Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “They said: ‘Will You place therein one who will cause corruption therein and shed blood, while we glorify You with Your praise and sanctify You?’ He said: ‘I know what you do not know.’”

But the saying of the angels: indicates that they are the successors of whom? Of those who came before them, and that there were creatures on the earth before that who shed blood and caused corruption therein. So the angels asked their Lord, the Exalted: meaning that the situation will change and will not be like what came before. And their saying: “We glorify” means we purify. There are two things from which Allah is purified: first, defect, and second, defect in His perfection. And if you wish, add a third: likeness to the created beings. All of this is from which Allah is purified. Defect means any attribute of defect by which Allah can never be described, neither as a permanent attribute nor as a report. What is the second? Defect in His perfection, so it is impossible for there to be a defect in His perfection. His power cannot be affected by weakness, His strength cannot be affected by frailty, His knowledge cannot be affected by forgetfulness, and so on. For this reason, He the Exalted said: not a little or a lot. So He the Exalted is perfect in attributes, and it is impossible for a defect to affect His perfection.
The third: regarding likeness to the created beings. Likeness, O Muhammad, pay attention now, likeness, and do not say “resemblance.” Regarding likeness to the created beings. If we wish, we take this by mention, because Allah the Exalted singled it out by mention, saying: And He said: And He said: And if we wish, we include it in which category? The first category, defect, because likening the Creator to the created means defect. Indeed, comparing the perfect with the defective makes the perfect one defective, as the poet said:
Have you not seen that the sword is diminished in value—when?—when it is said that the sword is sharper than the stick?
If I said so-and-so has a sword sharper than the stick, what would you say? Does it imply? It becomes clear to you that this sword is strong and not bad? Bad, sharper than the stick? It means it is of no value. So perhaps we include this third category, perhaps we include it in the first category, which is defect. In any case, glorification, when we say “Subhan Allah” or “I glorify Allah” or the like, we should keep these meanings in mind. That is, we do not say it as mere remembrance, saying it as remembrance, and on the eyes and head, but we keep in mind the meanings it indicates. And that if you say “Subhan Allah,” the meaning is that Allah the Exalted is purified from every defect, purified from every flaw, purified from defect in His perfection. And His saying: The scholars said: The “ba” here is for accompaniment, meaning glorification accompanied by praise. So the two phrases include negation and what? And affirmation, meaning negating defect and affirming perfection. Because praise is describing the praised one with perfection. And do not say “praising with excellence for the voluntary action” as some of the theologians say, but it is describing the praised one with perfection. Add to that love and exaltation. If you describe again with perfection, call it praise. The evidence for this is what came in the authentic hadith: إن الله تعالى قال: قسمت الصلاة بيني وبين عبدي نصفين فإذا قال: الحمد لله رب العالمين قال: حمدني عبدي وإذا قال: الرحمن الرحيم قال: أثنى علي عبدي Indeed, Allah the Exalted said: I have divided the prayer between Me and My servant in two halves. So when he says: “All praise is to Allah, Lord of the worlds,” He says: My servant praised Me. And when he says: “The Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy,” He says: My servant praised Me..
And glorification was placed before praise so that the negation would be before the affirmation, meaning negating defect would be before affirming perfection, so that perfection would be returned to a place free from defect. And His saying: Sanctification means purification, and it is a matter added to purification from defects, because purification from defects is exoneration and negation, and purification is an added matter. For this reason, we say in the opening supplication: So sanctification means purification. The person combines purifying Allah the Exalted from every flaw and defect, and purifying Him such that there is no trace at all of any defect that might attach in the mind. The “lam” here is for exclusivity, so it implies sincerity, and it is also for deserving, because Allah the Exalted is worthy of being sanctified. What did Allah the Exalted answer them? He said: Stop, what is after this statement? Is “ma” here a relative pronoun or an indefinite described noun? Is the meaning “I know a thing you do not know?” or is the meaning “I know that which you do not know?” It is possible for both, and it is suitable for both. Good, and the situation will change.