His saying, exalted and majestic is He:

"And when your Lord said to the angels, 'Indeed, I will make upon the earth a vicegerent,' they said, 'Will You place therein one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood, while we declare Your praise and sanctify You?' He said, 'Indeed, I know that which you do not know.'"

"And He taught Adam the names, all of them. Then He showed them to the angels and said, 'Inform Me of the names of these if you are among the truthful.'"

"They said, 'Glory be to You; we have no knowledge except what You have taught us. Indeed, You are the Knowing, the Wise.'"

Ma'mar ibn al-Muthanna said: "'When' is extra, and the meaning is: And your Lord said. Abu Ishaq al-Zajjaj said: This is a deviation from Abu Ubaidah, and all the interpreters refuted him. The majority said: It is not extra, but rather it is connected to an implied action, the meaning of which is: And remember when your Lord said. Also, His saying: 'He created for you what is in the earth all' [Al-Baqarah: 29] necessitates that the implied meaning is: And the beginning of His creation of you when your Lord said to the angels. And the addition of 'Lord' to Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, and addressing him with the second person is an honor from Him to him, and a manifestation of His exclusivity to him. The angels, one of them is a malak, its root is malak on the pattern of maf'al, from la'ka if he sends. Its plural is mala'ika on the pattern of mufā'ala. Some said: The root of malak is ma'lak, from alaka if he sends, and from it is the saying of Adi ibn Zayd:

'Inform al-Nu'man from me of a malak that my imprisonment and waiting have been prolonged.'

And both languages are heard, la'ka and alaka. The hamzah was changed after the lam, so its form became ma'f'al, and its plural mala'ika, its form is mu'afa'la. Ibn Kaysan said it is from malaka yamlik, and the hamzah in it is extra, as it was added in shamala man shamil, so its form is fa'al, and the form of its plural is fa'ila. It may also come in poetry in its original form, as he said:

'I am not for a human, but for a malak, Descending from the atmosphere of the sky, aiming.'

As for in speech, the hamzah was simplified and its vowel was placed on the lam or on the 'ain - in the saying of Ibn Kaysan - so it was said: malak, and the letter h in 'mala'ika' is for the feminine plural, not real, and it was said: it is for exaggeration like 'allama and nasaba, and the first is clearer. Abu Ubaidah said: The hamzah in 'mala'ika' is brought because one of them is malak.

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is what Ibn Kaysan inclined to.

And 'making' in this verse means 'creating,' as mentioned by al-Tabari from Abu Rawq, and this necessitates its transitivity to one object. Al-Hasan and Qatadah said: 'Making' means 'doing.' Ibn Sabit narrated from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, that he said: Indeed, 'the earth' here means Mecca, because the earth was spread out from beneath it, and because it is the resting place of those whose people perished from the prophets, and indeed the grave of Noah, Hud, and Salih is between the station and the corner.

'And 'Khalifah' means: one who succeeds. Ibn Abbas said: The jinn were on the earth before the children of Adam, and they caused corruption and shed blood. So Allah sent a group of angels to them who killed them, and He drove them to the islands of the seas and the tops of the mountains, and He made Adam and his offspring a Khalifah. Al-Hasan said: Allah named the children of Adam Khalifah because each generation of them succeeds the one before it, generation after generation.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: In this saying, it is possible that it means Khalifah (successor) and also means Makhlufah (one who is succeeded). Ibn Mas'ud said: Its meaning is: A Khalifah from Me in judging between My servants with truth and My commands, meaning by that Adam, peace be upon him, and those who took his place after him from his offspring. Zayd ibn Ali read 'Khalifah' with a qaf.

And His saying, the Exalted: 'They said, Will You place in it...' The verse, and we have certainly known that the angels do not know the unseen, nor do they precede in speech, and this is general for all the angels, because His saying: 'They do not precede Him in speech' [Al-Anbiya: 27] was stated in praise of them. Qadi Abu Bakr ibn al-Tayyib said: 'This is an indication of generality, so it is not correct with these two conditions except that they have from the corruption of creation on earth a news and a precursor.' Ibn Zayd and others said: 'Indeed, Allah, the Exalted, informed them that the Khalifah would be from his offspring a people who would cause corruption and shed blood, so they said this saying for that reason.'

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is either in the way of astonishment at Allah's appointing one who disobeys Him, or at the disobedience of the one whom Allah appoints in His land and bestows upon him for that, or in the way of emphasizing and magnifying both aspects: the appointment and the disobedience. Ahmad ibn Yahya Thalab and others said: The angels had seen and known what had occurred from the corruption of the jinn and their shedding of blood on earth, so their saying 'Will You place in it...' was in the context of pure questioning, asking whether this Khalifah is like those who preceded from the jinn or not? Others said: Allah, the Exalted, had informed the angels that He would create on earth a creation that would cause corruption and shed blood, so when He said to them after that: 'Indeed, I am making...' their saying 'Will You place in it...' was in the context of seeking guidance and inquiry. Is this Khalifah the one He had informed them about before or someone else?

And 'safk' is the pouring of blood; this is its known meaning. It may also be said: He 'safaka' his words in such and such if he recited them in succession. The reading of the majority is with a kasra on the fa, and Abu Haywah and Ibn Abi Abla read 'yasfiku' with a damma on the fa, and Ibn Hurmuz read 'wa yasfiku' with a nasb with the waw of the inflection, as if he said: Who combines causing corruption and shedding blood. Al-Mahdawi said: It is a nasb in response to the question. The first is better.

(p-168) And their saying: ﴿And we glorify You with praise﴾ some of the interpreters said: it is in the form of a question, as if they wanted to say: ￿And we glorify You with praise﴾ is it the verse, or do we change from this state?

The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is good with the saying being a pure question in their words: 'Do You make?'

And others said: its meaning is to boast and describe their state, and that is permissible for them, as Yusuf, peace be upon him, said: ﴿Indeed, I am a guardian, knowledgeable﴾ [Yusuf: 55]. This is good with amazement and astonishment at the fact that Allah would replace someone who disobeys Him in their saying: 'Do You make?'

And on this, He admonished them with His saying, the Exalted: ﴿Indeed, I know what you do not know﴾.

And a group said: the meaning of the verse is: and if You made us in the earth and appointed us, we would glorify You with praise. And this is also good with amazement and astonishment in their saying: 'Do You make?' And the meaning of ﴿We glorify You with praise﴾ is: we declare You free from that which does not befit You and Your attributes. Ibn Abbas and Ibn Mas'ud said: the glorification of the angels is their prayer to Allah. And Qatadah said: the glorification of the angels is their saying: Subhanallah, according to its known meaning in the language.

And 'with praise of You' means: we mix glorification with praise, and we connect it with it. It is possible that His saying 'with praise of You' is an interruption between the two statements, as if they said: (And we glorify and sanctify), then they interrupted in the form of submission, meaning: and You are the Praised One in guiding to that.

﴿And we sanctify You﴾ Al-Dahhak and others said: its meaning is: we purify ourselves for You seeking Your pleasure, and sanctification is purification without dispute. Hence the sacred land is that which is purified, and hence the Sacred House, and hence the sanctity by which one purifies oneself. And others said: ﴿And we sanctify You﴾ means: we glorify You, meaning: we exalt You, and we purify Your mention from that which does not befit You. This was said by Mujahid, Abu Salih, and others. And a group said: (We sanctify for You) means: we pray for You, and this is weak.

(p-169) And His saying, the Exalted: ﴿Indeed, I know what you do not know﴾, the apparent meaning is that 'I know' is a future verb, and 'what' is in the accusative case with it. It was said: 'I know' is a noun, and 'what' is in the genitive case by addition, and it is not correct to decline it by consensus of the grammarians. The disagreement is only in 'af'al' when it is named with it and is indefinite, for Sibawayh and Al-Khalil do not decline it, while Al-Akhfash does.

The people of interpretation have differed regarding the meaning of His saying, the Exalted: ﴿what you do not know﴾. Ibn Abbas said: Iblis - may Allah curse him - was impressed, and arrogance entered him when Allah made him the keeper of the heavens of this world and honored him. It was said: Rather, when Allah sent him to kill the jinn who had corrupted the earth, he defeated them and killed them with his army. Ibn Abbas also said: He believed that this was due to a virtue of his own, and he belittled disbelief and sin in comparison to Adam, peace be upon him. He said: So when the angels said: ﴿And we glorify You with praise and sanctify You﴾, and they did not know that within Iblis was the opposite of that, Allah said to them: ﴿Indeed, I know what you do not know﴾, meaning what is in the heart of Iblis. And Qatadah said: When the angels said: ﴿Will You place therein one who causes corruption therein﴾, and Allah, the Exalted, knew that among those He would appoint on earth were prophets, virtuous people, and the people of obedience, He said to them: ﴿Indeed, I know what you do not know﴾, meaning the actions of the virtuous among the children of Adam.

And His saying, the Exalted: "And He taught" means: He made known. And the teaching of Adam here, according to some, is the inspiration of knowledge, which is necessary. And some said: Rather, it is teaching by words, either through an angel or by speaking before his descent to the earth, so he does not share with Musa, peace be upon him, in his special status. And the Yemeni read "And He taught" with a dammah on the 'ain, on the basis of the verb being for the object, "Adam" being in the nominative. Abu al-Fath said: This is the reading of Yazid al-Barbari, and "Adam" is a derivative of 'udmah, which is a redness that leans towards blackness, and its plural is 'udum and awadim, like humr and ahamir, and it does not decline in any way. It was said: Adam is a weight of fa'il derived from the skin of the earth, as if the angel made him from it, and its plural is Adamun and awadim, and the one who says this must decline it. And al-Tabari said: "Adam" is a four-letter verb named after it.

It has been narrated from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, that he said: "Allah created Adam from the skin of the entire earth, and his offspring emerged from it, among them the white, the black, the brown, the flat, the hilly, the good, and the bad."

And the interpreters have differed regarding His saying: "the names". The majority of the community said: He taught him the names. And some said: He presented to him the individuals. The first is clearer, and the word "taught" indicates that.

Then the majority disagreed about which names He taught him. Ibn Abbas, Qatadah, and Mujahid said: He taught him the name of everything from all of the creations, both their subtle and grand aspects. Hamid al-Shami said: He taught him only the names of the stars. Al-Rabi' ibn Khuthaym said: He taught him only the names of the angels. Abd al-Rahman ibn Zayd said: He taught him only the names of his descendants. Al-Tabari said: He taught him the names of his descendants and the angels, and he preferred this by his saying, the Exalted: "Then He presented them to the angels." Al-Naqqash narrated from Ibn Abbas that the Exalted taught him a single word from which he recognized all the names. Others said: He taught him the names of the kinds, such as mountains, horses, valleys, and similar things, without specifying what his descendants named from them. Ibn Qutaybah said: He taught him the names of what He created on the earth. Some said: He taught him the names in one language, then the terminology was established among his descendants in others. Some of them said: Rather, He taught him the names in every language spoken by his descendants. Indeed, some people exaggerated in this meaning until Ibn Jinni narrated from Abu Ali al-Farisi that he said: Allah, the Exalted, taught Adam everything, so much so that he was proficient in grammar like Sibawayh. This type of statement is clearly erroneous in many aspects. Most scholars said: He taught him the benefits of everything and what is suitable for it. Some said: He presented to him the individuals at the time of teaching, and some said: Rather, He described them to him without presenting individuals. Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: All of these are possibilities. People have spoken about them. Ubayy ibn Ka'b read: "Then He presented them," and Ibn Mas'ud read: "Then He presented them." The interpreters differed: Did He present to the angels the individuals of the names or the names without the individuals? Ibn Mas'ud and others said: He presented the individuals, while Ibn Abbas and others said: He presented the names. So whoever said about the names that they encompass everything said: He presented them nation by nation, and type by type. And whoever said about the names that they are the specific names, he adhered to the reading of Ubayy: "He presented them." We say regarding the reading of whoever read "He presented them" that the term 'names' indicates the individuals, and for that reason it is permissible to say for the names "He presented them." "And inform me" means: inform me, and the news is the report, and from it is the prophet. Some said: This matter leads to the obligation of what cannot be borne, and its permissibility is established, because the Exalted knew that they do not know. The scholars of interpretation affirmed: This is not in the context of obligation, but rather in the context of confirmation and stopping.

And His saying, exalted is He: "These" has the apparent meaning of the presence of individuals, and that is when they are presented to the angels. And there is nothing in this verse that necessitates that the name is intended to mean the named, as went the view of Makki and al-Mahdawi. So, whoever says that He, exalted is He, presented individuals to the angels, his statement aligns with the wording "These." And whoever says that He only presented names makes the reference with "These" to the individuals of the names while they are absent, since what is of them has been present due to a reason, and that is their names. It is as if He said to them for each name of which person is this?

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And what appears is that Allah, exalted is He, taught Adam the names and presented along with that to him the categories of individuals. Then He presented those to the angels and asked them about the names that Adam had learned. Then Adam said to them: This is his name such and such, and this is his name such and such. And "These" is a word built on the kasra, and the restriction in it is the language of Tamim and some of Qays and Asad. Al-A'sha said:

These then these, each was given ∗∗∗ shoes made from shoes.

And "You were" is in the position of the jasm with the condition, and the answer according to Sibawayh is omitted, and the estimation is: If you were truthful, then inform me. Ibn Mas'ud, Ibn Abbas, and some of the companions of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: The meaning of the verse is: If you were truthful that the caliph causes corruption and spills blood. Others said: Truthful in that if I appoint you, you will glorify Me with praise and sanctify Me. Al-Hasan and Qatadah reported that the angels said when Allah created Adam: Let our Lord create what He wills, for He will not create a creation more knowledgeable than us, nor more honored to Him. So Allah, exalted is He, intended to show them from the knowledge of Adam and his honor contrary to what they thought. Thus, the meaning is: If you were truthful in your claim of knowledge. And a group said: The meaning of the verse is: If you were truthful in answering the question, knowing the names. They said:

And for this reason, it was not permissible for the angels to exert effort, and they said: Glory be to You. This was reported by al-Naqqash. He said: And if He had not conditioned upon them the truthfulness in the informing, it would have been permissible for them to exert effort, just as it was permissible for the one whom Allah caused to die for a hundred years when He said to him: "How long have you remained?" [Al-Baqarah: 259], and He did not condition upon him accuracy, so he said and did not succeed, and He did not reprimand. And all of this is possible. Al-Tabari reported that some of the interpreters said: The meaning of "If you were" is: "When you were." Al-Tabari said: And this is a mistake.

And if a speaker says: What is the wisdom in Allah's saying to the angels: "Indeed, I am making" the verse? It is said: This is a test for them and a trial, so that what occurred from them occurs, and He, exalted is He, disciplines them from the teaching of Adam and honoring him with what He taught. And "Glory be to You" is in the accusative as a source, and Al-Kisai said: It is in the accusative because it is a vocative added.

Al-Zahrawi said: The position of "ma" in their saying: ﴿What You have taught us﴾ is in the accusative case due to "‘allamtana". The news of the exoneration is in "lana". It is possible that the position of "ma" is in the nominative case as it is a substitute for the news of the exoneration, as you say: There is no god but Allah, meaning: There is no god in existence but Allah. And "anta" is in the accusative case as an emphasis for the pronoun in "innaka", or in the nominative case as a subject, and "al-‘alim" is its predicate, and the sentence is the news of "inna", or it is a separator, having no position in the grammar. And "al-‘alim" means the knowledgeable one, and it adds to it a meaning of exaggeration and abundance of information regarding Allah, the Exalted and Majestic. And "al-hakim" means the judge, and between them is a quality of exaggeration. It was said: Its meaning is the one who is perfect, as Amr ibn Ma'di Karib said:

Is it from the fragrance of the caller, the All-Hearing?

Meaning: the One who makes heard, and the speech comes in this context from the attributes of action. And a group said: The All-Wise is the one who prevents corruption, and from it: The judgment of the horse prevents it:

And from it is the saying of Jarir:

O Banu Hanifah, be just to your foolish ones, for I fear for you that I may become angry.