Surah as-Sajdah (The Prostration) 32 : 7

Explanatory Note

My Lord! This is indeed the truth as we see and feel with our eyes, hearts and minds. This is the truth apparent in the shapes and functions of all things; in their individual natures, and in their harmony, complementarity, forms, different situations and actions, and in all that to which excellence applies.

The Qur’ān directs our attentions to the incomparable beauty so that we contemplate what we see and thus enjoy it. This is achieved through the statement: “Who makes most excellent everything that He creates.” We are thus invited to look for beauty and excellence throughout the universe.

One aspect of His excellent creation is the fact that man’s creation was begun from clay. The phraseology of this verse allows it to be understood as meaning that the clay was present at the beginning, in the first stage. No mention is made of the number, length or duration of the stages that followed this initial clay stage. Hence, the door is open for any accurate study, particularly when we join this statement to the one in Sūrah 23, The Believers, which says: “Indeed, We create man out of the essence of clay.” (23: 12) This statement allows the understanding that there was some sequence in the stages of human creation going back to the clay one.

This may be a reference to the start of the first living cell on earth, meaning that it started from clay, and which was prior to God breathing life into it. No one has unfathomed this secret yet: what it is or how it happened. It is from the living cell that man originated. The Qur’ān does not mention how this took place, or how long it took to be accomplished, or how many stages it had to go through. Therefore, it is open to investigation. Such investigation, however, is by no means contrary to the accurate Qur’ānic statement that man’s first origin was clay. Within these limits we can safely say that we rely on the definitive Qur’ānic statement and accept the result of proper scientific investigation.