And when He, glorified and exalted is He, informed the angels that the matter was contrary to what they thought, He began to establish the proof for it. He said, adding to His saying: "He said": "And He taught"; that is, to establish the proof for that. Teaching is the repetition of knowledge so that it may be established in the nature of the taught from forgetfulness.

"Adam" is from [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: al-adam] from [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: al-adim], which is the skin of the earth from which his body is made. The portion of what is in it from the skin of the earth is his name, which is indicated by the word "Adam."

"The names"; that is, those for all things, which is the plural of name. It is what combines two derivations: from [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: al-simah] and [UNTRANSLATED-LATIN: al-sumuww]; for it is, in terms of the word, a mark, and in terms of the portion from the essence of the thing, it is elevation. That elevation is the meaning of the name, which is the mark that is synonymous with the naming. Al-Harali said this, and he said in a book of his on the principles of jurisprudence: The name is said to be on the word of the naming, and it is said to be on the portion and share from the essences of things. And those are what is presented to the angels. The name of the naming is aligned with the named, known from the named thing, which is the presented name. And with Adam, there is knowledge, and with the angels and those who do not know the reality of the presented name, there is a stopping and a report. End.

And when the presentation was made to the angels in a manner that fulfilled the intended purpose, He indicated its greatness by the letter of delay, so He said: "Then [He] presented them" meaning the things. Al-Harali said: He manifested them from a side, which is the presentation and the direction "to the angels" who were saying that. Al-Harali also said: When the Exalted mentioned the angels' consultation regarding the creation of this caliph, He mentioned His showing them a face of a high wisdom by which He elevated this caliph through teaching him the realities of all the witnessed entities for their encompassing knowledge of Allah's dominion and kingdom, witnessing. So He showed them Adam's encompassing knowledge of what they witnessed in form, while they did not witness the reality of the meaning of its naming. And He taught him the wisdom of what is between those names, which are a share of the entities, and between their names from the utterance, so that in his knowledge, the creation of everything would be gathered in form and its command in word, so that his knowledge would be complete in his heart in the manner of his hearing and sight. And He made him a successor in the knowledge of what he has of creation and command, and that was at the beginning of his existence. So how can he judge Allah's wisdom in what the perfection of his creation culminates in to the conclusion of his matter in what has reached the matter of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, from what is ambiguous in His saying: "And He taught you what you did not know. And the favor of Allah upon you is great" [An-Nisa: 113]. So Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, manifested to them through that a face of a scientific and practical caliphate in the naming, elevating it in their sight. And Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, made them submissive and obedient, so they yielded to the time by the virtue of Adam over all creation, and it became clear to them the knowledge that Allah elevates whom He wills by what He wills from the caliphate of His command and creation. And those names, which are shares of the forms of the existents, are the presented ones that were encompassed by the pronoun in His saying: "Then [He] presented them" and He referred to them as "these" at the completion of their presentation. And He applied the pronoun "them" to all, due to the inclusion of those beings of the rational and non-rational; and indeed, every speaking creation, when the truth speaks through it, as He, the Exalted, said: "Today We will seal upon their mouths, and their hands will speak to Us, and their feet will testify" [Ya-Sin: 65]. And indeed, the dumbness and inanimateness are in relation to what is between some of the creation and others. This has ended.

And Abu Hatim Ahmad ibn Hamdan al-Razi said in the Book of Adornment: It is said that the name is derived from al-sumoo, which is elevation and loftiness. And the name was made a noun indicating the meaning of the name because the meaning is under the name - this is the saying of the grammarians; and the attribute indicates its possessor, because they are two letters, sin and mim. The sin is from al-sanaa (brightness) and the mim is from al-majd (glory), and it is the essence of the thing. So it is as if it was named a name because it illuminates for you the essence of the thing and translates from its hidden nature. And there is nothing except that Allah has marked it with a sign that indicates what is in it of the essence; thus, the names encompass all knowledge of things. So Allah taught them to Adam and highlighted his virtue over the angels, peace be upon them. This has ended.

So he said, "Inform me" as a challenge to them, "of a great and decisive news, by the names of these," meaning the existing beings, by your conjecture about them, "if you are truthful," meaning in what you have conjectured about the caliphate and its descendants. Al-Harali said: These names that correspond to the naming are from the attributes, and the first names are the shares of the essences by which the named is characterized. Despite this, there is a suitable relationship between the naming and the name, established by the wisdom of the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.