Transliteration:( Huwal lazee khalaqakum min turaabin summa min nutfatin summa min 'alaqatin summa yukhrijukum tiflan summa litablughooo ashuddakum summa litakoonoo shuyookhaa; wa minkum mai yutawaffaa min qablu wa litablughooo ajalam musam manw-wa la'allakum ta'qiloon )
"It is He Who made you from dust. Then from a drop of semen [172], then from a blood clot [173], then brings you forth as an infant (174), then causes you to live so that you may attain your full strength (175), Then you become old (176), though some of you is lifted up (177) even before it and that you may reach an appointed term (178) and perhaps you may understand (179)."
This refers to the creation of Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) from dust, and by extension, all human beings since are his descendants. It may also refer to nourishment that arises from the earth, which sustains the body and produces semen, from which humans are created. The earthly origin of man reflects his humility and dependence on Allah’s design.
After conception, the drop of semen transforms into a clot of blood (alaqah) in the womb. This transformation happens by Allah’s command, showcasing His power over every stage of life.
The child is born weak and without knowledge. This is a sign of human dependence on Allah at every stage. Up to six years, this stage is referred to as infancy, according to classical scholars like those of Roohul Bayaan.
Allah allows a human to grow until reaching adolescence and adulthood, usually between sixteen and thirty years, with full strength generally attained around twenty-one. This is the age of potential, vigor, and responsibility.
From around fifty years onward, man enters old age. Some say it continues until eighty, after which the age of senility (haram) begins, when mental sharpness may decline. This progression reflects the temporary nature of worldly strength.
Not all people reach old age—many are taken away earlier, even in youth or childhood. This highlights Allah’s complete control over life and death, and the uncertainty of lifespan.
The "appointed term" refers either to death, or possibly the Day of Judgement. Just as life in the world is limited, so is the life in Barzakh (the grave). There is no permanence in any worldly or intermediate state.
All these stages—from dust to death—are reminders of Allah’s creative power and wisdom. These transitions encourage the intelligent to contemplate, recognize their weakness, and acknowledge the true Creator who controls every phase of existence.
This verse encapsulates the entire human journey, from creation to death, urging us to reflect, submit, and recognize the signs of Allah in our own selves.
The tafsir of Surah Muminun verse 67 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Muminun ayat 66 which provides the complete commentary from verse 66 through 68.
(40:67) He it is Who created you from dust, then from a sperm-drop, then from a clot; then He brings you out as an infant, then causes you to grow into full maturity, and then causes you to grow further so that you may reach old age, while some of you He recalls earlier.[96] All this is in order that you may reach an appointed term[97] and that you may understand (the Truth).[98]
96. That is, someone dies before birth, and someone before attaining youth, and someone before reaching old age.
97. “An appointed term” may either imply the time of death, or the time when all human beings will be resurrected and presented before their Lord. In the first case, the meaning would be: Allah passes every man through different stages of life and takes him to the specific time which He has appointed for everyone’s return. Before that time even if the whole world joins to kill him, it cannot kill him; and when that time has arrived, none can keep him alive even if all the powers of the world join together to do so. In the second case, it would mean: This gamut of life has not been brought about so that man may end up in the dust and be completely annihilated, but Allah passes him through different stages of life so that all human beings may present themselves before Him at the time which He has appointed for the purpose.
98. That is, you are not being passed through these different stages of lift so that you may live as the animals live and die as they die, but for the purpose that you may use your common sense which Allah has granted you and then understand the system in which you are living. The creation of a wonderful thing like life from the lifeless substances of the earth, then the coming into being of a marvelous creation like man from the microscopic germ of the sperm, then its developing inside the mother’s womb, from the time of conception till delivery, in such a manner that its sex, its form and appearance, its bodily structure, its mental qualifications and characteristics, and its faculties and capabilities should be determined therein, uninfluenced by any external factor or agency. Then the one who is to be eliminated by abortion does fall a prey to abortion. The one who is to die in infancy, does die in infancy, whether he be the child of a king. And the one who is to reach maturity or old age, does reach that age, even through highly dangerous conditions, in which death should be certain. And the one who is to die in a particular stage of life, does die in that stage even if he is given the best medical attention and treatment in the best hospitals by the best doctors. Are not all these things pointing to the truth that the ultimate control of life and death is in the hand of an all-Mighty Sovereign? And when the reality is this that an All-Powerful Being is controlling the life and death, then how did a prophet or a saint or an angel or a star or planet become worthy of worship and service? When did a creature attain the rank that we should pray to it, and accept it as the maker and un-maker of our destiny? And how did a human power have the status that we should obey its commands and prohibitions and its self-made law about the lawful and the unlawful, without question? For further explanation, see (Surah Al-Hajj, Ayats 5-7) and the E.Ns on it.
[1378]- The time decreed for your death.
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