When God created mankind, He said: "I am going to give the charge of the earth to man."
The words, "I am putting a successor on earth," mean that God was going to make man Incharge of the earth. At this, the angels responded: "Will You place someone there who will cause corruption on it and shed blood." This was because the angels knew that no one had been given freedom in the universe.
The material world, plant and animal worlds, and the angels were all completely subject to the commands of God. That is, no one had freedom of choice. No one has the choice to go against God or the path laid down by God. Neither the material world, the plant and animal worlds nor the angels have this freedom. No being has been given freedom of choice. When God said that He would bestow freedom of choice on man, the angels thought that he would cause corruption. God then explained that He had knowledge of both the unseen and the seen worlds. God has full knowledge of the past, present and the future.
He disagreed with the angels because He knew that there would be some men and women who would believe in God even though He is in the unseen, remember God although He is invisible and surrender to God without having seen Him. When God said this to the angels, He expressed His hopes about mankind. When people spread out in the world, civilization flourished, knowledge grew, and various developments took place. Among these there were some individuals who discovered God while He was still in the unseen, had faith in the invisible God, surrendered to God without having seen Him, and followed God's injunctions. These are the individuals who fulfilled the hopes that God had expressed to the angels.
In the Hereafter, God will present these individuals before the angels. He will say to them: "You had thought mankind would cause corruption and bloodshed, but among these very people there are individuals on whom I have pride. Today, I will enter them in Paradise."
This world in which we live is an imperfect and temporary Paradise. There is great beauty and varied stuff of enjoyment in this world. This world is similar to Paradise. But it is temporary, imperfect and less than ideal. This world is a temporary guesthouse of God. This guesthouse is hosting people for the purpose of test. They are being tested to know who misuses his freedom, who surrendered before the invisible God and who discovered God in the unseen. Man has been settled on earth to see whether he fulfils the requirement of this test. Those who stand on the test will be selected by God and given a permanent place in His guesthouse of the Hereafter. This guesthouse will be eternal, ideal, perfect, and a place where man will have fulfilment of all his desires.