Ya-Sin · Makki · ayah 77 of 83

Ya-Sin 36:77

أَوَلَمْ يَرَ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنُ أَنَّا خَلَقْنَـٰهُ مِن نُّطْفَةٍ فَإِذَا هُوَ خَصِيمٌ مُّبِينٌ

“Does man not consider that We created him from a [mere] sperm-drop - then at once[1283] he is a clear adversary?”

Saheeh International

Essence

A few drops of water became a person who can argue, and he argues first against the One who gave him that power.

A reflection

The drop that learned to argue

Picture a comedian on a stage, under lights, in front of two thousand people. His whole set is about how absurd religion is. His timing is perfect. His voice fills the hall. The crowd laughs exactly where he wants. Every gift he is using tonight, the wit, the voice, the mind that finds the joke, began as a few drops of fluid.

That is the scene this ayah sets. Has man not seen that We created him from a drop, and then, behold, he is an open adversary?

The lexicons explain nuṭfa: a little clear water, what is left at the bottom of a bucket or a waterskin. The human fluid is named for how little it is. One commentator dwells deliberately on the lowliness of that origin. He sets against it the man's boldness: confronting the Almighty, arguing, refusing to yield. Another notices the grammar. Fa-idhā, and then, behold: a particle of sudden surprise. From the lowliest thing, he springs straight into disputing with his Maker. And the sentence is nominal, which suggests the disputing has settled in as his permanent state.

The majesty in this ayah works by contrast, and it is aimed squarely at human pride. Arrogance always forgets where it started. The one who argues most loudly against his Creator is using, in every sentence, a mind and a tongue that were made from almost nothing.

A concise commentary adds the steps in between. From a drop, until We made him strong and capable. Strength that was given turned against the Giver.

The proper response is not to stop thinking. It is to remember, while thinking, what the thinker was made from.

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.