Let’s continue to reflect on the story of Adam and the forbidden tree because this story contains a kind of cipher or key to everything that happens to humankind on this earth.
So, in surah “The Cow,” ayat 30, we see that the Almighty addresses the angels and says: inni jaʻilun fil ardi khalifa – “Indeed, I will make a viceroy (khalif) on earth.” There is one subtle point here. The word jaʻil is a present participle, which translates as “making.” That is, the literal translation of the ayah will sound like this, “I am the making a viceroy (khalif) on earth.”
This is a kind of permanent quality. If we had in mind a single event, then it would be necessary to say, “I want to make a viceroy on earth.” But Allah here actually describes Himself and says, “I am the making a viceroy (khalif) on earth.” I am such that I make a viceroy. This is My property: I appoint the khalif. My Will, My Mashiyya, is such that I appoint the khalif.
The Quran has many such subtle points that convey very important things to us, but in translation, all this is lost…
Then, as we have seen, there was an objection of the angels, and in the last part, we have dealt with the essence of this objection. And further, after this objection and after the creation of Adam, he is taught all the names. Wa allama adama l-asmaa kullaha – “And He taught Adam all the names (asma)” (2: 31). These were the names of Ahl ul-Beit, and “names” here do not mean what people are called in the literal sense – for example, “Muhammad,” “Ali,” “Jafar”… No, this is not about that.
One of the meanings of the word ism (plural – asma) in Arabic is “description,” “quality.” “Names” here means “descriptions.” So Allah revealed to Adam the reality of the light of Ahl ul-Beit, which is the reality of His created qualities, i.e., the beautiful names of the actions of Allah. And this meant at the same time that He revealed to Adam the reality of all things in general because all things come from the light of Ahl ul-Beit. It is narrated in the hadith from Dawood ibn Sarhan Attar, “I was with Imam Sadiq (A), and he ordered to bring the tablecloth, and we had dinner. Then they brought a tray with a basin for washing hands. I asked: ʻAre this tray and basin among the things Allah said: And He taught Adam all the names? ʼ He said: ʻDust, desert, and all thisʼ, and he pointed at his surroundings”.
So, along with this reality and description of the Creator through His names, everything, in general, was revealed to Adam – – heaven, earth, mountains, dust, desert, etc. And that is why Allah says: wa allama adama asmaa kulla-ha thumma ʻaraza-hum Ala l-malaika – “And He taught Adam all the names (inanimate pronoun), and then presented them (animate pronoun) to the angels.”
Here we have again the subtlest moment, which is elusive in translation. There are fused pronouns of the animate and inanimate types in Arabic. There is no such thing in English, and therefore, it is impossible to convey it in translation. In English, if you say, for example, “I see them,” then from this phrase, it is impossible to understand whether you see people or some inanimate objects, for example, trees. In both cases, there will be “them.” But in Arabic, there is a distinct pronoun for each of these two categories.
So, in the first half of the phrase, the inanimate pronoun ʻhaʼ is used: “And He taught Adam all the names (asma kulla-ha).” That is, here we mean the names of everything in general, the names of all creations. But then the Quran makes a sharp transition and says, “And then presented them (ʻaraza-hum) to the angels.” Here the animate pronoun ʻhumʼ is used. This pronoun refers only to living and sentient creatures. I repeat, it takes a long time to explain this for English speakers, but for Arabs, this is an absolutely obvious difference.
So, what does the Quran want to convey to us here? The point is that the Almighty taught Adam the names of all things and then presented to the angels the owners of these things, i.e., some animate beings who were the essence of these things and carried the knowledge of all things. And then Allah turns to the angels and says: anbi-uni bi asmai haula in kuntum sadiqeen – “Tell Me the names of those (animated pronoun) if you are right.” And again, we see here an animated pronoun – haula. It is used only for living beings.
And the angels answer: “Exalted are You; we have no knowledge except what You have taught us. Indeed, it is You who is the Knowing, the Wise” (2:32).
The angels, of course, knew this kind of creatures, they knew who Ahl ul-Beit were, but they did not have knowledge of their infinite reality and bottomless merits. They did not have this knowledge of the reality of Light and the Will of Allah, which goes to infinity. But it was given to Adam…
It would be like if someone said: yes, I know that the Fourteen Infallibles (A) are purified from all sins, Allah has given them imamate, and from them, we take the laws of religion. And since I know this, I can be their khalif, their viceroy. The answer to him will be that you cannot be their khalif because you only know the surface of the matter. You have no knowledge of the infinite depth of their merits, no penetration into this, no look at this sea without shores, in the depths of which the Sun of the Creator’s Will shines…
But Adam was given that look. And therefore, the essence of man is infinity, like a gaping abyss. Angels don’t have this.
And that is why Allah says to Adam: anbi-hum bi asmai-him – “Tell them (the angels) their names” (2: 33) – the names of these creatures (the fused animated pronoun is used here again). And thus, Adam becomes the teacher of the angels and the mediator in the Faiz of Allah to them. The Faiz of knowledge and reality of things reaches the angels through Adam. And as we have said in the previous parts, these names are the means of knowing God, worshiping Him, and all good things in heaven and on earth.
And then we read, “And when he had informed them of their names” – that is, of the reality of Ahl ul-Beit – “He said (that is, Allah said), ʻDid I not tell you that I know the unseen of the heavens and the earth? And I know what you reveal and what you have concealed? ʼ” (2: 33).
What does this mean? What was hidden between the angels? Between the angels, Iblis was hidden, who worshiped the Almighty among them for many thousands of years (according to the time of Dahr, not our time) so that he was clothed with the light of angelic radiance. He was at their highest level, and the angels believed that he was one of them, while he was not. And through the order to bow to Adam, he showed his essence.
As we saw, when the Almighty informed the angels that He would make a khalif on earth, they objected to Him because they knew that among the human race, some had chosen evil in the world of Zarr. Therefore, if the Creator makes Adam khalif on earth, his descendants will begin to kill each other and do wickedness. And they said: better place us there because we do not commit wickedness and murder, we glorify You… But He answered them, “Indeed, I know that which you do not know.” This world of trial must be created so that the righteous are separated from the unrighteous.
How? Such that Allah has divided the earthly history of humankind into two parts. “Lies have their own period, and truth has its own realm,” according to the words of Imam Ali (A). And the first half of human history, starting with Adam and ending with the arrival of Imam Mahdi, is the realm of lies.
Why is this needed? Because there is such a rule: what is inside a person will not be manifested if there are external obstacles. Whereas the task of the earthly world (what it was created for) is just a manifestation of what people have chosen in the world of Zarr, on a practical plane, in the form of their deeds. So that the Almighty has an argument over them. Now, if in history it was so that the viceroys of Allah, i.e., the Prophets and Imams, would have power in this world, then no one would show his kufr (unbelief) openly. None of the billions of people who were unbelievers and committed sins from Adam to this day would commit them. They would hide them in their souls but not commit them outwardly. For example, Yazid would not have become Yazid if the power at that time was in the hands of Hussein (A). However, in the universe’s plan, it is written that Yazid is the murderer of Hussein (A). He has chosen it himself in the world of Zarr. But if there were obstacles to this in our world, why would the Almighty judge him on the Day of Judgment? Because he could do it? Therefore, according to His wisdom, Allah created the means and reasons through which everyone could manifest what he has in his mind.
Thus, So, the wisdom of the Almighty has determined that Prophets, Imams, and believers will have no power at this point in history. That is, there will be no barriers and obstacles for people who want to do evil and sins – so that they manifest what is in their souls, and the argument would be completely fulfilled over them. Just like Iblis showed himself when Allah had created Adam. Sinners are given a reprieve and can do whatever they want. Therefore, we see that all the Prophets and their successors were oppressed, and, according to the hadith, they all died a martyr’s death.
On the other hand, truth and justice must prevail in history. Therefore, Allah divided the earthly history of humankind into two large periods: the realm of lies and the realm of truth. And the division between them He made the arrival of the twelfth Imam and said about it, “And We desired to bestow a favor upon those who were deemed weak in the earth, and to make them the Imams, and to make them the heirs” (28: 5).
The realm of lies necessarily comes before the realm of truth and not vice versa. This realm is, on the one hand, a trial for believers and, on the other hand, a manifestation for the deeds of unbelievers.
The taklif of the believers during this period is briefly defined by sura “The Asr”: wal asr – “I swear by the afternoon time.” The word asr has several meanings, including epoch, time, and afternoon. And the hadiths say that this refers to the time of the arrival of Qaim (A). Inna l-insana la fi husr – “Verily! Man is in loss.” That is, all people who live before the arrival of Qaim are in loss, except for the believers: “except for those who believe….” Imam Sadiq (A) says: they believe in Wilaya of Ali ibn Abi Talib (A) – “and do righteous deeds, and counsel each other unto the truth” – that is, Wilaya, says Imam Sadiq (A), and in the Quran, the word “truth” means “Wilaya”, – “and counsel each other unto the patience.”
Thus, during this time, believers should be patient in the face of persecution and oppression, knowing that their time and their era are ahead and their realm awaits them. And hence the great importance of patience (sabr) which the Quran constantly emphasizes. “And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient, who, when disaster strikes them, say, ʻIndeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return. ʼ Those are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy. And it is those who are the rightly guided” (2: 155-157). And in another verse, “Indeed, the patient will be given their reward without account” (39: 10).
This is the world in which we all now live. These are its laws. “Verily! Man is in loss”… And therefore, by the way, it is impossible to change something in this world, to build some kind of just society, and all such attempts have failed. Now you see the profound reason for this. The Almighty has predetermined so that this would not happen in this period, before the arrival of Qaim (A).
The first volume of Amin Ramin’s “Man in Islam” can be purchased on Amazon at this link.
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