2.17 Al-Baqarah: The Meaning of Adam and His Descendants as Vicegerents on Earth

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته

All praise is due to Allah, the Most High, the Most Great. May blessings be upon our Seal of the Prophets, Muhammad ﷺ, and may Allah be pleased with all of the Companions.

Today we are sharing a topic: understanding the meaning contained in Adam (peace be upon him) and his descendants being vicegerents on earth.

The Meaning of Khalifah

Regarding the word خليفة (khalifah), some translate it as “representative,” while others translate it as “vicegerent” or “successor-ruler.” All of these come from the single word خليفة. After our Lord created the first human being, Adam (peace be upon him), He said to the angels: “I will surely place upon the earth a representative.” Precisely because human beings are the ones who live and dwell upon the earth, we need to understand well what is meant by the vicegerent, خليفة (khalifah). When our Lord created the first human being, He already bestowed upon humanity this grace and this characteristic, so we should come to know it to some extent.

Nuh and Those with Him

In the Qur’an, besides mentioning that our Lord would make Adam (peace be upon him) and his descendants vicegerents on earth, after our Lord told the angels that He would place a vicegerent upon the earth, He also tells in Surah Hud that He saved Nuh (peace be upon him) and those who boarded the Ark with him, and made them vicegerents on earth. In verse 57 of Surah Hud, our Lord tells his people through His messenger-prophet Nuh, while conveying the truth:

{فَإِن تَوَلَّوْاْ فَقَدْ أَبْلَغْتُكُم مَّا أُرْسِلْتُ بِهِ إِلَيْكُمْ وَيَسْتَخْلِفُ رَبِّي قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ وَلاَ تَضُرُّونَهُ شَيْئًا إِنَّ رَبِّي عَلَىَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ حَفِيظ}[هود:57]

11:57 But if you turn away, I have already delivered to you what I have been sent with. My Lord will replace you with others. You are not harming Him in the least. Indeed, my Lord is a ˹vigilant˺ Keeper over all things.”

This verse uses the word خلف (khalaf).

In verse 73 of Surah Yunus, our Lord tells us clearly:

{فَكَذَّبُوهُ فَنَجَّيْنَاهُ وَمَن مَّعَهُ فِي الْفُلْكِ وَجَعَلْنَاهُمْ خَلاَئِفَ وَأَغْرَقْنَا الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُواْ بِآيَاتِنَا فَانظُرْ كَيْفَ كَانَ عَاقِبَةُ الْمُنذَرِين}[يونس:73]

10:73 But they still rejected him, so We saved him and those with him in the Ark and made them successors, and drowned those who rejected Our signs. See then what was the end of those who had been warned!

“Saved him” refers to Nuh (peace be upon him) and those who boarded the Ark with him. Our Lord explicitly says that He made them خَلاَئِفَ (khala'if), vicegerents on earth.

Ibrahim, Yusuf, Musa, and Shu'ayb

We know that later there was an important family: Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and his descendants. In verse 54 of Surah al-Nisa', our Lord tells us: I certainly gave the descendants of Ibrahim the Scripture and wisdom, and I gave them a mighty kingdom.

{أَمْ يَحْسُدُونَ النَّاسَ عَلَى مَا آتَاهُمُ اللّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ فَقَدْ آتَيْنَآ آلَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَآتَيْنَاهُم مُّلْكًا عَظِيمًا}[النساء:54]

4:54 Or do they envy the people for Allah’s bounties? Indeed, We have given the descendants of Abraham the Book and wisdom, along with great authority.

Here our Lord uses مُّلْكًا عَظِيمًا (mulkan 'aziman), “a mighty kingdom,” to express a vast dominion. Of course, once He gave them sovereign authority, there was kingdom-rule, and where there is kingdom-rule there is also the content of representation and stewardship. For example, our Lord granted Yusuf (peace be upon him) knowledge and sovereign authority. He governed the seven years of abundance, the seven years of famine, and the years of abundance that followed, so that the people received our Lord’s grace and mercy. He became a qualified representative.

After that, there is Musa (peace be upon him) and the Children of Israel. Our Lord drowned Pharaoh and his armies and gave the Children of Israel standing upon the earth. In verse 93 of Surah Yunus, our Lord tells us clearly: I certainly settled the Children of Israel in a secure dwelling place and provided them with good things.

{وَلَقَدْ بَوَّأْنَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ مُبَوَّأَ صِدْقٍ وَرَزَقْنَاهُم مِّنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ فَمَا اخْتَلَفُواْ حَتَّى جَاءهُمُ الْعِلْمُ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ يَقْضِي بَيْنَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فِيمَا كَانُواْ فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُون}[يونس:93]

10:93 Indeed, We settled the Children of Israel in a blessed land,1 and granted them good, lawful provisions. They did not differ until knowledge came to them.2 Surely your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Judgment regarding their differences.

When our Lord gave the Children of Israel power and establishment, they also received the grace of stewardship on earth.

In verse 88 of Surah Hud, we can learn about the mercy our Lord showed to Shu'ayb (peace be upon him) in the grace of vicegerency on earth. He told his people:

{قَالَ يَاقَوْمِ أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِن كُنتُ عَلَىَ بَيِّنَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّي وَرَزَقَنِي مِنْهُ رِزْقًا حَسَنًا وَمَا أُرِيدُ أَنْ أُخَالِفَكُمْ إِلَى مَا أَنْهَاكُمْ عَنْهُ إِنْ أُرِيدُ إِلاَّ الإِصْلاَحَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُ وَمَا تَوْفِيقِي إِلاَّ بِاللّهِ عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ وَإِلَيْهِ أُنِيب}[هود:88]

11:88 He said, “O my people! Consider if I stand on a clear proof from my Lord and He has blessed me with a good provision from Him. I do not want to do what I am forbidding you from. I only intend reform to the best of my ability. My success comes only through Allah. In Him I trust and to Him I turn.

Here, the word أُخَالِفَكُمْ (ukhalifakum) is understood in relation to the reform he was carrying out. We all know that Shu'ayb’s people were unjust in measure and weight and spread corruption on earth. He enjoined good and forbade evil, telling them to be fair and just. This was part of the grace of stewardship granted to him.

Dawud, Sulayman, and the Later Successors

There is also an important descendant among the Israelites, that is, among the descendants of Ya'qub (peace be upon him). Our Lord explicitly mentions that He made him a vicegerent on earth—Dawud (peace be upon him). In verse 26 of Surah Sad, our Lord tells us:

{يَادَاوُودُ إِنَّا جَعَلْنَاكَ خَلِيفَةً فِي الأَرْضِ فَاحْكُم بَيْنَ النَّاسِ بِالْحَقِّ وَلاَ تَتَّبِعِ الْهَوَى فَيُضِلَّكَ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَضِلُّونَ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ شَدِيدٌ بِمَا نَسُوا يَوْمَ الْحِسَاب}[ص:26]

38:6 ˹We instructed him:˺ “O David! We have surely made you an authority in the land, so judge between people with truth. And do not follow ˹your˺ desires or they will lead you astray from Allah’s Way. Surely those who go astray from Allah’s Way will suffer a severe punishment for neglecting the Day of Reckoning.”

Of course, we know that our Lord not only gave Dawud (peace be upon him) sovereign authority, but also gave his son Sulayman (peace be upon him) a sovereignty not granted to anyone else.

In verses 34 and 35 later in Surah Sad, we can learn of the mercy our Lord showed Sulayman (peace be upon him): not only did He enable him to subdue all things upon the earth, He also subdued for him inhabitants of the earth—the jinn:

{وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا سُلَيْمَانَ وَأَلْقَيْنَا عَلَى كُرْسِيِّهِ جَسَدًا ثُمَّ أَنَاب}[ص:34]

38:34 And indeed, We tested Solomon, placing a ˹deformed˺ body on his throne,1 then he turned ˹to Allah in repentance˺.

{قَالَ رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي وَهَبْ لِي مُلْكًا لاَّ يَنبَغِي لأَحَدٍ مِّنْ بَعْدِي إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْوَهَّاب}[ص:35] 38:35 He prayed, “My Lord! Forgive me, and grant me an authority that will never be matched by anyone after me. You are indeed the Giver ˹of all bounties˺.”

In verses 13 and 14 of Surah Yunus, our Lord also mentions the successors of our Prophet ﷺ, خَلاَئِف (khala'if), vicegerents:

{وَلَقَدْ أَهْلَكْنَا الْقُرُونَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَمَّا ظَلَمُواْ وَجَاءتْهُمْ رُسُلُهُم بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ وَمَا كَانُواْ لِيُؤْمِنُواْ كَذَلِكَ نَجْزِي الْقَوْمَ الْمُجْرِمِين}[يونس:13]

10:13 We surely destroyed ˹other˺ peoples before you when they did wrong, and their messengers came to them with clear proofs but they would not believe! This is how We reward the wicked people.

{ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ خَلاَئِفَ فِي الأَرْضِ مِن بَعْدِهِم لِنَنظُرَ كَيْفَ تَعْمَلُون}[يونس:14]

10:14 Then We made you their successors in the land to see how you would act.

We all know that after our Prophet ﷺ came the Rightly Guided Caliphs, and after them the Umayyad dynasty and the Abbasid dynasty, whose rulers were also called khalifah, خليفة—caliph. Our Prophet ﷺ taught his followers about vicegerency. We can learn one narration from Sahih Muslim, in which the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “This world is sweet and green. Allah has made you vicegerents in it, then He watches how you act. So beware of this world and beware of women, for the trial of the Children of Israel began because of women.”

The Difference Between the Inhabitants of Heaven and Earth

The Creator of all worlds created the heavens and the earth. The inhabitants of heaven—the angels—are constantly glorifying our Lord’s purity, exalting Him, and declaring Him holy. But among the inhabitants of earth, human beings and jinn, there are acts of wrongdoing and bloodshed. When our Lord created Adam (peace be upon him), He told the angels that He would place a vicegerent upon the earth. The angels then said that on earth there would be wrongdoing and bloodshed, whereas they, as inhabitants of heaven, were declaring our Lord’s purity, His exaltedness, and His holiness. So the inhabitants of heaven and the inhabitants of earth have two different characteristics.

Of course, our Lord created with truth. He created the inhabitants of heaven, who do not choose, and He also created the inhabitants of earth—human beings and jinn—who were given the power of choice. Human beings are the representatives of the earth, while the jinn are to be subdued. Since our Lord is the Lord of decree, His decree contains His grace. There is the great decree, absolutely unchangeable, which stands as a witness that He does whatever He wills. He also granted creation a measure of choice, which we may call the lesser decree. He gave human beings a relative power to choose, so that they may seek good, seek good even in hardship, and increase in good through blessing, thereby bearing witness that our Lord is the Lord of perfect goodness.

He causes His free will and His command to be witnessed in two ways. He alone possesses freedom; He alone ordains without being constrained by decree. He created the inhabitants of heaven, and they directly obey His command and His will, bearing witness that He is the One, irresistible, possessing full dominion. He created the human beings and jinn of the earth and gave them the power to choose. Yet we find that if they do not obey His will and carry out His command, they cannot attain a good end. Some do not attain a good end in this world, and in the Hereafter Paradise and Hell are set before them. Everyone who enters Paradise is one who obeyed His will and carried out His command, whereas the one who enters Hell is one who disobeyed.

Our Lord also causes witness to be borne through the freedom of choice given to human beings and jinn: any choice that does not take His standard, His command, and His will as its measure will go wrong. For in all the worlds, only the Creator is completely right, transcendent, and utterly free of defect. Every created thing has defect. By reasoning from the opposite, we bear witness that only our Lord is free. All created beings—whether our reason, our conduct, or our moral qualities—are limited. In this way, witness is borne that our Lord is the only absolute Governor, the only Lord of free command and decree. So He set خليفة (khalifah) upon the earth. All of these caliphs or vicegerents are people who obeyed His command and His will, proclaimed the truth upon the earth, and enabled people to regulate their conduct and pursue the blessings of both worlds according to the path our Lord has given us. And all of these vicegerents are people who obtained the blessings of both worlds.

Human beings are created with desires. Who does not want to obtain the blessings of both worlds? Even the one who does not believe in resurrection in the Hereafter at least wants the blessings of this world. Those peoples who became vicegerents on earth—those mentioned in Scripture, and others not mentioned—were all people who reached a good end in both worlds. They were blessed while alive, and after returning to their Lord they were remembered and learned from by later generations.

Why the Vicegerent Is Beautiful

Now let us understand this representative of the earth from another angle. It is on the earth that wrongdoing and bloodshed appear. As for the inhabitants of heaven, the angels, they directly glorify the Lord’s purity, exaltedness, and holiness. Then we should ask: why is this so? Moreover, our Lord directly told the angels that He would place a vicegerent upon the earth, and the angels said, “Will You place upon it one who will do wrong and shed blood?” So the angels knew of this matter. Let us make a more concrete analysis of it and understand the beauty of the vicegerent.

In response to these words of the angels, our Lord said: “Surely I know what you do not know.” He taught the first human being, who would become a representative upon the earth, and whose descendants would also become representatives. He taught the first human being the names of all things. Then the angels came to witness that our Lord truly knows what no creature knows. From the verses we can learn that the angels did not know at all how the names of all things were to be given. Let us understand this more deeply from this angle.

The descendants of Adam (peace be upon him), as well as Adam (peace be upon him) himself, come to know and seek blessing through the material world of visible phenomena. We are material human beings, created from earth and from water, so material reality is an important starting point for us in knowing creation. When human beings come to know creation, they move from the materially visible world, gradually toward the relatively unseen world of the soul, and then toward the absolutely unseen hidden world. Human beings know from the outside toward the inside; this is how we may describe it. The angels are different. They are subtle beings and can directly see some of the hidden realms. For example, the Paradise and Hell created by our Lord are under their charge; the angels bear our Lord’s Throne, and they carry the tablet of His decree and grace. So they know what is unseen and hidden, and we gradually find that they know creation from the inside toward the outside. Yet they do not know the names of outward things.

This shows that the inhabitants of heaven and the inhabitants of earth know creation in exactly opposite ways. One knows from inside to outside, and the other from outside to inside. The angels bring down the Scriptures, our Lord’s commands, and His will from the unseen world; human beings receive them and then carry them out. But how do the angels come to know the material created world? They do so through human beings. For example, when the first human being spoke the names of all things, they too learned them. Again, human beings continue to develop the material world and reveal the mysteries of the worlds of wind, fire, water, and earth, of magnetic fields and electricity, of vegetation, of animals, and of the social phenomena of the human world. The angels come to know these mysteries through human beings. If we reason carefully, the first human being knew how to name all things, and later human beings continue to uncover blessings and discoveries, all of which still have to be named by human beings. Every discovery must be given a name, and the angels can then learn from human beings that yet another thing in the material world has been given a name. So these two kinds of creation approach the knowledge of things from opposite directions, and yet their relationship is mutually beneficial.

The Difficulty and Nobility of Human Knowing

For human beings, knowing from the outside toward the inside is a difficult process. Why? Because the veils must be removed layer by layer. Once the veil of the material world is opened, one must come to know the world of the soul; once the veil of the soul is opened, one must come to know the unseen world. Human beings of the material world have bodies of flesh and blood. In the process of unveiling these veils, if the mysteries and the veils are not uncovered, bloodshed will appear. Why? Because human beings can never rely on the combined results of human reason, virtue, empirical learning, and all kinds of human conclusions to uncover the mysteries of the unseen hidden world. That requires worshiping the Lord. It requires acting according to the command and will our Lord has given us—His religion, His true way, and the teachings and laws that belong to it. Only then can human beings gradually lift the veil of the material world. Moreover, human beings were created with the power to choose, and they also possess a strong human self, with spiritual desires and material desires. Very often, because of an inability to restrain personal desire, they fail to choose the truth, its command, and its will, and as a result wrongdoing appears.

Precisely because only through worshiping the Lord can human beings uncover the many mysteries of the created worlds, the question becomes: why uncover those mysteries? It is in order to reach knowledge of the Lord. Thus human beings must worship the Lord before they can attain true knowledge of Him. Then consider what a tremendous test it is that human beings have been given the power of choice, especially since human desire is so obvious. Every day there is the demand to satisfy bodily appetite, and there are also sexual desires. All of these are immense tests. If, within these tests, a human being can still come to know the created worlds through worshiping the Lord, can come to believe in the unseen until reaching firm certainty in our Lord, can know Him and worship Him in a perfected way, then such a person is indeed noble. For such people, because they accepted the truth, restrained their personal desires, and had the mysteries from the material world to the unseen world unveiled for them, our Lord opened these secrets to them. They worshiped the Lord, submitted to His will, and carried out His command. Then they came to glorify our Lord in a perfected way, declaring His purity, His exaltedness, and His holiness, and they moved from worshiping the Lord to witnessing the Lord. They experienced our Lord’s help and His being with them, becoming people of reverence, goodness, and trust. Such people are indeed vicegerents of the earth, and in this way they surpass the inhabitants of heaven. The angels can only come to know the material world through what human beings uncover and name within it, whereas human beings begin from the material world and arrive at certainty and firm faith in the unseen world.

Repentance, Reliance, and the Human Witness

Human beings also have a favor that the angels cannot obtain. Because human beings have material bodies, they have human nature and they have spirit, and human nature places its demands upon the spirit. In the process of unveiling mysteries, human beings receive guidance only by accepting the guidance our Lord gives us. Yet sometimes, by following personal desire, they sin or fall into error. Human beings have been granted by our Lord the ability to repent and seek forgiveness. So the first human being, Adam (peace be upon him), sought forgiveness and repented. He made a pure and holy repentance, and through human beings our Lord’s noble Name—the One who accepts repentance—became a sign.

Human beings are material beings who must seek material blessings. How many disasters exist in the material world and the natural world? In wind, fire, water, and earth, how many calamities are there? Vegetation must be cultivated before it can be eaten. The strength of animals is greater than that of human beings. If human beings had not received the grace of Allah, the Most High, the Most Great, could they subdue animals? So human beings face many natural disasters. And between human beings themselves, because of the incitement of desire, there are also disasters. Among the two sons of Adam (peace be upon him), there was already the phenomenon of killing. So human beings have calamities from nature and calamities from one another. With so many calamities, what should be done? One must rely upon the Lord and supplicate to Him.

As for the unseen jinn and devils, their harm and disturbance toward human beings mean that while human beings seek blessings from the material world, and while they must also uncover so many mysteries of the material world, the soul-world, and the unseen world, they still have to worship the Lord while enduring all kinds of disturbance. The jinn especially do not want human beings to worship the Lord. With so many hardships, human beings are forced to rely upon the only One who can remove affliction from them, the only One who can grant them blessing—the One who governs mankind, provides for mankind, and so on. Through His noble Names He guides people to remember His noble Names, and human beings make the beautiful attributes and virtues contained in those noble Names into signs by which they bear witness.

He is the Lord of universal mercy and special mercy. Only human beings can truly bear perfect witness, because human beings face the blessings of this world and the blessings of the Hereafter. Because the unseen world cannot be seen, many people seek only the blessings of universal mercy in this world. Since the unseen world of Paradise and Hell cannot be seen, people often do not seek the special mercy of the Hereafter while they are seeking mercy and blessing. So human beings are the best sign by which witness is borne.

Allah, الله (Allah), is the true God who alone deserves worship and can have no partner. Human beings truly become a sign that bears witness. Why? Because human beings must seek forgiveness, for human beings have associating of partners at the level of knowledge and also associating of partners at the level of action. When they repent and seek forgiveness, they bear witness that our Lord can have no partner. So if the soul is to ascend, one must worship the Lord; if the mysteries of the unseen world are to be uncovered, one must worship the Lord. In this way human beings come to know that Allah, الله (Allah), the Most High and Most Great, is the One who is worshiped. At the same time, human beings must not sin, and if they do sin they must repent and seek forgiveness. Only then can they truly unveil the mysteries of the unseen world and attain knowledge of our Lord. So human beings not only bear witness that Allah, الله (Allah), the Most High and Most Great, is the One worshiped, they also bear witness that Allah can never be given any partner at all. In our knowledge and in our actions, we cannot associate anything with Him. Thus human beings become the best sign through which witness is borne, and their remembrance of this majestic Name, الله (Allah), is real.

Patience and the Purpose of Learning the Names

Finally, let us end our topic with one example. Our Lord has a noble Name by which He says that He is الصبور (as-Sabur), the One who grants patience. Human beings, then, must have patience in three ways, and this is something the angels cannot realize: first, human beings must stay away from all kinds of sin and endure by not committing sin; second, human beings must endure in hardship while seeking good; third, when human beings do good, they must persevere in it, continue it, and increase in it, enduring constantly in doing good. So in all three of these aspects, human beings can become an experiential witness. How is it that human beings can endure? It is because our Lord has this noble Name, الصبور (as-Sabur). He enables us to have patience so that we may bear witness that He possesses this noble Name and so that we may remember this noble Name of His.

So our Lord taught the first human being the names of all things, because our Lord knew that this human being and his descendants—those among them who would become vicegerents on earth—would all accept our Lord’s guidance. Through knowing all things, they would come to know that all things are signs of our Lord. They would come to know the great and beautiful Names that belong to Him, remember the noble Names that belong to Him, and thereby fulfill the true purpose for which human beings were created: to glorify the Lord morning and evening and remember His noble Names. In Surah al-Insan, our Lord tells our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ: “Remember the name of your Lord morning and evening.” Those who come after him as successors, representatives, and vicegerents will follow his path—remembering the Lord morning and evening and remembering His noble Names. For example: سبحان الله والحمد لله (Subhan Allah wa al-hamdu lillah). The witness human beings bear through what is contained in these noble Names surpasses the witness borne by the angels. And then there are the noble Names of our Lord taught to us by Muhammad ﷺ—the ninety-nine Names. Only human beings can truly glorify and remember our Lord’s noble Names and obtain the superior blessing that comes from them. This is also why our Lord told the angels that He knew meanings they did not know.

Today’s topic ends here. If there were any slips of the tongue or anything unclear in the explanation, I ask Allah, the Most High, the Most Great, to forgive me. Dear brothers and sisters in the group, please pardon me. Thank you all for sharing.

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته

Qur’an translation source: The Clear Qur’an — Dr. Mustafa Khattab.

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