IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD
The account of the creation of the first man—Adam—is related in the Quran. In this connection the Quran says:
When your Lord said to the angels,
‘I will create a successor on earth’, they said,
‘Will You place someone there who will
cause corruption on it and shed blood,
while we glorify You with Your praise
and extol Your Holiness?’
[God] answered,
‘Surely, I know that which you do not know.’
He taught Adam all the names,
then He set them before the angels and said,
‘Tell Me the names of these, if what you say be true.’
They said, ‘Glory be to You; we have no knowledge
except whatever You have taught us.
You are the All Knowing,
the All Wise.’ Then He said,
‘O Adam, tell them their names.’
When Adam had told them the names,
God said to the angels,
‘Did I not say to you: I know the secrets of
the heavens and of the earth,
and I know what you reveal
and what you conceal?’
THE QURAN 2: 30-33
This questioning of God’s decision by the angels appears to be dissension. But God did not show any displeasure or anger at this. Instead, God explained His intention to them after which their objections were all cleared and their doubts were replaced by conviction.
In this way, God by His own example in the beginning of the history of mankind demonstrated the rules of behaviour for us in the face of differences. If anyone objects or disagrees with any issue then it should not be responded to negatively or with personal attacks; instead, the issue must be clarified and presented in such a way that the entire facts of the matter are clearly available and the truth can be established.
In this way, for all such issues that would appear later amongst mankind, an example was already established via this matter between God and the angels, so that we would be aware of what our practical behaviour should be in such a situation.
In this example there is another lesson for mankind—when an issue has been fully clarified and established, then we must immediately accept it willingly. There are thus, in this dialogue between God and the angels, two important lessons for us—a lesson regarding positive behaviour in the face of dissension or differences and the supreme lesson on the acceptance of the truth once it has been established.
The perpetrator of violence
invariably suffers from remorse,
while the peacemaker derives
great satisfaction from his efforts.
If one were to think of the end result,
one would never indulge in violence