The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page 96
CH. 2 AL-BAQARAH PT. 1 وَعَلَّمَ آدَمَ الْأَسْمَاءَ كُلَّهَا ثُمَّ عَرَضَهُمْ And He taught Adam all. 32 Blékstovi "the names, then He put the عَلَى الْمَلَكَةِ فَقَالَ اَنْتُونِي بِأَسْمَاءِ objects of these names before هَؤُلَاءِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَدِقِينَ the angels and said, 'Tell Me the names of these, if you are right. '38 7:181; 17:111; 20:9; 59:24, 25. Quran enumerates a number of them, some of the more important being the following: (1) Tauḍīḥ and (2) A 'inah by the Holy Founder of the Aḥmadiyya Movement and (3) Mala'ikah by Haḍrat Mirzā 1. They are bearers of Divine Bashir-ud-Dīn Maḥmūd Aḥmad, the Messages (22:76). Second Khalifah of the Ahmadiyya Community. 2. They inspire men to do righteous deeds, moving their hearts to virtue (91:9; also Tirmidhi, ch. on Tafsir). 3. They serve the Prophets and help their cause (15:30; 4:167); they also help believers (41:31, 32). 4. They bring punishment upon those who oppose the Prophets (6:159); and strike their enemies with fear and awe (3:125, 126). 5. They enforce the laws of nature and, as it were, bear the Throne of God on their shoulders (40:8). The reason why angels have been mentioned in this verse in connection with the mission of Adam is that, as indicated above, one of the functions of the angels is to help the Messengers of God; so whenever a new Prophet is raised in the world, the angels are bidden to serve him by bringing into play the different forces of nature to help his cause. When, therefore, God decided to raise Adam as a Reformer, He informed the angels of His decision so that they should devote themselves to his service. For a fuller discussion of the subject of angels the reader is referred to 96 38. Important Words: for اسم names) is the plural of) اسماء which see note on 1:1. means, (1) the name of a thing, i. e. a word fixed for a thing or attribute for the purpose of distinction; (2) a mark or sign of a thing (Aqrab); (3) fame or reputation of a person or thing (Lane); (4) a word, its meanings and combinations (Mufradāt). صادق right) is the plural of) صادقين which is derived from us. They say abi. e. he was or is correct in his opinion (Lane). spoke the truth. ¿means, he means, he was sincere to him or he was his well- wisher (Aqrab). means: (1) you are speaking the truth, not a lie It is in the latter sense that the word (2) what you say is right, not wrong. has been used in the present verse. Commentary: Commentators differ as to what is here meant by the word slow (names). Some think that God taught Adam the names of different things and objects, i. e. He taught him language. Others