THE MESSAGE FROM THE QURAN
Discover God By His Signs
With regard to the creation plan of God, the Quran says:
WHEN your Lord said to the angels: ‘I am placing a caliph on earth,’ they replied: ‘Will You put there one that will do evil and shed blood, when we have for so long sung Your praises and sanctified Your name?’ He said: ‘I know what you do not know.’ He taught Adam all the names and then set them before the angels, saying: ‘Tell me the names of these, if what you say be true.’ ‘Glory be unto You,’ they replied, ‘we have no knowledge except that which You have given us. You alone are wise and all-knowing.’ Then said He to Adam: ‘Tell them their names.’ And when Adam had named them, He said: ‘Did I not tell you that I know the secrets of heaven and earth, and all that you hide and all that you reveal?'
THE QURAN 2: 30-33
The literal meaning of the word ‘caliph’ is one who takes another’s place — a successor. In the age of hereditary rule it was generally used for a monarch who took the place of another monarch. Accordingly, then, the word came to refer to one invested with power.
When God created man, He determined that man should wield power on earth. The angels were apprehensive of man being corrupted by his power and free-will and causing bloodshed on earth. The angels were not mistaken in their apprehension: God too was fully aware of this possibility. But He was looking at the matter from another aspect. For if many human beings were corrupted by their power, a substantial proportion of mankind would acknowledge the fact that, in spite of their power and freedom on earth, they were really powerless before Almighty God. Such people would, of their own accord, adopt the path of submission and obedience to God. True, they would be comparatively few in number, but they would be as precious as the grains of a crop. Grain is far outweighed by hay and straw, but so great is its value that vast quantities of hay and straw are allowed to grow and flourish in the land just so that grain can come into being.
God, in His omnipotence, brought all the progeny of Adam before their first father. Then He said to the angels: ‘Look, this is the progeny of Adam. Can you give the name of each one of them, and tell what sort of people they will be?’ The angels, having no knowledge about them, could not tell. God told Adam their names and their characteristics, and then commanded him to pass the knowledge on to the angels. When Adam had explained to the angels the nature of the human race, they realized that, besides wicked and corrupt people, there would also be great, righteous, pious souls among them.
Man’s greatest crime, next to denial of his Lord, is to spread corruption and cause bloodshed on earth. No individual or nation has God’s permission to act in a manner that disrupts the order of Nature established by God. Man should not take the life of his fellow man. All actions of this sort disqualify people from receiving God’s mercy. Everything in Nature functions according to a norm set for it by God. To follow this norm is to 'make peace', and to deviate from it is to spread corruption.
“And when We said to the angels:
‘Prostrate yourselves before Adam.’ they all prostrated themselves except Satan, who, in his pride, refused, and became an unbeliever. To Adam We said: ‘Dwell with your wife in Paradise and eat of its fruits to your heart’s content wherever you will. But never approach this tree or you shall become transgressors.’ But Satan made them forget this injunction and caused them to be driven out of the state of felicity in which they had been. ‘Go down from here,’ We said, ‘as enemies to each other; and on earth you shall have your abode and your livelihood for a while!’ Then Adam received commandments from his Lord, and his Lord relented towards him. He is the Forgiving One, the Merciful. Go down hence, all,’ We said. ‘When Our guidance comes unto you those that accept it shall have nothing to fear or to regret; but those that deny and reject Our revelations shall be the heirs of Hell, and there they shall abide forever.”
THE QURAN 2: 34-39
God stood Adam up among the angels, as well as Satan, and tested them by commanding them to prostrate themselves before Adam. In this way He gave the first man on earth a practical demonstration of the two paths that would be open to his progeny. Either they would follow the example of the angels and bow to God’s commandments, even if this meant bowing before an inferior creature; or else they would be proud like Satan and refuse to bow before others which is a refusal to bow to God’s commandments.
This is the test that man faces in his entire life. Here on earth man is constantly faced with two alternative courses of action. He can follow the angelic course and carry out God’s commandments by bowing before truth and justice in all that he does. He can also act as Satan did, letting himself be controlled by arrogance and contempt, refusing to concede the rights of others.
This was the lesson of the forbidden tree. It is when man lets himself be deceived by Satan and exceeds the bounds that God has laid down for him that he goes astray. As soon as he eats of the 'forbidden fruit' he is deprived of God’s grace or, in other words, Paradise. But this loss is not an irretrievable one. Man still has the opportunity to turn in repentance to his Lord, rectify his actions and seek forgiveness for his sins. When he turns to the Lord in repentance, God relents towards him and cleanses him of his sins as if he had never committed them.
The raising of the call to truth among men is a test of this nature. The preacher of truth is an ‘Adam’; it is for people to bow before him. If, carried away by pride and prejudice, they refuse to acknowledge his position, then they are following in Satan’s footsteps. God does not become plainly visible in this world; He tests people by revealing Himself through His signs. Those who can interpret His signs have discovered God Himself, and those who fail to interpret His signs have failed to find God.
