For them are pure companions
25
And give glad tidings (O Muhammad) unto those who believe and do good works; that
theirs are Gardens underneath which rivers flow; as often as they are regaled with food of
the fruit thereof, they say: this is what was given us aforetime; and it is given to
them in resemblance. There for them are pure companions; there for ever they abide.
26
Lo! Allah disdaineth not to coin the similitude even of a gnat. Those who believe know that it is the truth from their Lord; but those who
disbelieve say: What doth Allah wish (to teach) by such a similitude? He misleadeth many thereby, and He guideth many thereby; and He
misleadeth thereby only miscreants;
If you believe and do good works, you will have pure companions in heaven.
27
Those who break the covenant of Allah after ratifying it, and sever that which Allah ordered to be joined, and (who) make
mischief in the earth: Those are they who are the losers.
28 How disbelieve ye in Allah when ye were dead and He gave life to you! Then He will give
you death, then life again, and then unto Him ye will return.
Losers break the covenant with Allah and make mischief on the earth.
29
He it is Who created for you all that is in the earth. Then turned He to
the heaven, and fashioned it as seven heavens. And He is knower of all things.
Allah created the earth first and then the seven heavens. [1]
Adam learns the names of the animals
(and the angels don't know them)
2:30-33
30
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.
The angels ask God why he is putting "a viceroy" on earth who will do harm and shed blood.
God says he knows things that they don't know. [2]
31
And He taught Adam all the names, then showed them to the angels, saying: Inform Me of the names of these,
if ye are truthful.
Allah taught Adam all the names (of the plants and animals?) [3],
and then said to the angels, "Tell me the names, if you are truthful."
32
They said: Be glorified! We have no knowledge saving that which Thou hast taught us. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the
Knower, the Wise.
But the angels weren't truthful enough to guess correctly.
33
He said: O Adam! Inform them of their names, and when he had informed them of their names, He said: Did I not tell
you that I know the secret of the heavens and the earth? And I know that which ye disclose and which ye hide.
So Allah said to Adam, "Tell them the names."
So Adam told them and said, "I know something you guys don't!"
Iblis refuses to worship Adam
(and becomes the first disbeliever)
34
And when We said unto the angels: Prostrate yourselves before Adam, they fell
prostrate, all save Iblis. He demurred through pride, and so became a disbeliever.
Then we (Allah) commanded the angels to prostrate themselves before Adam.
And they all did, except for Iblis. [4]
That's the moment that Iblis became a disbeliver.
Notes
- He it is Who created for you all that is in the earth. Then turned He to the heaven. (v.29)
Which was created first, heaven or earth?
- I am about to place a viceroy in the earth (v.30)
Who is the viceroy that Allah is placing on earth? And why is he doing it if he knows it will do harm and shed blood?
- He taught Adam all the names. (v.31)
Allah taught Adam all the names of the plants and animals, which must have taken a while since there
are 1.7 million species that are known, with probably another 10 million or so that are yet to be discovered. And this
only includes those that are alive today. If extinct species are included (~99%), then Allah must have taught
Adam a billion or so names.
(In Genesis it was the other way around. God brought all the animals to Adam
to see what he would name them.)
- They [the angels] fell prostrate [to Adam], all save Iblis (v.34)
I got the impression from this verse that Iblis is an angel, but I've been told that is incorrect. Iblis is not an angel;
he's a jinn. Which is a different thing entirely. (A jinn is a creature made from fire that has free will. Angels are
messengers of Allah that have no free will. Elves are small semi-divine beings with pointy ears.)
Still, I'm not convinced. Sometimes Iblis is called an angel in the Quran, and sometimes a jinn. And sometimes
he seems to be both angel and jinn. (Is Iblis an angel or a jinn?)
Does everything obey Allah?
2:25-29