Tafsir of Al-Mu'minoon 23:12

When He—glory be to Him—first mentioned the states of the fortunate ones, He followed it by mentioning their origin and the ultimate end of their affairs, within a context that encompasses both them and others. In this lies an exaltation of the favor bestowed upon them, an encouragement to adopt praiseworthy attributes, and an invitation to bear the burden of difficult obligations. Alternatively, having mentioned the inheritance of Paradise, He followed it with the mention of the Resurrection, as that inheritance is contingent upon it. Or, having encouraged the worship of Him—glory be to Him—and the fulfillment of His command, He followed it with that which indicates His Divinity, as worship is contingent upon that. The first is perhaps the most appropriate regarding the relevance of the verse to what precedes it, though it is permissible that all the mentioned reasons apply.

The lam is in the position of a response to an oath, and the waw is for initiation. Ibn Atiyyah said: "It is a conjunction linking one sentence of speech to another, even if they differ in meaning," though this view is debatable.

"Man" (al-insan) here refers to the genus. "Extract" (sulalah) is derived from the expression "I extracted (salaltu) the thing from the thing" when you draw it out; it is that which has been drawn and extracted from something. The fa‘alah structure is a noun for that which results from an action; sometimes it is something intended, such as an essence (khulasah), and other times it is unintended, such as clippings (qulamah) or sweepings (kunashah). Sulalah is of the first category, as it is intended by the act of extraction. Al-Zamakhshari mentioned that this morphological pattern indicates scarcity.

The first "from" (min) is ibtidaiyyah (denoting origin) and relates to the verb "created." As for the second "from," it may also be ibtidaiyyah, relating to sulalah—implying it is "extracted"—or relating to an omitted term serving as an adjective for sulalah. It is also possible that, in this instance, it is tab’idiyyah (denoting partitive) or bayaniyyah (explicative). It is permissible that "from clay" (min tin) is an appositive or an explanatory conjunction involving the repetition of the preposition.

The genus of man was created from what was mentioned, taking into account the creation of the first of individuals and the root of the species, who is Adam—peace be upon him. Thus, the entirety of the species is created from it in a summary fashion, included within his creation, as has been previously established. It is said: The genus was created from it in the sense that it is a remote origin for the individuals of the species, for they come from the sperm-drop (nutfah) derived from food, which is the extract and essence of the clay. This involves describing the genus by the attribute of most of its individuals, for the creation of Adam—peace be upon him—was not [directly from a sperm-drop]. Or, it may be said that the explanation of his state—peace be upon him—was omitted because it is well-known, and it was sufficient to explain the state of his descendants; this has been narrated in some reports from Ibn Abbas.

It is also said that "clay" refers to Adam—peace be upon him—based on the metaphor of "being" (kawn), that "extract" refers to the sperm-drop, and that "man" refers to the genus, described as mentioned in consideration of most of its individuals—or by the reasoning provided earlier. The obscurity of a trope for this metaphor and the fact that "sperm-drop" does not immediately come to mind from the word "extract" is not hidden. It is also said that "man" refers to Adam—peace be upon him—and this has been narrated from a group. However, the interpretation we adopted first is superior.