Tafseer of The Believers · Al-Muminoon · 23:13
Then We placed him as a sperm-drop in a firm lodging.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
He, exalted be His remembrance, means by His word: ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَاهُ نُطْفَةً فِي قَرَارٍ مَكِينٍ (then We placed him as a sperm-drop in a secure resting-place) — then We made the human being whom We had made from an extract of clay into a sperm-drop in a secure resting-place, that is to say, the place in the womb of the woman where the man's sperm-fluid comes to rest. He describes it as "makīn" (secure), because it has been arranged and prepared beforehand for it to rest therein until its destined development reaches completion, the development which He has appointed for it as a resting-place. His word: ثُمَّ خَلَقْنَا النُّطْفَةَ عَلَقَةً (then We created the sperm-drop into a clinging clot) — He says: then We changed the sperm-drop, which We had placed in a secure resting-place, into a clinging clot (ʿalaqa), and that is the piece of congealed blood. فَخَلَقْنَا الْعَلَقَةَ مُضْغَةً (then We created the clinging clot into a lump of flesh) — He says: then We made that blood into a lump of flesh (muḍgha), and that is the morsel of flesh.
His word: فَخَلَقْنَا الْمُضْغَةَ عِظَامًا (then We created the lump of flesh into bones) — He says: then We made that lump of flesh into bones. The Qurʾān-reciters differed in the reading of it: the majority of the reciters of the Ḥijāz and Iraq, with the exception of ʿĀṣim, read: فَخَلَقْنَا الْمُضْغَةَ عِظَامًا in the plural; and ʿĀṣim and ʿAbd Allāh read it as عَظْمًا in the singular in both occurrences.
The reading which we prefer in this case is the plural form, because of the agreement of the majority of the authorities (al-ḥujja) among the reciters upon it.
His word: فَكَسَوْنَا الْعِظَامَ لَحْمًا (then We clothed the bones with flesh) — He says: We wrapped the bones in flesh.
