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Was Adam (peace be upon him) favored over the angels by knowledge, and does it concern us to know the superiority of righteous humans over angels?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Some scholars have stated that Allah favored Adam and the righteous among his progeny over the angels due to their knowledge, and this issue has been extensively discussed in many books. Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said: "Indeed, Adam and his righteous progeny are superior to the angels because of his knowledge and his creation by Allah's own Hands." He also mentioned that the superiority of the Children of Adam becomes apparent when they enter Paradise and when their conditions are perfected. Ibn Kathir said in his Tafsir: "This is a place where Allah Almighty mentions the honor of Adam over the angels, due to what He اختصاصه [exclusively granted him] of the knowledge of the names of everything." Scholars have differed on the issue of preferring prophets over angels or vice versa, and some have concluded that there is no definitive text on the matter.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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