Tafseer of The Heights · Al-A'raaf · 7:11
And We have certainly created you, [O Mankind], and given you [human] form. Then We said to the angels, "Prostrate to Adam"; so they prostrated, except for Iblees. He was not of those who prostrated.
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 exposition of the interpretation of His word: ﴿وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَاكُمْ ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَاكُمْ ثُمَّ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لآدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلا إِبْلِيسَ لَمْ يَكُنْ مِنَ السَّاجِدِينَ﴾ (And indeed We created you, then We fashioned you, then We said to the angels: "Prostrate yourselves before Ādam." So they prostrated themselves, except Iblīs — he was not among those who prostrated.) [7:11]
Abū Jaʿfar said: The people of interpretation differed concerning the interpretation of this.
Some of them said: The interpretation of this is: ﴿وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَاكُمْ﴾ (And indeed We created you) — in the back of Ādam, O people — ﴿ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَاكُمْ﴾ (then We fashioned you) — in the wombs of the women, as a created creation and a fashioned likeness after the image of Ādam.
Mention of who said that:
14338 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, from ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, from Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his word: ﴿وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَاكُمْ ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَاكُمْ﴾ — he said: His word ﴿خَلَقْنَاكُمْ﴾ (We created you) means Ādam, and as for ﴿صَوَّرْنَاكُمْ﴾ (We fashioned you), that concerns his offspring.
14339 — Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, from his father, from Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his word: ﴿وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَاكُمْ ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَاكُمْ﴾ — the verse. He said: As for ﴿خَلَقْنَاكُمْ﴾ (We created you), that is Ādam. And as for ﴿صَوَّرْنَاكُمْ﴾ (We fashioned you), that is the offspring of Ādam after him.
14340 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ḥakkām related to us, from Abū Jaʿfar, from al-Rabīʿ: ﴿وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَاكُمْ﴾ (And indeed We created you), that is to say: Ādam — ﴿ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَاكُمْ﴾ (then We fashioned you), that is to say: in the wombs.
14341 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Saʿd related to us, saying: Abū Jaʿfar al-Rāzī informed us, from al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas, concerning his word: ﴿وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَاكُمْ ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَاكُمْ﴾ — he says: We created you — the creation of Ādam — then We fashioned you in the bellies of your mothers.
14342 — Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, from al-Suddī: ﴿وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَاكُمْ ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَاكُمْ﴾ — he says: We created Ādam, then We fashioned the offspring in the wombs.
14343 — Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, from Qatāda: ﴿وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَاكُمْ ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَاكُمْ﴾ — he said: Allah created Ādam from clay — ﴿ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَاكُمْ﴾ (then We fashioned you) — in the bellies of your mothers, creation after creation: a blood-clot, then a lump of flesh, then bones, then He clothed the bones with flesh, then We brought him into being as another creation.
14344 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, from Maʿmar, from Qatāda — he said: Allah created Ādam, then He fashioned his offspring after him.
14345 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: ʿUmar ibn Hārūn related to us, from Naṣr ibn Mushāris, from al-Ḍaḥḥāk: ﴿خَلَقْنَاكُمْ ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَاكُمْ﴾ — he said: his offspring.
14346 — It was related to me from al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Faraj, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh saying: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān informed us, from al-Ḍaḥḥāk, concerning his word: ﴿وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَاكُمْ﴾ (And indeed We created you) — that is to say Ādam — ﴿ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَاكُمْ﴾ (then We fashioned you) — that is to say: his offspring.
And others said: The meaning of this is rather: ﴿وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَاكُمْ﴾ (And indeed We created you) — in the loins of your fathers — ﴿ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَاكُمْ﴾ (then We fashioned you) — in the bellies of your mothers.
Mention of who said that:
14347 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, from Sharīk, from Simāk, from ʿIkrima: ﴿وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَاكُمْ ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَاكُمْ﴾ — he said: We created you in the loins of the men, and We fashioned you in the wombs of the women.
14348 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: al-Ḥamānī related to us, saying: Sharīk related to us, from Simāk, from ʿIkrima — something similar.
14349 — Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Muʾammal related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, saying: I heard al-Aʿmash recite ﴿وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَاكُمْ ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَاكُمْ﴾ — he said: We created you in the loins of the men, then We fashioned you in the wombs of the women.
And others said: The meaning of this is rather: ﴿خَلَقْنَاكُمْ﴾ (We created you) — that is to say Ādam — ﴿ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَاكُمْ﴾ (then We fashioned you) — that is to say: in his back.
Mention of who said that:
14350 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, from Ibn Abī Najīḥ, from Mujāhid, concerning the word of Allah: ﴿وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَاكُمْ﴾ — he said: Ādam — ﴿ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَاكُمْ﴾ — he said: in the back of Ādam.
14351 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, from Ibn Abī Najīḥ, from Mujāhid: ﴿وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَاكُمْ ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَاكُمْ﴾ — in the back of Ādam.
14352 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, from Ibn Jurayj, from Mujāhid, concerning his word: ﴿وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَاكُمْ ثُمَّ صَوَّرْنَاكُمْ﴾ — he said: We fashioned you in the back of Ādam.
14353 — Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz related to us, saying: Abū Saʿd al-Madanī related to us —