Many people say, “I learned such-and-such in the last year,” or “I learned such-and-such in the last 5 years…” And it’s an undisputed wisdom that we will continue to learn until we die. These experiences, which confirm that we learn new things about life every day, have always been and will remain present in the noble verse: “And He taught Adam all the names…” (The verse continues beyond this excerpt). This verse, in particular, carries philosophical implications of utmost depth.
I’ve often asked myself, “Why names? Actions are more important.” Yet, our Lord taught our master Adam (peace be upon him) all the names, including the names of actions. Ask anyone who tells you they’ve learned a lesson from life, and you’ll find them speaking of nouns, not verbs. They won’t say, “I learned to eat or to drink or to walk or to fear,” but rather, “I learned eating, or drinking, or fear, or caution, or reading, or understanding people, or…” All are nouns; all are new experiences. From this perspective, two points emerge (among many deeply fundamental existential matters):
- That humanity was created to learn. The context of the verse suggests that the successor to those who were on Earth (a very long topic!) is a creature (man) capable of learning and evolving. This is unlike, for example, Neanderthals, who remained static until their existence ended. It’s also unlike animals, whose behaviors, upon observation, we find are fixed and unchanging; they are born with them and live by them without deviation. By comparison, we understand that humans are in a constant state of learning.
- That we learn about events or through events. This literally means constantly learning new names or experiencing new names for actions that are always new to us.
The question arises: Adam (peace be upon him) learned all the names, so how can I say that we are in a constant state of learning? What will we learn if he already knew “all the names”?
The answer is simple: We, as individuals, learn some of what Adam learned, according to our destinies that we pursue. However, we will never encounter new destinies that Adam (peace be upon him) did not know about. From our experience and observation of our surroundings, we find that we are rediscovering some of what Adam knew, due to the decline, regression, and delay in the level of knowledge. How could it be otherwise, when among the signs of the Hour is the lifting of knowledge until ignorance prevails and people behave without restraint?
As for the word “these” (a demonstrative pronoun) in the noble verse, it signifies yet another miracle! It indicates that all actions (or the names of actions) are creations just like us, brought into existence by God’s command “Be!” Thus, love is a creation, and death is a creation (and it will be “slaughtered” after every person knows their final destiny).
These words just came to my mind, and I’m writing them down instantly.
