وَعَلَّمَ آدَمَ الْأَسْمَاءَ كُلَّهَا ثُمَّ عَرَضَهُمْ عَلَى الْمَلَائِكَةِ فَقَالَ أَنْبِئُونِي بِأَسْمَاءِ هَؤُلَاءِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ ﴿31﴾ قَالُوا سُبْحَانَكَ لَا عِلْمَ لَنَا إِلَّا مَا عَلَّمْتَنَا إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَلِيمُ الْحَكِيمُ ﴿32﴾
﴾31﴿Wa 'allama Aadamal asmaaa'a kullahaa summa 'aradahum 'alal malaaa'ikati faqaala ambi'oonee bias maaa'i haaa'ulaaa'i in kuntum saadiqeen
﴾32﴿Qaaloo subhaanaka laa 'ilma lanaaa illaa maa 'allamtanaaa innaka antal'aleemul hakeem They said, “Glory be to You! (You are pure and free from having any partner in knowledge.) We have no knowledge except what You have taught us. Surely, You alone are the All-Knowing, the All-Wise”
﴾31﴿ And He (Allah) taught Adam (peace be upon him) the names of all things in an instinctive manner, along with their benefits. Then He presented those things before the angels and said, “Tell Me the names of these things (and their benefits), if you are truthful.”
﴾32﴿
[31] The meaning of “names” here refers to names along with their benefits, and by “all,” it means those things which are related to the necessities of human life and required for advancing the responsibility of succession (khilafah). The word (وَعَلَّمَ) (He taught) indicates that Allah teaches the prophets (peace be upon them) through revelation, and here, “all” is used in its common inclusive sense—it does not mean literally every single thing and particle. (صَادِقِينَ) (truthful) here means truthful as opposed to being mistaken, not as opposed to lying.
[32] This is a transmitted (revealed) proof from the angels themselves that they do not have knowledge of everything—therefore, knowledge of the unseen is denied for them. The word “Subhanaka” (Glory be to You) is also an expression of the oneness of Allah (tawhid).