Tafsir of As-Saffat 37:11

(So ask them) meaning: seek information from them. The origin of istifta' (asking for a legal opinion or information) is seeking information regarding an event that has occurred; from this comes the word fata (youth) due to the freshness/newness of his age. The pronoun refers to the polytheists of Mecca. It is said: The verse is regarding Abu al-Ashadd ibn Kalada al-Jumahi, who was nicknamed so due to his severe brutality and strength, and his name was Usayd. The fa (So) is fasiha (eloquent/explanatory), meaning: Since We possess from the creations what you have heard, or if you have known what has preceded, then inquire of the Meccan polytheists and ask them by way of silencing/rebuking: "Are they stronger in creation?"—that is, more robust in constitution and firmer in structure, or more difficult to create and harder to bring into existence?

(Or [than] those whom We have created?)—from the angels, the heavens, the earth, and what is between them, the points of sunrise, the planets, the devils, and the piercing stars. The definition of the relative pronoun [in man] is covenantal (ahdi), referring to what has been previously mentioned explicitly or by implication. Beings endowed with intellect are prioritized over others. The interrogative is for affirmation (taqrir), though it is permitted that it be for denial (inkari). In the codex of Abdullah [ibn Mas'ud], it is recorded as am man 'adadna (or those whom We have counted/enumerated), which supports the claim of it being covenantal, or rather, conclusive proof of it. Al-A'mash recited a-man with a light mim instead of am, treating it as a second, affirmative interrogative, where man is the subject whose predicate is omitted—meaning: a-man khalaqna ashaddu (Is it those whom We have created that are stronger?).

(Indeed, We created them from sticky clay.)

That is, adhesive, as extracted by Ibn Jarir and a group from Ibn Abbas. In another narration, the wording used is "clinging." Ibn al-Azraq responded with this as well and cited for it the saying of al-Nabigha: "Do not consider good to have no evil after it, and do not consider evil a blow of lazib (sticky/inevitable) [fate]." It is said: The intended meaning is that parts of it stick to others. Ibn Mas'ud interpreted it thus, as recorded by Ibn Abi Hatim. This refers to being well-kneaded and thoroughly fermented. Ibn al-Mundhir and others recorded from Qatada that it sticks to the hand when touched. Al-Tabari said: Adam was created from earth, water, air, and fire; when all of this is mixed, it becomes sticky clay that adheres to what is adjacent to it. Al-Lazib is in the sense of al-lazim (necessary/sticking), which is close to what has preceded. It has been recited as lazim (with a mim instead of a ba') and latib (with a ta' instead of a za'), and the meaning is the same. In al-Bahr, it is narrated from Ibn Abbas that he interpreted al-lazib as al-hurr (the noble/pure/fine). In another narration, he said: al-lazib is the fine/good [clay].

Abd ibn Humayd and Ibn al-Mundhir recorded from Mujahid that he said: lazib means sticky and foul-smelling. Perhaps describing it as foul-smelling is taken from the Almighty’s saying, "from fermented slime (ham'in masnun)." However, Ibn Abi Hatim recorded from Ibn Abbas that he said: al-lazib, al-hama', and al-tin (clay) are one and the same; it began as dust, then became foul-smelling slime, then became sticky clay, from which Allah the Almighty created Adam, peace be upon him.

In any case, their creation from sticky clay is either a testimony against them regarding their weakness and softness—because what is fashioned from clay is not described as possessing hardness and strength—or it is an argument against them regarding the matter of the Resurrection, using the sticky clay from which they were created implicitly through the creation of their father Adam, peace be upon him, who was [made of] dust. So from where did they deem it unlikely that they would be created a second time, given that they said: "When we have died and become dust and bones, are we [to be] resurrected?" This is reinforced, according to al-Kashshaf, by the mention that follows of their denial of the Resurrection and the Almighty’s saying: ...