وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا ٱلْإِنسَٰنَ مِن سُلَٰلَةٍ مِّن طِينٍ
32:8-9.
Important Words:
سلالة (extract) is derived from سل (salla). They say سل الشیء i.e. he drew out the thing or he drew it out from another thing gently. سلالة means, what is or becomes drawn forth from a thing. سلالة الشیء means, an extract of a thing; the clear or pure part or the choice, the best or most excellent part of a thing; the sperma genitalis of a man; the water that is drawn from the back; progeny (Lane & Aqrab).
طین (clay) is derived from طان. They say طانه i.e. he plastered it with clay or mud. طانه اللّٰه علی الخیر means, God created him with a good natural disposition. طین means, clay, mud, earth, mould, soil (Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
With this verse begins a description of the process of creation of the noblest handiwork of God—man, from the earliest stage when he lies dormant in the form of dust. The inorganic constituents of the earth through a subtle process of change become converted into the germ of life by way of food which a human being eats.
32:8, 9.
After having mentioned in the first ten verses of the Surah the different stages of spiritual evolution of man, the Qur’an proceeds to describe in this and the next few verses the different stages of his physical development and thus establishes a remarkable parallelism between his physical and spiritual birth and growth. Leaving out biological technicalities, the Surah gives the description in a clear and easily understandable language. Biology has not discovered anything which even remotely contradicts the Quranic description. The words, We created man from an extract of clay, mention the process of man’s creation from the earliest stage when he lies dormant in the form of dust, and the inorganic constituents of the earth through a subtle process of change become converted into the life-germ by way of food which a human being eats. At the stage, then We clothed the bones with flesh (23:15), the physical growth of the embryo becomes complete.