The Creation of Adam
God wanted to pick these divine flowers, and He, therefore, assigned the angles to prepare a record of every human being
God first created the physical universe over a long and gradual process. Finally, he created man and settled him on the planet earth as a free creature.
When God was going to create the first man, Adam, a dialogue took place between God and the angels. This finds mention in the Quran in these words:
“When your Lord said to the angels, ‘I am putting a successor on earth,’ they said, ‘Will You place someone there who will cause corruption on it and shed blood, while we glorify You with Your praise and extol Your holiness?’ [God] answered, ‘Surely, I know that which you do not know.’ He taught Adam all the names, then He set them before the angels and said, ‘Tell Me the names of these, if what you say be true.’ They said, ‘Glory be to You; we have no knowledge except whatever You have taught us. You are the All Knowing, the All Wise.’ Then He said, ‘O Adam, tell them their names.’ When Adam had told them the names, God said to the angels, ‘Did I not say to you: I know the secrets of the heavens and of the earth, and I know what you reveal and what you conceal?’” (2:30-33)
The question arises as to why the Angels expressed doubt about Adam. Further, what was the thing that the angels were satisfied with after God’s explanatory answer? This reply is given indirectly in the Quran. By understanding this indirect indication, one can learn God’s planning for man’s creation and how it was to be carried out.
We find another such indication in this verse of the Quran:
We have indeed created man in the best of mould, then We cast him down as the lowest of the low, except for those who believe and do good deeds—theirs shall be an unending reward! (95:4-6)
This shows that God granted man a blessing which has been called honour (takrim) in the Quran (17:70). That is to say, God created man with great potential, gave him complete freedom and the opportunity to choose the right path for himself of his own free will. Moreover, in recognition of his noble deeds, God will announce the reward in the form of eternal paradise. But the majority of human beings remained unaware and failed to understand this divine plan. By misusing their freedom, the majority lost their rights to find entry into paradise, except for a small number who understood the divine plan. By making proper use of their freedom, they proved themselves deserving of paradise.
In the light of this Quranic statement, we learn that by looking at the entire human race, the angels concluded that total freedom would certainly lead to corruption and perversion in the world which was set in perfect order by God. God responded to the angles through a demonstration showing that, although at the collective level people would take to evil ways; but besides the wicked and the corrupt, there would also be, at individual levels, among their number, great righteous and pious souls. They would use their freedom properly and thus would be entitled to the Lord’s eternal paradise.
The above verse of the Quran states that God presented these exceptions of human history before the angels through a demonstration. The angles understood that their apprehension was not in accord with God’s creation plan. They looked at the whole human race in totality, whereas God’s planning was individual based.
In God’s knowledge, although total freedom will result in a jungle of oppression and corruption in the human world, there would also be exceptions. In this wilderness of oppression and perversion, extraordinary individuals would appear like the divine flowers amidst thorns. God wanted to pick these divine flowers, and He, therefore, assigned the angles to prepare a record of every human being. Based on this record, the good will be separated from the evil to be settled in the eternal gardens of Paradise.
Paradise is not a ‘luxury resort’ in any simple sense. Paradise would be the finest society of chosen individuals from the whole human race. There, they will have the best infrastructure. These select individuals will bring into existence a super civilisation with the support of the angels. In the present world, the civilization has been produced by the partial discovery of the laws of nature. In contrast, in the Hereafter, the super civilization will be formed through the total unfolding of the words of God.
This matter is further explained in other verses of the Quran. One verse is as follows:
If all the trees on earth were pens, and the sea [were] ink, with seven [more] seas added to it, the words of God would not be exhausted: for, truly, God is Almighty and Wise. (31:27)
Such verses tell us that a time will come when these limitless words of God will be unfolded. This task will be performed in eternal heavenly environs of Paradise. All the select individuals out of the whole of human history would come together to engage in the unfolding of the words of the Lord. This work will go on for all eternity. This activity has been termed in the Quran as ‘enjoyable activities’ (36:55).
