Tafseer of The Forgiver · Ghafir · 40:67
It is He who created you from dust, then from a sperm-drop, then from a clinging clot; then He brings you out as a child; then [He develops you] that you reach your [time of] maturity, then [further] that you become elders. And among you is he who is taken in death before [that], so that you reach a specified term; and perhaps you will use reason.
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.
The statement concerning the interpretation of His saying, the Exalted: هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ ثُمَّ مِنْ عَلَقَةٍ ثُمَّ يُخْرِجُكُمْ طِفْلا ثُمَّ لِتَبْلُغُوا أَشُدَّكُمْ ثُمَّ لِتَكُونُوا شُيُوخًا وَمِنْكُمْ مَنْ يُتَوَفَّى مِنْ قَبْلُ وَلِتَبْلُغُوا أَجَلا مُسَمًّى وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ (67) (He it is Who created you from dust, then from a drop, then from a clot of blood; then He brings you forth as a child, that you may then reach your full strength, and that you may then become old people — though some of you die earlier — and that you may reach an appointed term, and that you may perhaps understand.) (40:67)
The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says, while commanding His Prophet Muḥammad — may Allah bless him and grant him peace — to point the polytheists (mushrikīn) of his people to His proofs against them concerning His oneness: Say, O Muḥammad, to your people: I have been commanded to submit myself to the Lord of the worlds, whose description these attributes are. And that is that He created your father Adam ( مِنْ تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ ) (from dust, then) He created you ( مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ ثُمَّ مِنْ عَلَقَةٍ ) (from a drop, then from a clot of blood), after you had been drops ( ثُمَّ يُخْرِجُكُمْ طِفْلا ) (then He brings you forth as a child) from the bellies of your mothers, small in stature, ( ثُمَّ لِتَبْلُغُوا أَشُدَّكُمْ ) (that you may then reach your full strength), so that your strengths become fully grown, and your youth reaches its peak, and your creation is completed; and old people ( وَمِنْكُمْ مَنْ يُتَوَفَّى مِنْ قَبْلُ ) (and among you are those who are taken earlier) before they reach old age ( وَلِتَبْلُغُوا أَجَلا مُسَمًّى ) (and that you may reach an appointed term). He says: and that you may reach an appointed time for your life, and a limited term which you do not exceed and which you do not precede. ( وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَعْقِلُونَ ) (and that you may perhaps understand). He says: and that you may thereby understand the proofs of Allah against you, and reflect upon His signs, so that through them you acknowledge that there is no god but He, who did that.
