THE WORD OF GOD

have taught us. You are the All Knowing, the All Wise.’ Then He said, ‘O Adam, tell them their names.’ When Adam had told them the names, God said to the angels, ‘Did I not say to you: I know the secrets of the heavens and of the earth, and I know what you reveal and what you conceal?’ (2: 31-33) The mixture of good and evil in mankind became evident when God, in His omnipotence, brought all the progeny of Adam before their first father. He said to the angels, ‘Look, these are the progeny of Adam. Can you give me the name of each one of them, and say what sort of people they will be?’ The angels, having no knowledge of them, were unable to answer. Then God told Adam their names and characteristics, and then commanded him to pass the knowledge on to the angels. When Adam had explained to them the nature of the human race, they realized that, besides the wicked and the corrupt, there would also be among their number great, righteous and pious souls. Man’s greatest crimes, after the denial of his Lord, are spreading corruption and causing bloodshed in the world. Neither an individual nor a group has God’s permission to indulge in such actions as may disrupt the order of nature established by God. For example, no man should take the life of another: all actions of this nature disqualify mankind from receiving God’s mercy. In short, preserving the system of nature is ‘to reform’ it, while upsetting this system is equal ‘to spreading corruption’. When We said to the angels, ‘Bow down before Adam,’ they all bowed except for Iblis [Satan]. He refused and acted proudly and became an unbeliever. We said, ‘O Adam! Live with your wife in Paradise and eat freely from it anywhere you may wish. Yet do not approach this tree lest you become wrongdoers.’ But Satan caused them both to slip through this and thus brought about the loss of their former state. We said, ‘Go down from here as enemies to each other; and on earth you shall have your abode and your livelihood for a while!’ (2: 34-36) When God made Adam stand up in front of the angels including Iblis (Satan), and tested them by commanding them to bow down before Adam, He was giving the first man on earth a practical demonstration of the two paths that would be open to his progeny. Either they would follow the example of the angels and bow to God’s commandments, even if it meant bowing before someone they held inferior to themselves; or else they would be proud like Satan, and refuse to bow to others. This is the test that man faces throughout his entire life. Here on earth man is constantly faced with two alternative courses of