We will understand this hadith:
وْقُ: “إِنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ يُجْمَعُ خَلْقُهُ فِيْ بَطْنِ أُمِّهِ أَرْبَعِيْنَ يَوْمَاً نُطْفَةً، ثُمَّ يَكُوْنُ عَلَقَةً مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ، ثُمَّ يَكُوْنُ مُضْغَةً مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ، ثُمَّ يُرْسَلُ إِلَيْهِ المَلَكُ فَيَنفُخُ فِيْهِ الرٌّوْحَ، وَيَؤْمَرُ بِأَرْبَعِ كَلِمَاتٍ: بِكَتْبِ رِزْقِهِ وَأَجَلِهِ وَعَمَلِهِ وَشَقِيٌّ أَوْ سَعِيْدٌ. فَوَالله الَّذِي لاَ إِلَهَ غَيْرُهُ إِنََّ أَحَدَكُمْ لَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ الجَنَّةِ حَتَّى مَا يَكُوْنُ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهَا إلاذِرَاعٌ فَيَسْبِقُ عَلَيْهِ الكِتَابُ فَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ فَيَدْخُلُهَا، وَإِنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ لَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ حَتَّى مَايَكُونُ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهَا إلا ذِرَاعٌ فَيَسْبِقُ عَلَيْهِ الكِتَابُ فَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ الجَنَّةِ فَيَدْخُلُهَا”.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he is the truthful, the believed, narrated to us, “Verily the creation of each one of you is brought together in his mother’s womb for forty days in the form of a nutfah (a drop), then he becomes an alaqah (clot of blood) for a like period, then a mudghah (morsel of flesh) for a like period, then there is sent to him the angel who blows his soul into him and who is commanded with four matters: to write down his rizq (sustenance), his life span, his actions, and whether he will be happy or unhappy (i.e., whether or not he will enter Paradise). By the One, other than Whom there is no deity, verily one of you performs the actions of the people of Paradise until there is but an arms length between him and it, and that which has been written overtakes him, and so he acts with the actions of the people of the Hellfire and thus enters it; and verily one of you performs the actions of the people of the Hellfire, until there is but an arms length between him and it, and that which has been written overtakes him and so he acts with the actions of the people of Paradise and thus he enters it.”
Commentary of the Hadith
The Narrator of this Hadith of the Holy Prophet ﷺ, is the Jurisprudent of the Ummah Abdur Rahman Abdullah Bin Masood R.A, while narrating this Hadith from the beloved Prophet ﷺ, calls him the most Qualified of the Truthful (As Sadiq Al Masdooq). As-Sadiq is the one who tells the truth or gives a correct news, while Al Masdooq is the one who is told the authentic news, and he passes the same news with utmost honesty onwards.
The Holy Prophet ﷺ was extremely honest and truthful himself, and the whole nation had acknowledged that well before, he was awarded the Prophethood. The meaning of the Noble Prophet ﷺ being “Al Masdooq” is that he was narrator and reporter of the truth, that is he was given the true knowledge, i.e. the Divine Revlation. In this context He is Al Masdooq, as he is passing the same with utmost honesty and trust; He is As Sadiq as well.
The question that arises that why did Abdullah Bin Masood R.A call the Prophet ﷺ “As Sadiq Al Masdooq”?
The answer is that the Narration (the Hadith) is based on a few aspects about the unseen (The ghaib). These aspects pertain to the various stages of the Human Creation, which could not be witnessed by anyone. These aspects can only be briefed by the way of a Divine Revelation, especially in the days, when the Prophet ﷺ was sent to his tribesmen, in contrast to the present era, when the medicine and technology were non-existent. Briefing about the Human Creation in those days was a big proof of the Authenticity and Righteousness of the Prophet ﷺ. It made evident that Prophet ﷺ the was the speaker of the Divine Revelation, because the knowledge of these aspects was far away from the reach of the mankind. Therefore, Prophet ﷺ telling these Hidden Facts is a sound evidence that the Prophet’s ﷺ source of knowledge is the revelation from Allah (SWT), the Almighty. Moreover, in this Hadith, there are certain aspects of the Unseen discussed, which have not even been accessed by the medicine and Science of today, which are:
The angels are writing four things about each human being coming on this earth. They are: his sustenance, his age, his deeds and him being blessed or evil.
Science, though has been successful in inventing such instruments, through which it can get to know the happenings and developments of a child in the mother’s womb. But, no matter how much the science excels, it cannot even get the dust of the four points mentioned above.
Abdullah Bin Masood R.A calling the Prophet ﷺ, As Sadiq Al Masdooq is an excellent evidence of the his Wisdom and Jurisprudence, and is very adequate to the top of the Hadith.
The phrase “وَهُوَ الصَّادِقُ المَصْدُوْقُ”(Wa Huwa As Sadiq Al Masdooq) is an affirmation of the phrase before i.e. Rasoolullah ﷺ, because the one who believes in the Prophethood, wouldalso believe in him being As Sadiq Al Masdooq, else his Faith in the Prophethood is unacceptable. This is why it’s a condition amongst the conditions of the authenticity and acceptability of the Phrase لاالٰہ الااللہ, it is said and admitted with such honesty, in which there’s no space of lies. Therefore, the person who accepts this phrase and declares himself a Muslim, he has to consider each and every word coming down from Allah, the Almighty and His Prophet ﷺ as the Truth.
قَالَ اللَّـهُ هَـٰذَا يَوْمُ يَنفَعُ الصَّادِقِينَ صِدْقُهُمْ ۚ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٌ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا ۚ رَّضِيَ اللَّـهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ ﴿١١٩﴾۔
Allah will say, This is the Day when the truthful will benefit from their truthfulness. For them are gardens [in Paradise] beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever, Allah being pleased with them, and they with Him. That is the great attainment.
[Al-Ma’ida: 119]
There are three phases of Human Creation mentioned in this Hadith of Prophet ﷺ:
- Sperm
- Clinging Clot (of Blood)
- Lump (of Flesh)
The unification of the sperms means, that the sperm of man and woman which were distinct and separate, were united in the mother’s womb, with which the creation of a human being begins. Allah (SWT) the Almighty, says in the Noble Quran:
فَلْيَنظُرِ الْإِنسَانُ مِمَّ خُلِقَ ﴿٥﴾ خُلِقَ مِن مَّاءٍ دَافِقٍ ﴿٦﴾ يَخْرُجُ مِن بَيْنِ الصُّلْبِ وَالتَّرَائِبِ ﴿٧﴾۔
“So let man observe from what he was created. He was created from a fluid, ejected, Emerging from between the backbone and the ribs.”
[At Tariq: 5-7]
On another occasion the Almighty says:
أَلَمْ نَخْلُقكُّم مِّن مَّاءٍ مَّهِينٍ ﴿٢٠﴾ فَجَعَلْنَاهُ فِي قَرَارٍ مَّكِينٍ ﴿٢١﴾ إِلَىٰ قَدَرٍ مَّعْلُومٍ ﴿٢٢﴾ فَقَدَرْنَا فَنِعْمَ الْقَادِرُونَ ﴿٢٣﴾۔
Did We not create you from a liquid disdained? And We placed it in a firm lodging. For a known extent. And We determined [it], and excellent [are We] to determine.
[Al-Mursalat: 20-23]
Let’s be clear that the union of sperm in this Hadith, which is termed as the first stage of Human Creation , by this that the drop of the sperm is meant, the one with which Allah, The Almighty has decided the creation of a human being. Every drop of Sperm cannot become the foundation of a Human’s Creation. A Hadith of the Holy Prophet ﷺ in Saheeh Al Muslim is narrated as:
مَا مِنْ كُلِّ الْمَاءِ يَكُونُ الْوَلَدُ وَإِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ خَلْقَ شَىْءٍ لَمْ يَمْنَعْهُ شَىْءٌ
The child does not come from all the liquid (semen) and when Allah intends to create anything nothing can prevent it (from coming into existence).
(Muslim :1438)
Rather this whole system, and Creation, depends on the Will of Allah, the Almighty. The second stage of Human Creation is the Blood Clot (alaqah). This means the frozen, viscous blood, while the third stage is the lump (Al Mudgha); it’s the lump of flesh which is chewable. The time span of each of these stage of the Human Creation is 40 days, as in the total duration of these three stages overall is Four Months or 120 days.
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِن كُنتُمْ فِي رَيْبٍ مِّنَ الْبَعْثِ فَإِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُم مِّن تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ مِن نُّطْفَةٍ ثُمَّ مِنْ عَلَقَةٍ ثُمَّ مِن مُّضْغَةٍ مُّخَلَّقَةٍ وَغَيْرِ مُخَلَّقَةٍ لِّنُبَيِّنَ لَكُمْ ۚ وَنُقِرُّ فِي الْأَرْحَامِ مَا نَشَاءُ إِلَىٰ أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى ثُمَّ نُخْرِجُكُمْ طِفْلًا ثُمَّ لِتَبْلُغُوا أَشُدَّكُمْ ۖ وَمِنكُم مَّن يُتَوَفَّىٰ وَمِنكُم مَّن يُرَدُّ إِلَىٰ أَرْذَلِ الْعُمُرِ لِكَيْلَا يَعْلَمَ مِن بَعْدِ عِلْمٍ شَيْئًا ۚ وَتَرَى الْأَرْضَ هَامِدَةً فَإِذَا أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْهَا الْمَاءَ اهْتَزَّتْ وَرَبَتْ وَأَنبَتَتْ مِن كُلِّ زَوْجٍ بَهِيجٍ ﴿٥﴾۔
O People, if you should be in doubt about the Resurrection, then [consider that] indeed, We created you from dust, then from a sperm-drop, then from a clinging clot, and then from a lump of flesh, formed and unformed – that We may show you. And We settle in the wombs whom We will for a specified term, then We bring you out as a child, and then [We develop you] that you may reach your [time of] maturity. And among you is he who is taken in [early] death, and among you is he who is returned to the most decrepit [old] age so that he knows, after [once having] knowledge, nothing. And you see the earth barren, but when We send down upon it rain, it quivers and swells and grows [something] of every beautiful kind.
(Al-Hajj : 5)
Moreover, in Surat ul Mu’minun Allah (SWT) the Almighty says:
وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ مِن سُلَالَةٍ مِّن طِينٍ ﴿١٢﴾ ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَاهُ نُطْفَةً فِي قَرَارٍ مَّكِينٍ ﴿١٣﴾ ثُمَّ خَلَقْنَا النُّطْفَةَ عَلَقَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْعَلَقَةَ مُضْغَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْمُضْغَةَ عِظَامًا فَكَسَوْنَا الْعِظَامَ لَحْمًا ثُمَّ أَنشَأْنَاهُ خَلْقًا آخَرَ ۚ فَتَبَارَكَ اللَّـهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ ﴿١٤﴾۔
And certainly did We create man from an extract of clay. Then We placed him as a sperm-drop in a firm lodging. Then We made the sperm-drop into a clinging clot, and We made the clot into a lump [of flesh], and We made [from] the lump, bones, and We covered the bones with flesh; then We developed him into another creation. So blessed is Allah, the best of creators.
[Al-Mu’minun : 12-14]
Therefore, the three stages and phases of Human Creation, as informed by the Prophet ﷺ is a great evidence of the truthfulness and Righteousness of His Prophethood ﷺ.
Likewise, it is also a clear proof of the Omnipotence and Excellence of Creation of Allah the Almighty, the Owner of the whole Universe, who is the solo Creator and Inventor. It demands that after getting the knowledge and insight, He Alone is worshipped and None other is held a partner to him in his worship. Since, no one is partner and in creation; Rather no one has any share in any of the phases of the Human Creation, discussed:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اعْبُدُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ ﴿٢١﴾۔
O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, that you may become righteous.
[Al-Baqarah : 21]
The next stage of Human Creation, is the angel coming down, and through him the blowing of the soul, which should be discussed in the next edition, And Allah the Almighty is the Divine Helper and Guide.
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