Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:32-33

Al-Baqarah (2:32-33)

{They said, "Exalted are You! We have no knowledge except what You have taught us."}

It is understood that those who believed the angels committed a sin in their statement, {Will You place upon it one who will cause corruption in it?}, later retracted and repented for their error by saying: {Exalted are You! We have no knowledge except what You have taught us.}

Those who denied that the angels committed a sin offered two justifications:

1. Their statement was merely an admission of their own inability and submission, acknowledging that they could not know what they were asked about. This is supported by their subsequent statement: {We have no knowledge except what You have taught us.} If God had not taught them something, how could they know it?
2. The angels only said, {Will You place upon it...} because God had informed them of this possibility. Thus, they were essentially saying: "You have informed us that they will cause corruption and shed blood on Earth, so we asked You, 'Will You place upon it one who will cause corruption?' As for the specific names [of the creatures], You did not inform us of their nature, so how could we know them?"

Herein lie several important issues:

Our scholars (Ahl al-Sunnah) use the verse {We have no knowledge except what You have taught us} as proof that all knowledge is created by God.

The Mu'tazila argue that it means: "We have no knowledge except that which comes from Him, either through direct teaching (ta'līm) or by establishing indications (dalālāt)."

The response is: Ta'līm (teaching) implies the actual creation of knowledge in another, similar to how taswīd (making something black) implies creating blackness in something else. It is not merely stating that God provides the prerequisite for knowledge (i.e., establishing the proof) if the condition is met and no impediment exists. If it were just establishing the proof, then we would say, "I taught him, but he did not learn." The prerequisite for knowledge is the establishment of the proof, which God certainly did. However, the effective cause for the existence of knowledge is not the proof itself, but the consideration of the proof, which is an act of the servant. Therefore, the acquisition of that knowledge is not through God's teaching in the sense implied by the Mu'tazila. This contradicts the meaning of {We have no knowledge except what You have taught us} if ta'līm is interpreted as merely establishing the sign.

The adherents of Islam use this verse as proof that there is no way to know the unseen except through God's teaching. It refutes reliance on astrology, soothsaying, divination, and similar practices. This is supported by verses like {And with Him are the keys of the unseen; none knows them except He} (Al-An'am: 59) and {He is the Knower of the unseen, and He does not disclose His unseen to anyone, except to a messenger whom He chooses} (Al-Jinn: 26-27).

An astrologer could argue to the Mu'tazili (if ta'līm means establishing proofs): "The movements of the stars are proofs established by God regarding the conditions of this world. If I deduce these conditions from them, this is also through God's teaching."

Alternatively, it can be argued that since the angels were incapable of knowing the unseen, it is even more fitting that we, humans, should be incapable.

Al-'Alīm is a superlative form indicating complete perfection in knowledge. This perfection is only realized through encompassing all knowable things, which belongs only to God, the Exalted. Therefore, the absolute All-Knowing can only be He. This is why the verse concludes with {Indeed, it is You, the All-Knowing, the Wise} in a manner implying exclusivity.

Al-Hakīm is used in two senses:

1. Meaning All-Knowing: In this case, it is an attribute of the Essence (Dhat), and we affirm that God is eternally Wise (Hakīm in eternity).
2. Meaning the One whose actions are unimpeachable: In this case, it is an attribute of action (Fi'l), and we do not affirm that He is Wise in eternity based on this meaning.

The closer meaning here is the second one, otherwise, repetition would result. It is as if the angels said: "You are the Knower of all that is known, so You are capable of teaching Adam, and You are the Wise in this perfect action."

Ibn Abbas narrated that the angels meant by Al-Hakīm the One who decreed that Adam should be made the vicegerent on Earth.

When God commanded Adam (peace be upon him) to inform them of the names of things, and Adam informed them, God then said to the angels: {Did I not tell you that I know the unseen [aspects] of the heavens and the earth?} (Al-Baqarah: 33).

The "unseen" here refers to God's knowledge of Adam's condition before He created him. This proves that God knows things before they occur, refuting the doctrine of Hisham ibn al-Hakam, who claimed that God only knows things when they actually happen.

If someone argues: Faith (Īmān) is knowledge, and the verse {Those who believe in the unseen} (Al-Baqarah: 3) implies that the servant knows the unseen, how then can God say here, {Indeed, I know the unseen of the heavens and the earth}, suggesting that knowledge of the unseen belongs only to Him?

The response to this has already been covered in the exegesis of {Those who believe in the unseen}.

Regarding the statement {And I know what you reveal and what you conceal}: There are several interpretations:

1. Al-Sha'bi narrated from Ibn Abbas and Ibn Mas'ud (may God be pleased with them) that {what you reveal} refers to their statement: {Will You place upon it one who will cause corruption in it?}, and {what you conceal} refers to what Iblis hid within himself: arrogance and refusal to prostrate.
2. {I know what you do not know} refers to hidden matters and secret affairs where, outwardly, there seems to be no benefit, but God, due to His knowledge of the hidden secrets, knows that there is wisdom in their creation.
3. When God created Adam, the angels saw a wondrous creation and thought: "Let whatever He wills happen, for our Lord would never create anything more honored than us." This is what they concealed (or perhaps whispered among themselves and concealed from others). Thus, this single act involved both revealing and concealing.
4. This is the view of the philosophers: Matters are divided into five categories: purely good, purely evil, or a mixture. If mixed, either the good is dominant, or the evil is dominant. Pure good necessitates creation by wisdom. If good is dominant, wisdom necessitates creation, because abandoning great good for the sake of minor evil is itself a great evil. The angels mentioned corruption and killing, which are minor evils compared to the good that would arise from humanity. Therefore, God says, {I know the unseen of the heavens and the earth}—meaning I know that the good in them will outweigh these evils, so wisdom necessitated their existence and formation.

In this verse, there is immense fear and immense hope.

The Fear: Since nothing about the state of the innermost thoughts is hidden from God, a person must strive to purify their inner self. They should not refrain from sin only because creatures might see them, but rather because the Creator sees them. Reports confirm this:

1. It is narrated from 'Adiyy ibn Hatim that the Prophet (PBUH) said: "People will be brought on the Day of Resurrection and ordered toward Paradise. When they draw near, smell its fragrance, and see its palaces and what God has prepared for its inhabitants, a voice will call out: 'Turn them away! They have no share in it.' They will return in a grief unlike any other, saying, 'Our Lord, if only You had cast us into the Fire before showing us what You showed us of Your reward and what You prepared for Your allies in it, it would have been easier for us!' They will be told: 'That is what I intended for you. When you were alone, you dared to commit great sins against Me. When you met people, you met them with love and humility, showing people the opposite of what you harbored in your hearts. You feared people but did not fear Me; you revered people but did not revere Me. You abandoned sins for the sake of people but did not abandon them for My sake. I was the easiest of observers to you. Today, I let you taste My painful punishment while depriving you of My bliss.'"
2. Sulayman ibn 'Ali said to Humayd al-Tawil: "Advise me." Humayd replied: "If, when you disobeyed God in private, you thought He was watching you, then you have committed a grave offense. If you thought He was not watching you, then you have committed disbelief (kufr)."
3. Hatim al-Asamm said: "Purify yourself in three states: When acting with your limbs, remember God's sight upon you. When speaking, remember God's hearing of you. When silent, acting with your intention, remember God's knowledge of you, for He says: {Indeed, I am with you both, hearing and seeing} (Taha: 46)."
4. Know that no one has access to the secrets of God's wisdom. The angels looked at corruption and killing and belittled humanity. They looked at Iblis's obedience and magnified him. But the Knower of the unseen knew that even if they committed corruption and killing, they would later say: {Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves} (Al-A'raf: 23), and that even though Iblis performed acts of obedience, he would later say: {I am better than him}. It is the nature of intellect not to rely on what is apparent, but to remain in fear and awe. God's statement, {I know the unseen of the heavens and the earth}, means: I know the manifest and the hidden, the actual and the expected. I know that those you see as worshippers and obedient will later disbelieve and be distant from My presence, and those you see as sinful and distant will later draw near to My service. Thus, creation cannot escape the veil of ignorance, nor can they pierce the veils of inability, as they encompass nothing of His knowledge.

Furthermore, by demonstrating His knowledge of the unseen and the angels' incapacity, God revealed the perfection of servitude in humans and the perfection of disbelief in the most devout inhabitants of the heavens (Iblis). This is so that no one becomes complacent in their deeds, and so that they entrust the knowledge of things to the wisdom of the Creator, removing any objection from their hearts and tongues regarding His creations and innovations.

{And [mention] when We said to the angels, "Prostrate to Adam," and they prostrated, except for Iblis. He refused and was arrogant and became of the disbelievers.} (2:34)