Surah Al-Muminoon: Verse 12 - ولقد خلقنا الإنسان من سلالة... - English

Commentary

In the earlier verses it was explained that man can achieve falah (success) in this world and in the Hereafter by spending his time in assiduously worshipping Allah and, in compliance with His commands, by keeping his body and soul pure at all times and by discharging the claims and duties which he owes to fellow human beings. The present verse gives an account of the universal and supreme power of Allah the Almighty and a manifestation of His power in the process leading to the creation of the human race. If a person whom Allah has given wisdom and intelligence ponders seriously the meanings of these verses, he must necessarily choose the path which would lead him to falah in this world and in the Hereafter.

وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ مِن سُلَالَةٍ مِّن طِينٍ

And We have created man from an extract of clay. - 23:12

The word سُلَالَةٍ sulalah means "extract" and طِينٍ means "wet earth" or clay and the verse means that man was created from some special elements extracted from earth. Creation of mankind began with Sayyidna 'Adam (علیہ السلام) who was himself created from this essence of earth. Therefore the first creation has been related to earth after which the seed of one man becomes the means of another man's creation.

Seven stages of the creation of man

In the above verse seven stages in the creation of man have been described. These are:

(1) سُلَالَةٍ مِّن طِينٍ (an extract of clay).

(2) نُطْفَةً (sperm-drop),

(3) عَلَقَةَ (clot),

(4) مُضْغَةَ (foetus-lump),

(5) عِظَامَ (bones),

(6) clothing bones with flesh, and

(7) completion of the process of creation by blowing the spirit into the child.

A very interesting story about Sayyidna ` Abbas ؓ

Qurtubi in his commentary has related a very interesting story in which Sayyidna ` Abbas ؓ is said to have determined the exact date of the Night of Majesty (لَیلَۃُ القَدر) and based his reasoning on this verse: The story goes likes this. One day Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ ' while sitting in the company of some eminent companions of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، asked them on what date of the month of Ramadan the Night of Majesty (Lailatulqadr) would fall. None of them was able to mention a specific date so they all said that only Allah knew the answer. Sayyidna Umar ؓ then turned to Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ who was the youngest among them and asked him if he had an answer to the question. Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ then said, "0 Amir ul-Mominin! Allah created seven skies and seven earths. He created man in seven stages and provided him sustenance from seven sources. Therefore in my opinion the Night of Majesty (لَیلَۃُ القَدر) will surely fall on the twenty-seventh night of the month of Ramadan." When Sayyidna Umar ؓ heard this reasoning, he said to the companions, "See, this lad has given an answer which none of you could give". This story is reproduced at length in the Musnad of Ibn Abi Shaibah. When Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ mentioned the seven stages of man's creation, he was obviously alluding to this verse. As for the seven sources of human sustenance, the reference is to the verse in Surah ` Abas عبس :

وَفَاكِهَةً وَأَبًّا وَحَدَائِقَ غُلْبًا وَزَيْتُونًا وَنَخْلًا وَعِنَبًا وَقَضْبًا فَأَنبَتْنَا فِيهَا حَبًّا

And therein made the grains to grow and vines, and reeds, and olives, and palms, and dense-tree gardens, and fruits, and pastures. 80:27 - 31

This verse mentions eight items of which the first seven are food for human beings and the eighth provides fodder for animals.

The supreme beauty and eloquence of the Qur'anic language is evident from the fact that the seven stages of the creation of man have not all been described in the same manner. In describing the metamorphosis of the human foetus from one stage to the next, the word ثُمّ (afterwards) has been used at some place which is a suggestion of some delay in the process, while at other places the particle فَ has been used as a prefix indicating uninterrupted succession in the process of change. Some of the changes in the human foetus in mother's womb take a long time to take place whereas other changes occur in relatively shorter periods. Thus the word ثُمّ has been used in the context of the first two changes. First there is سُلَالَةٍ مِّن طِينٍ

The Sign of Allah in the progressive creation of Man from Clay then from Nutfah and thereafter

Allah tells us how He initially created man from an extract of Tin. This was Adam, peace be upon him, whom Allah created from sounding clay of altered black smooth mud. Ibn Jarir said, "Adam was called Tin because he was created from it." Qatadah said, "Adam was created from Tin." This is the more apparent meaning and is closer to the context, for Adam, upon him be peace, was created from a sticky Tin, which is a sounding clay of altered black smooth mud, and that is created from dust, as Allah says:

(And among His signs is this that He created you (Adam) from dust, and then -- behold you are human beings scattered!) 30:20 Imam Ahmad recorded from Abu Musa that the Prophet said:

(Allah created Adam from a handful which He picked up from throughout the earth, so the sons of Adam came forth accordingly, red and white and black and in between, evil and good and in between.) Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi recorded something similar. At-Tirmidhi said, "It is Sahih Hasan. "

(Thereafter We made him a Nutfah.) Here the pronoun refers back to humankind, as in another Ayah:

(and He began the creation of man from clay. Then He made his offspring from semen of despised water.) 32:7,8 meaning, weak, as He says:

(Did We not create you from a despised water Then We placed it in a place of safety.) 77:20-21 meaning the womb, which is prepared and readily equipped for that,

(For a known period. So We did measure; and We are the Best to measure) 77:22-23 meaning, for a known period of time, until it is established and moves from one stage to the next. Allah says here,

(Then We made the Nutfah into a clot,) meaning, `then We made the Nutfah, which is the water gushing forth that comes from the loins of man, i.e., his back, and the ribs of woman, i.e., the bones of her chest, between the clavicle and the breast. Then it becomes a red clot, like an elongated clot.' `Ikrimah said, "This is blood."

(then We made the clot into a little lump of flesh,) which is like a piece of flesh with no shape or features.

(then We made out of that little lump of flesh bones,) meaning, `We gave it shape, with a head, two arms and two legs, with its bones, nerves and veins.'

(then We clothed the bones with flesh,) meaning, `We gave it something to cover it and strengthen it.'

(and then We brought it forth as another creation.) means, `then We breathed the soul into it, and it moved and became a new creature, one that could hear, see, understand and move.

(So Blessed is Allah, the Best of creators.)

(and then We brought it forth as another creation. ) Al-`Awfi reported that Ibn `Abbas said, "We change it from one stage to another until it emerges as an infant, then it grows up through the stages of being a child, adolescent, youth, mature man, old man and senile man." Imam Ahmad recorded in his Musnad that `Abdullah -- Ibn Mas`ud -- said, "The Messenger of Allah , the Truthful One, told us:

(The creation of anyone of you is gathered for forty days in his mother's stomach as a Nutfah, then he becomes a clot for a similar period of time, then he becomes a little lump of flesh for a similar length of time. Then the angel is sent to him and he breathes the soul into it, and four things are decreed: his provision, his life-span, his deeds, and whether he will be wretched or blessed. By the One besides Whom there is no other god, one of you may do the deeds of the people of Paradise until there is no more than a forearm's length between him and it, then the decree will overtake him and he will do the deeds of the people of Hell and thus enter Hell. And a man may do the deeds of the people of Hell until there is no more than a forearm's length between him and it, then the decree will overtake him and he will do finally the deeds of the people of Paradise and thus enter Paradise.) This was recorded by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.

(So Blessed is Allah, the Best of creators.) means, when Allah mentions His ability and subtlety in creating this Nutfah and taking it from stage to stage until it takes the shape of a perfectly formed human being, He says,

(So Blessed is Allah, the Best of creators.)

(After that, surely you will die.) means, after first being created from nothing, you will eventually die.

(Then (again), surely you will be resurrected on the Day of Resurrection.) means, you will be created anew.

(and then Allah will bring forth the creation of the Hereafter) 29:20 means, the Day of Return, when the souls will be restored to their bodies and all of creation will be brought to account. Everyone will be rewarded or punished according to his deeds -- if they are good then he will be rewarded, and if they are bad then he will be punished.