قَالَ يَاآدَمُ أَنبِئْهُم بِأَسْمَائِهِمْ فَلَمَّا أَنبَأَهُم بِأَسْمَائِهِمْ قَالَ أَلَمْ أَقُل لَّكُمْ إِنِّي أَعْلَمُ غَيْبَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَأَعْلَمُ مَا تُبْدُونَ وَمَا كُنتُمْ تَكْتُمُونَ
He said, ‘O Adam, inform them of their names,’ and when he had informed them of their names, He said, ‘Did I not tell you that I know the Unseen of the heavens and the earth, and that I know whatever you disclose and whatever you conceal?’
Agha Ali Puya Commentary
Commentary on Quran 2:33
[Pooya/Ali Commentary 2:33] Through Adam the angels became acquainted with the glory of the glorious beings. When Adam, at the command of Allah, stated the names, qualities and symbols of those highest beings whose collective and comprehensive status can be termed as wisdom personified, the angels witnessed the glory of the infinite power and wisdom of the Lord that could create such perfect beings of the highest calibre, in substance as well as in style, like of whom they did not know till then. In Durr Manthur, Jalaluddin Sayuti says that the Holy Prophet had said: "The objects shown to the angels were five lights. Allah informed the angels pointing to each of the lights respectively: (i) This is Muhammad, the most praised, derived from My name, the praised one. (ii) This is Ali, the high, derived from My name, the highest. (iii) This is Fatimah, the original, derived from my name, the originator of the heavens and the earth. (iv) This is Hasan, the bountiful, derived from My name, the benefactor. (v) This is Husayn, the good, derived from My name, the good in origin. O angels! It is in love of these five that I have created the universe." It becomes a logical conclusion that since Allah willed these five lights of glory to be manifested through Adam, he had been appointed as the khalifa of Allah, and through these lights Allah's light had been destined to be manifested. As Allah is aware of all the "unseen" in the universe, He knew that the angels secretly thought themselves more deserving than Adam to be chosen as Allah's khalifa. After seeing the glory of the five lights, endowed in the seed of Adam, they accepted their ignorance and submitted to Allah's decision. (see commentary for verse 4)(see commentary for verse 2)