Divine Succession of Humanity
The concept of humanity’s succession on Earth and its empowerment is a divine principle established by Allah – the Exalted – since the creation of the Earth and all its inhabitants. The ultimate purpose of this succession and empowerment is to serve as an act of worship towards Allah and to assist in this with the utilization of the Earth’s resources and the harnessing of its elements. The assignment of stewardship to humanity by Allah is a blessing and a mark of honor bestowed upon His servants; it also serves as a means of testing to distinguish the sincere and grateful among them.
Quranic Verses on Human Succession
Numerous verses in the Quran discuss Allah’s delegation of authority to humanity. Below are some of these key verses:
- (And Allah has promised those among you who believe and do righteous deeds that He will surely grant them succession [to power] upon the earth, just as He granted it to those before them and that He will surely establish for them their religion which He has preferred for them and that He will surely replace for them, after their fear, security. They will worship Me and not associate anything with Me. And whoever denies the favor of Allah, for those are the wicked.)
- (And [mention] when your Lord said to the angels, “Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successor.”)
- (If He wills, He can do away with you and replace you with another people.)
- (And He it is who has made you successors upon the earth.)
- (And remember when He made you successors after the people of Noah.)
- (And remember when He made you successors after ’Aad and settled you in the land.)
- (He said, “Perhaps your Lord will destroy your enemy and grant you succession upon the earth.”)
- (Then We made you successors in the land after them so that We may observe how you will do.)
- (And We made them successors and drowned those who denied Our signs.)
- (And your Lord will replace you with another people, and you will not harm Him at all.)
- (Allah has promised those who believe among you and do righteous deeds that He will surely grant them succession upon the earth.)
- (He it is who made you successors upon the earth; so whoever disbelieves, upon him is his disbelief.)
- (Is He not best who responds to the desperate one when he calls upon Him and removes evil and makes you successors upon the earth? Is there a deity with Allah? Little do you remember.)
- (And if We willed, We could have made [instead] angels on the earth succeeding each other.)
- (Believe in Allah and His Messenger and spend from that in which He has made you successors. And those who believe among you and spend will have a great reward.)
- (And We wish to confer favor upon those who were oppressed in the land and to make them leaders and to make them the inheritors.)
- (And We caused the people who had been oppressed to inherit the east and the west of the land, which We had blessed. And the good word of your Lord was fulfilled upon the Children of Israel because of what they had endured, and We destroyed what Pharaoh and his people were producing.)
- (He created you from the earth and settled you in it.)
Types of Divine Succession
First: General Succession
General succession refers to Allah’s assignment of humanity as stewards of the Earth to cultivate and develop it according to His wishes. This principle dates back to the beginning of creation with the succession of Adam – peace be upon him – on Earth. Allah – the Exalted – states: (He created you from the earth and settled you in it). This indicates that the essence of this succession is for humanity to inhabit the Earth and utilize its resources efficiently.
Second: Specific Succession
Specific succession is a privilege bestowed by Allah upon certain individuals among His servants. An example of this is the succession of nations, where Allah grants a state its boundaries and independence, along with leaders to manage its affairs. This reflects the intent of the verse: (And We wish to confer favor upon those who were oppressed in the land and to make them leaders and to make them the inheritors). Additionally, it is mentioned in Surah As-Sajdah: (And We made from among them leaders guiding by Our command when they endured and were certain of Our signs).