It is God’s master plan to create the universe and populate it with living and nonliving creations (44:38-39). He designed the universe and established the physical forces, laws and processes to run it for the predetermined period. There is no imperfection in the creation of the universe consisting of seven heavens and the equal number of earth (65:12 and 67:3):
[44:38] And we have not created the heavens and the earth, and what is between them as play.
[44:39] We have not created them except with the truth, but most of them do not know.
[65:12] God is the One who has created seven heavens and of the earth is like of them. The command flows between them that you may know that God has power over everything, and that God has encompassed of everything with knowledge.
[67:3] The One who has created seven heavens in layers. You do not see any imperfection in creation of the Gracious. So you shall return the vision; can you see any flaw?
However, God has informed us in the Quran of a few crucial events in the High Society, which we may call: (a) offer of the Trust to all God’s creatures, (b) great feud and (c) covenant of God with the children of Adam. Let us have a look into the Quran to have a better understanding as well as the order of their occurrences reviewing the relevant verses of the Quran. The awareness of these events and their relationship may help us to make our efforts to redeem ourselves before we get back to Him.
(a) The Offer of the Trust to all God’s creatures
God offered the Trust (al-amaanata) to all of His creatures – both His living and nonliving to expose their views whether they can bear their own responsibility. Some of His creatures took the advantage of this gracious offer whereas others did not. The nonliving creatures: the heavens, the earth, the mountains, the stars, the moons took the advantage of this offer and refused to bear any responsibilities on their own but the views of the living creatures were exposed differently while the human being failed to make an appropriate decision in this test (33:72). The jinn being rejected this gracious offer while the angels were exposed to be the most faithful to God, which is confirmed when the Iblees was exposed to be a fallen angel and became a jinn in the subsequent test (18:50). In addition to the heavens, the earth, the mountains, the stars, the sun and the moon, it may also be confirmed that the angels as well as plants and animals expressed their views to carry out their Creator’s commands at any cost without asking any questions as reflected in the verses of the Quran (16:49, 22:78, 39:5 and 55:6):
[33:72] Indeed, we had offered the Trust (al-amaanata) to the heavens and the earth, and the mountains, but they had refused to bear it, and they had feared from it. But the human had born it. Indeed, he had been ignorant injudicious (zaluuman jahuulan).
Note: This verse is a hint of the offer focusing on the behavior of the human being that he was not able to use his God-given wisdom in the offer but it does not indicate any basis of classification of God’s creatures what some of us may consider.
[18:50] And when we said to the angels, “Prostrate to Adam,” then they had prostrated except Iblis (ib’leesa). He had been with the jinn that he had rebelled against his Lord’s command. Will you then take him and his descendants as protectors other than Me, even though they are enemies to you? It has been miserable is the exchange for the wrongdoers!
Note: When the Satan (Iblees) disobeyed the order of God, he had been included with the jinn, which indicates that the jinn was already exposed to be disobedient and wicked.
[16:49] And to God prostrate what is in the heavens and from the creature what is in the earth, and the angels; and they are not arrogant.
[22:78] Do you not see that to God prostrate what is in the heavens and what is in the earth, and the sun and the moon and the stars and the mountains and the trees and the animals, and many of the people? And many who have deserved the retribution. And whoever God humiliates, then none can honor him. God does whatever He wills.
[39:5] He created the heavens and the earth with the truth. He rolls the night over the day, and He rolls the day over the night. And He committed the sun and the moon, each running for an appointed time period. Surely, He is the Almighty, the Forgiving.
[55:6] The stars and the trees prostrate.
(b) The Great Feud in the High Society
The feud in the High Society was triggered by Satan when he refused to prostrate Adam, and subsequently Adam and his wife, the parents of the human being were evicted from Paradise being deceived by him. This enmity between the Satan and the human race is referred to a Great Feud in the High Society that God has detailed out in the Quran covering the full story in the following three events: (1) test of angels, (2) test of humans and (3) the descent of humans on earth is found in 83 verses of 8 suras, and here is its 2-fold mathematical proof to see at a glance:
(1) Test of angels
Logically, the angels were found to be the most faithful to God in the offer of the Trust but God knew that there is a rebel among the angels. He designed atest for the angels where the human being played an important role in the test, which is repeated in many verses including (15:28-29 & 38:71-72). When the angels were commanded to prostrate before Adam, they all obeyed God’s command except Iblees who refused, was arrogant and unappreciative (7:11, 2:34, 17:61 and 38:73-74,). So the Iblees failed to keep his covenant with God as an angel and became the Satan. He had been identified as number 1 rebel in the God’s kingdom and was included with the jinn being who had already been identified as God’s rebels (18:50). Even though, he was destined to Hell (7:13) but he was respited until the Day of Judgment (7:12-15). This test exposed the Satan to be arrogant and disobedient while the angels were proved to be the most faithful servants of God and became eligible for serving the Throne 24 hours. Thus, the Satan triggered the feud in the High Society as well:
[15:28] And when Your Lord said to the angels, “I am creating a human being from aged mud, like the potter’s clay.
[15:29] “Then when I shaped himand breathed into him from My spirit, thenyou shall fall prostrate to him.”
[38:71] When Your Lord said to the angels, “I am creating a human being from clay.
[38:72] “Then when I shaped him and breathed into him from My spirit, then you shall fall prostrate to him.”
[18:50] And when we said to the angels, “Prostrate before Adam,” then they prostrated except Satan (iblees), who became a jinn as he disobeyed the order of his Lord. Will you accept him and his descendants as protectors other than Me, even though they are your enemies? Miserable would be the exchange for the wicked!
[7:11] And we created you, then we shaped you, then we said to the angels, “Prostrate before Adam.” They prostrated, except Iblees (Satan); he was not with the prostrators.
[2:34] And when we said to the angels, “Prostrate before Adam,” then they prostrated, except Satan; he refused, he was arrogant and became a disbeliever (20:116).
[17:61] And when we said to the angels, “Prostrate before Adam,” then they prostrated, except Satan. He said, “Shall I prostrate to one You created from mud?”
[38:73] Then the angels prostrated, all of them together,
[38:74] except Satan; he was arrogant and became a disbeliever.
[7:12] He (God) said, “What prevented you not to prostrate when I ordered you?” He (Satan) said, “I am better than he; You created me from fire, and You created him from mud.”
[7:13] He said, “Then go down from here, for you are not to be arrogant here. So get out; you are a disgraced.”
[7:14] He (Satan) said, “Grant me a respite, till the Day they are resurrected.”
[7:15] He said, “You are granted a respite.”
(2) Test of humans
Since the humans were found injudicious and ignorant in the gracious offer given by God, they were given another chance to expose their true innermost view. Adam and his wife representing the human being were allowed to live in Paradise while their physical bodies were invisible to them (20:121). They were allowed to enjoy everything except one (7:19, 2:35 and 20:118-119), and warned them about their enemy (20:215-117) while the Satan became more jealous and arrogant being aware of his consequence for the violation of God’s command and losing his prestigious position at God because of humans. He applied his all tricks to remove Adam and his wife from Paradise, and finally, he enticed them to violate God’s command (20:120-121 and 7:20-22):
[7:19] As for you, Adam, dwell with your wife in Paradise, and eat therefrom as you please, but do not approach this one tree, lest you fall in sin.”
[2:35] We said, “O Adam, live with your wife in Paradise, and eat therefrom generously, as you please, but do not approach this tree, lest you sin.”
[20:118] “You will have no hunger therein, nor will you go unclothed
[20:119] ”Nor will you suffer from thirst therein, nor suffer from any heat.”
[20:115] And we had a pledge with Adam in the past, but he forgot and we did not find consistency in him.
[20:116] And we said to the angels: “Prostrate to Adam.” Then they prostrated except Satan, he refused.
[20:117] Then we said, “O Adam, this is an enemy to you and to your wife. So do not let him drive you out of Paradise, lest you would suffer”
[20:120] But the devil whispered to him, he said, “O Adam, let me show you the tree of eternity and a kingdom that will never end.”
[20:121] Then they both ate from it, whereupon their bodies became visible to them, and they tried to cover themselves with the leaves of Paradise. And Adam disobeyed his Lord, and thus, he went astray.
[7:20] But the Satan whispered to them in order to reveal what was concealed from them of their shame (sawaatihimaa), and he said, “Your Lord did not forbid you from this tree, except to prevent you from becoming angels or from becoming the immortal.”
[7:21] And he swore to them, “Indeed, I am a sincere advisor of you.”
[7:22] Thus, he misled them with deception. Then when they tasted the tree, their shame became visible to them, and they began to cover themselves with the leaves of Paradise. And their Lord called upon them: “Did I not forbid you from that tree, and tell you that the Satan is your most ardent enemy?”
(3) The descent of human being on earth
When Adam and his wife disobeyed God being duped by the Satan, He called upon them and made them responsible for a specified wrongdoing (7:20-22). They apologized to God for their wrongdoing and asked for His forgiveness (7:23). Then God decided to give them another chance being merciful on them but on the earth (7:24-25), which may also be called the test of humans and jinns on earth. The angels were informed of the test indicating that the Satan was to be allowed to continue to play an important role (as a representative) in the test (2:30). Since the angels were aware of the evil behavior of the Satan from the earlier test that took place in their presence, they apprehended the unusual consequences of it but God exposed that the angels were not aware of what He knew (2:31-33). This supports the fact that the angels were not aware that a good number of humans and jinns may be able to redeem them through this chance what was only known to God. Thus, the human being, the jinn being and the Satan were exile to earth (20:122-123):
[7:20] But the Satan whispered to them in order to reveal what was concealed from them of their shame (sawaatihimaa), and he said, “Your Lord did not forbid you from this tree, except to prevent you from becoming angels or from becoming the immortal.”
[7:21] And he swore to them, “Indeed, I am a sincere advisor of you.”
[7:22] Thus, he misled them with deception. Then when they tasted the tree, their shame became visible to them, and they began to cover themselves with the leaves of Paradise. And their Lord called upon them: “Did I not forbid you from that tree, and tell you that the Satan is your most ardent enemy?”
[7:23] They said, “Our Lord, we have wronged our souls, and unless You forgive us and have mercy on us, we will be losers.”
[7:24] He said, “Go down as enemies of one another. On earth shall be your habitation and provision for a while.”
[7:25] He said, “On it you will live, and on it you will die, and from it you will be brought out.”
[2:30] And when your Lord said to the angels, “I am placing a representative (khaleefatan) in the earth,” they said, “Will You place therein one who will spread evil therein and shed blood, while we glorify You with Your praises, and we sanctify to You?” He said, “I know what you do not know.”
Note: God’s rebels both humans and jinns exposed through tests in the High Society were sent down to earth for their final chance to redeem their sins [51:56: “I did not create jinns and humans except to worship Me”]. God knew that both groups deserve another chance to be redeemed, even though the angels had a different view. However, the Satan is designated as a representative because of his role to be a great culprit in the testing site, while neither Adam nor the human being would be confused to be a representative in the earth.
[2:31] And He taught Adam all the names, then He presented them to the angels and said, “Give me the names of these, if you are truthful.”
[2:32] They said, “Glory be to You! There is no knowledge of us except what You have taught us. You are the Omniscient, the Most Wise.”
[2:33] He said, “O Adam, inform them of their names.” When he had informed them of their names, He said, “Did I not tell you that I know the secrets of the heavens and the earth? I know what you declare as well as what you conceal.”
[2:36] But the Satan made them fall from it and he brought them out from what they were in. And we said, “Go down you all as enemies of you to other. For you in the earth there will be dwelling place and provision for a while.”
[2:37] Then, Adam received from his Lord words, and He redeemed him. He is the Redeemer, the Most Merciful.
[2:38] We said, “Go down you all from it. When there comes to you guidance from Me, then whoever has followed My guidance there is no fear for them, nor will they grieve.
[2:39] And those who have disbelieved and have denied in our revelations, they will be dwellers of Hell, they will abide therein forever.”
[20:122] Then his Lord chose him, redeemed him, and guided him.
[20:123] He said, “Go down therefrom, all of you, you are enemies of one another. So when guidance comes to you from Me, then whoever follows My guidance will neither go astray nor suffer.
However, the detailed story of the great feud is found in 83 verses of 8 suras, and here is its 2-fold mathematical proof to see at a glance:
Note: in addition to the sum of the relevant sura and verse # being a multiple of 19, the sum of the digits of the total verse #, which is 83 and of the sura # which is 8, is also 19 [8 + 3 + 8].
(c) The covenant of God with children of Adam
God sent Adam and his wife down to earth for their redemption while He took a pledge from all the children of Adam before sending them to earth for their redemption as well (7:172), which has also reflected in the other verses (7:26-27 & 36:60). So we would not be able to raise any excuse for our miserable consequences on the Day of Judgment. He also warned us to save us from the devils (jinns) who were made life long companion of us on earth because of test (50:23). Then He put all their descendants into death known as the first death (44:56) while children of Adam are produced through divinely guided earthly process known as sexual reproduction with an exception of the birth of prophet Jesus (39:6 and 3:59) for their redemption:
[7:172] And when your Lord took (a pledge) from the children of Adam along with their progeny (min banee adama min zuhuurihim dhurriyyatahum), and made them witness over themselves: “Am I not your Lord?”, they said: “Yes, we bear witness.” Thus, you cannot say on the day of resurrection that you were unaware of this.
Note: The pledge was not only taken from the direct children of Adam but from all his descendants.
[7:26] O Children of Adam, we have provided you with garments to cover your shame (sawaatikum) as well as for luxury. But the best garment is the garment of righteousness. These are some of God’s signs, that they may take heed.
[7:27] O Children of Adam, do not let the Satan entice you as he drove your parents out from Paradise, stripping them of their garments to expose their shame (sawaatihimaa). He and his tribe see you, while you do not see them. Indeed, we made the devils as companions of those who do not believe.
Note: God’s precise command is to cover our shame not to cover our body may help us to understand the dress code for the believing men and the believing women.
[36:60] Did I not covenant with you, O Children of Adam, that you shall not worship the Satan? Indeed, he is your most ardent enemy?
[50:23] And his companion will say, “This is what is ready with me.”
[44:56] They do not taste the death therein except for the first death, and He has spared them the retribution of Hellfire.
Note: The reward for the righteous with their Lord.
[39:6] He created you from one person, then created from him his mate. He sent down to you eight kinds of livestock. He creates you in your mothers’ bellies, creation after creation, in trimesters of darkness. Such is God your Lord. To Him belongs all sovereignty. There is no other god beside He. Then how are you turning away(from Him)?
[3:59] The example of Jesus, with God is the same as that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him, “Be,” and he was.
Conclusion
God has created the universe consisting of seven heavens in layers and the equal number of earth held them together through a force that we call gravitational force. The angels whose number is unimaginable praise and serve Him 24 hours while we are the inhabitants of the tiny mole, earth in the lower heaven, which is the testing site for all God’s rebels for their final chance except the Satan who has just been respited. The heavens, the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains, the trees and the animals prostrate God (22:18), and we may reflect to the fact that they are worshiping their Lord in the way given to them while we must do it in the way given to us.
From the Great Feud, we may hopefully learn our mistakes to do better to be successful on earthly life being our 3rd and the final chance as we already missed two opportunities given in Paradise. We may also reflect on the Satan designated as representative not to give him prestigious status but to visualize him to be a great culprit. However, God has always been very kind on humans and has considered our first failure to be ignorance and the second one to be forgetfulness instead of violation of His commands. He has done whatever need to do from His part to improve us to save from the retribution of the Hellfire. He sends guidance through His prophets and messengers from time to time as He promised to guide us to the straight path. He also prescribed certain rites for us to redeem our sins and to protect us from the Satan and his tribe to get back to Paradise being saved.
Peaceful Friday, salaam and God bless.
Tafazzal (5/12/2017)