ﱍ ﱎ ﱏ ﱐ ﱑ ﱒ ﱓ ﱔ ﱕ ﱖ ﱗ ﱘ ﱙ ﱚ ﱛ ﱜ ﱝ ﱞ ﱟ ﱠ ﱡ ﱢ ﱣ ﱤ ﱥ ﱦ ﱧ ﱨ ﱩ ﱪ ﱫ ﱬ ﱭ ﱮ
Allah has created every [living] creature from water. And of them are those that move on their bellies, and of them are those that walk on two legs, and of them are those that walk on four. Allah creates what He wills. Indeed, Allah is over all things competent.
Tafsir
Verse range: 24:45
"And Allah has created every..."
It is read: Khāliqu kulli dābbah (The Creator of every living creature). Since the noun dābbah (living creature) applies to both the rational and the non-rational, the rational is given precedence, and the rest are given its ruling—as if all living creatures were rational. Hence, it is said: "Among them" (faminhum), and it is said: "He who walks" (man yamshī) regarding those who walk on their bellies and those who walk on four legs.
If you ask: Why is "water" (mā’) indefinite in His saying: "from water" (min mā’)? I say: Because the meaning is that He created every living creature from a type of water specific to that creature, or He created them from a specific water, which is the nutfa (semen/drop), and then differentiated between the creatures originating from that drop; among them are vermin, among them are beasts, and among them are humans. Similar to this is His saying: "Irrigated with one water, yet We make some of them excel others in fruit" (Ar-Ra‘d: 4).
If you ask: Why is it definite in His saying: "And We made from water every living thing" (Al-Anbiya: 30)? I say: A different meaning is intended there: that all species of animals are created from this genus, which is the genus of water. It is the origin, even if intermediaries exist between it and them. They say: He created the angels from a wind He created from water; the jinn from a fire He created from it; and Adam from dust He created from it.
If you ask: Why did the three species come in this order? I say: He prioritized that which is most profound in demonstrating [Divine] power: the one that walks without a mechanism of walking, such as legs or limbs, then the one that walks on two legs, then the one that walks on four.
If you ask: Why is crawling on the belly called "walking" (mashy)? I say: By way of metaphor, just as they say regarding a continuous affair: "This matter has walked" (qad mashā hādhā al-amr), and it is said: "So-and-so’s affair does not walk" (lā yatamashshā lahu amr). Similar to this is the metaphor of using shaqqa (cleft) for jahfala (lip of a beast), and mishfar (lip of a camel) for shafa (lip of a human), and the like. Or, it is by way of mushākala (stylistic correspondence) because the crawler is mentioned alongside the walkers.
"We have certainly sent down distinct verses. And Allah guides whom He wills to a straight path. But they say, 'We have believed in Allah and in the Messenger, and we obey'; then a party of them turns away after that. And those are not believers."
