choice about their affair. And whoever disobeys Allāh and His Messenger has certainly strayed into clear error.
— Saheeh International
And it becometh not a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His messenger have decided an affair (for them), that they should (after that) claim any say in their affair; and whoso is rebellious to Allah and His messenger, he verily goeth astray in error manifest.
— M. Pickthall
[https://quran.com/al-ahzab/36]
The Quran informs us that Allah chose (اللّٰهَ اصۡطَفٰۤى) Adam, and He chose (اجْتَبٰهُ) him again. So, there exist at least three words in The Quran which indicate choice: (اصۡطَفٰۤى) ,(اجْتَبٰهُ), and, (الْخَيْرِ).
Coming back to the Tree of (الْخَيْرِ) and ( الشَّرِّ).
The Quran mentions thirty-one times various grammatical forms of the word الشَّرِّ .
The first result informs:
The Cow (2:216)
كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْقِتَالُ وَهُوَ كُرْهٌۭ لَّكُمْ ۖ وَعَسَىٰٓ أَن تَكْرَهُوا۟ شَيْـًۭٔا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌۭ لَّكُمْ ۖ وَعَسَىٰٓ أَن تُحِبُّوا۟ شَيْـًۭٔا وَهُوَ شَرٌّۭ لَّكُمْ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ٢١٦
Battle has been enjoined upon you while it is hateful to you. But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allāh knows, while you know not.
— Saheeh International
Warfare is ordained for you, though it is hateful unto you; but it may happen that ye hate a thing which is good for you, and it may happen that ye love a thing which is bad for you. Allah knoweth, ye know not.
— M. Pickthall
[https://quran.com/al-baqarah/216]
The third result informs:
The Table Spread (5:60)
قُلْ هَلْ أُنَبِّئُكُم بِشَرٍّۢ مِّن ذَٰلِكَ مَثُوبَةً عِندَ ٱللَّهِ ۚ مَن لَّعَنَهُ ٱللَّهُ وَغَضِبَ عَلَيْهِ وَجَعَلَ مِنْهُمُ ٱلْقِرَدَةَ وَٱلْخَنَازِيرَ وَعَبَدَ ٱلطَّـٰغُوتَ ۚ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ شَرٌّۭ مَّكَانًۭا وَأَضَلُّ عَن سَوَآءِ ٱلسَّبِيلِ ٦٠
Say, "Shall I inform you of [what is] worse than that[1] as penalty from Allāh? [It is that of] those whom Allāh has cursed and with whom He became angry and made of them apes and pigs and slaves of ṭāghūt.[2] Those are worse in position and further astray from the sound way."
Shall I tell thee of a worse (case) than theirs for retribution with Allah? (Worse is the case of him) whom Allah hath cursed, him on whom His wrath hath fallen and of whose sort Allah hath turned some to apes and swine, and who serveth idols. Such are in worse plight and further astray from the plain road.
— M. Pickthall
[https://quran.com/al-maidah/60]
Surah alMaidah emphasises judging according to the revelation in the scriptures. This ayat informs the state of those who rejected the guidance in the scriptures, and were consequently removed from Allah's Mercy and devolved into apes and pigs, literally, as well as those who have been made worshippers of Taghut (عَبَدَ ٱلطَّـٰغُوتَ). Taghut is the falsehood that stands in opposition to Allah's Deen (the legal system).
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The Combination
Adam عليه السلام was forbidden to eat from only one tree in the garden.
Once he ate from that forbidden tree (Tree of Good & Evil), Adam had to be banished from the garden, to protect him from eating from another tree (The Tree of Life). So, initially, that tree (The Tree of Life) wasn't forbidden. It was only that it could could not be taken in combination, as the harmful effect of the forbidden tree (Tree of Good & Evil) would cause unwanted, detrimental, side-effects? Like, the two medicines were contraindicated?
[Bible] When he was warned to not to eat from the forbidden tree, he was told that the day he ate from it, he would surely die.
[Quran] When he was warned to not to eat from the forbidden tree, he was also warned to not let Satan remove him from what he was in. As a consequence of eating from it, he slipped out of what he was in, had his natural clothing stripped off, and he stated that he had put his 'nafs' in darkness.
[Quran] We have been warned to not to make changes in our 'nafs'. Only Allah can make the 'nafs' grow. We are being protected, our 'nafs' guarded, by the command of Allah. However, when nations make detrimental changes to their 'nafs', they bring upon themselves Allah's punishment: [Q13:11 ...ؕ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوۡمٍ حَتّٰى يُغَيِّرُوۡا مَا بِاَنۡفُسِهِمۡؕ وَاِذَاۤ اَرَادَ اللّٰهُ بِقَوۡمٍ سُوۡۤءًا فَلَا مَرَدَّ لَهٗۚ وَمَا لَهُمۡ مِّنۡ دُوۡنِهٖ مِنۡ وَّالٍ ١١].
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