23. [al-Muminun, Mecca 74]

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ مِن سُلَالَةٍ مِّن طِينٍ ﴿١٢﴾

23: 12. Man We did create from a quintessence (of clay);

C2872. In this beautiful passage, Allah's creative work, as far as man is concerned, is recapitulated, in order to show man's real position in this life, and the certainty of the future: to which he was referred for his reward in verses 10-11 above.

For the various stages of creation, see n. 120 to 2:117.

Here we are not concerned with the earliest stage, the creation of primeval matter out of nothing. It is also a process of creation when inorganic matter becomes living matter. Thus inorganic constituents of the earth are absorbed into living matter by way of food and living matter reproduces itself by means of sperm. This is deposited in the ovum and fertilises it and rests for a time in security in the mother's womb.

The first change in the fertilised ovum is the conversion into a sort of clot of thickly congealed blood; the zygote cells grow by segmentation; then the mass gradually assumes shape in its growth as a foetus. From the lump develop bones and flesh and organs and a nervous system.

So far man's growth is like that of an animal, but a further process takes place which makes the infant animal into the infant man. This is the breathing from Allah's spirit into him (15:29). It may be a continuous process parallel to that of physical growth.

The child is born; it grows; it decays and dies; but after death another chapter opens for the individual, and it is to remind us of this most momentous chapter that the previous stages are recapitulated.

ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَاهُ نُطْفَةً فِي قَرَارٍ مَّكِينٍ ﴿١٣﴾

23: 13. Then We placed him as (a drop of) sperm in a place of rest, firmly fixed;

C2873. The growth in the foetal stage is silent and unseen. The foetus is protected in the mother's womb like a king in a castle; it is firmly fixed, and gets the protection of the mother's body, on which it depends for its own growth until birth.

ثُمَّ خَلَقْنَا النُّطْفَةَ عَلَقَةً...

23: 14. Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood;

...فَخَلَقْنَا الْعَلَقَةَ مُضْغَةً...

then of that clot We made a (foetus) lump;

...فَخَلَقْنَا الْمُضْغَةَ عِظَامًا...

then We made out of that lump bones

...فَكَسَوْنَا الْعِظَامَ لَحْمًا...

and clothed the bones with flesh;

...ثُمَّ أَنشَأْنَاهُ خَلْقًا آخَرَ...

then We developed out of it another creature:

C2874. From a mere animal, we now consider man as man.

Is it not a Sign of wonder in itself that from dry dust (turab, 22:5) or inorganic matter should be made protoplasm (moist clay or organic matter); from it should grow a new animal life; and out of it should grow human life, with all its capacities and responsibilities?

Man carries within himself Signs of Allah's wisdom and power, and he can see them every day in the universe around him.

...فَتَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ ﴿١٤﴾

so blessed be Allah, the Best to create!

Asad’s Version:

23:12

NOW, INDEED, We create man out of the essence of clay,"

(23: 13) and then We cause him to remain as a drop of sperm in [the womb's) firm keeping,

(23: 14) and then We create out of the drop of sperm a germ-cell, and then We create out of the germ-cell an embryonic lump, and then We create within the embryonic lump bones, and then We clothe the bones with flesh -and then We bring [all) this into being as a new creation: 5 hallowed, therefore, is God, the best of artisans! 6

[[Asad’s note –

4 The frequent Qur'anic references to maris being "created out of clay" or "out of dust" or (as in this instance) "out of the essence (sulalah) of clay" point to the fact that his body is composed of various organic and inorganic substances existing on or in the earth, as well as to the continuous transmutation of those substances, through the intake of earth-grown food, into reproductive cells

(Razi) - thus stressing man's humble origin, and hence the debt of gratitude which he owes to God for having endowed him with a conscious soul. The past tense inverses 12-14 (lit., "We have created", "We have caused him to remain", etc.) emphasizes the fact that all this has been ordained by God and has been happening again and again ever since man was brought into being by Him; in the above context, this recurrence is brought out best by the use of the present tense.

5 Lit., "as another creature", i.e., existing independently of the mother's body.

6 Lit., "the best of creators". As Tabari points out, the Arabs apply the designation "creator" to every artisan (sani 1 ) - a usage also current in European languages with reference to the "creation"

of works of art and imagination. Since God is the only Creator in the real, primary sense of this word, the phrase ahsan al-khaliqin must be understood in this secondary sense of the term khaliq (cf Taj al-'Arus, art. khalaqa). ]]

وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ مِن سُلَالَةٍ مِّن طِينٍ ﴿١٢﴾

[Yusuf Ali’s translation – 23:12

12. Man We did create from a quintessence (of clay);

C2872. In this beautiful passage, Allah's creative work, as far as man is concerned, is recapitulated, in order to show man's real position in this life, and the certainty of the future: to which he was referred for his reward in verses 10-11 above.

For the various stages of creation, see n. 120 to 2:117.

Here we are not concerned with the earliest stage, the creation of primeval matter out of nothing. It is also a process of creation when inorganic matter becomes living matter. Thus inorganic constituents of the earth are absorbed into living matter by way of food and living matter reproduces itself by means of sperm. This is deposited in the ovum and fertilises it and rests for a time in security in the mother's womb.

The first change in the fertilised ovum is the conversion into a sort of clot of thickly congealed blood; the zygote cells grow by segmentation; then the mass gradually assumes shape in its growth as a foetus. From the lump develop bones and flesh and organs and a nervous system.

So far man's growth is like that of an animal, but a further process takes place which makes the infant animal into the infant man. This is the breathing from Allah's spirit into him (15:29). It may be a continuous process parallel to that of physical growth.

The child is born; it grows; it decays and dies; but after death another chapter opens for the individual, and it is to remind us of this most momentous chapter that the previous stages are recapitulated.

ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَاهُ نُطْفَةً فِي قَرَارٍ مَّكِينٍ ﴿١٣﴾

13. Then We placed him as (a drop of) sperm in a place of rest, firmly fixed;

C2873. The growth in the foetal stage is silent and unseen. The foetus is protected in the mother's womb like a king in a castle; it is firmly fixed, and gets the protection of the mother's body, on which it depends for its own growth until birth.

ثُمَّ خَلَقْنَا النُّطْفَةَ عَلَقَةً...

14. Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood;

...فَخَلَقْنَا الْعَلَقَةَ مُضْغَةً...

fakhalaqna alAAalaqata mudghatan

then of that clot We made a (foetus) lump;

...فَخَلَقْنَا الْمُضْغَةَ عِظَامًا...

fakhalaqna almudghata AAithaman

then We made out of that lump bones

...فَكَسَوْنَا الْعِظَامَ لَحْمًا...

fakasawna alAAithama lahman

and clothed the bones with flesh;

...ثُمَّ أَنشَأْنَاهُ خَلْقًا آخَرَ...

thumma ansha/nahu khalqan akhara

then We developed out of it another creature:

C2874. From a mere animal, we now consider man as man.

Is it not a Sign of wonder in itself that from dry dust (turab, 22:5) or inorganic matter should be made protoplasm (moist clay or organic matter); from it should grow a new animal life; and out of it should grow human life, with all its capacities and responsibilities?

Man carries within himself Signs of Allah's wisdom and power, and he can see them every day in the universe around him.

فَتَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ ﴿١٤﴾

fatabaraka Allahu ahsanu alkhaliqeena

so blessed be Allah, the Best to create!

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ثُمَّ إِنَّكُمْ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ لَمَيِّتُونَ ﴿١٥﴾

15. After that, at length, ye will die.

C2875. Our physical death in this mortal life seems to make a break. But if it were the end of all, our life becomes meaningless. Our own instinct tells us that it cannot be so, and Allah assures us that there will be a resurrection for judgment.

ثُمَّ إِنَّكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ تُبْعَثُونَ ﴿١٦﴾

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18. [ al-Kahf, Mecca 69 ]

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

قَالَ لَهُ صَاحِبُهُ وَهُوَ يُحَاوِرُهُ...   

18: 37.  His companion said to him, in the course of the argument with him:

... أَكَفَرْتَ بِالَّذِي خَلَقَكَ مِن تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ مِن نُّطْفَةٍ ثُمَّ سَوَّاكَ رَجُلًا ﴿٣٧﴾

"Dost thou deny Him Who created thee out of dust, then out of a sperm-drop, then fashioned thee into a man?

C2379. The three stages of man's creation:

first dust, or clay, itself created out of nothing and forming the physical basis of his body; then, out of the produce of the earth as incorporated in the parents body, the sperm drop (with the corresponding receptive element), and then when the different elements were mixed in due proportion, and the soul was breathed into him, the fashioned man.

Cf. 87:2, and 15:28-29.

لَّكِنَّا هُوَ اللَّهُ رَبِّي وَلَا أُشْرِكُ بِرَبِّي أَحَدًا ﴿٣٨﴾

18: 38.  "But (I think) for my part that He is Allah, my Lord, and none shall I associate with my Lord.

Other Versions:

18: 37 (see the context for the following passage )

Asad And his friend ……….”Will you blaspheme against Him who has created you our of DUST, AND THEN OUT OF A DROP OF SPERM, AND IN THE END HAS FASHIONED YOU INTO A [complete] MAN?

Pickthall And his comrade, while he disputed with him, exclaimed: Disbelievest thou in Him Who created thee of dust, then of a drop (of seed), and then fashioned thee a man?

Transliteration Qa_la lahu_ sa_hibuhu_ wa huwa yuha_wiruhu_ akafarta billazi khalaqaka min tura_bin summa min nutfatin summa sawwa_ka rajula_(n).

[Ali’s note 2379 The three stages of man's creation: first dust, or clay, itself created out of nothing and forming the physical basis of his body; then, out of the produce of the earth as incorporated in the parents body, the sperm drop (with the corresponding receptive element), and then when the different elements were mixed in due proportion, and the soul was breathed into him, the fashioned man. Cf. lxxxvii. 2, and xv. 28-29. (18.37)

[ Asad note 44: see……3:59, …….23:12]

18: 37

Transliteration Qa_la lahu_ sa_hibuhu_ wa huwa yuha_wiruhu_ akafarta billazi khalaqaka min tura_bin summa min nutfatin summa sawwa_ka rajula_(n).

[ Ruby’s note – The wise person is indicating that the true success of life should not be measured by superficial, transitory, contradictory, worldly yardsticks. Each one should be feeling a gratitude with what he/she got and work to make it better with humility and with a sense of purpose to serve God. And not to look down upon others more disadvantageous. It is possible that they are given better gifts and strengths through other important things. ]

18: 38

Pickthall But He is Allah, my Lord, and I ascribe unto my Lord no partner.

Transliteration La_kinna huwalla_hu rabbi wa la_ usyriku bi rabbi ahada_(n).

[ Ruby’s note – At all time God should be thanked because He is the Cause of all Causes, the Ultimate Disposer of all affairs, the Giver and the Sustainer. With every success and victory of life this should be borne in mind less it falls in the trap of wrong doing and downfall. This attitude and remembrance with all successes of life can turn the life truly successful. The Quran is mentioning this in many ways in many places. After every human success such as war or business endeavor, one is asked to thank God and remember God as the sole giver of that success. ]