He Taught Ādam All of the Names

Allah (swt) says: wa ʿallama Ādama al-asmāʾa kullahā thumma ʿaraḍahum ʿalā al-malāʾikah. Allah (swt) says: and He taught Ādam all of the names. In tafsīr it mentions — and this is the opinion of Sayyidunā Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him) — that Allah (swt) taught him the names of everything: the nouns, and the verbs, and the adjectives; all the names. And if you take this literally, it would mean that he knew the names of everything.

But then there is another meaning that is mentioned also, and that is that Allah (swt) has given him the ability to identify objects, and to designate names for these objects — and that is the ability of speaking a language. Again: it's the ability to identify objects, and to designate names for these objects. And we find that that is a human ability. We have different languages in the world, and all of these languages were founded by human beings, by giving names to objects, and then finding verbs and adjectives to tie these things together.

Now imagine that we did not have this ability. So you want to tell your friend about a tree: you cannot name and identify that object, so what you have to do is take him to the tree. Or you want to tell him about an apple: you cannot describe the apple; you have to bring an apple to him and start pointing at it.

So Allah (swt) has given the son of Ādam this ability. And Allah (swt) says: ʿallamahu al-bayān; khalaqa al-insān, ʿallamahu al-bayān. Allah (swt) created the human, and taught him bayān: the ability of speaking, speech.

This is an ability that Allah (swt) did not give the angels. The angels only know specific knowledge which Allah (swt) has given them, because they do not need this knowledge. Allah (swt) taught them what they need. They get orders — they receive orders from Allah (swt) — and they do what they're commanded: yafʿalūna mā yuʾmarūn.

But because the human being — Allah (swt) created him for the khilāfah on earth and ʿimārat al-arḍ, for the establishment of the khilāfah on earth, and to establish this earth and live in it — that ability is necessary for us. Imagine how our life would be. Actually, we wouldn't be living if we didn't have the ability to identify objects and name them. This is a necessity for us to communicate. And Allah (swt) has given the son of Ādam that ability.

So we're able to name things. And we find out that we're producing, every now and then, thousands and thousands of objects, and we're designating names to these objects: microphone, speakers — all of these are new names. But the son of Ādam is able: throw a thousand things in the market, and we have the ability to find names for them.