How did the angels know about the blood-shedding characteristic of man?

The Answer

Dear Brother / Sister,

Question:How did the angels know about the blood-shedding characteristic of man?1

Answer: Another verse that evolutionist creationists use as evidence for evolution is as follows: “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."2

Acting upon the statement “Wilt Thou place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood?” in the verse, some people say wild ancestors of man before the perfection of man are indicated by it. They say the angels uttered that statement by considering those ancestors of man. However, the traits of mischief and shedding blood were observed throughout the history of humanity and they are also seen today. Besides, mischief is a characteristic peculiar to man, not apes. All animals serve the balance on earth. The only being that disturbs this balance and causes mischief is man.     

     We find the answer to the question “How did the angels know this characteristic of man?” in Tabari.

According to what Tabari reports from Ibn Abbas, Ibn Mas’ud and some other Companions, when Allah said to the angels, "I will create a vicegerent on earth", the angels said, "O Lord! What will that vicegerent be like?" He said, "He will have offspring that will cause mischief on earth, that will envy and kill one another." Thus, the angels were informed about this being. This view presents the dialogue that is not mentioned in the verse. That is, it fills the gap between "I will create a vicegerent on earth" and "They said: ‘Wilt Thou place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood?’"

As it can be seen, we witness that scholars approach the text based on an adopted view and they interpret religious texts in the direction of those views in such interpretations. In that case, rather than the approach “what the text says”, the approach “what can I make the text say” dominates the process of interpretation. The tendency to search for the foundations of some scientific developments and theories in religious sources or in the words of ancient scholars often become effective in making different interpretations that are not correct.

            **

1.From Veysel Güllüce’s articleKur’anIşığında Evrimci Yaratılı şGörüşünün Değerlendirilmesi” (ÂdemTatlı, Hasan Akan, İdris Görmez, İsmail Kocaçalışkan. Ayet ve Hadislerin DilindenYaratılış. Akder Yayını, Antalya, 2018, p. 9).
2.al-Baqara, 30.

Questions on Islam

Was this answer helpful?
In order to make a comment, please login or register