His saying: "Will You place therein..."

320 - My father narrated to us, Hisham ibn 'Ubayd Allah narrated to us, 'Attab A'yan informed us from Sufyan al-Thawri, from 'Ata' ibn al-Sa'ib, from Ibn Sabit, regarding the saying of Allah: "Will You place therein one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood?" He said: They mean the forbidden acts.

His saying: "One who causes corruption therein and sheds blood."

[The First Aspect]

321 - My father narrated to us, 'Ali ibn Muhammad al-Tanafisi narrated to us, Abu Mu'awiyah narrated to us, al-A'mash narrated to us from Bukayr ibn al-Akhnas, from Mujahid, from 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr, who said: The Jinn, the children of the Jinn, were on the earth two thousand years before Adam was created. They caused corruption on the earth and shed blood. So Allah sent an army of angels, and they struck them until they drove them to the islands of the seas. Then Allah said to the angels: "Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority." They said: "Will You place therein one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood?" He said: "Indeed, I know that which you do not know."

322 - 'Isam ibn Rawwad narrated to us, Adam narrated to us, Abu Ja'far narrated to us from al-Rabi', from Abu al-'Aliyah, regarding His saying: "Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority" up to His saying: "and I know what you reveal and what you have been concealing." He said: Allah created the angels on Wednesday, created the Jinn on Thursday, and created Adam on Friday. Then a group of the Jinn disbelieved, and the angels used to descend to them on the earth and fight them, and blood was shed between them, and there was corruption on the earth. Therefore, they said: "Will You place therein one who causes corruption therein"—as the Jinn corrupted—"and sheds blood"—as they shed?

323 - Al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn al-Sabbah narrated to us, Sa'id ibn Sulayman narrated to us, Mubarak ibn Fudalah narrated to us, al-Hasan narrated to us, he said: Allah the Exalted said to the angels: "Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority." He said to them: "Indeed, I am doing [it]." They spoke based on their own opinion, so He taught them [some] knowledge, and withheld from them knowledge that He knew and they did not know. So they spoke based on the knowledge that He taught them: "Will You place therein one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood?" He said: "Indeed, I know that which you do not know." Al-Hasan said: The Jinn were on the earth causing corruption and shedding blood, but Allah placed in their hearts that this would occur, so they spoke according to the statement He taught them.

The Second Aspect:

324 - Abu Sa'id al-Ashajj narrated to us, 'Ubayd Allah ibn Musa narrated to us, Isra'il informed us from al-Suddi