Prophet Ādam: The Dawn of Humanity
Section 16 of 22 · Lives of the Prophets
Tell Me the Names of These
Wa ʿallama Ādama al-asmāʾa kullahā: Allah (swt) taught Ādam all of the names. Thumma ʿaraḍahum ʿalā al-malāʾikah: and then Allah made a test, and presented some objects to the angels. Fa-qāla anbiʾūnī bi-asmāʾi hāʾulāʾi in kuntum ṣādiqīn: tell Me the names of these, if you are true — if you are truthful; if you are right. Because the angels said in the beginning: why are You going to create a human being who will cause bloodshed and corruption? Allah (swt) made this test, and told the angels to identify these objects.
قَالُوا۟ سُبْحَـٰنَكَ لَا عِلْمَ لَنَآ إِلَّا مَا عَلَّمْتَنَآ ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلْعَلِيمُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ
“They said, “To You belongs all purity! We have no knowledge except what You have given us. Surely, You alone are the All-knowing, All-wise.”” (2:32)
What did the angels say? Qālū subḥānaka lā ʿilma lanā illā mā ʿallamtanā, innaka anta al-ʿAlīmu al-Ḥakīm. They said: glory be to You; we have no knowledge but the knowledge that You have given us. Innaka anta al-ʿAlīmu al-Ḥakīm: You are the Most Knowledgeable, and the All-Wise.
قَالَ يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُ أَنۢبِئْهُم بِأَسْمَآئِهِمْ ۖ فَلَمَّآ أَنۢبَأَهُم بِأَسْمَآئِهِمْ قَالَ أَلَمْ أَقُل لَّكُمْ إِنِّىٓ أَعْلَمُ غَيْبَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَأَعْلَمُ مَا تُبْدُونَ وَمَا كُنتُمْ تَكْتُمُونَ
“He said, “O ’Ādam, tell them the names of all these.” When he told them their names, Allah said, “Did I not tell you that I know the secrets of the skies and of the earth, and that I know what you disclose and what you conceal.” (2:33)
And now it's Ādam's turn to go through the test. Qāla yā Ādamu anbiʾhum bi-asmāʾihim: O Ādam, tell them these names. Allah (swt) says: fa-lammā anbaʾahum bi-asmāʾihim qāla alam aqul lakum innī aʿlamu ghayba al-samāwāti wa-l-arḍ, wa aʿlamu mā tubdūna wa mā kuntum taktumūn. And when he told them the names, Allah (swt) told the angels: didn't I tell you that I know the knowledge of the unseen in the heavens and the earth? I know what you reveal, and what you conceal.
Allah (swt) knows all knowledge. So Allah is telling the angels: there is a ḥikmah for the creation of Ādam that you don't know. There is a ḥikmah that you don't know. And that is a lesson for us. Whenever we see something that we're not able to understand or comprehend, we need to understand that Allah has a wisdom behind it. There is a ḥikmah — there is a wisdom behind every action. There is a ḥikmah behind everything.
Because many times human beings fall into that trap of questioning why some events are happening. I mean: why is this happening? And we question qadar, and we question misery, and we question disease, and we question disasters, and we question wars. Why are these things happening? We need to realise that Allah has a wisdom in everything that is happening around us. There is a reason. We don't know it; Allah (swt) knows it. So that's the story of the names.