The Meaning of the Successor in the Statement of Allah the Exalted: “And when your Lord said to the angels, ‘Indeed, I am going to place a successor on the earth’”
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Fatwa No. ( 18720 )
Q: We ask you to issue a ruling on the meaning of the statement of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Baqarah 2:30] . We ask you to clarify for us the meaning of (successor) in this verse, and how we reconcile the previous verse with the statement of Allah, Glorified and Exalted: [Adh-Dhariyat 51:56]
I have been confused about what man was created for, and what is the priority for man: worshipping Allah, or being a successor, or both together? And what is the relationship between being a successor and worshipping?
A: The meaning of the statement of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Baqarah 2:30] is: a people who succeed one another, generation after generation and tribe after tribe, as He the Exalted said: [Al-An'am 6:165] , and He the Exalted said: [An-Naml 27:62] , and He said: [Az-Zukhruf 43:60] and other verses. As for the statement of Allah the Exalted: [Adh-Dhariyat 51:56] its meaning is: except to command them to worship Me and test them with obligations, then I will reward them for their deeds, if good then good, and if evil then evil. By knowing the meaning of the two verses, the difficulty you imagined is resolved. The first verse clarifies that the human race succeeds one another on this earth, and the second verse clarified the wisdom and purpose for which Allah created the jinn
and mankind, which is commanding them to worship Allah alone, so the wisdom is that He created them to worship Him and for some of them to succeed others. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q: We ask you to issue a ruling on the meaning of the statement of Allah the Exalted:
And [mention, O Muhammad], when your Lord said to the angels, "Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority."
وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلائِكَةِ إِنِّي جَاعِلٌ فِي الأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةًAnd I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنْسَ إِلاَّ لِيَعْبُدُونِI have been confused about what man was created for, and what is the priority for man: worshipping Allah, or being a successor, or both together? And what is the relationship between being a successor and worshipping?
A: The meaning of the statement of Allah the Exalted:
Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority
إِنِّي جَاعِلٌ فِي الأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةًAnd it is He who has made you successors upon the earth
وَهُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَكُمْ خَلائِفَ الأَرْضِand makes you inheritors of the earth
وَيَجْعَلُكُمْ خُلَفَاءَ الأَرْضِAnd if We willed, We could have made [instead] of you angels succeeding [one another] on the earth.
وَلَوْ نَشَاءُ لَجَعَلْنَا مِنْكُمْ مَلائِكَةً فِي الأَرْضِ يَخْلُفُونَAnd I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.
وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنْسَ إِلاَّ لِيَعْبُدُونِand mankind, which is commanding them to worship Allah alone, so the wisdom is that He created them to worship Him and for some of them to succeed others. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.