Surah Al-Baqarah 2:30

وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ إِنِّى جَاعِلٌۭ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةًۭ ۖ قَالُوٓا۟ أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَن يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ ٱلدِّمَآءَ وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ ۖ قَالَ إِنِّىٓ أَعْلَمُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

2:30 Qâla قال - “He said” is the use of figurative speech to describe an event or a state of affairs without there being any actual speech or dialogue in any human language. This linguistic device may allow even inanimate objects to “speak” as in the following expression:

إملاء الحوض فقالَ قطني

‘When the tank was full, it said stop!’

It may also be used to convey that which is not spoken in words, but in motions or actions, or in situations in which logical argument is to be presented. A poet writes:

قُلت له العينان سمعًا و طاعة

‘Her two eyes said: We listen and we obey’.

These examples of Arabic idiom show, any translation of this word into a language other than Arabic must be done according to the context and the subject matter (cf. 15:36; 112:1; 113:1; 114:1). Qâla as used in this and the other indicated verses is not an actual conversation between Allâh and the Angels or Iblîs, but an indication of a state of affairs, which is to be brought into execution. Qâla قالis not used here in the same sense as takallamâ تكلٌماthat means discourse. The words qâla, fa‘alaفعَلَ and dzarabaضَربَ are very close to each other in their meanings and can often be substituted for one another depending upon the situation (Lisân, Tâj). For example, in 4:34, the verb dzaraba used in connection with disobedient women could be replaced by qâla. Qul قل(Say!) on the other hand stand for command as in chapters 112, 113, and 114).

The usual translation of the word Malâik ملائك is “angels”. Malâik are part of the Divine system through which Allâh executes His Will and Command, both in the worlds of particles and non-particles. We may imagine them as carriers and executers of Divine commands. They are message bearers and bringers of Divine Revelation (41:30). They descend upon the faithful giving them joyful news (41:30). In the physical world, they are the medium that forms a link between the chain of the laws in nature, and in the spiritual world, they form a link between Allâh and human beings (cf. 2:97). The existence of the Malâik as a medium of revelation has been recognized by righteous people in all ages and it is a part of Muslim Faith (2:177; 2:285).

Khalîfah خليفة is a successor, vice regent, someone who inherits, who comes after or who stands in the place of someone who precedes him (Tâj; Lane). According to Ibn Mas‘ûd and Ibn ‘Abbâs , in Qur’ânic terminology the khalîfah is the one who judges and rules under Allâh’s command (cf. 38:26; Ibn Jarîr). We read in verse 38:26 يَا دَاوُودُ إِنَّا جَعَلْنَاكَ خَلِيفَةً فِي الْأَرْضِ - “O David! We have made you (Our) vice regent (khalîfah) in this land” (38:26); that is, We will make you inherit this land or We will make you rule this land. Similarly, we read with reference to those who followed the destroyed generations: ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ خَلَائِفَ فِي الْأَرْضِ مِن بَعْدِهِمْ - “Then We made you inherit the land (khalîfah)”; that is We made you ruler over that land (10:14). About the followers of the Holy Prophet (pbuh), we read, وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنكُمْ وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ كَمَا اسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ - “Allâh has promised those of you who believe and do deeds of righteousness that He will make them successors (khalîfah; vouchsafed with both spiritual and temporal leadership) on the earth as He made successors from among their predecessors” (24:55). Therefore, in 2:30, the Holy Qur’ân is definitely not referring to the first human being on the earth. Adam is the khalîfah - the vice regent of God who has the power of initiative, choice and decision, and still whose independent actions are under the control of Divine Will. It is in this sense that Allâh makes Adam—the prototype of the human race—inheritor of the earth (cf. 7:10-11). The Angels, as we are told, were aware only of the darker side of animate creation, namely the “shedding of blood”, and not of the high rank that this new creation was destined to hold on earth. They were also unaware that faculties would be given to a human being, which would enable him to imbue the Attributes of Allâh (as the next verse وَعَلَّمَءَادَمَٱلْأَسْمَآء informs us). Because of these potentialities, Adam could claim to be Allâh’s khalîfah. إِنِّىٓ أَعْلَمُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ - “I know that which you do not know,” indicates the ignorance of the Angels in this regard. The Angels are not given the faculties that would allow them to object to Allâh’s purpose, nor can they claim any superiority over Allâh’s creation; this is the significance of their reply: وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ  - “While we already glorify You with Your true praise and extol Your holiness.”