Introduction to the Study of The Holy Quran — Page 291
291 This verse explains that a human being is born as the result of the nourishment which man and woman take to sustain life and to maintain their strength. This nourishment produces in the human body matter by means of which procreation takes place. When this matter enters into the womb, a portion of it which is charged with the faculty of procreation adheres to the womb and begins to draw sustenance. Within a few days it begins to thicken and grows into a flexible substance in which bones begin to form and later on, when these bones are clothed with flesh, the stages of physical procreation are completed. Simultaneously with this development a sort of distillation takes place as the result of which this growth develops animal characteristics and ultimately results in the birth of an intelligent human being. The verse shows clearly that the soul does not enter the body from outside but is a distillation from the substance which is being developed in the mother’s womb. It is no doubt distinct from the substance from which it is distilled and has the effect of bestowing upon that substance animal characteristics and of converting it into a human being endowed with reason and intelligence and the faculty of progress. To illustrate this one may as a rough comparison draw attention to certain chemical processes whereby certain substances combine to form a new substance possessing distinct qualities of its own. For instance, alcohol is distilled from beet, wheat, corn or treacle. It possesses qualities different from those of the basic substance from which it is manufactured. Whereas the raw material of alcohol is liable to rot, alcohol is a preservative. Again, while the use of the raw material does not directly affect man’s intellectual powers, alcohol is very potent in that respect. In short, the Quran puts forward an altogether new conception concerning the birth of the human soul which is not to be found in any previous Scripture. As has already been stated, some of these Scriptures are altogether silent on this subject. They confine themselves to dealing with man as they find him and do not feel the need of discussing the subject of the creation of man and of the human soul. Those that purport to deal with this subject put forward one of two theories. One of these theories is that human souls are not created by God but are eternal and self-existing like God Himself. God causes these eternal souls to enter into human bodies at the appropriate time, The second theory is that souls are created and not self-existing but God created the requisite number of them at the same time as He created the universe, and that these souls are kept in reserve and out of this reserve God causes some to enter into human bodies from time to time. The Quran is the first and only Scripture which puts forward the correct view on this matter. It teaches that the birth of the soul is the ultimate stage of the volution of the human body in the course of its creation. It does not enter the body from outside but is born as a consequence of the changes that the body goes through in the course of its development. Yet it is something distinct from the body. It is not merely the motive power of the human body but is a distinct and permanent entity distilled from the substance of the body, just as alcohol and vinegar, though distilled from corn or fruit, are nevertheless