Overall meaning : Allah Almighty mentions to His Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, how He said to the angels that he would make a new creation on earth, to succeed one another, namely Adam and his descendants after him. Seeking to be enlightened about the matter but not to raise an objection, the angels said, ‘Will You place on earth those who will do evil and shed each other’s blood, but not us even though we constantly celebrate Your glory and sanctify You?!’ The Almighty informed them that He knew what they did not know, namely the ultimate reason for creating humans and making them succeed one another, generation after generation on earth and the benefits this would bring about.
Allah taught Adam, peace be upon him, the names of all things, then He presented the things whose names He had taught to the angels and asked them to tell Him their names if they were right in their claim that they knew matters and that they were better than Adam and his descendants. Thereupon they celebrated His glory, admitting that they had no knowledge except what He had taught them, adding that He is the All-Knowing, who has full knowledge of everything and the All-Wise, who puts things in their right places.
Allah Almighty commanded Adam to tell the angels the names of those things, and he did, whereby his superiority over the angels became abundantly clear. Allah Almighty then affirmed that He had already informed them that He knows all the secrets that are unknown to the creation in the heavens and the earth, and that He knows full well all that they reveal and all that they conceal.