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Human intellect is a great blessing
Why did Allah command the angels to prostrate to Adam (AS)? What made Adam (AS) superior to such a noble creation as the angels? It was his superior intellect: the higher faculties of thinking, perceiving, learning, and memorizing. That is why when the angels remarked that the human would cause bloodshed and corruption on earth, Allah commanded Adam (AS) to replicate to the angels all the names Allah had taught him, thus proving to the angels his superior intellect. We should, therefore, engage our minds for the purpose of gaining knowledge, researching, reflecting on the universe, and making scientific advancements. Allah repeatedly commands us in the Quran to use our cognitive abilities, frequently asking the rhetorical question, 'Then will you not use reason?' (37:138)