**Al-Baqarah: 30**
"And when your Lord said..."
- "And when" (Wa-idh): It is in the accusative case (nasb) due to an implied verb, "Remember." It is also permissible for it to be governed by the verb "they said."
- "The angels" (al-Mala'ikah): The plural of mal'ak (angel), following the pattern of shama'il (plural of sham'al), with the ta added to feminize the plural.
"I am placing a successor (Khalifah) on the earth."
- "Placing" (Ja'il): Derived from ja'ala, which takes two objects. It enters upon the nominal sentence (the subject and predicate), which are "in the earth" and "a successor." Thus, they become its two objects. Its meaning is "making a successor on the earth."
- "Successor" (Khalifah): One who succeeds another. The meaning is: a successor to those of you who were inhabitants of the earth, so Adam and his descendants succeeded them.
- Why singular? If you ask: "Why was it not said khala'if (successors) or khulafa'?" I say: Adam was intended by khalifah. Mentioning him suffices for mentioning his descendants, just as mentioning the father of a tribe suffices in your saying "Mudar" or "Hashim." Or, it means "one who will succeed you," or "a successor who will succeed you," hence it is singular.
- "Khalifah" (from God): It is possible it means a successor from Me, for Adam was God’s successor on His earth, as is every prophet. (Cf. "O David, indeed We have made you a successor on the earth").
Why did He inform them of this?
- So they might ask that question and receive the answer they were given, thereby learning the wisdom of their succession before it occurred, protecting them from the objection of doubt at the time of his appointment.
- It is also said: To teach His servants consultation in their affairs before proceeding with them, and to present them to their trusted advisors, even though He, by His knowledge and perfect wisdom, is beyond the need for consultation.
"Will You place in it..."
- An expression of wonder: How can one who causes corruption be appointed in place of those who obey? He is the Wise One who does not act except for good and does not desire except for good.
- How did they know this? If you ask how they knew this to express wonder, when it is of the Unseen: I say they knew it through information from God, or from the Preserved Tablet, or it was established in their knowledge that the angels alone are the infallible creation, and all other creations are not of their nature, or they drew an analogy between the two heavy groups (jinn and humans), as they had inhabited the earth and caused corruption before the angels.
"And we..."
- The "and" (waw) is for the state (hal), as when you say, "Do you show kindness to so-and-so while I am more deserving of kindness than him?"
- "Glorifying" (Tasbih): Declaring God far removed from evil. Likewise, "Sanctifying" (Taqdis).
- "With Your praise" (Bi-hamdika): In the position of a state (hal). Meaning: We glorify You while praising You, for were it not for Your grace upon us through guidance and kindness, we would not be able to worship You.
"I know that which you do not know."
- Meaning: I know of the benefits in that which are hidden from you. If you ask why He did not explain those benefits, I say it suffices the servants to know that all of God’s actions are good and wise, even if the aspect of that goodness and wisdom is hidden from them. Moreover, He did explain some of it in what follows: "And He taught Adam the names, all of them."
"Adam" (Adam):
- Its derivation is from al-udma (darkness of skin) or adim al-ard (the surface of the earth), similar to the derivation of Ya'qub from al-'aqib, Idris from al-dars, and Iblis from al-iblas. It is a non-Arabic name, and its most likely form is fa'il, like Azar, 'Azar, 'Abir, Shalikh, and Faliq.
"The names, all of them."
- Meaning: The names of the named things. The genitive (mudaf ilayh) is omitted because it is known and indicated by the mention of "names," for a name must have a named object. The definite article (al-) acts as a substitute, as in "And the head has flared [with gray]."
- Why not "the named things"? If you ask why I do not claim the mudaf was omitted and the mudaf ilayh took its place (i.e., "He taught Adam the named things of the names"), I say: because the teaching had to be linked to the names, not the named things, due to His saying: "Inform Me of the names of these," and "Inform them of their names." Just as the request for information was linked to the names, the teaching must be linked to them.
- Meaning of teaching the names: He showed him the species He created and taught him: "This is called a horse, this is called a camel," and taught him their conditions and the religious and worldly benefits related to them.
"Then He presented them..."
- Meaning: He presented the named things. The masculine pronoun is used because the named things include rational beings, so the masculine takes precedence. He asked them to inform Him, despite knowing their inability, by way of rebuke.
"If you are truthful."
- Meaning: In your claim that I would appoint those who cause corruption and shed blood. This is a rebuttal, showing that among those He appoints are scientific benefits—which are the foundations of all benefits—for which they deserve to be appointed. He showed them this and clarified some of what was summarized in His saying, "I know that which you do not know."
