Surah Al-Mursalat (77): Verses 20-...

Translation and Exegesis (Tafsir)

[Verse 20: Did We not create you from a lowly fluid?]

Know that this is the third type of warning directed at the disbelievers. The warning operates on two levels:

1. The Greatness of Divine Favor: Allah (Exalted is He) reminds them of His immense favors upon them. The greater the favor, the more heinous and repulsive their transgression against Him becomes. Consequently, the punishment will be greater. This is why He immediately follows the mention of this favor by saying: {Woe on that Day to the deniers!}
2. Proof of Resurrection from Creation: Allah mentions His power to initiate creation (al-ibtida'). Logically, the One capable of initiating creation is also capable of bringing about its return (al-i'adah). Since they denied this clear indication, it is only right that He says concerning them: {Woe on that Day to the deniers!}

Exegesis of the Verse:

{Did We not create you from a lowly fluid (or water)?} This means from a drop of semen (nutfah), similar to His saying: {Then We made his offspring from a semen extracted from a lowly fluid, Then We placed him in a firm resting place} (Al-Mu'minun: 12-13), which is the womb. This is because what the child is created from must be established and settled in the womb, unlike that from which a child is not created.

{To a measure appointed?} This refers to the time spent in the womb until the time of birth. That time is known to Allah (Exalted is He) and no one else, as in His saying: {Indeed, Allah has knowledge of the Hour... and He knows what is in the wombs} (Luqman: 34).

{So We determined (or measured) [the form], and how excellent are We at determining!}

• Qira'ah (Recitation): Nafi' and 'Abdullah ibn 'Amir recited this with the shaddah (doubling) on the dāl (قدرنا - qaddarnā). The rest recited it with takhfif (no doubling) (قدرنا - qadarnā).
• Meaning of the Doubled Reading (قَدَّرْنَا): It means: We determined this arrangement with precise planning. How excellent are We as the Determiners! This interpretation is reinforced by His saying: {He created him from a drop, then He proportioned him} (Abasa: 19). Furthermore, imposing creation according to this precise measure and limit is a favor from the Determiner to the created being, so it is appropriate to mention it in a context where favor and blessing are being discussed.
• Addressing Criticism: Some critics argue that if this reading (قَدَّرْنَا) were correct, it should have been followed by: "So how excellent are We as determiners!" (i.e., using the active participle form). The response is that the Arabs sometimes combine two linguistic forms (e.g., using the past tense verb followed by the superlative noun form), as seen in His saying: {So give the disbelievers respite; leave them alone for a while} (At-Tariq: 17), where fammhil (command form) is followed by amhulhum (command form) and ruwayda (a diminutive noun used adverbially).
• Meaning of the Un-doubled Reading (قَدَرْنَا): This reading has two interpretations:
  1. It relates to Power (القدرة): So We were able to create him and shape him as We willed and desired, {and how excellent are We in power!} since We created him in the best forms and figures.
  2. It is said that the Arabs use qadara (with takhfif) to mean qaddara (with tashdid). Al-Farra' stated that Arabs say: qadara 'alayhi al-mawt (death overcame him) and qaddara 'alayhi al-mawt. Similarly, they say qadara 'alayhi rizquhu (his provision was decreed for him) using both forms, as in His saying: {And He determined for him his provision} (Abasa: 20).

[Verses 21-25]: Did We not make the earth a container, for the living and the dead, And place therein lofty, firmly fixed mountains, And give you to drink sweet water? Woe on that Day to the deniers!}

[Verse 21: Did We not make the earth a container (or receptacle)?] A place that gathers and holds things.

[Verse 22: For the living and the dead?] It contains the living while they walk upon it, and it contains the dead buried within it.

[Verse 23: And place therein lofty, firmly fixed mountains?] These mountains are firm stabilizers (rawasi) that prevent the earth from shaking or being overturned.

[Verse 24: And give you to drink sweet water?] Water that is pleasant and pure, which is the rain that descends upon the earth.

[Verse 25: Woe on that Day to the deniers!] This is the repeated warning following the mention of these great favors.