Surah 2. Al-Baqara, Ayah 30
| وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ إِنِّي جَاعِلٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً ۖ قَالُوا أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَنْ يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ الدِّمَاءَ وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ ۖ قَالَ إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ |
| Transliteration | : | wa- 'idh qaala rabb -ka li- al- malaa'ikah 'inni -y jaacil fe al- 'ard. khalefah qaalo 'a- tajcal fe -haa man yufsid fe -haa wa- yasfik ad- dimaa' wa- nah.nu nusabbih. bi- h.amd -ka wa- nuqaddis la- -ka qaala 'inni -y aclam maa laa taclamon |
| Pickthall | : | And when thy Lord said unto the angels: Lo! I am about to place a viceroy in the earth, they said: wilt Thou place therein one who will do harm therein and will shed blood, while we, we hymn Thy praise and sanctify Thee? He said: Surely I know that which ye know not. |
| Asad | : | AND LO !21 Thy Sustainer said unto the angels: "Behold, I am about to establish upon earth one who shall inherit it."22 They said: "Wilt Thou place on it such as will spread corruption thereon and shed blood - whereas it is we who extol Thy limitless glory, and praise Thee, and hallow Thy name?" [God] answered: "Verily, I know that which you do not know." |
| Malik | : | Note that occasion, when your Rabb said to the angels: I am going to place a vicegerent on earth. The angels said: "Will You place there one who will make mischief and shed blood while we sing Your praises and glorify Your name?" Allah said: "I know what you know not." |
| Yusuf Ali | : | 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." 47 |
Note - 21The interjection "lo" seems to be the only adequate
rendering, in this context, of the particle idh, which is
usually - and without sufficient attention to its varying
uses in Arabic construction - translated as "when".
Although the latter rendering is often justified, idh is
also used to indicate "the sudden, or unexpected,
occurrence of a thing" (cf. Lane I, 39), or a sudden turn
in the discourse. The subsequent allegory, relating as it
does to the faculty of reason implanted in man, is
logically connected with the preceding passages.
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Note - 22Lit., "establish on earth a successor" or a
"vice-gerent". The term khalifah - derived from the verb
khalafa, "he succeeded [another]" - is used in this
allegory to denote man's rightful supremacy on earth,
which is most suitably rendered by the expression "he
shall inherit the earth" (in the sense of being given
possession of it). See also 6:165, 27:62 and 35:39,
where all human beings are spoken of as khala'if al-ard.
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Note - 47It would seem that the angels, though holy and pure, and
endued with power from God, yet represented only one side
of Creation. We may imagine them without passion or
emotion, of which the highest flower is love. If man was
to be endued with emotions, those emotions would lead him
to the highest and drag him to the lowest. The power of
will or choosing would have to go with them, in order
that man might steer his own bark. This power of will
(when used aright) gave him to some extent a mastery over
his own fortunes and over nature, thus bringing him
nearer to the God-like nature which has supreme mastery
and will. We may suppose the angels had no independent
wills of their own; their perfection in other ways
reflected God's perfection but could not raise them to
the dignity of vicegerency. The perfect vicegerent is he
who has the power of initiative himself, but whose
independent action always reflects perfectly the will of
his Principal. The distinction is expressed by
Shakespeare (Sonnet 94) in those fine lines: "They are
the lords and owners of their faces. Others but stewards
of their excellence." The angels in their one-sidedness
saw only the mischief consequent on the misuse of the
emotional nature by man; perhaps they also, being without
emotions, did not understand the whole of God's nature,
which gives and asks for love. In humility and true
devotion to God, they remonstrate; we must not imagine
the least tinge of jealousy, as they are without emotion.
This mystery of love being above them, they are told
that they do not know and they acknowledge (in ii. 32
below) not their fault (for there is no question of
fault) but their imperfection of knowledge. At the same
time, the matter is brought home to them when the actual
capacities of man are shown to them (ii. 31, 33).
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The interjection "lo" seems to be the only adequate rendering, in this context, of the particle idh, which is usually - and without sufficient attention to its varying uses in Arabic construction - translated as "when". Although the latter rendering is often justified, idh is also used to indicate "the sudden, or unexpected, occurrence of a thing" (cf. Lane I, 39), or a sudden turn in the discourse. The subsequent allegory, relating as it does to the faculty of reason implanted in man, is logically connected with the preceding passages. |
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Lit., "establish on earth a successor" or a "vice-gerent". The term khalifah - derived from the verb khalafa, "he succeeded [another]" - is used in this allegory to denote man's rightful supremacy on earth, which is most suitably rendered by the expression "he shall inherit the earth" (in the sense of being given possession of it). See also 6:165, 27:62 and 35:39, where all human beings are spoken of as khala'if al-ard. |
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It would seem that the angels, though holy and pure, and endued with power from God, yet represented only one side of Creation. We may imagine them without passion or emotion, of which the highest flower is love. If man was to be endued with emotions, those emotions would lead him to the highest and drag him to the lowest. The power of will or choosing would have to go with them, in order that man might steer his own bark. This power of will (when used aright) gave him to some extent a mastery over his own fortunes and over nature, thus bringing him nearer to the God-like nature which has supreme mastery and will. We may suppose the angels had no independent wills of their own; their perfection in other ways reflected God's perfection but could not raise them to the dignity of vicegerency. The perfect vicegerent is he who has the power of initiative himself, but whose independent action always reflects perfectly the will of his Principal. The distinction is expressed by Shakespeare (Sonnet 94) in those fine lines: "They are the lords and owners of their faces. Others but stewards of their excellence." The angels in their one-sidedness saw only the mischief consequent on the misuse of the emotional nature by man; perhaps they also, being without emotions, did not understand the whole of God's nature, which gives and asks for love. In humility and true devotion to God, they remonstrate; we must not imagine the least tinge of jealousy, as they are without emotion. This mystery of love being above them, they are told that they do not know and they acknowledge (in ii. 32 below) not their fault (for there is no question of fault) but their imperfection of knowledge. At the same time, the matter is brought home to them when the actual capacities of man are shown to them (ii. 31, 33). |
