Indeed We have honoured the children of Adam, and carried them over land and sea, provided them with good things for their sustenance, and exalted them over many of Our creatures.
Indeed We have honoured the Descendants of Adam and transported them over land and sea, and gave them good things as sustenance, and made them better than most of Our creation.
We have honoured the Children of Adam and carried them on land and sea, and provided them with good things, and preferred them greatly over many of those We created.
NOW, INDEED, We have conferred dignity on the children of Adam, and borne them over land and sea, and provided for them sustenance out of the good things of life, and favoured them far above most of Our creation:
And assuredly We have honoured the Children of Adam: and We have borne them on the land and the sea, and We have provided them with clean things, and We have preferred them over many of them whom We have created with a preferment.
And indeed We have honoured the Children of Adam, and We have carried them on land and sea, and have provided them with At-Taiyibat (lawful good things), and have preferred them above many of those whom We have created with a marked preference.
We have honored the Children of Adam, and carried them on land and sea, and provided them with good things, and greatly favored them over many of those We created.
Indeed, We honoured the progeny of Adam, and bore them across land and sea and provided them with good things for their sustenance, and exalted them above many of Our creatures.
And indeed We have honored the Children of Adam, and We have carried them on land and sea, and have provided them with At-Tayyibat, and have preferred them above many of those whom We have created with a marked preferment.
Verily we have honoured the Children of Adam. We carry them on the land and the sea, and have made provision of good things for them, and have preferred them above many of those whom We created with a marked preferment.
Certainly We have honoured the Children of Adam, and carried them over land and sea, and provided them with all the good things, and preferred them with a complete preference over many of those We have created.
We have honored the children of Adam and carried them on both land and sea. We have provided them with good things and greatly preferred them above much of Our creation.
And We have certainly honored the children of Adam and carried them on the land and sea and provided for them of the good things and preferred them over much of what We have created, with [definite] preference.
We have honored the children of Adam, carried them on the land and the sea, given them pure sustenance and exalted them above most of My creatures.
And surely We have honored the children of Adam, and We carry them in the land and the sea, and We have given them of the good things, and We have made them to excel by an appropriate excellence over most of those whom We have created.
Walaqad karramn<u>a</u> banee <u>a</u>dama wa<u>h</u>amaln<u>a</u>hum fee albarri wa<b>a</b>lba<u>h</u>ri warazaqn<u>a</u>hum mina a<b>l</b><u>tt</u>ayyib<u>a</u>ti wafa<u>dd</u>aln<u>a</u>hum AAal<u>a</u> katheerin mimman khalaqn<u>a</u> taf<u>d</u>eel<u>a</u><b>n</b>
We have honoured the children of Adam, and have borne them on the land and the sea, given them for sustenance things which are good and pure; and exalted them above many of Our creatures.
We have honoured the sons of Adam; provided them with transport on land and sea; given them for sustenance things good and pure; and conferred on them special favours, above a great part of our creation.
وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ وَحَمَلْنَٰهُمْ فِى ٱلْبَرِّ وَٱلْبَحْرِ وَرَزَقْنَٰهُم مِّنَ ٱلطَّيِّبَٰتِ وَفَضَّلْنَٰهُمْ عَلَىٰ كَثِيرٍ مِّمَّنْ خَلَقْنَا تَفْضِيلًا
And I have honoured the children of Adam through intellect, making the angels prostrate to their father, and I subjugated for them the animals and vehicles that carry them on land, and the ships that carry them by sea. And I provided them with good food, drink, spouses and other things, and I granted them much virtue over much of My creation. They must be grateful therefore for Allah’s favours on them.
And I have honoured the children of Adam through intellect, making the angels prostrate to their father, and I subjugated for them the animals and vehicles that carry them on land, and the ships that carry them by sea. And I provided them with good food, drink, spouses and other things, and I granted them much virtue over much of My creation. They must be grateful therefore for Allah’s favours on them.
<p>Commentary</p><p>Why are the children of 'Adam (علیہ السلام) superior?</p><p>The last of the verses cited above mentions the superiority of the children of 'Adam over most of the Divine creation. Here, we have to consider two things: (1) What are the attributes and reasons of this superiority? (2) What is the sense of the statement in the verse: 'made them much superior to many of those We created'?</p><p>(1) The first question can be answered in detail by saying that Allah Ta` ala has blessed the children of 'Adam with such multi-dimensional attributes as are not found in many of those He has created. The beauty of form and features, the balance of body, the balance of temperament and the balance of height and built are good examples. These attributes bestowed on human beings are not found in other living forms in that balanced measure. In addition to that, they have been endowed with distinct reason and intelligence through which they get things done up and down in the universe of their experience. Allah Ta’ ala has given them the built-in capability to compound and manufacture, from out of what has been Divinely created, materials and things which serve them in living, moving, eating and wearing in all sorts of ways.</p><p>No less is their gift of communication, speech, comprehension, under-standing and explanation. This remains unmatched by other living forms. Using signs and symbols to communicate what lies in one's heart and telling others what one thinks and feels through letters and writings are all manifestations of the signal human distinction. Some scholars have said that eating with the fingers of the hand is also a particular human attribute. Other than man, all animals eat with their mouth. The practice of compounding edibles with different things in order to make these delicious and beneficial is the way of human beings alone. Animals eat things that are single and simple. Some would eat raw meat, others would go by grass or some fruit. However, they all eat simples. It is man alone who prepares food through compounding all sorts of solids, liquids, spices and herbs (which has, in our day, assumed the status of the highly publicized art of cuisine). Then, there is the most pronounced superiority of reason and intelligence through which human beings are supposed to recognize their Creator and Master, find out what He likes and dislikes and do what He likes and avoid what He dislikes. Thus, in terms of reason and intelligence, the created have three kinds. Common animals have desires but no reason and intelligence (as we understand it). The angels have reason and intelligence, but do not have desires. Human beings have both. They have reason and intelligence as well as desires. This is the reason why, when he suppresses his desires through reason and intelligence and succeeds in saving himself from indulging in things disliked by Allah Ta’ ala, he reaches a station which is even higher than that of many angels.</p><p>(2) We can now turn to the sense of the statement that the children of 'Adam were made much superior than many of those Allah created. As for the superiority of the children of 'Adam over all created forms in the world, higher and lower, and all animals, it cannot be disputed by any-one. Similarly, the Jinn are like human beings in terms of reason and intelligence. That human beings are superior to them as well is accepted by all.	What remains now is the case of angels. Who is superior, man or angel? What can be authentically said about it is that common righteous believers among human beings, such as the men of Allah, are superior to angels in general. But, special angels, such as Jibra'il and Mika'il and others, are superior to the common righteous believers while special believers, such as the blessed prophets (علیہم السلام) ، are superior even to special angels. As far as disbelievers and sinners among human beings are concerned, they just cannot be compared with angels. In fact, they are not even superior to animals in terms of the real purpose of life, that of seeking success through righteousness. About them, the Holy Qur'an has already given its verdict: أُولَـٰئِكَ كَالْأَنْعَامِ بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ (They are like cattle. Rather,</p><p>they are much more misled - 7:179) (Tafsir Mazhari). Allah knows best.</p>
CommentaryWhy are the children of 'Adam (علیہ السلام) superior?The last of the verses cited above mentions the superiority of the children of 'Adam over most of the Divine creation. Here, we have to consider two things: (1) What are the attributes and reasons of this superiority? (2) What is the sense of the statement in the verse: 'made them much superior to many of those We created'?(1) The first question can be answered in detail by saying that Allah Ta` ala has blessed the children of 'Adam with such multi-dimensional attributes as are not found in many of those He has created. The beauty of form and features, the balance of body, the balance of temperament and the balance of height and built are good examples. These attributes bestowed on human beings are not found in other living forms in that balanced measure. In addition to that, they have been endowed with distinct reason and intelligence through which they get things done up and down in the universe of their experience. Allah Ta’ ala has given them the built-in capability to compound and manufacture, from out of what has been Divinely created, materials and things which serve them in living, moving, eating and wearing in all sorts of ways.No less is their gift of communication, speech, comprehension, under-standing and explanation. This remains unmatched by other living forms. Using signs and symbols to communicate what lies in one's heart and telling others what one thinks and feels through letters and writings are all manifestations of the signal human distinction. Some scholars have said that eating with the fingers of the hand is also a particular human attribute. Other than man, all animals eat with their mouth. The practice of compounding edibles with different things in order to make these delicious and beneficial is the way of human beings alone. Animals eat things that are single and simple. Some would eat raw meat, others would go by grass or some fruit. However, they all eat simples. It is man alone who prepares food through compounding all sorts of solids, liquids, spices and herbs (which has, in our day, assumed the status of the highly publicized art of cuisine). Then, there is the most pronounced superiority of reason and intelligence through which human beings are supposed to recognize their Creator and Master, find out what He likes and dislikes and do what He likes and avoid what He dislikes. Thus, in terms of reason and intelligence, the created have three kinds. Common animals have desires but no reason and intelligence (as we understand it). The angels have reason and intelligence, but do not have desires. Human beings have both. They have reason and intelligence as well as desires. This is the reason why, when he suppresses his desires through reason and intelligence and succeeds in saving himself from indulging in things disliked by Allah Ta’ ala, he reaches a station which is even higher than that of many angels.(2) We can now turn to the sense of the statement that the children of 'Adam were made much superior than many of those Allah created. As for the superiority of the children of 'Adam over all created forms in the world, higher and lower, and all animals, it cannot be disputed by any-one. Similarly, the Jinn are like human beings in terms of reason and intelligence. That human beings are superior to them as well is accepted by all.	What remains now is the case of angels. Who is superior, man or angel? What can be authentically said about it is that common righteous believers among human beings, such as the men of Allah, are superior to angels in general. But, special angels, such as Jibra'il and Mika'il and others, are superior to the common righteous believers while special believers, such as the blessed prophets (علیہم السلام) ، are superior even to special angels. As far as disbelievers and sinners among human beings are concerned, they just cannot be compared with angels. In fact, they are not even superior to animals in terms of the real purpose of life, that of seeking success through righteousness. About them, the Holy Qur'an has already given its verdict: أُولَـٰئِكَ كَالْأَنْعَامِ بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ (They are like cattle. Rather,they are much more misled - 7:179) (Tafsir Mazhari). Allah knows best.
<h2 class="title">The Honor and noble Nature of Man</h2><p>Allah tells us how He has honored the sons of Adam and made them noble by creating them in the best and most perfect of forms, as He says:</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الإِنسَـنَ فِى أَحْسَنِ تَقْوِيمٍ </div><p>(Verily, We created man in the best stature (mould).) (95:4) He walks upright on his two feet and eats with his hand, whilet other living creatures walk on four feet and eat with their mouths, and He has given him hearing, sight and a heart with which to understand all of that, to benefit from it, and distinguish between things to know which are good for him and which are harmful, in both worldly and religious terms.</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَحَمَلْنَـهُمْ فِى الْبَرِّ</div><p>(and We have carried them on land) means, on animals such as cattle, horses and mules, and also on the sea in ships and boats, great and small.</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَرَزَقْنَاهُمْ مِّنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ</div><p>(and have provided them with At-Tayyibat,) meaning agricultural produce, fruits, meat, and milk with all kinds of delicious and desirable flavors and colors and beautiful appearance, and fine clothes of all kinds of shapes colors and sizes, which they make for themselves or are brought to them by others from other regions and areas.</p><div class="text_uthmani arabic">وَفَضَّلْنَـهُمْ عَلَى كَثِيرٍ مِّمَّنْ خَلَقْنَا تَفْضِيلاً</div><p>(and have preferred them above many of those whom We have created with a marked preferment. ) means, over all living beings and other kinds of creation. This Ayah indicates that human are also preferred over the angels.</p>
The Honor and noble Nature of ManAllah tells us how He has honored the sons of Adam and made them noble by creating them in the best and most perfect of forms, as He says:لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الإِنسَـنَ فِى أَحْسَنِ تَقْوِيمٍ (Verily, We created man in the best stature (mould).) (95:4) He walks upright on his two feet and eats with his hand, whilet other living creatures walk on four feet and eat with their mouths, and He has given him hearing, sight and a heart with which to understand all of that, to benefit from it, and distinguish between things to know which are good for him and which are harmful, in both worldly and religious terms.وَحَمَلْنَـهُمْ فِى الْبَرِّ(and We have carried them on land) means, on animals such as cattle, horses and mules, and also on the sea in ships and boats, great and small.وَرَزَقْنَاهُمْ مِّنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ(and have provided them with At-Tayyibat,) meaning agricultural produce, fruits, meat, and milk with all kinds of delicious and desirable flavors and colors and beautiful appearance, and fine clothes of all kinds of shapes colors and sizes, which they make for themselves or are brought to them by others from other regions and areas.وَفَضَّلْنَـهُمْ عَلَى كَثِيرٍ مِّمَّنْ خَلَقْنَا تَفْضِيلاً(and have preferred them above many of those whom We have created with a marked preferment. ) means, over all living beings and other kinds of creation. This Ayah indicates that human are also preferred over the angels.