It is He Who hath made you (His) agents, inheritors(988) of the earth: He hath raised you in ranks, some above others: that He may try you in the gifts He hath given you: for thy Lord is quick in punishment: yet He is indeed Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.
988 Cf. 2:30 and n., where I have translated "Khalifah" as "Vicegerent", it being Allah's Plan to make Adam (as representing mankind) His vicegerent on earth. In C. 1, I have construed the same word by the word "Agent." Another idea implied in "Khalifah" is that of "successor, heir, or inheritor," i.e., one who has the ultimate ownership after the present possessors, to whom a life tenancy has been given by the owner, have passed away. In 15:23 occurs the striking word, "heirs" (warithun), applied to Allah: "We give life and death, and We are the Heirs (or Inheritors)." The same idea occurs in 3:180, where see n, 485, and 19:40. The translation here attempts to express both the ideas which I understand from the original.