Khalaqa alinsana min nutfatin faitha huwa khaseemun mubeenun
English
Ahmed Ali
Man He created from a drop of semen; and still he becomes an open contender.
4
Tafseer
'Abdullāh Ibn 'Abbās / Muḥammad al-Fīrūzabādī
تفسير : (he hath created man) the reference here is to ubayy ibn khalaf al-jumahi (from a drop of) stinking (fluid, yet behold! he is an open opponent) openly arguing in favour of falsehood, saying: who will revive these bones when they rot away?
Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī
تفسير : he created man from a drop of fluid, of sperm, until he makes him strong and tough, yet behold! he is disputatious, extremely quarrelsome, openly, making this [disputatiousness] clear in his rejection of resurrection, contending: who shall revive the bones when they are decayed? [q. 36:78].
Ali ibn Ahmad al-Wahidi
تفسير : (he hath created man from a drop of fluid, yet behold! he is an open opponent) [16:4].
this verse was revealed about ubayy ibn khalaf al-jumahi when he brought decaying bones to the messenger of allah, allah bless him and give him peace, and then said: “o muhammad, do you think allah will bring this to life after its decay?”.
something similar to this verse is allah’s words in surah yasin (hath not man seen that we have created him from a drop of seed? yet lo! he is an open opponent…) [36:77] up to the end of the surah. this verse was revealed on the occasion of this incident.
