When God wanted to create mankind,
the angels inquired as to why He wanted to make a creature that will do
mischief on earth. In His characteristic
way, Allah simply replied: I know what you know not.
Also in their characteristic way, the angels did not inquire any further.
But it is not God's way to leave the matter hanging like that. After Adam was created, He called upon the angels and asked them to name certain things. Not knowing the answer, the angels merely replied: We know only what You told us. Meaning, Allah hadn’t taught them those things. Hence, there was no way they would be able to name those names.
Then Adam was called and similar question was put to him. He gave the answer to everyone’s satisfaction.
What were those things that Allah asked angels to name but they couldn’t answer, whereas Adam could?
Well, those things being asked are not important, you see, which is why the Quran makes no mention of them. The story was to show what Adam (read, mankind) could do, whereas the angels, lofty as they are, couldn’t.
The essence of the story is to illustrate the special quality that makes mankind unique, the thing that qualifies him to be vicegerent (khalifah) on earth.
What is this unique quality?
To know the answer, we have to look at the story of Adam’s creation. When Adam was created, he was created in God’s own “image” and Allah breathed His “soul” into Adam.
Of course these God's "image" and His "soul" have nothing to do with what we generally understand regarding these two words, because Allah is unlike anything we know or imagine. The moment we try to think of God and put an image to it, we know that such is not God.
By God's "image" and "soul", we may understand them as God's attributes. For example, God is the Creator, the Know-All, the Life Giver, etc. It is these attributes that human beings are endowed with, which make them unique and hence capable of fulfilling their role as God's vicegerent on earth.
Of these attributes, the most important are the creative abilities: the ability to know, to imagine, to extrapolate and to make things. These creative abilities are not merely intellect, because if intellect is what makes mankind unique, then mankind is not unique at all, for angels too have intellect.
What makes mankind unique is the capacity to think with intellect, the desire and the ability to create, as well as the power to choose. It is these qualities that give mankind the ability to progress.
Mankind is not endowed with great strength like an elephant, but he can move mountain with the help of the machines that he creates. Neither can he run like a cheetah, but with the help of a car that he creates, he can beat cheetah anytime. He cannot swim like a fish, but with a ship and a submarine, he can traverse the vast and deep oceans. He cannot fly like a bird, but with an airplane that he creates, he moves faster in the air.
Because of these creative abilities, he can lead the kind of lives that no other creature can. He can traverse not only to the vast oceans, but also to the infinite space. He can communicate thousands of miles away within second. He can store vast amount of information in a tiny chip.
With his creative abilities, he can tame the wild animals to be at his service, for transportation or labor, or for sports and entertainments; he can revive the dead land to plant fruit or make a garden; he can harness the minerals in the earth's belly, or employ wind or wave in the air, or water in the river or lake, for their use. In short, he can make everything on earth, below it, or above it, to serve him in whatever capacity he desires.
Needless to say, no other creature has that capability.
In this regard, even the lofty angels are limited in their capacity. The angels can do only what they are created to do, and this hasn’t changed for ages. For instance, the Angel of Death (Izrail), as the name suggests, can and will do only one thing, namely, taking life.
Likewise with other angels, whose capacities are limited with what they are made in the first place. Angels can do wonders, of course, but devoid of the creative ability that mankind has, they can and will only do one or two things they are made for. The angel Raqib, for instance, only records the good deeds human beings do, while Atib will record the bad deeds. The twain do not do anything else.
The animals, with their physical make up pretty much like human beings, can only do things based on their instincts, and that have not changed since they were created. The lions still hunt the way they did since they were created. The birds haven’t changed the design of their nests for ages. And the donkeys are still as stupid as they have always been.
The animals only have instincts, not creative abilities like human beings.
All these lead to one important point. If truly human beings evolved from lower animals, one wonders how they acquire this creative ability without Divine intervention. Divine intervention, however, has no place in Evolution Theory, because evolutionists believe not in God.
Which leads us to another important point. Great maybe human beings are, for they are created in the best of stature, they would be turned into the lowest of the low, as Surah At Tin verse 4 and 5 attested, if they turn away from the purpose of their creation in the first place, which is to serve and submit to God's Will. Or in short, to worship Him.
In this regard, the angels' concern has not be unjustified, for no other creatures have caused as much destructions as human beings had, and will continue to do. After all, animals only kill for food, or for safety, but human beings often kill for glory or for greed, and sometimes for fun.
Also in their characteristic way, the angels did not inquire any further.
But it is not God's way to leave the matter hanging like that. After Adam was created, He called upon the angels and asked them to name certain things. Not knowing the answer, the angels merely replied: We know only what You told us. Meaning, Allah hadn’t taught them those things. Hence, there was no way they would be able to name those names.
Then Adam was called and similar question was put to him. He gave the answer to everyone’s satisfaction.
What were those things that Allah asked angels to name but they couldn’t answer, whereas Adam could?
Well, those things being asked are not important, you see, which is why the Quran makes no mention of them. The story was to show what Adam (read, mankind) could do, whereas the angels, lofty as they are, couldn’t.
The essence of the story is to illustrate the special quality that makes mankind unique, the thing that qualifies him to be vicegerent (khalifah) on earth.
What is this unique quality?
To know the answer, we have to look at the story of Adam’s creation. When Adam was created, he was created in God’s own “image” and Allah breathed His “soul” into Adam.
Of course these God's "image" and His "soul" have nothing to do with what we generally understand regarding these two words, because Allah is unlike anything we know or imagine. The moment we try to think of God and put an image to it, we know that such is not God.
By God's "image" and "soul", we may understand them as God's attributes. For example, God is the Creator, the Know-All, the Life Giver, etc. It is these attributes that human beings are endowed with, which make them unique and hence capable of fulfilling their role as God's vicegerent on earth.
Of these attributes, the most important are the creative abilities: the ability to know, to imagine, to extrapolate and to make things. These creative abilities are not merely intellect, because if intellect is what makes mankind unique, then mankind is not unique at all, for angels too have intellect.
What makes mankind unique is the capacity to think with intellect, the desire and the ability to create, as well as the power to choose. It is these qualities that give mankind the ability to progress.
Mankind is not endowed with great strength like an elephant, but he can move mountain with the help of the machines that he creates. Neither can he run like a cheetah, but with the help of a car that he creates, he can beat cheetah anytime. He cannot swim like a fish, but with a ship and a submarine, he can traverse the vast and deep oceans. He cannot fly like a bird, but with an airplane that he creates, he moves faster in the air.
Because of these creative abilities, he can lead the kind of lives that no other creature can. He can traverse not only to the vast oceans, but also to the infinite space. He can communicate thousands of miles away within second. He can store vast amount of information in a tiny chip.
With his creative abilities, he can tame the wild animals to be at his service, for transportation or labor, or for sports and entertainments; he can revive the dead land to plant fruit or make a garden; he can harness the minerals in the earth's belly, or employ wind or wave in the air, or water in the river or lake, for their use. In short, he can make everything on earth, below it, or above it, to serve him in whatever capacity he desires.
Needless to say, no other creature has that capability.
In this regard, even the lofty angels are limited in their capacity. The angels can do only what they are created to do, and this hasn’t changed for ages. For instance, the Angel of Death (Izrail), as the name suggests, can and will do only one thing, namely, taking life.
Likewise with other angels, whose capacities are limited with what they are made in the first place. Angels can do wonders, of course, but devoid of the creative ability that mankind has, they can and will only do one or two things they are made for. The angel Raqib, for instance, only records the good deeds human beings do, while Atib will record the bad deeds. The twain do not do anything else.
The animals, with their physical make up pretty much like human beings, can only do things based on their instincts, and that have not changed since they were created. The lions still hunt the way they did since they were created. The birds haven’t changed the design of their nests for ages. And the donkeys are still as stupid as they have always been.
The animals only have instincts, not creative abilities like human beings.
All these lead to one important point. If truly human beings evolved from lower animals, one wonders how they acquire this creative ability without Divine intervention. Divine intervention, however, has no place in Evolution Theory, because evolutionists believe not in God.
Which leads us to another important point. Great maybe human beings are, for they are created in the best of stature, they would be turned into the lowest of the low, as Surah At Tin verse 4 and 5 attested, if they turn away from the purpose of their creation in the first place, which is to serve and submit to God's Will. Or in short, to worship Him.
In this regard, the angels' concern has not be unjustified, for no other creatures have caused as much destructions as human beings had, and will continue to do. After all, animals only kill for food, or for safety, but human beings often kill for glory or for greed, and sometimes for fun.
Assalamu 'alaikum wbt.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I praise to Allah the Most Merciful and the Most Beneficent.
A little more to add, yet it's quite an elaboration, I try to make it short. However, I am more comfortable to share and to tell them in Bahasa Malaysia, you don't mind.
Sejarah Adam dicipta, manusia pertama dipilih dan dilantik oleh Allah sebagai khalifah mukabumi telah meluapkan rasa kemarahan terhadap seorang Malaikat, ketika itu bernama 'Azazel'.
Kemarahan Azazel itu disebabkan beliau tidak terpilih sebagai khalifah sedangkan beliau beranggapan diri beliau yang paling layak memikul jawatan tersebut.
Namun demikian, Allah Maha Mengetahui, menyerahkan jawatan dan tugas khalifah itu kepada ciptaanNYA, manusia, bernama ADAM.
Setelah Adam dicipta dengan penuh kesempurnaan, bersama-samanya, Adam menggendong rahsia ALLAH di dalamnya.
Pada ketika semua makhluk dihimpunkan, termasuk semua Malaikat, Allah memerintahkan kesemua makhluk sujud kepada Adam, dan mereka sujud, kecuali Iblis (iaitu asal namanya Azazel).
Perintah Tuhan "sujud" kepada Adam, bukanlah semata-mata sujud kepada makhluk Tuhan, iaitu manusia. Pada haqiqatnya, sujud itu adalah sujud kepada Allah, iaitu rahsia yang tersembunyi pada Adam, rahsia Tuhan, rahsia Allah.
Sedikit ilmu yang kami pelajari drpd. guru aka YDP PEKIMA, dapat dikongsi untuk renungan bersama.
I appreciate Salman could translate in beautiful English for others.
Wallahu 'alam.
Much as I would like to oblige the above request from one of my anonymous readers, I am not competent enough to translate it because I am not competent with the subject matter. I fear that were I to translate the above, its meaning would not be as intended by the sender.
Delete