Creator of Man

Was there ever a time when the human being was nothing worth mentioning?

He is the One who created you on earth, and to Him you will be gathered.

We created man, and We know what his soul whispers to him. We are closer to him than his jugular vein.

Let man reflect on what he was created from.

We created the human from a mingled drop, testing him, so We made him hearing and seeing.

He is the One who shaped you from clay and appointed a fixed span for your lives, known only to Him, yet still, you remain in doubt.

Allah is the One who created you weak, then gave you strength, then after strength, weakness and gray hair.

We created man in the finest form

Then reduced him to the lowest of the low.

We established you on the earth and provided for you within it, yet little do you show gratitude.

We created them and strengthened their form, and if We willed, We could replace them entirely.

He shaped you and perfected your form, providing you with good things.

And provide you with wealth and children, and grant you gardens and flowing rivers.

Allah has given you spouses from among yourselves and granted you children and grandchildren, and He has provided you with good things.

And taught him clear expression.

Made your sleep a time of rest

He creates what you do not yet know.

He perfected everything He created.

We created man in the finest form

And that upon Him is the next creation

They ask you about the Spirit. Say, “The Spirit is from my Lord’s command, and you have been given only a little knowledge.”

He is the One who begins creation and then repeats it. This is easy for Him.

He is the One who created you from a single soul and made from it its mate, so that he may find comfort in her. When he embraces her, she carries a light burden and moves about freely. But when it grows heavy, they call upon Allah, their Lord, saying, “If You grant us a good child, we will be grateful.”

O humanity! Be mindful of your Lord, who created you from a single soul and from it formed its mate. Through both, He spread countless men and women.

And among His signs is that He created for you spouses from among yourselves, so that you may find tranquility in them, and He placed love and mercy between you.

He made for you mates from among yourselves, and pairs among the creatures, multiplying you thereby.

And We created you in pairs

He grants daughters to some, sons to others

Or pairs them with both sons and daughters, and makes some barren.

Glory be to the One who created all things in pairs, what the earth grows, themselves, and what they do not know.

Allah created every living creature from water, then established bonds of lineage and marriage.

Indeed, We created man from refined clay, shaped from darkened mud.

He is the One who shaped you from clay.

We created you from dust.

Then you became human beings, spreading across the earth.

Then He made his offspring from an extract of insignificant fluid.

A fluid forcefully emitted

Emerging from between the backbone and the ribs.

Then placed him as a drop in a secure resting place

It is He who shapes you in the wombs as He wills, for a known span?

He forms you in the wombs of your mothers, stage after stage, in three layers of darkness.

When He created you in stages?

Then We shaped the drop into a clinging clot, then into a lump, then formed bones, and clothed the bones with flesh

He brought you forth from your mothers’ wombs, knowing nothing, and gave you hearing, sight, and hearts so that you may be grateful.

We settle what We will in the wombs for a set time, then bring you forth as infants, so you may grow to strength.

Then lets you grow to maturity and old age.

Some of you die early, others regress to feeble old age, forgetting what they once knew, so that you may reach your appointed time and reflect.

Then, after that, you will surely die.

Then on the Day of Resurrection, you will be raised again.

Allah defends those who believe. Allah does not love any treacherous, ungrateful one.

What is wrong with you that you do not revere Allah’s majesty

Yet now he stands as an open challenger?

Man prays for harm as he prays for good, for he is ever hasty.

They say, “Allah has taken a son.” Glory be to Him! He is self-sufficient. Everything in the heavens and the earth belongs to Him. You have no proof for this, are you saying about Allah what you do not know?

Allah is one, far above having a son.

And they say, “The Most Merciful has taken a son.”

You have uttered a monstrous claim!

The heavens nearly rupture, the earth splits, and the mountains collapse in devastation

Because they attribute a son to the Most Merciful.

It is not fitting for the Most Merciful to take a son.

And to warn those who say, “God has taken a son.”

God has not taken a son, nor is there any god besides Him. If there were, each god would have taken what he created and tried to dominate the others.

And say, “Praise be to God, who has neither taken a son nor has any partner in His dominion, nor needs a protector against weakness.” Glorify Him greatly.

It is not for God to take a son—glory be to Him! When He decrees a matter, He only says to it, “Be,” and it is.

If Allah had willed to take a son, He could have chosen from His creation as He pleased. But He is far above such a thing

Say, “If the Most Merciful had a son, I would be the first to worship.”

He to whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, who has taken no son, nor has He any partner in His sovereignty, who created everything and determined its measure.

He neither begets nor is begotten.

Allah takes the souls at the time of death, and those who sleep, He holds some back and releases others until their appointed time. In this are signs for those who reflect.

It is He who gathers you in sleep and knows what you have done throughout the day. Then He awakens you, so that the appointed term may be fulfilled. In the end, to Him is your return, and He will inform you of all that you used to do.

He is the One who made the night a covering, sleep for rest, and the day for rising.

And among His signs is your sleep by night and day. Surely in this are signs for those who listen.

It is He who gathers you in sleep and knows what you have done throughout the day. Then He awakens you, so that the appointed term may be fulfilled.

We have commanded people to be good to their parents.

Say, “Come, let me recite what your Lord has forbidden: Be good to your parents. Do not kill your children out of poverty. We provide for you and them so that you may understand.”

When you speak, be just, even if it concerns a relative. Fulfil your covenant with Allah. This He has commanded you, so that you may take heed.”

Allah made your homes a place of rest and provided you with tents from animal hides, light to carry when you travel or camp. He gave you wool, fur, and hair for furnishings and temporary enjoyment.

He created shade for you, made shelters in the mountains, and garments to protect you from heat and battle. Thus, He completes His favour upon you so that you may submit.

O believers, do not enter homes other than your own without first seeking permission and greeting the occupants. That is better for you; perhaps you will remember.

There is no blame on the blind, or the lame, or the sick, or on yourselves, for eating in your own homes, or the homes of your fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, or in homes you hold the keys to, or in the homes of your friends. There is no harm in eating together or separately. But when you enter a home, greet one another with a greeting of peace, a blessing from Allah, full of goodness. Thus, Allah makes His signs clear to you, so that you may understand.

Do they not see how We reduce the land from its borders?

He is the One who merges the two seas, one fresh and sweet, the other salty and bitter, and placed between them a barrier, an impassable divide.

He made the sea serve you, so you may eat from it tender meat and extract ornaments to wear.

From them emerge pearls and coral.

We have honoured the children of Adam, carried them on land and sea, provided them with good things, and favoured them above many of Our creations.

He made ships sail the seas by His command and rivers flow for your benefit.

You see ships ploughing through it as you seek His bounty, so that you may be grateful.

And among His signs is that He sends the winds as good news, so He may grant you His mercy, and so ships may sail by His command, and so you may seek His bounty, and so you may be grateful.

He who created all pairs, and provided you with ships to ride.

And on ships, you are carried.

Among His signs are the ships sailing like mountains upon the sea.

All upon it will perish

But the Face of your Lord will remain Majestic.

When hardship strikes at sea, those you invoke vanish, except Him. But when He brings you safely to shore, you turn away. Man is ever ungrateful.

Do you feel secure that He will not cause the land to swallow you or send a storm upon you?

Or do you feel secure that He will not send you back to sea, unleash a violent storm upon you, and drown you for your ingratitude?

If He wills, He can still the wind, leaving them motionless upon its surface.

Indeed, the ships that sail the seas for the benefit of humanity.

You lived in the dwellings of those who wronged themselves, and you saw how We dealt with them, yet you failed to take heed.

O people, a parable is set forth, listen to it:

Allah sets forth a parable: A slave owned by another, powerless to do anything, compared to one whom We have granted good provision, which he spends freely, are they equal? Praise be to Allah, but most people do not understand.

Or consider the one who passed by a ruined city and wondered, ‘How will Allah bring this back to life after its destruction?’ So, Allah caused him to die for a hundred years, then revived him. Allah asked, ‘How long have you remained?’ He replied, ‘Perhaps a day or part of a day.’ Allah said, ‘No! You have remained here for a hundred years! Look at your food and drink, they have not spoiled. But now, look at your donkey! And so, We have made you a sign for humanity. Look at the bones, how We bring them together and clothe them with flesh!’ When this was made clear to him, he declared, ‘Now I know that Allah is Most Capable of everything.

And Allah sets forth an example for those who believe: the wife of Pharaoh, who said, “My Lord, build for me a home with You in Paradise, and save me from Pharaoh and his deeds, and rescue me from the wrongdoing people.”

He sets forth a parable for you from yourselves: Would you accept partners among those your right hands possess, equal to you in wealth, fearing them as you fear one another?

Allah presents a parable: two men, one is mute, incapable of anything, a burden on his guardian. Wherever he is sent, he brings no benefit. Can he be equal to one who commands justice and walks a straight path?

Present to them the parable of worldly life: like water We send down from the sky, absorbed by the earth’s vegetation, then it becomes dry, scattered by the wind.

The life of this world is like rain We send down, absorbed by the earth’s vegetation, which people and animals consume. But when the land is adorned and its inhabitants think they have full control, Our command comes, by night or by day, and We turn it into stubble, as if it had never flourished.

He sends down water from the sky, and valleys flow according to their measure. The torrent carries foam like the scum upon molten metal when heated for crafting ornaments or tools. Thus, Allah illustrates truth and falsehood, the foam vanishes, but what benefits people remains. This is how Allah sets forth examples.

Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. His light is like a niche within which is a lamp, the lamp enclosed in glass, the glass shining like a brilliant star, lit from a blessed olive tree, neither of the east nor the west, whose oil glows even without fire. Light upon light. Allah guides to His light whom He wills. Allah sets forth parables for humanity.

Allah does not hesitate to set forth an example, even of a mosquito or something smaller. The believers recognize it as truth from their Lord, while the disbelievers question its meaning. Through such examples, Allah guides many and allows many to stray, but only the rebellious are led astray.

Those who break their covenant with Allah after affirming it, sever what He has commanded to be joined, and spread corruption on the earth. They are the true losers.

Do you not see how Allah sets forth a parable? A good word is like a sturdy tree, its roots firm, its branches reaching the sky.

It yields fruit in every season by its Lord’s permission. Allah presents examples for people so they may reflect.

But an evil word is like a rotten tree, uprooted from the earth, unstable in its place.