Tafsir of At-Tariq 86:5

Surah At-Tariq (The Nightcomer): Verse 5

فَلْيَنظُرِ الْإِنسَانُ مِمَّ خُلِقَ (Let man look at from what he has been created.)

Issue 1: The Meaning of Dāfiq (دافِق)

The word Dafq (دفق) means pouring out water. It is said: Dafaqa al-mā’a (دفقت الماء), meaning "I poured out the water." Thus, it can mean "poured out" (madfūq) or "gushing forth" (mundafiq). Since the water is described as Dāfiq (active participle), scholars differed on its meaning:

1. Al-Zajjāj said it means "possessing gushing/pouring" (dhū indifāq), similar to how nouns like darrā‘ (armored), fāris (horseman), nābil (archer), lābin (having milk), and tāmir (having dates) are used to mean having armor, a horse, arrows, milk, or dates, respectively. Al-Zajjāj noted this is the view of Sībawayh.
2. Al-Farra’ stated that they use the passive participle (the object) with the form of the active participle (the doer). He noted that the people of Hijaz are more inclined to this than others, using the passive form as an active one when it functions as an adjective, like saying sārr kātim (a secret-keeping sleeper) or laylun nā’im (a sleeping night), or as in the verse: {فِي عِيشَةٍ رَّاضِيَةٍ} (in a pleasing life), meaning "pleased/satisfied."
3. Al-Khalīl (in the book attributed to him) mentioned that dafaqa al-mā’u dafqan wa dufūqan means the water poured out all at once. Similarly, indafaqa al-kūz means the jug emptied all at once. When a jug or similar vessel empties, people say: Dāfiq khayr (a pourer of good). Qutrub stated that dafaqa al-mā’a yadfiqu means it poured out.
4. The owner of the water (the semen) was described as Dāfiq metaphorically because the water itself was gushing forth.

Issue 2: Readings of Aṣ-Ṣulb (The Loin)

The word Aṣ-Ṣulb (the loins) has been recited in four ways:

1. Ṣulb (with two fatḥahs).
2. Ṣulb (with two ḍammāhs).
3. Ṣulb (with a fatḥah and a ḍammah).
4. Ṣālib (with an alif).

Issue 3: The Meaning of Tarā’ib (The Ribs/Collarbones)

The Tarā’ib (تَرَائِب) of a woman are the bones of her chest where the necklace rests. Every bone in that area is called a Tarībah. This is the consensus of all linguists. Imru’ al-Qays said:

"Her Tarā’ib are polished like a mirror."

Issue 4: The Origin of Human Creation (From Loin and Ribs)

There are two main views regarding the creation of the child from the water that issues forth from the loin (aṣ-ṣulb) of the man and the tarā’ib of the woman:

View 1: The child is created from the semen that emerges from the man's loin and the woman's tarā’ib.

View 2: The child is created from the water that emerges only from the man's loin and the woman's tarā’ib.

Arguments for View 2:

1. The man's semen originates only from the loin, and the woman's fluid originates only from the tarā’ib. If this is the case, there is no fluid emerging from between the loin and the tarā’ib, which contradicts the verse.
2. Allah described the fluid as {مَاءٍ دَافِقٍ} (gushing water), which applies to the man's semen. He then connected it by stating it issues forth {مِن بَيْنِ الصُّلْبِ وَالتَّرَائِبِ} (from between the loins and the ribs). This indicates the child is created only from the man's semen.

Rebuttals to View 2 (Supporting View 1):

1. Rebuttal to Argument 1: It is permissible to say that "much good issues forth from between these two disparate things." Furthermore, when the man and woman unite, they become like a single entity, making this phrasing appropriate.
2. Rebuttal to Argument 2: This is an instance of using the name of a part to refer to the whole (iṭlāq ism al-ba‘ḍ ‘alā al-kull). Since one component of the semen (the man's) is described as gushing, this name is applied to the mixture.
3. Further Support for View 1: The semen of the man alone is too little to suffice for creation. Moreover, it is narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "If the man's water prevails, the child will be male and resemble him and his relatives. If the woman's water prevails, the resemblance goes to her and her relatives." This necessitates that the creation involves both fluids.

Critique by Atheists (Mulḥidūn) and the Response:

The atheists attacked this verse, arguing:

• If the verse means semen separates from these specific locations (loin and ribs), this is factually incorrect. Semen is formed from the fourth digestive residue and separates from all parts of the body, taking the nature of every organ, thus preparing it to generate similar organs. This is why excessive sexual activity weakens all limbs.
• If it means the majority of the semen is generated there, this is weak. Most of it is nourished in the brain, evidenced by its resemblance to the brain and the fact that excessive ejaculation first causes weakness in the eyes.
• If it means the storage location is there, this is weak, as semen is stored in the seminal vesicles, which are coiled vessels near the testicles.
• If it means the exit point is there, this is weak, as sensory experience shows otherwise.

The Response (Al-Rāzī's Defense): Undoubtedly, the brain is the greatest contributor to semen production. The brain is connected to the spinal cord (an-nukhā‘), which resides in the loin (aṣ-ṣulb). The spinal cord has many branches descending to the front of the body, reaching the area of the tarā’ib. Therefore, Allah honored these two areas by mentioning them. Furthermore, your discussion regarding the manner of semen generation and the generation of organs from semen is pure conjecture and weak assumption. The word of Allah is more worthy of acceptance.

Issue 5: Proof of the Creator and Resurrection

We have previously established in many places in this book that the creation of man from the nutfah (drop) is one of the clearest proofs for the existence of the Chosen Creator, for several reasons:

1. The intricate compositions within the human body are numerous; thus, their generation from a simple material is a stronger proof of the Capable and Choosing Creator.
2. Man's knowledge of his own condition is greater than his knowledge of others; therefore, this proof concerning himself is more complete.
3. Man constantly witnesses these phenomena in his own offspring and the offspring of all animals, making the inference to the Chosen Creator stronger.
4. This proof, while definitively proving the existence of the Wise, Chosen Creator, also definitively proves the validity of the Resurrection and Gathering. This is because the initial creation occurred through the gathering of dispersed particles from the parents' bodies, and indeed, from the entire universe. Since the Creator was able to gather those dispersed particles to create a sound human being, it must be concluded that after death and the scattering of his particles, the Creator is certainly capable of gathering those particles again and forming them into a sound creation, just as He did initially.

For this very reason, after establishing the proof for the Originator (the beginning), Allah immediately followed it with the proof for the Return (the Resurrection), saying:

{إِنَّهُ عَلَىٰ رَجْعِهِ لَقَادِرٌ} (Indeed, He is Able to return him [to life].)