As-Sajda (The Prostration)

9. “Then He fashioned him, and breathed into him of His spirit and appointed for you hearing, and sight, and hearts (but) little is it that you give thanks.”

One of the signs of man’s honour is the Divine spirit which has been breathed into him; and for receiving the Divine accomplishments, man needs preparation and equilibrium, (at first a proportionate stature, then the spirit of Allah breathed in him).

In this verse there are some hints to the complicated stages of man’s development in the environment of the womb, as well as the stages that Adam passed at the time when he was created from clay.

It says:

“Then He fashioned him…” “…and breathed into him of His spirit…” “…and appointed for you hearing, and sight, and hearts…” “…(but) little is it that you give thanks.”

The Arabic term /sawwah/ (fashioned him) is derived from /taswiah/ in the sense of ‘to complete’, and this refers to the whole stages that a person passes from the time of being in the form of semen as far as the stage when all the limbs of his body appear, and also the stages that Adam passed after being created from dust until when the spirit was breathed into him.

The application of the Arabic word /nafx/ (breath) is ironically for inhering spirit in man’s body, as if it has been likened to the air and respiration, though it is neither this nor that.

If it is said that from the time when semen arrives into the womb, and before that, it is a living being, then what does ‘breathing spirit’ mean?

In answer to this question it is said that at the beginning when the semen coagulates it has only a kind of ‘animal life’, viz., it only feeds and grows, but it lacks sense and movement, which are the signs of animal life, and also it lacks the perceptive faculty, which is the sign of ‘human life’.

But the development of semen in the womb reaches a stage that it starts moving and other faculties gradually appear in it. This stage is the same stage that the Qur’an renders into ‘breathing spirit’.

The situation of the word /ruh/, in Arabic sentence, in relation with Allah is an honouring relative, that is, an honourable and worthy spirit which is eligible to be called Allah’s spirit was breathed into man. This indicates that though man from the point of material dimension is made of ‘dark dust’ or from a worthless water’, but from the spiritual point of view it carries the spirit of Allah.

One end of his being is soil and its another end is Allah’s ‘Arsh (throne); and for having these two dimensions the scope of his ascending, and descent, or development and degeneration, is very vast.

In the last stage of creation, which is counted its fifth stage, the Qur’an has pointed to the bounties of ear, eye, and heart. Of course, the objective meaning here is not the creation of these limbs, because this creation happens before ‘breathing spirit’, but the purpose is a good hearing, a good sight, and a good perceptibility and wisdom.

And if among all the ‘apparent’ and ‘innate’ senses the verse has emphasized only on three limbs, it is for the sake that the most important apparent senses of man, which set a strong relation between man and the outward world, are ear and eye. The ear receives the sounds and it is specially by it that education is performed and the eye is a means for seeing the outward world and the different scenes of it.

The ability of intellect is also the most important inward sense; or, in other words, it rules over the man’s entity.

It is interesting that the Arabic term /’af’idah/ is the plural form of /fu’ad/ in the sense of heart, but it has a meaning more delicate than that. This word is usually used where there is blaze and maturity in it.

And thus Allah has stated the most important means of acknowledge in ‘outside’ and ‘inside’ of man’s entity in this verse, since the human studies can be obtained either by the way of ‘experience’ the means of which is eye and ear, or by the way of intellectual analysis and rational demonstrations and the means of which is wisdom and intellect.

This has been rendered in the Holy Qur’an into /’af’idah/ (hearts). Even the concepts that come to man’s heart by the way of inspiration or intuition and inner intuition are again by this very ‘heart’. If this means of cognition is taken from man his value will come down as low as a piece of stone and dust.

That is why at the end of the verse under discussion, the Qur’an attracts the attention of human beings to thanksgiving for these great bounties and says:

“…(but) little is it that you give thanks.”

This points to this fact that the more you thank for these great bounties, the less it is for them.