Al-Hajj: (5) "O mankind..."
(O mankind, if you are in doubt about the Resurrection...) This establishes the argument that strikes a blow to those who dispute the Resurrection, following the indication of the final outcome of their affairs. It is held that the meaning of "mankind" here is the disbelievers who dispute and deny the Resurrection. Expressing their belief regarding it as rayb (doubt)—despite them being certain of its impossibility—is either to signal that the most that can be issued from them, even in their state of extreme arrogance and stubbornness, is to doubt it, whereas certainty of its impossibility is outside the realm of possibility. Just as its use in the indefinite form and its introduction with the word of "doubt" is to intimate that, by right, it should be something weak and doubted as to its occurrence; or, it is to alert that their crime is like a weak doubt, due to the absolute clarity of the proofs of its possibility and the peak of their strength.
He did not say "If you doubt the Resurrection" (in the conditional in) to emphasize the transcendence of the matter above any taint of the occurrence of doubt, and to signal that if such a thing occurs, it is from their side, not from its side. Considering their persistence in it and its surrounding them does not contradict considering its weakness and scarcity, for what that necessitates is the permanence of their involvement with it, not its strength or abundance. The min (from) is causal (or original), related to a deleted word which acts as an adjective for the doubt. It is argued that the intended meaning is "doubt regarding the possibility of the Resurrection," because that is what follows from what comes after it. It is permitted that the meaning be "the occurrence of the Resurrection," but this has been objected to, as the proof indicated thereafter only points to possibility, alongside what is necessitated by the repetition with the Almighty’s subsequent statement: "that Allah resurrects those who are in the graves." In this, there is food for thought; so contemplate it.
Al-Hasan recited min al-ba'th (Resurrection) with a fathah on the ayn, which is a dialect for it, like al-jalab and al-tard (in al-jalab and al-tard according to the Basrans). According to the Kufans, it is the silencing of the ayn as an easing, and it is analogical for everything whose middle letter is a guttural letter, such as al-nahr and al-nahr, and al-sha'r and al-sha'r.
His saying, "For indeed, We created you from dust" is a proof for the answer to the condition, or the answer interpreted as: "Even if you are in doubt about the Resurrection, then look at the beginning of your creation so that your doubt may vanish; for indeed, We created you..." Others say the estimation is: "I will inform you and teach you that We created you..." but that is not strong. Their creation from dust is implicit in the creation of Adam (peace be upon him) from it, or by the creation of nutrients from which the semen is formed; and although they are formed from other elements along with it, it is the greatest part, as has been said, so He singled it out for mention among them. The first is chosen, making the meaning: "We created you as an aggregate creation from dust."
"Then from a nutfah (drop of fluid)"—meaning semen, from al-nutuf, meaning dripping. Al-Raghib said: "The nutfah is clear water, and it is used to express the man’s water." It is said that the specification here, despite creation being from two waters, is because the majority of the parts of a human are created from the man’s water. The truth is that the nutfah, just as it is used for the man’s semen, is used for semen generally; Al-Raghib’s speech is not an explicit denial of that. The apparent meaning is the nutfah from which each one is created without an intermediary. It is said the meaning is the nutfah of Adam (peace be upon him), and this is narrated from al-Naqqash, and it is in the extreme of remoteness.
"Then from a 'alaqah (clinging substance)"—that is, a piece of congealed blood formed from the semen. "Then from a mudghah (chewed lump)"—that is, a piece of flesh formed from the 'alaqah, and its origin is a piece of meat the size of what one chews. "Created" (in the genitive case) is an adjective for mudghah, and likewise is His saying "and uncreated." Ibn Abi 'Ablah read it in the accusative case for both, as a state (hal) from the preceding indefinite noun, which is rare, though Sibawayh used it by analogy. The famous and prompt meaning is that the "created" is that which has a clear creation—a mudghah with clear creation and form—and a mudghah whose creation and form have not yet appeared. The intent is the detailing of the state of the mudghah, and its being initially a piece in which no organs had appeared, then they appeared after that, bit by bit. The requirement of ordering, based on gradation from the remote beginnings to the near ones, would be to put the "uncreated" first. It was delayed because it is a "non-possession of quality." The taf'il form denotes the multiplicity of organs, each of which is characterized by creation and form.
It is said "created" (mukhallaqah) means leveled or smoothed from deficiency and defect. It is said, "He created the toothpick and the stick"—meaning he smoothed and polished it. A khalaqa rock is a smooth one, and akhlaq means smoother. So the meaning is: from a nutfah that is smoothed with no deficiency or defect in the beginning of its creation, and a nutfah not smoothed, in which there is a defect. The nutaf (drops) from which a human is created are disparate: some are perfect in creation, smooth of defects, and others are the opposite. Following this disparity is the disparity of people in their creation, form, height, shortness, perfection, and deficiency. From Mujahid, Qatadah, al-Sha'bi, Abu al-'Aliyah, and 'Ikrimah is that the "created" is that which has completed the duration of pregnancy and has had creation after creation come upon it, and the "uncreated" is that which has not completed that and has miscarried. Evidence for this is what al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Jarir, and Ibn Abi Hatim brought out from Mas'ud, who said: "When the nutfah settles in the womb, the angel of the wombs takes it in his palm and says: 'O Lord, created or uncreated?' If it is said, 'uncreated,' it does not become a soul, and the womb casts it out as blood. If it is said, 'created,' he says: 'O Lord, male or female? Wretched or happy? What is the appointed time, the trace, the provision, and in which land will it die?'" The report is in the status of marfu' (ascribed to the Prophet). The intent is that they were created from the genus of this nutfah described as perfect and miscarried, not that they were created from a perfect nutfah and a miscarried nutfah, for creation from a miscarried nutfah is not conceivable. This is apparent. The exposition on this—describing it with what was mentioned—is to magnify the matter of the Power. In making each of these stages a beginning for their creation, not for the creation of what comes after it of stages—as in His saying "Then We created the nutfah into a 'alaqah, then We created the 'alaqah into a mudghah"—there is an increased indication of the greatness of His Almighty Power.
"That We may make clear to you" is related to "We created you," and the object is omitted to magnify it, both in quantity and quality. That is, "We created you in this marvelous pattern to make clear to you matters that speech cannot encompass of truths and subtleties," among which is the matter of the Resurrection. For whoever reflects upon what was mentioned of the gradual creation is certain that He who was capable of creating humans initially from dust—which never tasted the water of life—and brought them into being in a way that validates the procreation of the like once after another by turning them through the stages of creation and changing them from state to state—with the opposition and contrast between those stages and states—is capable of restoring them. Indeed, it is easier by comparison. Some estimated the object specifically, i.e., "to make clear to you the matter of the Resurrection," but that is not strong. Much more remote is the one who claimed the meaning is: "to make clear to you that creating is a choice from the Creator, and if not for that, some individuals of the mudghah would not have become 'uncreated'."
Ibn Abi 'Ablah read "that He may make clear" with a ya (he) by way of iltifat (shift in person). Likewise, he read His saying: "And We settle in the wombs what We will." The majority read it with nun (We). The sentence is a new beginning introduced to state their condition after the completion of their creation and the succession of stages upon them. That is: "And We settle in the wombs after that what We will to settle in them until an appointed term," which is the time of delivery. Its minimum is six months, and its maximum with us is two years; with al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him), it is four years. From Ya'qub it is narrated that he read nuqirru with a fathah on the nun and a dammah on the qaf (from qarrartu the water, if you poured it). Yahya ibn Wathab read "what We will" with a kasrah on the nun.
"Then We bring you out" (that is, from the wombs after settling you in them) "as a child" (as a hal / state from the pronoun of the addressed). The singular is used either by considering each one of them, or by intending the genus that is true for the many, or because it is a verbal noun, so it is the same for the one and the other, as al-Mubarrad said, or because the meaning is "child by child," so it was shortened.
"Then that you may reach your maturity"—that is, your perfection in strength, intellect, and discernment. In al-Qamus: "Until he reaches his ashudd (maturity)"—and its beginning is spelled with a dammah—meaning his strength. It is between eighteen and thirty years. It is singular that came in the form of a plural, like anik, and there is no counterpart for them, or it is a plural that has no singular from its wording, or its singular is shiddah (with a kasrah), even though fa'lah is not pluralized on af'ul by analogy, so ni'mah and an'um do not refute this, or shadd like kalb and aklub, or shadd like dhi'b and adh'ub—and those two are not heard, but are analogical.
As for "that you may reach," Allama Abu al-Sa'ud said: It is a cause for "We bring you out," conjoined to another cause suitable to it. It is as if it were said: "Then We bring you out to grow little by little, then that you may reach..." It is said it is a cause for a deleted word, the estimation being: "Then We delay you that you may reach..." Allama al-Tibi permitted the estimation to be: "Then that you may reach your maturity"—that (settling and bringing out) was the case. It is said it is a conjunction to "We make clear," but the Allama refuted this, saying it is detrimental to the eloquence of the noble arrangement. He made it, like others, a conjunction to it according to the reading of nuqirru and nukhrijukum in the accusative case, which is the reading of al-Mufaddal and Abu Hatim—except that the former read with nun and the latter with ya. He likewise made the two verbs a conjunction to it and said: The meaning is, "We created you in the mentioned gradation for two matters: one, that We make clear Our affairs; and second, that We settle you in the wombs, then bring you out as small children, then that you reach your maturity." The precedence of "the making clear" over what follows—despite its occurrence in reality after everything—is to signal that it is the ultimate of ends and the intended essence. The repetition of the lam in "that you may reach," while stripping "We settle" and "We bring out" of it, is to signal the originality of reaching [maturity] in relation to settling and bringing out, as the obligation leading to happiness or wretchedness revolves around it. The choice of "reaching" as ascribed to the addressed, rather than "bringing to reach" as ascribed to the Almighty—unlike the previous verbs—is because it is what is appropriate for describing their state of being characterized by perfection and their independence in being the origin of effects and actions.
What he mentioned regarding the conjunction of nuqirru and nukhrijukum in the accusative to "make clear" was not accepted by Sheikh Ibn al-Hajib. He said in Sharh al-Mufassal: "It is among the things where the accusative is impossible; for if it were in the accusative as a conjunction to 'make clear,' the meaning would be weakened, because the lam in 'make clear' is for the causal explanation for what preceded, and what preceded is the cause for the making clear. If 'We settle' were conjoined to it, it would be included in the causation of 'Indeed We created you...' and their creation from dust, then what followed it, cannot correctly be a cause for settling in the wombs." Al-Zajjaj said: "It is not permissible in 'We settle' except the nominative." It is possible that its meaning is: "We did that in order to settle in the wombs," because Allah did not create mankind to settle them in the wombs; rather, He created them to guide them to their rectitude and goodness. This is a statement that it is not permissible to conjoin it to "make clear."
It was answered that the purpose, in reality, is the reaching of maturity for obligation, but since the settling and what follows it are its preliminaries, it is correct to include it in the causal explanation. What he mentioned—that the conjunction to "make clear" according to the reading of the nominative is detrimental to the eloquence of the noble arrangement—seems to be a reproach to al-Zamakhshari, where he made the conjunction to that and said: "If you say: How is it correct to conjoin 'that you may reach your maturity' to 'that We may make clear' while there is no congruence? I say: The congruence is achieved because His statement 'And We settle' is a counterpart to the causal explanation, and its accompanying it and being entangled with it descends it to the status of itself. Thus, it is weighted from this side toward the solidity of the reading in the accusative."
In this is that which points to the fact that the reading of the accusative is clearer, just as it is firmer. The verifiers did not accept this. In al-Kashf, the reading with the nominative is the famous, established one among the Seven, and it is the first. Its construction was achieved in such a way that the settling in the wombs was not made a cause, but the purpose of it was made the reaching of maturity, which is the state of completion in knowledge and action. Since it was not conjoined to "that We may make clear" except after He preceded it with "We settle," then "We bring out," making "We settle" a conjunction to "Indeed We created you," and shifting to the imperfect tense to depict the state and indicate the increase of specification—the congruence is achieved in wording and meaning. Moreover, in the separation between the two causes is a subtlety whose proper placement is not hidden from a man of intellect after contemplation. Likewise, in bringing the thumma (then) in His saying, the Almighty, "Then that you may reach," is an indication that it is the original purpose for which man was created ("And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me"). And since the first (stages) are clearer in indicating the Resurrection, He put His saying "that We may make clear" before settling and bringing out.
From this is known what is in the Allama’s statement: that the conjunction of "that you may reach" to "that We may make clear" is detrimental to the eloquence of the noble arrangement, and that the new beginning is not determined in "We settle." In it also is that His saying, "And among you is he who is taken in death..." is a new beginning to explain the types of bringing out from the womb, just as it completed the types of the first. In it is an explanation of the preference of the state of reaching maturity and that it is the one worthy of being intended from the creation; but among them is he who does not reach it, so he perishes, and among them is he who passes it, so he becomes decrepit. That is: Among you is he who dies before reaching maturity, "and among you is he who is returned to the most abject of life"—meaning its most base and lowest. The intent is: returned to a time like childhood, "so that he knows not after knowledge" (that is, much knowledge) "a thing" (that is, anything of things or anything of knowledge). The lam is related to "is returned," and it is the lam of consequence ('aqibah). The intent is the exaggeration in the decrease of his intellect and the regression of his state. There is no limited duration for that return; rather, it differs according to the difference of temperaments, as in al-Bahr. The bringing of "is returned" and "is taken in death" in the form of the passive voice is to follow the path of majesty by determining the agent, as in Irshad al-'Aql al-Salim.
In the Sharh al-Kashshaf by al-Tibi, after permitting "Then that you may reach" to be by estimation ("Then that you may reach," that settling and bringing out was the case), the benefit of that is the signaling that reaching maturity is the best of states, bringing out is the most wondrous of them, and returning to the most abject of life is the worst of them. The change in expression is for that reason; hence, He attributed the bringing out to His Holy Essence, deleted the causer in the second, and did not attribute the third to its agent, and removed in it what was established for the human in that state of his being characterized by knowledge and power—signaled by maturity—as if it were said: "Then We bring you out from those base stages as a child, created curiously," as He, the Almighty, said: "So blessed is Allah, the best of creators," then "that you may reach your maturity"—He managed that wondrous management because it is the time of the rooting of knowledge and recognition and the ability for the action intended by the creation—"then He causes you to die or returns you to the most abject of life, in which knowledge and the power to act are stripped."
From this is understood the possibility that the meaning is "And among you is he who is taken in death after reaching maturity," and among people are those who permitted the meaning to be "And among you is he who is taken in death upon reaching maturity." It is said that this makes the sentence a state (haliyyah) and from the imperfect tense; and it is as you see. It was read "is taken in death" in the form of the active voice, and its agent is the pronoun of Allah, the Almighty—that is, he whom Allah takes in death. It is permitted that it be the pronoun of "among you," i.e., "who completes his term of life." It is narrated from Abu 'Amr and Nafi' that the mim of al-'umur is to be silenced. This being so, it is not hidden what is in the difference of human states after bringing out from the womb as a warning of the validity of the Resurrection, as in their difference before it; so contemplate all that was mentioned. To Allah, the Almighty, belongs the bounty of the Revelation; how many are its possibilities!
"And you see the earth hamidah (barren/lifeless)" is another proof for the validity of the Resurrection, conjoined to "Indeed We created you." It is an external proof, and what preceded is an internal proof. The address is to everyone who is capable of seeing. It is said: it is for the disputer. The imperfect tense is for the indication of renewal and continuity. It is visual, not practical, as has been said. Hamidah is a state from "the earth"—meaning dead and dry. It is said, "The earth hamadat (became lifeless)" if it dried up and decayed. "The garment hamada" (wore out) if it became tattered. Al-A'sha said: "Qutaylah said, 'Why is your body sallow, and I see your garments worn out and tattered?'" Its origin is from: "The fire hamadat" when it became ashes.
"But when We send down upon it water" (that is, rainwater; it is said: what becomes general of it, and the water of springs and rivers, but the apparent meaning of "sending down" requires the first), "it stirs" (its vegetation moves—the attribution is metaphorical—or it becomes porous, and some of its parts separate from others due to the emergence of vegetation; carrying the "stirring" as movement in quality is far-fetched), "and swells" (increases and puffs up due to what enters it of water and vegetation). Abu Ja'far, 'Abdullah ibn Ja'far, Khalid ibn Ilyas, and Abu 'Amr in one narration read it as raba'at (with a hamzah), meaning it rose. It is said: "So-and-so yarba' (refrains) himself from such-and-such," meaning he rises above it. Ibn 'Atiyyah said: "It is from 'I raba'tu the people,' if you ascend a high ground of the earth as a scout over them, so it is as if the earth with the water lengthens and ascends." "And causes to grow from every beautiful pair" (that is, sort).
