The Unseen of the Heavens and the Earth

The context of the verse, which aims to demonstrate God’s power, encompassment, and the inability and ignorance of the angels, suggests that the genitive construction in the phrase “I know the unseen of the heavens and the earth” is a genitive of possession (iḍāfa lām), not a partitive genitive (iḍāfa min). This means that the phrase implies “I know the unseen of the heavens and the earth” rather than the unseen that is of the same kind as the heavens and the earth. This necessarily implies that this unseen (which is the names) is external to and absent from the heavens and the earth, not of the same kind or a part of them, whether from their inner or outer aspects. In other words, it is the absolute unseen (al-ghayb al-muṭlaq), not the relative or correlative unseen. For if something is found in the celestial sphere or on the surface of the earth, it belongs to the visible and sensible world, not the unseen world. This also implies that knowledge of this unseen is not obtained by exploring the earth or traversing the heavens, but only through God, the Knower of the unseen and the seen.

It might be argued that since the heavens and earth in this verse refer to the physical and visible heavens and earth, and the angels are part of the spiritual heaven and recipients of a spiritual command, namely revelation—“And He revealed in each heaven its command” (41:12)—not the physical heaven about which it is said, “And in the heaven is your provision” (51:22)

(Assuming that this refers specifically to material sustenance)—and considering that the spiritual, inner, and unseen heavens and earth are the inner reality of the material and apparent heavens and earth, it follows that the angels are also part of the inner and unseen aspects of the heavens and earth. This means they are also an instance of the unseen realities of the heavens and earth (ghayb al-samāwāt wa-l-arḍ). Since they are aware of their own reality and also of their unseen necessities, how is it possible that they are not aware of this unseen realm?

The answer is: Although the angels are part of the unseen and the inner reality, the unseen realm and unseen beings have multiple vertical levels, where some are higher than others. What was taught to Ādam was from the higher levels of the unseen realm and the lofty beings of this realm, not from its specific intermediate or lower levels.

Another point is that what is meant by the unseen of the heavens and the earth (ghayb al-samāwāt wa-l-arḍ) refers to the Names (_al-_asmāʾ) themselves, not Ādam’s knowledge of the Names. This means that what the angels were unaware of was the very existence of the realities known as the Names, not merely Ādam’s awareness of them. It should not be assumed that the angels were aware of the Names but did not know that Ādam had knowledge of them, leading to their objection. If this were the case, it would have been sufficient for God to simply command Ādam to report the Names to the angels so that they would recognize his knowledge. There would have been no need for God to also address the angels directly, saying: “Inform Me of the names of these” (_anbiʾūnī bi-_asmāʾ hāʾulāʾ).

In other words, the purpose of this dialogue and the question-and-answer sequence is twofold: Firstly, to highlight the angels’ lack of knowledge of the Names, which consequently emphasized their unworthiness for the position of divine vicegerency. Secondly, to demonstrate Ādam’s knowledge of the Names and his corresponding worthiness and suitability for vicegerency. This is why both directives—“Inform Me” and “O Ādam, inform them...”—were issued.

Reminders:

1. The phrase “of their names” (bi-asmāʾihim) in the sentence “Then when he had informed them of their names” (_fa-lammā anbaʾahum bi-_asmāʾ__ihim) uses an explicit noun instead of simply the pronoun “them” (hum). This choice emphasizes the significance of the knowledge of the names.

2. As noted in previous discussions, the expression “Did I not tell you” (a-lam aqul lakum) suggests that the “unseen of the heavens and the earth” (ghayb al-samāwāt wa-l-arḍ) mentioned in this verse corresponds to the statement at the end of the verse on vicegerency: “Indeed, I know what you do not know” (innī aʿlamu mā lā taʿlamūn). This connection arises because, according to the apparent meaning of the verses concerning the story of vicegerency and the teaching of names, there is nothing else God has told the angels in this context that would match the phrase “Did I not tell you” except “Indeed, I know...”

The essence of this is that the terms “the unseen of the heavens and the earth,” “what you do not know,” and “the names” all refer to the same reality. As previously mentioned, these may correspond to the “keys of the unseen” (mafātiḥ al-ghayb) and the “treasuries of things” (khazāʾin al-ashyāʾ) referenced in the verses: “And with Him are the keys of the unseen...” (6:59) and “And there is not a thing but that with Us are its treasuries” (15:21)