The Mirror of the Excellences of Islam — Page 232
PREFACE SUB-FOOTNOTE 231 through six stages of coming into being, in accordance with the wis- dom and power of Almighty God. This is a general law and is not lim- ited to the initial creation. Thus Allah, glorified be His eminence, men- tions the same six stages in relation to the creation of every human being, as is stated in the verse of Surah al-Mu'minun in the 18th Part of the Holy Quran; وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ مِنْ سُللَةٍ مِنْ طِينٍ ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَهُ نُطْفَةً في قَرَارٍ مَّكِينِ ثُمَّ خَلَقْنَا النُّطْفَةَ عَلَقَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْعَلَقَةَ مُضْغَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْمُضْغَةَ عِظَمًا فَكَسَوْنَا الْعِظُمَ لَحْمًا ثُمَّ انْشَانَهُ خَلْقًا أَخَرَ فَتَبْرَكَ اللهُ اَحْسَنُ الْخَلِقِينَ 1 AUTHOR'S MARGIN NOTE The reason and evidence behind the creation of the heavens and the earth in six days Meaning that: We created man first from the clay which was the essence of the different kinds of earth and contained all the powers which the earth possessed so that in respect of the physical body too, he may become a miniature universe and may embody in himself the qualities and powers of all earthly objects, just as in a spiritual sense also he is a microcosm of the universe, according to the verse: فَإِذَا سَوَيْتُهُ وَنَفَخْتُ فِيهِ مِنْ رُوحِي 2 Moreover, by reason of the perfect human attributes and his being a perfect reflection of God, he is the perfect manifestation of the Divine Spirit. Next, We ordained another process for the birth of man, and that process was that We created in him the sperm and lodged it securely in a safe depository, which is created in the womb simultane- ously. (The words [safe depository] were adopted in order that they may apply both to the womb and the placenta) and then We made sperm into a clot, and the clot into a piece of flesh, and from this the 1. Surah al-Mu'minun, 23:13–15 [Publisher] 2. So when I have fashioned him in perfection and have breathed into him of My Spirit (Surah al-Hijr, 15:30). [Publisher]