Creating Life from Nothing

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ثُمَّ أَخْبَرَ سُبْحَانَهُ أَنَّهُ خَلَقَهُ مِنْ مَاءٍ دَافِقٍ

Then He, glorified is He, informed that He created him from a gushing fluid.

وَالدَّفْقُ صَبُّ المَاءِ

And "dafq" means the pouring of water.

يُقَالُ دَفَقْتُ المَاءَ فَهُوَ مَدْفُوقٌ وَدَافِقٌ وَمُنْدَفِقٌ

It is said, "I poured the water," so it is "madfuq," "dafiq," and "mundafiq."

فَالْمَدْفُوقُ الَّذِي وَقَعَ عَلَيْهِ فِعْلُكَ كَالْمَكْسُورِ وَالْمَضْرُوبِ

So "madfuq" is that which your action falls upon, like "maksur" (broken) and "madrub" (struck).

وَالْمُتَدَفِّقُ المَطْلُوعُ لِفِعْلِ الفَاعِلِ

And "mutadaffiq" is attributed to the action of the doer.

تَقُولُ دَفَقْتَهُ فَانْدَفَقَ كَمَا تَقُولُ كَسَرْتَهُ فَانْكَسَرَ

You say, 'I poured it, so it poured forth,' just as you say, 'I broke it, so it broke.'

وَالدَّافِقُ قِيلَ إِنَّهُ فَاعِلٌ بِمَعْنَى مَفْعُولٍ كَقَوْلِهِم سِرٌّ كَاتِمٌ وَعَيْشَةٌ رَاضِيَةٌ

And it is said that "dafiq" is an active participle with the meaning of a passive, like their saying "sir katim" and "ʿīsha rāḍiya."

وقيل هو على النسب لا على الفعل أي ذي دفق أو ذات

And it is said that it is a relational adjective, not an active one, meaning possessing "dafq."

وَلَمْ يُرَدِ الجَرَيَانُ عَلَى الفِعْلِ

And the flow was not intended as an active form.

وَقِيلَ وَهُوَ الصَّوَابُ إِنَّهُ اِسْمُ فَاعِلٍ عَلَى بَابِهِ

And it is said, and this is correct, that it is an active participle in its original sense.

وَلَا يَلْزَمُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ أَنْ يَكُونَ هُوَ فَاعِلَ الدَّفْقِ

And it is not required that he be the performer of the pouring.

فَإِنَّ اسْمَ الفَاعِلِ هُوَ مَنْ قَامَ بِهِ الفِعْلُ سَوَاءٌ فَعَلَهُ هُوَ أَوْ غَيْرُهُ

For an active participle is one by whom the action is carried out, whether he performed it himself or someone else did.

كَمَا يُقَالُ مَاءٌ جَارٍ وَرَجُلٌ مَيِّتٌ وَإِن لَمْ يَفْعَلِ المَوْتَ بَلْ لِمَا قَامَ بِهِ مِنَ المَوْتِ نُسِبَ إِلَيْهِ عَلَى جِهَةِ الفِعْلِ

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.

وَهَذَا غَيْرُ مُنْكَرٍ فِي لُغَةِ أُمَّةٍ مِنَ الأُمَمِ فَضْلًا عَن أَوْسَعِ اللُّغَاتِ وَأَفْصَحِهَا

And this is not denied in the language of any nation, let alone in the most expansive and eloquent of languages.

وَأَمَّا العَيْشَةُ الرَّاضِيَةُ فَالْوَصْفُ بِهَا أَحْسَنُ مِنَ الْوَصْفِ بِالْمُرْضِيَةِ

As for the 'contented life,' describing it this way is better than describing it as 'a life one is pleased with.'

فَإِنَّهَا اللَّائِقَةُ بِهِمْ فَشُبِّهَ ذَلِكَ بِرِضَاهَا بِهِمْ كَمَا رَضُوا بِهَا

For it is fitting for them, so it was likened to their contentment with it, just as they were pleased with it.

كَأَنَّهَا رَضِيَتْ بِهِمْ وَرَضُوا بِهَا وَهَذَا أَبْلَغُ مِنْ مُجَرَّدِ كَوْنِهَا مُرْضِيَةً فَقَطْ

As if it pleased them and they were pleased with it, and this is more expressive than merely being satisfactory.

فَتَأَمَّلْهُ

So reflect on this.

وإذا كانوا يقولون الوقت الحاضر والساعة الراهنة وإن لم يفعلا ذلك فكيف يمتنع أن يقولوا ماء دافق وعيشة راضية

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'?

وَنَبَّهَ سُبْحَانَهُ بِكَوْنِهِ دَافِقًا عَلَى أَنَّهُ ضَعِيفٌ غَيْرُ مُتَمَاسِكٍ

And He, glorified is He, indicated by its being gushing that it is weak and not solid.

ثُمَّ ذَكَرَ مَحَلَّهُ الَّذِي يَخْرُجُ مِنْهُ وَهُوَ بَيْنَ الصُّلْبِ وَالتَّرَائِبِ

Then He mentioned its place from which it emerges, which is between the backbone and the ribs.

قَالَ اِبْنُ عَبَّاسٍ

Ibn Abbas said:

صُلْبُ الرَّجُلِ وَتَرَائِبُ المَرْأَةِ وَهُوَ مَوْضِعُ القِلَادَةِ مِنْ صَدْرِهَا

The backbone of the man and the ribs of the woman, which is the place of the necklace on her chest.

وَالْوَلَدُ يُخْلَقُ مِنَ المَائَيْنِ جَمِيعًا

And the child is created from both fluids.

وَقِيلَ صُلْبُ الرَّجُلِ وَتَرَائِبُهُ وَهِيَ صَدْرُهُ فَيَخْرُجُ مِنْ صُلْبِهِ وَصَدْرِهِ

And it was said that the backbone of the man and his ribs, which is his chest, is where it comes out from.

وَهَذِهِ الآيَةُ الدَّالَّةُ عَلَى قُدْرَةِ الخَالِقِ سُبْحَانَهُ نَظِيرُ إِخْرَاجِهِ اللَّبَنَ الخَالِصَ مِنْ بَيْنِ الفَرْثِ وَالدَّمِ

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.

ثُمَّ ذَكَرَ الأَمْرَ المُسْتَدَلَّ عَلَيْهِ وَالمَعَادَ بَقَوْلِهِ إِنَّهُ عَلَى رَجْعِهِ لَقَادِرٌ

Then He mentioned the matter being evidenced and the return, with His saying, 'Indeed, He is able to bring him back.'

أَيْ عَلَى رَجْعِهِ إِلَيْهِ يَوْمَ القِيَامَةِ كَمَا هُوَ قَادِرٌ عَلَى خَلْقِهِ مِنْ مَاءٍ هَذَا شَأْنُهُ

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.

هَذَا هُوَ الصَّحِيحُ فِي مَعْنَى الآيَةِ

This is the correct interpretation of the verse.