English Translation of Al-Quran
[35].Surah Fatir [The Originator of Creation]
Ayat 11. And Allah did create you (Adam) from dust, then from Nutfah (male and female discharge semen drops i.e. Adam’s offspring), then He made you pairs (male and female). And no female conceives or gives birth, but with His Knowledge. And no aged man is granted a length of life, nor is a part cut off from his life (or another man’s life), but is in a Book (Al’Lauh AlMahfuz) Surely, that is easy for Allah.
Tafseer of Surah Fatir Ayat 11. And Allah did create you from dust; then from a sperm-drop; then He made you in pairs. And no female conceives, or lays down (her load), but with His knowledge. Nor is a man long-lived granted length of days, nor is a part cut off from his life, but is in a Decree (ordained). All this is easy to Allah. Cf. 18:37 and 22:5; and 30:20. Here the argument is that man’s physical origin is lowly; his physical body is but dust; his life-sperm issues from a part of his body which he hides and considers as a place of shame; and the mystery of sex shows that no one individual among mankind is sufficient for himself. Glory and power and knowledge are not in him, but in Allah, from Whom alone he derives any glory, or power, or knowledge that he possesses. “Then” in this and the following clause refers, not to stages of time, but to stages in the argument. It is almost equivalent to “further”, “also”, and “in addition”. Things that appear most secret and mysterious to man are all known and ordained by Allah. They are all subject to Allah’s Laws and Decrees. The mystery of human birth (see 31:34), the mystery of sex, the mystery of Life and Death and many other things, seem to man inexplicable. But they are all ordained by Allah, and their reasons are fully known to Him. Man’s knowledge may be acquired laboriously and may be a burden to him. Allah’s knowledge is different; it is no task or burden to Him. Cf. 33:19 and 30.
English Translation of Hadith
Hazrat Abdullah bin Masud (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah ﷺ [SAWW](PBUH), the truthful and the receiver of the truth informed us, saying, “The creation of you (humans) is gathered in the form of semen in the womb of your mother for forty days, then it becomes a clinging thing in similar (period), then it becomes a lump of flesh like that, then Allah sends an angel who breathes the life into it; and (the angel) is commanded to record four things about it: Its provision, its term of life (in this world), its conduct; and whether it will be happy or miserable. By the One besides Whom there is no true god! Verily, one of you would perform the actions of the dwellers of Jannah until there is only one cubit between him and it (Jannah), when what is foreordained would come to pass and he would perform the actions of the inmates of Hell until he entered it. And one of you would perform the actions of the inmates of Hell, until there is only one cubit between him and Hell. Then he would perform the acts of the dwellers of Jannah until he would enter it.”
[Muslim Book 33, Chapter 01, Hadith # 6930].
Lesson: as mentioned above in Surah Fatir Ayat 11. “And no aged man is granted a length of life, nor is a part cut off from his life (or another man’s life), but is in a Book (Al’Lauh AlMahfuz) Surely, that is easy for Allah” This Hadith deals with the problem of fate in which Faith is essential. What it means is that Almighty Allah already knows about every person, whether he will be pious or impious, whether he will go to Jannah or Hell. He has already recorded all this. But it does not mean that man is absolutely helpless and is deprived of will and power, as is believed by some deviant sects who have gone astray. Fate is in fact a manifestation of the Knowledge of Allah and it has nothing to do with the will and intention of a person. Allah has not created man as a helpless creature, but has endowed him with the freedom of will and action, because in the absence of these two qualities, there would be no justification for his trial. He could only be put to test if he was granted not only the ability to choose between good and evil but also the freedom to act. For this purpose, Almighty Allah has clearly indicated to man both the paths and granted him freedom to choose whichever he likes. He has also told him the ultimate end of each. The Noble Qur’an says: “Verily, We showed him the way, whether he be grateful or ungrateful”. {76}Surah Al-Insan [Man]: Ayat 3) “Then whosoever wills, let him believe; and whosoever wills, let him disbelieve”. {18} Surah Al-Kahf [The Cave]: Ayat 29). But by mentioning this Hadith in the chapter relating to the fear of Allah, Imam An-Nawawi has warned that we should be fearful of Allah, pray for His Help, and an auspicious end of our life. He has advised us to adopt whatever means are available to us. In other words, we should make Faith and piety a way of life because one can find the means and resources according to one’s capacity. Since nobody knows the result of his endeavors, one should leave it to Allah and rest assured that He Who has created him with a purpose will also create the ways and means to attain it. He who adopts piety, the ways to piety will open for him; and he who adopts evil, the ways to evil will open for him. A Muslim should never go towards evil at any stage of his life, lest his life comes to an end suddenly and he is deprived of the reward of all the good deeds he has done during his life and consequently he is consigned to Hell rather than Jannah. May Allah save us from a bad end and such actions which lead one to Hell.
