Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Dear brother asak
My question is regarding those ayaths of surah baqarah in which the angels ask allah why he wants to create someone who will spread mischief.
In one of the bayaans i had heard that jinns were made before humans and they were creating fasad.So due to this experience with the jinns the angels questiond allah.
Brother as far as my knowledge goes, fasad was spread after the fall of iblis.Until then all of allahs creation including iblis were obedient to allah. Kindly clarify this.
Secondly, In this same topic allah says that `I know what ye know not` (ayath no.30) what did allah mean by this??
third- In ayath no 20 Please clarify what `the lightning all but snatches away their sight` means
What is lightning being reffered to as.
jazzakallah 

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Answer:

Angels Jinn creation of Adam

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verses 30-35:

30 Behold thy Lord said to the Angels: "I will create a Vicegerent on earth." They said "Wilt thou place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood? Whilst we do celebrate Thy praises and glorify Thy Holy (Name)?" He said: "I know what ye know not."

31 And He taught Adam the name of all things; then He placed them before the Angels and said: "Tell Me the names of these if ye are right."

32 They said: "Glory to Thee! Of knowledge we have none save that Thou hast taught us: in Truth it is Thou who art Perfect in Knowledge and Wisdom."

33 He said: "O Adam! Tell them their natures." When he had told them, Allah said: "Did I not tell you that I know the secrets of heaven and earth, and I know what ye reveal and what ye conceal?"

34 And behold We said to the Angels: "Bow down to Adam"; and they bowed down. Not so Iblis; he refused, and was haughty; he was of those who reject Faith.

35 We said: "O Adam! Dwell thou and thy wife in the garden and eat of the bountiful things therein as (where and when) ye will, but approach not this tree, or ye run into harm and transgression."

Dear and Beloved brother, at the outset we wish to clarify that what exactly transpired in the Majestic Presence of Allah during the creation of Adam is from amongst the ‘knowledge of the unseen’, some of which The All-Knowing, All-Wise Lord Willed and Pleased to be made known to mankind through His Glorious Quran and His Messenger (saws). Thus for any information regarding any knowledge of the ‘unseen’, the believers are to believe with conviction only in what is related by Allah Subhanah in the Glorious Quran and what is related in the authentic and established narrations of the Messenger of Allah (saws). Every other information regarding its details are mere speculation and derivations, and cannot be relied upon with conviction. Allah is our witness brother, if the detailed information of what exactly transpired in the minds of the Angels and the Jinns during the creation of Adam was important for the guidance of mankind, the All-Knowing, All-Wise Lord would have surely made it known to mankind in His Quran or through His Messengers.

Your Statement: i had heard that jinns were made before humans and they were creating fasad. So due to this experience with the jinns the angels questiond allah.
The Angels very well understood the connotations and the implications of the term ‘Khalifah’, whereby they understood that the created being was going to be bestowed with some powers of doing good or evil, obedience or disobedience, etc.; but they could not fully comprehend how an autonomous creature with a free will to do good or evil could fit in the totalitarian and absolutely submissive system of the universe. One must also understand that the Angels did not put forth this question, Allah forbid, as a challenge or to raise an objection to the Will of Allah Subhanah; they merely and humbly meant to clarify and seek more information about the matter.

Their seeking clarification and more information about the matter does in no way mean that they had any knowledge of the ‘unseen’; for indeed, the knowledge of the unseen is known to none save Allah Subhanah Alone. Through their comprehension of the term ‘Khalifah’, they simply assumed the worst aspect of what would happen if one was given the autonomy and power to choose of his own free will.

Allow us again to relate a simple example which would clarify the matter. Suppose a loving and doting father gives his son more money than his needs, a sincere friend and well-wisher of the family would immediately assume the worst and tell the father that the son will get spoilt! This does not in any way mean that the friend or well-wisher has any knowledge of the unseen; but it is a manifestation of his concern of the powers that the extra money would bring in the hands of an inexperienced child.

Similarly, the Angels meant nothing but concern that the vicegerent who would be given the power and free will to choose, would transgress the boundaries of Allah Subhanah; and thus they humbly sought clarification from the Lord of the Worlds.

Some scholars who pondered over the wisdom of the statements of the Angels have said that maybe the Angels had prior knowledge from their experience of what happened with the community of the Jinns (who were created before mankind), when they were entrusted with similar powers, and a free will to choose between the good and the evil. It may be that the community of Jinns might have misused their bestowed powers, created mischief and caused blood-shed amongst themselves; and thus the Angels humbly declared their concern. Because nothing has been mentioned regarding the lives and events of the Jinn community before the creation of man in the Quran and Sunnah, one cannot say with conviction what exactly did transpire in the Jinn communities. Allah Alone Knows Best.

Your Question: Brother as far as my knowledge goes, fasad was spread after the fall of iblis.Until then all of allahs creation including iblis were obedient to allah. Kindly clarify this.
There is a very big misconception amongst the believers that prior to the creation of Adam, Iblis was a sincere, obedient and devoted slave of Allah Subhanah. Jinns, like the human beings, have been bestowed with the option and free will to obey or disobey their Lord, and the Jinn Iblees opted to disobey the Command of the Lord. Allah Knows the exact and perfect intentions of each in His creation, and because of his undue pride and jealousy at the status and rank bestowed upon man, the accursed Iblees opted to challenge the Command of the Lord Most High and refused to bow down to Adam. There is absolutely nothing in the guidance of the Quran and the Sunnah regarding the state of Iblees that even remotely suggests that he was a obedient and devout slave of Allah before the creation of Adam.

Your Statement: Brother as far as my knowledge goes, fasad was spread after the fall of iblis

The very fact that Allah Subhanah had bestowed a ‘free will’ upon the Jinns to obey or disobey, it is only natural that the righteous amongst them would have chosen to obey and the unrighteous amongst them would have chosen to disobey and created mischief and ‘fasad’.

Thus it is not a true conception that there was no ‘fasad’ or mischief until the Jinn Iblees was accursed by Allah; but the very fact that Allah Subhanah had bestowed in the nature of Jinn a ‘free will’ to choose between obedience and disobedience, some amongst them would have opted to disobey and create mischief in their tenure of life.

Your Question: Secondly, In this same topic allah says that `I know what ye know not` (ayath no.30) what did allah mean by this??
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verses 30-33:

30 Behold thy Lord said to the Angels: "I will create a Vicegerent on earth." They said "Wilt thou place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood? Whilst we do celebrate Thy praises and glorify Thy Holy (Name)?" He said: "I know what ye know not."

31 And He taught Adam the name of all things; then He placed them before the Angels and said: "Tell Me the names of these if ye are right."

32 They said: "Glory to Thee! Of knowledge we have none save that Thou hast taught us: in Truth it is Thou who art Perfect in Knowledge and Wisdom."

33 He said: "O Adam! Tell them their natures." When he had told them, Allah said: "Did I not tell you that I know the secrets of heaven and earth, and I know what ye reveal and what ye conceal?"

When the Angels sought clarification for the creation of a ‘vicegerant’ which Allah Subhanah was going to create and send on the earth, Allah Subhanah simply replied ‘I know what ye know not’ implying that the Angels just were not bestowed with nor did they possess the knowledge to realize the wisdom and mission of the Decision of Allah Subhanah to create a vicegerent on the earth. The services provided by the Angels and all the creation before man did not fulfill the mission that the Lord Most High had in His Plan and Decree for creation, and the creation of man as a vicegerent on Allah’s earth was in Absolute accordance with the Plan and Mission that was in Allah Subhanah’s Knowledge Alone.

Your Question: In ayath no 20 Please clarify what `the lightning all but snatches away their sight` means What is lightning being reffered to as.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verses 8-21:

8 Of the people there are some who say: "We believe in Allah and the Last Day" but they do not (really) believe.

9 Fain would they deceive Allah and those who believe but they only deceive themselves and realize (it) not!

10 In their hearts is a disease; and Allah has increased their disease and grievous is the penalty they (incur) because they are false (to themselves).

11 When it is said to them: "Make not mischief on the earth" they say: "Why we only want to make peace!"

12 Of a surety they are the ones who make mischief but they realize (it) not.

13 When it is said to them: "Believe as the others believe" they say: "Shall we believe as the fools believe?". Nay, of a surety they are the fools, buy they do not know.

14 When they meet those who believe they say: "We believe" but when they are alone with their evil ones they say: "We are really with you; we (were) only jesting."

15 Allah will throw back their mockery on them and give them rope in their trespasses; so they will wander like blind ones (to and fro).

16 These are they who have bartered guidance for error: but their traffic is profitless and they have lost true direction.

17 Their similitude is that of a man who kindled a fire; when it lighted all around him Allah took away their light and left them in utter darkness so they could not see.

18 Deaf dumb and blind they will not return (to the path).

19 Or (another similitude) is that of a rain-laden cloud from the sky; in it are zones of darkness and thunder and lightning they press their fingers in their ears to keep out the stunning thunder-clap the while they are in terror of death. But Allah is ever round the rejecters of Faith!

20 The lightning all but snatches away their sight; every time the light (helps) them they walk therein and when the darkness grows on them they stand still. And if Allah willed He could take away their faculty of hearing and seeing; for Allah hath power over all things.

21 O ye people! Adore your Guardian-Lord who created you and those who came before you that ye may have the chance to learn righteousness.

If the whole discourse is read in context from Aayah 8 to Aayah 21, it becomes clear that the Lord Most High is describing the state of the hypocrites who declare verbally with their tongues that they believe in Allah and the Last Day, but in reality they do not believe.

From the two similitudes related in Aayahs 17-20 it becomes clear that Allah Subhanah has divided the hypocrites into two categories:

The first similitude is for those ardent and hard core hypocrites, who in their disease of hypocrisy have so transgressed that they will never ever be able to return to the Straight Path.

The second category of hypocrites are those who have some signs of the disease of hypocrisy in their hearts because of their doubts and suspicisons, but who have not yet transgressed as much as the first category.

Your Qeustion: What is lightning being reffered to as.
In the above beautiful parable or similitude related by Allah Subhanah to describe the exact state of the disease of hypocrisy for the second or lesser category of hypocrites, the rainfall stands for Islam which came as a blessing to humanity from their Lord; the pitch darkness, thunder and lighting stand for the impending obstacles and the threatening dangers and glaring difficulties which were being experienced on account of the strong resistance from the opponents of Islam.

The state of this category of hypocrites is such that when there is no difficulty and no reason to sacrifice their desires in following Islam, they are willing to follow it; but no sooner than any difficulty is faced in the path of Islam, or when they are commanded something in Islam which is against their desires, self-interest, superstitious beliefs and prejudices, these people get involved in doubt and suspicion and stand still in sheer perplexity!

Allah Subhanah warns such people that if He so Willed, he could have sealed their hearts, their sight and their hearing, and totally deprived these hypocrites of the power to see the Truth just as He deprived the hard-core hypocrites of the first category; but Allah, in His Mercy and Grace, does not do so because it is His Will to give them respite to see and hear the Truth to the extent they wish to see and hear it; perchance some of them might turn back to their Lord in sincere repentance and obey and follow the Commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws) as they unconditionally deserve to be followed.

If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led astray.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan