Then He, glorified is He, informed that He created him from a gushing fluid.
And "dafq" means the pouring of water.
It is said, "I poured the water," so it is "madfuq," "dafiq," and "mundafiq."
So "madfuq" is that which your action falls upon, like "maksur" (broken) and "madrub" (struck).
And "mutadaffiq" is attributed to the action of the doer.
You say, 'I poured it, so it poured forth,' just as you say, 'I broke it, so it broke.'
And it is said that "dafiq" is an active participle with the meaning of a passive, like their saying "sir katim" and "ʿīsha rāḍiya."
And it is said that it is a relational adjective, not an active one, meaning possessing "dafq."
And the flow was not intended as an active form.
And it is said, and this is correct, that it is an active participle in its original sense.
And it is not required that he be the performer of the pouring.
For an active participle is one by whom the action is carried out, whether he performed it himself or someone else did.
Just as it is said, 'flowing water' and 'a dead man,' even if he did not cause death but because death occurred in him, he is attributed as the doer of the action.
And this is not denied in the language of any nation, let alone in the most expansive and eloquent of languages.
As for the 'contented life,' describing it this way is better than describing it as 'a life one is pleased with.'
For it is fitting for them, so it was likened to their contentment with it, just as they were pleased with it.
As if it pleased them and they were pleased with it, and this is more expressive than merely being satisfactory.
So reflect on this.
And if they say 'the present time' and 'the current hour' without those phrases acting, how could they refrain from saying 'gushing water' and 'contented life'?
And He, glorified is He, indicated by its being gushing that it is weak and not solid.
Then He mentioned its place from which it emerges, which is between the backbone and the ribs.
Ibn Abbas said:
The backbone of the man and the ribs of the woman, which is the place of the necklace on her chest.
And the child is created from both fluids.
And it was said that the backbone of the man and his ribs, which is his chest, is where it comes out from.
And this verse, which indicates the power of the Creator, glorified is He, is like His bringing forth pure milk from between filth and blood.
Then He mentioned the matter being evidenced and the return, with His saying, 'Indeed, He is able to bring him back.'
That is, He is able to return him to Himself on the Day of Resurrection, just as He is able to create him from a fluid of this nature.
This is the correct interpretation of the verse.
