IS_10-9-32.pdf

Soorat ai Baqarah, 2: 258 ;L 0) lj 01 rL')Lc'l£ j \ : /.# /..J // )L ,{o/""""/ /...... --;:.; / { 0 iLJ\i ljL'-f"IUJ\i...

Soorat ai Baqarah, 2: 258 ;L 0) lj 01 rL')Lc'l£ j \ : /.# /..J // )L ,{o/""""/ /...... --;:.; / { 0 iLJ\i ljL'-f"IUJ\i ,._.,.,..,,..,....& / $ ;II0k"1 -s;JI Translation of the Meaning of this Verse Are you not aware of the man who argued with l braaheem a bout his Lord, because Allah had given him kingdom? When l braaheem said, 'My Lord is He Who grants l ife and death.' He said, ' I give l ife and death.' Said l braaheem, 'Well, then, Allah ca uses the sun to rise in the east, so cause it to rise in the west!' Thus was he who d isbel ieved confounded. And Al lah does not guide the u njust people. (2: 258) The Debate between Prophet lbraaheem and King N imrod The king referred to in this verse was N imrod ( N amrood), king of U r, the land of l braaheem's birth, I raq. I t is said that l braaheem's father was a favoured officer in the kingdom of N imrod. He had denounced his own son to the king for preaching the Oneness of Al lah. N imrod was a disbel iever. He denied the existence of Al lah. He arrogantly and defiantly claimed that he was the creator and pretended that he could give life and cause death. Later on, Pharaoh (Fir'awn) imitated him and declared, 'I do not know that you have a god other than me.' (28: 3 8) It was Nimrod who had built a huge of people to him after that was the one fire in which l braaheem was fiung. who woul d hit his head with a hammer! The king was l ater killed by a gnat which H e suffered for forty days. (Tafseer entered his brain and ate it. The dearest ai-Qurtubee) {f) Allah's Ultimate Power Before the King When N imrod hea rd that l braaheem prostrated himself only before Al l a h and would not prostrate himself before a nyone else, he became angry and sent for him. l braaheem came stra ightaway. He did not fea r anyone except Al lah. The king asked, 'Who is your l ord, l braaheem?' l braa heem replied, 'My Lord is Al lah.' The king asked, 'And who One day the people went out to a is Allah, l braaheem?' l b raaheem festiva l. All the people rejoiced and set answered, 'The One Who gives l ife and out for the celebration, which they used ca uses death.' The king said, ' I give l ife to observe regu larly. Prophet l braaheem and cause death.' did not join the festiva l. When he The king then had a man brought found himself alone at home, he went before him and had him kil led. Then he forth to the h uge building where the had another man brought before him idols were kept. He hit the idols with an and spared his l ife. Then he proudly said axe and smashed a l l of them except for to l braaheem 1, ' Did you see? I give life the largest idol which he l eft unharmed and cause death. I put one man to death and then hung the axe round its neck. and let the other man l ive.' The people returned from the The king was very sil ly. Al l festiva l and went into the building idol-worshippers behave foolishly in where the idols were kept. They were such matters. especially keen to bow d own before the Al lah had given N imrod power. But idols because it was the day of their power in the hands of those who do not festiva l. They were amazed a n d bel ieve or appreciate Allah's grace a n d dumbfounded a t what they saw. favour c a n corrupt and l e a d to tyra n ny. 'Who has done this to our gods?' l braa heem wanted to make the king they cried. They asked l braaheem 1, understand. He wanted to make all his 'Are you the one who did this to our people understand that there is no god gods?' but Allah. l braa heem pointed out to the H e said to the king, 'Well, then, Allah large idol and said, ' B ut this, their chief causes the sun to rise from the east, so has done it. Ask them if they a re able to cause it to rise from the west!' speak.'  Allah's Ultimate Power G) Life and death a re two of the greatest wonders of this world wh ich we witness everyday. They are both in the Hands of Al lah. / Who was N im rod? But the king was not looking / Why did young l braa heem l eave the largest for guidance. He was interested idol stan d ing? only in building his lordship which / Why did the king remain u nguided even was threatened by l braa h eem's though he was presented with convincing mission of preaching the arguments? Oneness of Al lah. He was looking only for a way to defeat The Verse Presents two Simple but l braa heem in a rgument. But the king Profound Truths could think of nothing to say in a n swer The verse presents two simple but to l braaheem's a rgument. He was p rofound truths: one taken from within confused and d um bfounded. man's daily life, that 'Al lah gives l ife and B ut did the king bel ieve? Did he causes death', and the other from the immediately repent and mend his ways? natura l world a round us, that 'Al lah N o! This would have certainly happened causes the sun to rise in the east' and not if he were sincerely looking for guidance. in the west. These are daily, fam il iar Even though he became speechless, he occurrences. They are available for a l l to did not receive guidance. G uidance see and contemplate. I n fact, it req uires comes from Al lah. But in the sight of little knowledge or effort to perceive or Allah, he was not qualified for guidance. understand these truths unless one stubbornly chooses to reject the truth. The stubborn king would have been Even so, N im rod did n ot come out of better advised to accept the truth, but the darkness of self-worship into the l ight his pride got the better of him. H is of truth. I n his denial of Allah, he was arrogance prevented h im from accepting u njust to himself. the truth. He could do no m ore than be Like Prophet l braaheem 1, we m ust astonished and confo u n d e d. stand fast in our excl usive obedience to Conseq uently, he lost the opportunity to Al lah as Lord of everyone and everything. believe and win Allah's guidance. Allah Although Allah commands us to obey our does not guide the u njust and the parents and leaders in worldly matters, evildoers. this is only on condition that this accords with H is Wil l. Our obedience to others ru Allah's Ultimate Power must never equal or override our submission to Allah. I t is Al lah's Will that the message of Islam be given to everyone, whether king or commoner. There is none worthy of worship except Allah. U ltimate power belongs only to H im. / Allah commands us to obey our parents and l eaders. Then, why did l b raaheem disobey king N im rod? / Why was king N im rod p uffed u p with pride? / The verse presents two simple profound truths. What a re they? For whom a re these 'simple' truths d ifficult to grasp?  (Soorat al Baqarah 2: 259) Translation of the Meaning of this Verse Or l ike him who passed by a town whose roofs had caved in. He said, 'Oh! H ow can Allah ever bring it to l ife, after its destruction?' So All a h caused him to die for a hundred years, then raised him u p again. H e said, ' H ow long have you remained in this state?' H e said, ' I have remained in this state for a day or a part of a day.' He said, ' N o, you have remained in this state for a hundred years. N ow, look at your food and your drink - it is untouched by the passage of time; a n d look at you r donkey [how We restore it to l ife that you might gain surety of belief concerning resurrection]. And [We did a l l this] so that We might make you a sign for people. And look at the bones - how We put them together a n d clothe them with flesh.' When this became clear to him, he exclaimed, ' I know that All a h has power over a l l things.' (2: 259) Who was the man who passed by Who was the man who passed by the the town? which town was it? ruined town? Which town was it? What This verse has aroused a great deal did the man have for food and d rink? of interest among Qur'an When did this incident take place? commentators, or the tafseer scholars. ({!') The Story of a Man Qur' a n Commentators have and certainty of faith, which is known as recounted many th ings in their attempt haqq-ul-yaqeen - truth, absol ute a n d to answer these q uestions. The Qur'an, assured certainty. however, does not give any details as to It often happens that a person the identity of this man or the ruined believes something beca use he finds town. This is because such deta ils add ample evidence for it, but that it is so l ittle to the significance and impact of wondrous that he cannot help this incident. Were these details wondering how it a l l a ctually happened. necessary, they woul d not have been Such q uestions are a result of one's overlooked in the N oble Qur' a n. overwhelming desire to know and The most important thing t o real ize explore. They do not spring from is that the incident narrated by the rejection of faith. This urge is especially Qur'an did take place. Despite the strong when one is faced with an a bsence of details, the scene comes to extremely moving situation. S uch a state l if. I t stirs the imagination with great of m ind does not contradict faith. It is clarity and power. It is a scene of ruin rather an essential outcome of a fa ith and destruction. 'The town whose roofs that is based on reason and had caved in': This is the picture of a understanding. It is a journey in which ru ined town. The collapse of old every step marks a move towards a buildings usually begins with their higher a n d better phase. The truly wise towers, turrets and roofs. First, their and insightfu l person finds it today heights tumble d own, followed by their compared to its yesterday, markedly walls. A town in ruins, with wal l s a n d distinct and bright. col umns caved in on their foundations! It is a Sunnah, or a law of Allah, that The effect of ruin a n d decay He leads sincere truth seekers to H is expresses itself in the man's guidance. H e lends them inner light and exclamation, ' H ow can Al lah ever bring it supports them. to life after its destruction?' The man is Allah, M ost H igh, willed to make the perfectly aware of Al lah's presence. H is man a sign for m a n kind. The man was faith was deep. H is faith was extremely n ot given any l ogica l or rational sound. H e was a believer. He did not argument as to how a dead body could doubt that Al lah could bring it back to be brought to life. He himself was made life, but he was merely expressing his to undergo that wonderfu l experience. amazement. H is q u estioning was not Such a direct personal experience out of lack of faith. It was simply an proved very effective. I t involved his expression of wonderment and surprise. senses, emotions and feel ings. I ts effect The man, in fact, desired peace of mind was sha rp a n d overwhelming.  The Story of a Man {j) Al lah, M ost H igh, caused him to die The Day of Resurrection for a hundred years. He then brought The q u estion and a nswer sequence him back to life. Wh ile he was dead, the is meant to demonstrate that on being man obviously lost a l l sense of time a n d restored to life on the Day of could not tell h o w long he had been i n Resurrection, a person will have no idea that state. This i s easy t o understa nd. how long he had spent in barzakh - the H uman beings often misjudge things interim period intervening between even when they a re in fu l l control of one's death and the Day of J udgement. their senses. Scholars have pointed out On being raised, he will feel as if he had that since the man was made to d ie in just woken up after a short nap. A the early part of the day and Al l a h person will feel that his l ife on earth was resurrected him in t h e latter part of not something in his d istant past. It some other day, when he saw that the wou ld rather appear to be just sun was still apparent, he thought that it someth ing that happened only was the sun of that very day. ' H ow long yesterday, in the morning or eve n ing. have you remained in this state?' The man repl ied, 'A day or a part of a day.' But the man was informed, ' N o, you have remained in this state for a h u ndred years!' Why do you think Allah has mentioned the incident and not the The Man's Donkey deta ils of the man or the town? None of the man's food a n d drink / The man's exclaiming ' H ow can went bad. It remained in good condition. Allah ever bring it to life... ' was n ot But the man's donkey was not a round. due to a deficient faith. Explain. The donkey was made to d ie along with H ow does Allah deal with the him. I ts bones lay scattered here and sincere seekers of truth? there. N ow Allah said, 'And look at your What was Allah's wisdom behind d onkey. H ow We bring it back while you ma king the man undergo the are watching.' wonderfu l experience of creation? I bn Katheer reported that As-Suddee, one of the early Qur'an ru The Story of a Man commentators, explained this incident I t is also worth noting here that the thus: ' H e observed the bones of his food was ' u ntouched' by the passage of donkey which were scattered a l l around time, while the donkey was long since him to his right a n d l eft. Allah sent a dead and its bones had become utterly wind that collected the bones from a l l rotten. The fact that the man, the over t h e area. A l l a h then brought every donkey and the provisions were affected bone to its place, u ntil they formed a ful l in d ifferent ways, under the same donkey m a d e of fleshless bones. Al l a h physical a n d environmental conditions is a nother sign of that Absol ute, Limitless, t h e n covered these bones with flesh, and Unrestricted Divine Power. Al l a h nerves, veins and skin. Then Al lah sent definitely has the power t o preserve o r an angel who breathed l ife into the restore freshness after decay a n d don key's nostrils and the donkey sta rted disintegration. The suspension of to bray by Al l a h's leave! physical laws governing a thing is wel l All these things occurred while the within H is power. man watched. He saw the marvel lous The secret of l ife and death was sight of a dead animal's decomposed unravelled before the man. He was fully bones being assembled, and then convinced that Allah indeed has power covered with flesh and skin. This over a l l things. The m a n in our present personal experience ful ly satisfied the story came to the right concl usion. man's mind and heart about l ife after Through this story, Allah has, for all time death. H e proclaimed, " I know now that to come, given evidence of H is M ight. Allah has power over everything.'" ( See We must a lso live our daily lives with this Tafseer Ibn Katheer, Volume 2, pp. 40-41 - conviction. This is how it will be on the English Translation ) Day of Resurrection. / I n what d ifferent ways were the man, the donkey a n d the provisions affected? / What timeless l esson s do we learn from the story &,/ expounded in this chapter?  The Story of a Man (r} Preparing Now for Then The Qur'an relates a ccounts of earlier communities, civil izations and destroyed societies with a view to conveying lessons for us. The Qur'an also employs parables for this purpose, which are highly instructive. The a bove Qur'anic passage contains l essons for people of a l l times a n d places. M ost people will not a l low themselves to dwell on death. But the true concept of life is that we have come from Al lah and a re return ing to H im. When, how and where will we d ie is Al l a h's secret. We d o not know how much l onger we have to l ive, but what we do know is that we must a lways be ready for death. I n other words, we have to think more of our etern a l afterl ife t h a n o f t h e present l ife, which is transient a n d short. The worl d continues its course through the ages. But this will not go on forever. A day will come when our time for trial will be over. Then this world will end. The Hour is com ing in which all those who have l ived and d ied will rise again. This is a truth revealed by Al l a h several times in the G lorious Qur'an. The resurrection of the body will come about through the m ighty Power of Allah. He had n o difficulty in creating us in the first pla ce, and He will have still no difficulty whatsoever in recomposing the elements of our bod ies and once again giving us life. I slam teaches us that we will present ourselves before Al lah to be judged concerning all the good and evil deeds we have done in this l ife.  (Soorat - ai- Baqarah 2: 260) Translation of the Meaning of this Verse And recall when l b raa heem said, 'My Lord! Show m e how You bring t h e d e a d t o l ife.' H e said, 'Do you not then believe?' H e answered, ' I ndeed, I do! But so my heart may be at rest.' He said, 'Take four birds, tame them to turn to you, (then slaughter them, cut them into pieces), and then put a portion of them on every mountain, and call them; they will come to you in speed. And know that Al lah is Exa lted in power, Wise.' (2: 260) Knowledge Deepens Faith of l braaheem when he expressed h is This is an important story of desire to witness how the dead will be curiosity a bout the great mystery of l ife restored to life o n the Day of a n d creation. It proves that there a re Resurrection. times when even the most favoured of This is very similar to M oosaa's Al l a h's believing servants experience a desire to see Al lah. I t was n ot because passionate urge and desire to discover l b raa heem did n ot believe in the the secrets of creation. Resurrection. Of course, he did believe, but there is a difference in believing Prophet lbraaheem Asks for something o n the basis of evidence and Certainty of Belief witnessing it with one's own eyes. J ust as Allah satisfied the sincere And Al l a h does satisfy His sincere bel iever in the previous story, by servants a n d seekers of truth. H e even unveiling for him the inner workings of shows them the workings of some H is Kingdom, so did He satisfy the heart specific parts of H is wonderfu l creation.  Knowledge Deepens Faith lliJ H e is the Guard ian of those who believe esta bl ish an argument to his people. I t is in Him. He helps them a n d supports rather one of those spectacles that he them. H e never abandons them in a was personally shown by Allah in order state of bewilderment and confusion. to satisfy him a n d set his heart at rest. Rather, H e brings them from darkness The prophets are shown such spectacles into l ight and from anxiety and chaos as part of their training for the awesome into peace and tranquillity. burden with which All a h entrusted Prophet l braaheem was advised them. to ta ke four birds, most probably in H ere, the curiosity is not motivated order to make him witness their coming by lack of conviction. It is not a demand together from all four directions, and to for proof to confirm one's faith. It has a demonstrate how o n the Day of d ifferent flavour. It is excited by a Resurrection, when the Trumpet is spiritual yearning to see and experience sounded, a l l people will come run n ing one of Al lah's m ost fascinating secrets. towards their Creator and Lord from It is a natural and sponta neous desire to every direction. H e was a lso advised to know a n d l earn h ow the Divine Will tame them, probably in order that he operates. It is n ot in order to believe or would recognize them when they came obtain proof. Rather, it is to experience back to him, after their restoration to tota l peace and gain reassurance. l ife. This was also to demonstrate that in Allah knew that l braa heem was a the life after death, a l l the past devout believer and that his curiosity memories of a person concern ing h is l ife had arisen out of the quest for on earth will be fully restored. knowl edge. So H e responded favoura bly I t should be borne in mind, however, to his req uest and exposed him to a that this incident is n ot of those miracles direct personal experience to satisfy his that were given to l braaheem to curiosity. / Why did l braa heem ask Allah regarding the creation of Al lah? / H ow did Allah respond to l braaheem's req uest? / What are the two probable reasons behind taming the birds? [ll} Knowledge Deepens Faith Indeed, I Do Believe! Allah asked l braa h eem, ' Do you not then bel ieve?' H e replied, ' I n d eed, I do! But so my heart may be at peace.' I n other words, h e asked for it i n order to be stronger in faith. Resurrection of the Birds According to M uslim scholars, this The result was that Al lah responded verse raises great hope for M uslims. to what l braa heem had asked for. H e Allah M ost H igh accepted l braa heem's ord ered him to take four birds. affirmation when he merely said 'yes'. l b raaheem took four birds as he was This verse refers to the doubts that commanded and slaughtered them, and attack the heart and the thoughts that then cut them into small pieces. He Shaytan inspires. (Tafseer Ibn Katheer m ixed their flesh together with the Vol. 2 p. 44) blood and feathers so that they were a l l Th us l braaheem was able to. j u m bl ed together. H e then p u t parts of witness the secret of breathing l ife into that mixture on each mountain. H e the dead unfold before his own eyes. It stood where h e could see those pieces is the greatest mystery of l ife, things are while he kept the heads of the birds in created by Al lah out of nothing and are his hands. Then he said, 'Come, by renewed an infinite n umber of times: Allah's permission. ' And those parts everyday, every hour, every min ute, a n d flew, and the b lood flew to the blood, every second. and feathers to feathers, u ntil they were It is the mystery that continues to vex as they had been at first but headless. and elude human perception. Even if one Then he repeated the call, and they ran was to undergo Prophet l braaheem's to him until their heads were reunited experience and witness the actual act of with their bodies, and they flew by creation, one would not comprehend its Allah's permission. Each bird came to reality or how it is accomplished. It is the collect its head from l braa heem's hand, Power of Allah that we can acquire a n d if he gave the bird another head, the nothing except by H is Will. body would refuse to a ccept it. When I t is Al la h's Will that this a rea should l braaheem gave each bird its own remain beyond the bounds of human head, the head was pla ced on its body knowledge. Possibly because it is by Al l a h's Leave and Power. beyond man's com prehension and it is (a/-Qurtubee) not required for the fulfil ment of h is mission on earth.  Knowledge Deepens Faith [!;} QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ "fr Q "fr Faith Differs from Person to Person "fr person. Although everyone has a core of intell igence, Faith is l ike inte l l igence. I t differs from person to "fr some people a re definitely more intelligent than others. "fr Allah's M essenger is reported to have said, ' Being -fr tol d about something is not l ike seeing it.' ( I b n H ibbaan; -fr and it is an a uthentic hadeeth) "fr It is, therefore, significant to rea lize that when "fr Prophet M oosaa was told that his people were "fr worshipping a heifer, he did n ot throw the Stone Tablets "fr down. H e threw them only when he actua l l y saw h is "fr people worshipping the calf. 1)- Prophet l braa heem said, 'My Lord ! Show me how.ij. 1)- you give l ife to the dead.' Allah said, ' Do you n ot bel ieve?' "fr H e said, ' I ndeed, I do, but to satisfy my own heart.' 1)- In fact, faith, as we have said earlier, varies in its.ij. "fr rad iance from heart to hea rt. There a re, in reality, "fr countless d egrees of faith's radiance, which a re known "fr only to Allah. I n some hearts, it is as bright as the sun, in "fr others it is l ike the ful l moon, in others it is l ike stars, in "fr some like a big illuminated chandelier, in some l ike a b ig "fr l amp, in some like a glowing candle, and in some l ike a "fr flickering flame of l ight. This is why, on the Day of "fr Resurrection, the l ights of the believers will rad iate "fr a ccording to the strength a n d the depth of their faith in "fr Al lah's Oneness and the nobility of their actions. ¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢ / Give a n example from the lesson o n how seeing is better than hearing. / M ention the different shades of faith.  The M iracu lous St ory of Man's Crea t ion How did Allah create the world? Allah created the world out of nothing with an a ct of H is Omnipotent Wil l. H e said, " Be" and it was made. H e commanded, and it stood forth. To create i s a n ability that is only Allah's. H ow long did it take Allah to create the u niverse? Allah made the world in six d ays, or periods of time. The Qur' a n says: 'Allah i s the O n e Who created the heavens a n d the earth and all that is between them in six days.' (25: 5 9 ) H ow long were those days? We d o n o t know. They were not days as we know them, beca use d u ring some of them, the sun and the earth were not yet formed. Such a day may be a very long time for us. The M iracle of 'Man' dust (the first man Adam), then from a We l ive in a world with bill ions of drop of fluid (nutfah), then from people. Everyday, all over the worl d, something that clings ('alaqah), then h u nd reds of thousands of babies a re from a morsel-like lump (mudhghah): born; hund reds of babies every minute. destined to be either fully formed or Similarly, h u nd reds of thousands of left unformed. In this way, do We make people a lso die. In this way, life o n earth clear to you Allah's All-creative might. continues: bab ies a re born, they grow Thus do We cause to settle in the up, adults get married and old people wombs (of their mothers) whatever die. And so it goes on and on! unborn. We so will, for a stated term. Then We bring you forth as babies, so The Qur'an and the Creation of the that you may thereafter reach ful l First Man, Adam maturity. Then among you are those Allah, M ost H igh, H imself revealed who die young. And some of you live on our true origin to us in the Qur'an. The to an object old age when all that they creation of m a n is a m iracle. The fi rst once knew, they knew no more. And human being was created by All a h, even so do you see the earth lifeless. shaping clay into a human form a n d then But when We send down upon it water, breathing l ife into it. Allah says in the it quivers and swells and grows every Qur' an: ' Indeed, We created you out of variety of plant life.' (22: 5)  The Miraculous Story of Man's Creation G) Thus man is a n issue of the earth. H e expressed in a n extremely brief and originated, took form a n d l ived o ut o f its profound manner in its verses have only d ust. H e is closely related to d ust, both been admitted to by the disbelievers in in his constitution and food. The Qur'an recent years. These facts could not have says: 'We created man from an extract been witnessed by humans at the time of clay.' (23 : 1 2) of the Qur'an's reve l ation, and this The Arabic word 'su/aalah' furnishes still more proof that the (translated as extract in this verse), Qur'an is the Word of Allah. In fact, the means an essence or kernel. The Qur'an is the greatest proof of Islam. information revealed in the Qur'an over The Qur' a n 's purpose behind 1400 yea rs ago confirms what modern delivering medical and scientific science now tells us, namely, that the referen ces a n d othe r m iracles a re same elements as those found in the soil numerous. By doing so, it strengthens a re found in human creation. and deepens M uslims' faith, motivating Likewise, water forms the main them towards med itation. It a lso component of the human being, as is provides non-M uslims with irrefutable common in other living beings. The evidence of Islam's genuineness. Qur'an says: 'Allah created every beast from water. Some of them go on their A Hadeeth that Demonstrates One bellies, some of them on two legs, and of the Many Scientific M iracles some on four. Allah creates whatever On the a uthority of Abdullaah ibn He wills, for Allah has power over all Mas'ood 41& who said, 'The M essenger of things. (24: 45) Allah narrated to us, a n d he is the truthfu l , entrusted one: "Verily, each of 'We made from water every living you is brought together in his m other's thing.' (21 : 30) womb for forty days. Then it is therein It was only possible for the something that clings d u ring this period disbel ievers to come a cross this ('alaqah). Thereafter, it is a lump looking information, clearly expressed in those l i ke it has been chewed in this period Verses, h undreds of years afterwards (mudhghah). The angel is then sent to with the invention of the m icroscope. him, a n d he breathes into him the The Qur'an is not a book of science. spirit."' ( Part of a hadeeth recorded by H owever, many scientific facts that a re a i-Bukhaaree) W} The Miraculous Story of Man's Creation / H ow long were the days when Allah created the u niverse in comparison to the earth's days? / I n what d ifferent ways is m a n rel ated to the earth's soil? / The Qur'an contains verses of scientific and medical n ature. Elaborate. It is interesting to n ote that Allah's The Stages of Human Development M essenger u sed here the word 'the a ngel ', rather than 'an a ngel'. This may 1. The first stage of the development indicate that this rol e of looking after or of a human being, as is evident from taking care of the foetus is that of a the Qur' a n, is the stage of being a special a ngel. This hadeeth describes nutfah. Nutfah is a n Ara bic word some of the different stages of human which l iterally means a 'drop of development. fl uid'. After the male sperm enters the woman's body, it joins with the Different Stages of Human egg in the womb of the m other. Development The word n utfah is often I n another place in the G l orious translated as 'sperm, d rop of semen, Qur'an, Al l a h mentions the seven stages l iving germ, a drop of seed, etc. ' B ut of creation and development that it is important to realize that the human beings go through: 4And indeed Arabic term n utfah does n ot refer We created man out of an extract of only to the male sperm. The Prophet clay. Then We made him (the offspring 3% used it in clear reference to a of Adam) into a nutfah (i.e. mixture of man's n utfah a n d a woman's nutfah, male and female fluid) set in a and the union of both. well-established place (the woman's It is clear that the disbelievers womb). Then We made the nutfah into realized that the embryo is created something that clings (4alaqah). Then of a man's sperm mingled with a We made the clinging object into a woman's ovum only in the morsel-like lump (mudhghah). Then We eighteenth century. Furthermore, created in the morsel-like lump bones. this was confirmed by the Then We clothed the bones with flesh. disbelievers d u ring the begi nning of Thus do We bring him forth as an the twentieth century. entirely different creation. So blessed The Qur' a n possesses many be Allah, the best of creators.' (23: 12-14 ) m iraculous attributes proving that it  The Miraculous Story of Man's Creation [}i) is a revelation from Allah. One of Zygote 0 these attributes is the fact that a Morula / n umber of scientific truths that have {0-3 days) o only been admitted to by the Blastocyst.--­ D (3-7 days) disbelievers with the help of twentieth century technology were OJ a ctually stated in the Qur'an more than 1 400 years ago. The Gracious 0 iJ i) Qur'an and the Prophetic sayings 0 co confirmed in a very accurate manner 0 Embryo the creation of man from a mingled Ill {first 8 weeks) rli/__ fluid-drop more than fourteen centuries ago. r...... CD Several Other Stages: Mentioned in the Qur'an - 2. The stage of 'alaqah: the clinging =r CD stage. 3· The mudghah stage: A chewed-like Fetus lump of flesh. 0 (until term) 3 C"' 4 · The bone formation stage. 5· The m uscle stage: the clothing with flesh. 6. The developing (nash'ah) stage. 7. The labour stage: After the passing of nine l unar months (about 38 weeks), the foetus completes its growth in the uterus. It is time now to leave, / What are the different stages of after the end of this specified period. human creation a s mentioned in Al lah says, 'And We cause whom We the Qur' a n? will to rest in the wombs for an / Explain the word nutfah. appointed term.' (22: 5) lli} The Miraculous Story of Man's Creation Review A. Fill in the blanks. 1. Allah created the u niverse i n ____ days. 2. ------- forms the main component of earth ly l iving beings. B. Think-up H ow does the creation of man prove that the Qur'an is the Word of Allah?  The Story of Two Men (Soorat al-Kahf, 18: 32-44) j(--. n: tv z.;::-\ln::../' ;. _./..... ,.... -)121 u_.... _.,-- r t·.,....., J.. -:- >'t ,..... ,:/:::: ;-- , ,...... ,..........,_,. (, _..... ,.... -:>// ,... ,....,... ,..,,,..... /. , ,.......... ,..,../ /.).//....... c.............J.':J> ,...... / ""}{.c Jw_r:i,AJvbj 1f 31-;. ;_:., )1J;J34XI I I L::.t;_ , /""' jz;lt:J.c :;l _Ll;_;, j: _;@ 1C ]S,ti:C5 ; _ ® "'.\ : 4; {;: :} J} J.) jq.J i:.;U \ J\;)\L;_)@{J z ® (i.1 ('t!J dili- \ 55t! -J _;, ,2J u1 0 'i:&I{GC: ,t_ rJj_; @ I -QJ. J_),i']_;.............. - - GI..:.: J-q ® _; 1c: §ltl ;.s I {--® - 1_;.\"b-"l -- "u1""'1;-