The Believers
IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE MOST GRACIOUS, THE DISPENSER OF GRACE[23:12]
NOW, INDEED, We create man out of the essence of clay,

---

* v.12 : The frequent Qur’anic references to man’s being “created out of clay” or “out of dust” or (as in this instance) “out of the essence (sulālah) of clay” point to the fact that his body is composed of various organic and inorganic substances existing on or in the earth, as well as to the continuous transmutation of those substances, through the intake of earth-grown food, into reproductive cells (Rāzī) – thus stressing man’s humble origin, and hence the debt of gratitude which he owes to God for having endowed him with a conscious soul. The past tense in verses 12-14 (lit., “We have created,” “We have caused him to remain,” etc.) emphasizes the fact that all this has been ordained by God and has been happening again and again ever since man was brought into being by Him; in the above context, this recurrence is brought out best by the use of the present tense.