It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that Allah Almighty had expelled Sayyiduna Adam (peace be upon him) from Paradise before anyone (else of mankind) had entered it. Allah Almighty said: "Indeed, I will place upon the earth a successor." They said: "Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood?" [Surah al-Baqarah: 30] For two thousand years before his creation, the jinn, that is, Banu al-Jann, had been on the earth, and they caused corruption on the earth and shed blood. So when Allah Almighty said: "Indeed, I will place upon the earth a successor," the angels, in view of the deeds of the jinn, that is, Banu al-Jann, said: "Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood?" meaning: Will You create in it a creation that will spread corruption and shed blood? For when those jinn had caused corruption on the earth, Allah sent against them an army of angels, who struck them and drove them away to the islands of the seas. So the angels said: "Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein?" meaning: Will You make in it one who will cause corruption just as those Banu al-Jann did? Then Allah said: "Indeed, I know what you do not know." This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.