God said to the angels:
........."I will create A vicegerent on earth" ......... (Al-Baqarah (2) : 30)
Surah al-Baqarah verse 30, clearly mentioned that Adam was created for the purpose of being a vicegerent of Allah on earth.
The Training
The experience that Adam had was sort of a training and preparation to evoke the human characteristics within Adam. The training taught Adam to face temptations, understood the reason for a punishment, learned how to repent, knew the eternal enemy and to understand that all creatures of God would have to return to the Lord ultimately in
every situation in the end.
The Prohibited Tree
The experience that Adam underwent was also to train him to know how to face temptations, to know the feelings of punishments, to learn how to repent, to know who is the eternal enemy and to return to God as the ultimate place we could ask for shelter, protection and forgiveness.
Allah's Blessing
It is with Allah swt blessing that Adam was sent to earth after he was trained as to prepare him to be a khalifah on earth.
Unseen Matters
Unseen matters (ghaib) are not necessary for a man to carry out his duty as a caliph on earth. Allah swt has decided that unseen matters are beyond human capabilities. Man can perform the duty as khalifah Allah very well by using all the necessities of
life and natural resources given by God on earth.
Necessary Tools
Man is the master or chief on earth. Hence, God provides us with everything on earth to meet our needs. The necessities of life such as water, air, heat and light are freely available on earth together with the existence of other creatures of God like plants and
animals. God gives vast quantities of natural resources for Man to use wisely and
not excessively.
Concept of Sin
Concept of sin (mistake) and repentance are related to an individual doer and not to other person. This differs from the church doctrine which highlight the cruxification of Jesus as a redemption to human sins.
Self willingness
Self willingness within human being is the acceptance of mankind to be given responsibility, reward or punishment.
To know more about man creation, the story of Adam and the guidance of God to face Iblis, please refer to the verses of al-qur'an as follows:
1. Al-Baqarah (2) : Verses 30 till 38
2. Al-A'raf (7) : Verses 11 till 25
3. Al-Hijr (15) : Verses 28 till 44
4. Al-Israa (17) : Verses 61 till 65
5. Al-Kahf (18) : Verses 50 till 51
6. Ta-Ha (20) : Verses 115 till 124
7. Sad (38) : Verses 71 till 85
The meaning of Trust (Amanah)
It is important to discuss the meaning of Amanah in order to understand better the concept of "Khalifah" as both subjects are interrelated. In the Holy book Allah swt the most Gracious said that:
We did indeed offer The Trust to the Heavens And the Earth And the Mountains; But they refused To undertake it, Being afraid thereof: But man undertook it; He was indeed unjust And foolish; (Al-Ahzab (33): 72)
Literally, the Trust is something given to a person, over whom he has a power of disposition; he is expected to use it as directed or expected, but he has the power to use it otherwise. There is no trust if the trustee has no power, and the trust implies that the giver
of the trust believes and expects that the trustee would use it according to the wish of the creator of the trust, and not otherwise.
According to the above-mentioned Surah, the Heavens, the Earth, and the Mountains, i.e., other creatures of Allah swt, besides man, refused to undertake a Trust or a responsibility, and may be imagined as happy without a choice of good or evil being given through their will.
As a matter of fact, they preferred to submit their will entirely to Allah's Will, which is All-Wise and Perfect. Total submission to Allah would give them the sense of happiness more than having the faculty of choice, with their imperfect knowledge. The mountains are mentioned as a symbol of stability but they too refused to accept the Trust (Amanah) because they felt themselves to be too humble to be equal to such a tremendous Trust.
Therefore, the Trust here means having a power of choice of good or evil being given through our will. From the above surah, we could also arrive to the fact that the Heavens and the Earth were created before the existence of man himself. The physical world of science too could confirm the fact that man came into existence comparatively at a later stage.
Allah swt. places Man at the highest level compared to all His other creations, as in the uncorrupted state or purer than the angels.
However, if Man demeans himself, he places himself even lower than beasts.
What made man so high and noble? The matter which differs man from the other creation of God is that Allah swt breathed His own spirit into man. It was the enable Man to have a choice of doing good or evil as well as to differentiate good or bad. Man is highly
respected as the qualities he has are equal to the one of the universe.
Men are born with natural instinct which guides their hearts and feelings. What is more important is that the instinct enable men to distinguish between good and evil, to warn him of the dangers surrounding him.
Man recognizes his abilities and capabilities. Bases on this firm ground, , man agreed to accept trust and the heaviest responsibility on earth as to be the vicegerent on this world.
Later on, comes the doctrine of covenant – a formal contract between man and the creator. The following verses show how the formal contract made between man and his Creator:
When thy Lord drew forth From the Children of Adam- From their loins- Their descendants, and made them Testify concerning themselves, (saying): "Am I not your Lord (Who cherishes and sustains you)?"- They said: "Yea! We do testify!" (This), lest Ye should say on the Day Judgment: "Of this we Were never mindful" (Al-A'raf (7): 172)
Or lest ye should say: "Our fathers before us Took false gods, But we are (their) Descendants After them: wilts Thou then Destroy us because of the deeds Of man whom Followed falsehood. (Al-A'raf (7): 173)
Thus do We explain The Sign in detail; And perchance they may turn (Unto Us) (Al-A'raf (7): 174)
Based on several prophet traditions, the above event happened during the creation of Adam. Allah swt gathered all angels and commanded them to prostrate toward Adam who was later appointed as Khalifah of Allah swt on earth. At that same moment, all human beings who would be born until Qiamah were gathered at one time and place. They were given the intellect and brought before Allah to profess that Allah is their (rab) creator.
The best A'thar (report) explaining the above verse is narrated by Ubayy bin Ka'ab. The A'thar said;
Allah gathered all human beings and arranged them based on their groups and times. He gave them the intellect (a'qal) and the ability to speak. Then Allah swt took from them a covenant (agreement) in which they testified concerning themselves when Allah asked them "Am I not your Lord? They said: "Yea, We do testify". God said; I will make the earth, the heaven and your father Adam as witnesses upon your statements so that you can not say that you know nothing about it on the day of judgement. So, remember
that there is no God to be worshipped except Me and that there is no Lord except Me. You should not have any associates (syirik) with me. I will send down my messengers to remind you about the agreement (covenant). I will also send you holy books. To the statements of God, all human beings replied; "Yea, We do testify that you are our Lord and we do not have any Lord except you".
As a conclusion, generally (God knows best), we can rank the appointment of man as a khalifah as follows:
1. God had offered Trust (Amanah) among creatures.
2. Trust was accepted by mankind and rejected by other creatures of God.
3. Adam marked the beginning of the creation of man as well as the election of man as the vicegerent on earth.
4. The Doctrine of Covenant
5. Iblis was declared as enemy of human beings
6. Heaven became the training ground for Adam.
7. Beginning of a real life on earth as khalifah Allah.
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