A070
Surah: 017 - Ayah: 070
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17:70
According to Qur'anic teaching, God has conferred the children of Adam with honour and excellence over all other creatures (17:70). This means that the honour and value which man has in the view of Divine law is far greater than that of the universe and existent in it, Mawla Ali (a.s.) says: "Do you think that you are a small body; while the great cosmos is contained in you". That is, the entire universe in subtle form is contained within you. Thus it becomes evident that mumins are the Divine treasures and it is a dire necessity to understand this reality deeply and to actualize it.
Bani Adam (Children of Adam)
It should be remembered that in the eyes of God, the children of Adam are those who are granted the characteristics of Hazrat Adam, the vicegerent of God. They are the Prophets, awliya’ and carifs, as mentioned in verse (17:70): "And We have indeed honoured the children of Adam, and We carry them in the land and the sea, and We provide them with subtle nourishments, and We have exalted them with a marked exaltedness over most of those whom We have created."
With respect to spatial and bodily position, the Perfect Man is not the centre and heart and mind of the universe, rather he has this position due to his being the fountainhead of intellect and soul. For the honour and preference which God has given to the children of Adam (over other creatures) is based on the reality of this intellect and soul, in which, after the holy Prophet, the Perfect Man is the first and foremost among others. For, it is in his personality that the recognition can be attained of what and how the superiority of the children of Adam is over other creatures (17:70).
Existents (ka'inat = creatures of God) are created for the sake of the children of Adam, the proof of which is the honour and superiority of the children of Adam over others, mentioned in verse (17:70).
God has given the children of Adam honour and excellence over all His other creatures (17:70), similarly, He has made the intellectual, spiritual and physical movement of man sovereign over the movements of other things, due to which everything is subjugated to him. Thus, God has elevated the movement of the people of faith and made it blessed, to the extent that He, the Beneficent, the Merciful, created an extremely healing quake from the quintessence of the good works and deeds of a believing servant, in which there is extreme purity as well as complete healing (2:214; 33:11).
This universal and practical sign of man’s excellence and eminence explains that verse of the Quraan in which the excellence of the children of Adam over other creatures is mentioned: “We have indeed honoured the children of Adam, and We carry them in the land and the sea, and We provide them with good things, and We have exalted them with marked exaltedness over most of those whom We have created.” (17:70).
In this verse the phrase “children of Adam” alludes to Hazrat Adam’s selection by God and his knowledge, wisdom and vicegerency on the one hand, and on the other, that the true child of Adam will be the one who is close to his attributes in knowledge and wisdom. It is only such persons who will be entitled to be called the children of Adam, and they are the Prophets and the Imams (a.s.).
This verse has been referred 11 times.