Transliteration:( Qaaloo subhaanaka laa 'ilma lanaaa illaa maa 'allamtanaaa innaka antal'aleemul hakeem )
"They said, 'Exalted are You! We have no knowledge except what You have taught us [63]. Indeed, You alone are the All-Knowing, the Wise.' [64]"
This verse reflects the humility and submission of the angels. Their response acknowledges that all their knowledge comes solely from Allah—they do not claim anything beyond what He has taught them.
This declaration, however, excludes Iblees. He remained silent, not out of humility, but due to envy and ignorance. He did not know the names and, unlike the angels, he lacked both knowledge and submission.
Despite this, Iblees was also included in the command to prostrate before Hazrat Adam. This proves that Hazrat Adam عليه السلام was superior in knowledge, even above Iblees.
Therefore, any claim that Iblees had more knowledge than the Holy Prophet ﷺ is a clear sign of disbelief, for even Iblees was below Adam in knowledge, and the Prophet ﷺ is the greatest of all creation.
The angels’ words—“You alone are the All-Knowing, the Wise”—demonstrate that their earlier question was not an objection or challenge to Allah’s will.
Rather, it was a humble inquiry, made with the intention of seeking divine wisdom, not to question it.
This shows that questioning with sincerity and reverence is acceptable, as long as it stems from a desire to understand, not from arrogance or rebellion.
The tafsir of Surah Baqarah verse 32 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Baqarah ayat 31 which provides the complete commentary from verse 31 through 33.
(2:32) They said. “Glory to You! We have no knowledge except what You taught us.[43] You, only You, are All-Knowing, All-Wise.”
43. It seems that the knowledge of each angel and each genre of angel is confined to its own sphere of competence. The angels appointed to administer, let us say, things relating to air have full knowledge about this subject but have no knowledge, say, about water, and so on and so forth. Man’s range of knowledge, however, is comprehensive. Even if man’s information in a particular area may be narrower than that of the angel directly concerned with it, the total range of his knowledge has a comprehensiveness which has not been granted to the angels.
[19]- Whose eternal and absolute knowledge encompasses the truth and essence of all things, seen or unseen, present or absent, neither preceded by ignorance nor followed by forgetfulness. [20]- Whose wisdom includes precise and perfect knowledge of all realities and outcomes, according to which He decrees and causes various circumstances and occurrences.
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