Tafsir of Surah Al-Mu'minun - Verse 14

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:

وَمِنْ ءَايَـتِهِ أَنْ خَلَقَكُمْ مِّن تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ إِذَآ أَنتُمْ بَشَرٌ تَنتَشِرُونَ

(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:

«إِنَّ اللهَ خَلَقَ آدَمَ مِنْ قَبْضَةٍ قَبَضَهَا مِنْ جَمِيعِ الْأَرْضِ، فَجَاءَ بَنُو آدَمَ عَلَى قَدْرِ الْأَرْضِ، جَاءَ مِنْهُمُ الْأَحْمَرُ وَالْأَبْيَضُ وَالْأَسْوَدُ وَبَيْنَ ذلِكَ، وَالْخَبِيثُ وَالطَّيِّبُ وَبَيْنَ ذلِك»

(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. "

ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَـهُ نُطْفَةً

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

الَّذِى أَحْسَنَ كُلَّ شَىْءٍ خَلَقَهُ وَبَدَأَ خَلْقَ الإِنْسَـنِ مِن طِينٍ - ثُمَّ جَعَلَ نَسْلَهُ مِن سُلاَلَةٍ مِّن مَّآءٍ مَّهِينٍ

(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:

أَلَمْ نَخْلُقكُّم مِّن مَّآءٍ مَّهِينٍ - فَجَعَلْنَـهُ فِى قَرَارٍ مَّكِينٍ

(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,

إِلَى قَدَرٍ مَّعْلُومٍ - فَقَدَرْنَا فَنِعْمَ الْقَـدِرُونَ

(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,

ثُمَّ خَلَقْنَا النُّطْفَةَ عَلَقَةً

(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."

فَخَلَقْنَا الْعَلَقَةَ مُضْغَةً

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

فَخَلَقْنَا الْمُضْغَةَ عِظَـماً

(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.'

فَكَسَوْنَا الْعِظَـمَ لَحْماً

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

ثُمَّ أَنشَأْنَـهُ خَلْقاً ءَاخَرَ

(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.

فَتَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَـلِقِينَ

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

ثُمَّ أَنشَأْنَـهُ خَلْقاً ءَاخَرَ

(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 ﷺ, the Truthful One, told us:

«إِنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ لَيُجْمَعُ خَلْقُهُ فِي بَطْنِ أُمِّهِ أَرْبَعِينَ يَوْمًا نُطْفَةً، ثُمَّ يَكُونُ عَلَقَةً مِثْلَ ذلِكَ، ثُمَّ يَكُونُ مُضْغَةً مِثْلَ ذلِكَ، ثُمَّ يُرْسَلُ إِلَيْهِ الْمَلَكُ فَيَنْفُخُ فِيهِ الرُّوحَ وَيُؤْمَرُ بِأَرْبَعِ كَلِمَاتٍ: رِزْقِهِ، وَأَجَلِهِ، وَعَمَلِهِ، وَهَلْ هُوَ شَقِيٌّ أَوْ سَعِيدٌ، فَوَ الَّذِي لَا إِلهَ غَيْرُهُ إِنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ لَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ حَتَّى مَا يَكُونُ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهَا إِلَّا ذِرَاعٌ، فَيَسْبِقُ عَلَيْهِ الْكِتَابُ فَيُخْتَمُ لَهُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ فَيَدْخُلُهَا، وَإِنَّ الرَّجُلَ لَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ حَتَّى مَا يَكُونُ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهَا إِلَّا ذِرَاعٌ، فَيَسْبِقُ عَلَيْهِ الْكِتَابُ فَيُخْتَمُ لَهُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ فَيَدْخُلُهَا»

(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.

فَتَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَـلِقِينَ

(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,

فَتَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَـلِقِينَ

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

ثُمَّ إِنَّكُمْ بَعْدَ ذلِكَ لَمَيِّتُونَ

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

ثُمَّ إِنَّكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَـمَةِ تُبْعَثُونَ

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

ثُمَّ اللَّهُ يُنشِىءُ النَّشْأَةَ الاٌّخِرَةَ

(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.

(an extract of clay) which changes into the seed ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَاهُ نُطْفَةً (then We made him a sperm-drop). Now it is well known that the production of food from the earth, its absorption in the human body of that special element which changes into the seed is a long drawn out process. Similarly the third stage of the transformation from the sperm-drop نُّطْفَةَ to clot مُضْغَةَ takes a long time to materialize and has been described by the Qur'an in the words ثُمَّ خَلَقْنَا النُّطْفَةَ عَلَقَةً (then We made the sperm-drop into a clot - 23:14 ). The next three stages, i.e. from عَلَقَةً (clot) to مُضْغَةَ (foetus-lump), from to bones, and thirdly clothing flesh on bones occurring in short periods is not too remote a possibility, and in describing these three changes the particle فَ has been used which, as has been explained earlier, is indicative of uninterrupted succession. The final change in the condition of the unborn child comes when life and soul are breathed into it. And since, according to human reckoning, putting life and soul into a lifeless mass must necessarily take a long time, therefore, here again the word ثُم has been used to describe this final stage of transformation.

The final stage in human creation, i.e. putting life and soul into it

The Qur'an describes this change with the words ثُمَّ أَنشَأْنَاهُ خَلْقًا آخَرَ‌ (We developed it into another creature - 23:14). This distinction is due to the fact that whereas the first six stages in the creation of man are related to the world of elements and substances, the final stage relates to the transfer of soul from the world of spirits into his body and is, therefore, described as - خَلْقًا آخَرَ‌ i.e. a special or distinct creation.

Biological spirit and Real Spirit

"We developed it into another creature" in this verse is interpreted by Ibn ` Abbas, Mujahid, Sha'bi, ` Ikrimah, Dahhak and Abul-` Aliyah ؓ to mean blowing spirit into the body. Tafsir Mazhari mentions that most probably it refers to the biological spirit. According to its explanation spirits are of two kinds. Biological spirit is a subtle substance embedded in every part of the body of a human being or an animal. This is the spirit recognized by medical scientists and the philosophers. This biological spirit is created after the organs are created. That is why its creation is mentioned in this verse with the word ثُمَّ (thereafter). The other kind of spirit is the 'Real spirit'. It belongs to the spiritual universe. This real spirit was created long before the creation of human beings, and it is these spirits which were assembled by Allah when He asked them, "Am I not your Lord?" and they answered, "Why not?" This Real Spirit having been created long before, is connected by Allah Ta’ ala with biological spirit in a manner not known to anyone. Life of man depends on this connection and when biological spirit of a person is disconnected from Real Spirit, he dies. Therefore, it is also possible that it is this connection which is referred to in this verse by the words another creation.

فَتَبَارَ‌كَ اللَّـهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ (So, glorious is Allah, the best of the creators-23:14). The word خَلق and تَخلِیق mean "to create something from nothing", which is a very special and exclusive attribute of Allah. Thus, Allah alone is the creator and none else. Neither an angel nor man can create anything. However sometime these two words are used in the sense of manufacturing which is no more than the reshaping and assembly by man of substances created by Allah. The man who does this is also called the creator of an article. The Qur'an says تَخْلُقُونَ إِفْكًا (you invent a lie 29:17), and again it says about Sayyidna ` Isa أَنِّي أَخْلُقُ لَكُم مِّنَ الطِّينِ كَهَيْئَةِ الطَّيْرِ‌ (I create for you from clay something in the shape of a bird - 3:49). In all these places the word خَلق (creating) has been used in the metaphorical sense to mean "manufacture".

Here the word خَالِقِینَ (creators) has been used in the plural and the meaning is that though ordinary human beings who manufacture things may also be called خَالِق or creators in the metaphorical sense, yet Allah is the best among all those creators.

The vivid Quranic description of the various developmental stages of the formation and birth of human beings, is surprisingly identical with modern scientific findings. This provides a clear proof of the fact that the Quran is the Book of God. Had it not been so, such similarity between the findings of modern research and the statements of the Quran, made fourteen hundred years ago, would not have been possible. Cf. 39:6 and the corresponding note.