ثُمَّ كانَ عَلَقَةً فَخَلَقَ فَسَوّىٰ

Then he became a clinging mass; then He created [him] and proportioned [him].

EXEGESIS

ʿAlaqah (clinging mass) is derived from the verb ʿalaqa meaning to cling, adhere, be suspended, hang, or be attached. As a noun, ʿalaqah denotes a blood clot or a creeper.^{‎[1]Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 634.} It occurs five times in the Quran,^{‎[2]Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, pp. 634-635.} in 22:5, 23:14 (twice), 40:67, and in this verse. The word ʿalaq which is used in 96:2 is defined as something that is hung or suspended.^{‎[3]Lane, p. 2132.} It is also applied as a reference to leeches which are worms, or certain things resembling worms that creep and cling tenaciously. One of these worms is called ʿalaqah,^{‎[4]Tahqiq, 8/202.} and its plural is ʿalaq. The word ʿalaq is also applied to intensely red and thick blood, coagulated blood, or a blood clot before it becomes dry, since it has the quality of clinging together.^{‎[5]Lane, p. 2134.} ʿAlaqah would therefore mean a little portion of such blood. The word ʿalaq thus refers to seminal fluid, when it becomes thick clotted blood, after which it passes on to become flesh or what is called mudghah.^{‎[6]Lane, p. 2134; Tahqiq, 8/202.}

Sawwā (proportioned) is from the root sawā, meaning to be balanced and proportioned in weight or length.^{‎[7]Raghib, pp. 439-440.} Here it means that the clinging mass was fashioned into proportioned creation with organs, senses, and various body parts.^{‎[8]See Tibyan, 10/202.}

EXPOSITION

The emitted semen forms in the womb to become a clinging mass. From that clinging mass God created and shaped man into the well-proportioned being that he is.^{‎[9]Tibyan, 10/203.}

Notably, He created is mentioned subsequently to man being a clinging mass. Based on that, some commentators have suggested that He created in the verse is referring to something other than the physical creation, and might be a reference to the soul entering into the foetus at the embryonic stage.^{‎[10] See also Baghawi, 5/187; Razi, 3/738.} However, this does not conform with other verses that suggest the blowing of the soul occurs after proportioning has been done, which in this verse is mentioned subsequent to He created: Then He made his progeny from an extract of a base fluid. Then He proportioned him and breathed into him of His spirit, and made for you the hearing, the sight, and the hearts (32:8-9); So when I have proportioned him and breathed into him of My spirit (38:72); Certainly We created man from an extract of clay. Then We made him a drop of [seminal] fluid [lodged] in a secure abode. Then We created the drop of fluid as a clinging mass. Then We created the clinging mass as a fleshy tissue. Then We created the fleshy tissue as bones. Then We clothed the bones with flesh. Then We produced him as [yet] another creature. So blessed is Allah, the best of creators! (23:12-14). In this last set of verses, it is clearly stated that the foetus becomes a living being (another creature) after the formation of bones and flesh.^{‎[11] See also Abdulaziz Sachedina, Islamic Biomedical Ethics (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), pp. 101-124.}

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

1. ‘Remember that you moulded me like clay. Will you now turn me to dust again? Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese, clothe me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews?’^{‎[12] Job 10:9-11.}

[1] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, p. 634.
[2] Arabic-English Dictionary of Qur’anic Usage, pp. 634-635.
[3] Lane, p. 2132.
[4] Tahqiq, 8/202.
[5] Lane, p. 2134.
[6] Lane, p. 2134; Tahqiq, 8/202.
[7] Raghib, pp. 439-440.
[8] See Tibyan, 10/202.
[9] Tibyan, 10/203.
[10] See also Baghawi, 5/187; Razi, 3/738.
[11] See also Abdulaziz Sachedina, Islamic Biomedical Ethics (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), pp. 101-124.
[12] Job 10:9-11.