﴿وَاللَّهُ خَلَقَكُمْ مِّن تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ مِن نُّطْفَةٍ﴾

(And Allah did create you from dust, then from Nutfah,) means, He initiated the creation of your father Adam from dust, then He created his offspring from semen of worthless water.

﴿ثُمَّ جَعَلَكُمْ أَزْوَجاً﴾

then He made you pairs. means, male and female, as a kindness and a mercy from Him, He gave you partners from your own kind, that you may find repose in them.

﴿وَمَا تَحْمِلُ مِنْ أُنْثَى وَلاَ تَضَعُ إِلاَّ بِعِلْمِهِ﴾

(And no female conceives or gives birth but with His knowledge.) means, He knows about that and nothing is hidden from Him at all, but,

﴿وَمَا تَسْقُطُ مِن وَرَقَةٍ إِلاَّ يَعْلَمُهَا وَلاَ حَبَّةٍ فِى ظُلُمَـتِ الاٌّرْضِ وَلاَ رَطْبٍ وَلاَ يَابِسٍ إِلاَّ فِى كِتَـبٍ مُّبِينٍ﴾

(not a leaf falls, but He knows it. There is not a grain in the darkness of the earth nor anything fresh or dry, but is written in a Clear Record.) (6:59) We have already discussed in this respect in the Ayah:

﴿اللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَحْمِلُ كُلُّ أُنثَى وَمَا تَغِيضُ الاٌّرْحَامُ وَمَا تَزْدَادُ وَكُلُّ شَىْءٍ عِندَهُ بِمِقْدَارٍ - عَـلِمُ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَـدَةِ الْكَبِيرُ الْمُتَعَالِ ﴾

(Allah knows what every female bears, and by how much the wombs fall short or exceed. Everything with Him is in (due) proportion. All-Knower of the unseen and the seen, the Most Great, the Most High.) (13:8-9).

﴿وَمَا يُعَمَّرُ مِن مُّعَمَّرٍ وَلاَ يُنقَصُ مِنْ عُمُرِهِ إِلاَّ فِى كِتَـبٍ﴾

(And no aged man is granted a length of life nor is a part cut off from his life, but is in a Book.) means, some of those sperm are granted a long life, which He knows and it is recorded with Him in the First Book.

﴿وَلاَ يُنقَصُ مِنْ عُمُرِهِ﴾

nor is a part cut off from his life, Here the pronoun (his) refers to mankind in general, not to a specific person, because the long life which is recorded in the Book and is known by Alla0h will not be cut off. It was reported via Al- Awfi that Ibn Abba0s said concerning the A0yah,

﴿وَمَا يُعَمَّرُ مِن مُّعَمَّرٍ وَلاَ يُنقَصُ مِنْ عُمُرِهِ إِلاَّ فِى كِتَـبٍ إِنَّ ذَلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرٌ﴾

(And no aged man is granted a length of life nor is a part cut off from his life, but is in a Book. Surely, that is easy for Allah.) There is no one for whom Allah has decreed a long life but he will reach the age that has been decreed for him. When he reaches the time that has been decreed for him, he will not surpass it. And there is no one for whom Allah has decreed a short life but it will end when he reaches the age that has been decreed for him. Allah says:

﴿وَلاَ يُنقَصُ مِنْ عُمُرِهِ إِلاَّ فِى كِتَـبٍ إِنَّ ذَلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرٌ﴾

(nor is a part cut off from his life, but is in a Book. Surely, that is easy for Allah.) He said, "That is recorded in a Book with Him.'' This was also the view of Ad-Dahhak bin Muzahim. On the other hand, some of them said, "The phrase

﴿وَمَا يُعَمَّرُ مِن مُّعَمَّرٍ﴾

(And no aged man is granted a length of life) means, what He decrees for him of life, and

﴿وَلاَ يُنقَصُ مِنْ عُمُرِهِ﴾

nor is a part cut off from his life means, his time is constantly decreasing. All of this is known to Alla0h year after year, month after month, week after week, day after day, hour after hour. Everything is written with Alla0h in His Book. This was reported by Ibn Jar0r from Abu Ma0lik, and was also the view of As-Suddi and Atلa0 Al-Khura0sa0ni. In the Tafsir of this Ayah, An-Nasa'i recorded that Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah say:

«مَنْ سَرَّهُ أَنْ يُبْسَطَ لَهُ فِي رِزْقِهِ وَيُنْسَأَ لَهُ فِي أَثَرِهِ فَلْيَصِلْ رَحِمَه»

(Whoever would like to have ample provision and a long life, let him uphold the ties of kinship.)'' It was also recorded by Al-Bukhari, Muslim and Abu Dawud.

﴿إِنَّ ذلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرٌ﴾

Surely, that is easy for Alla0h. means, that is very easy for Him, and He has detailed knowledge of all His creation, for His knowledge encompasses all things, and nothing at all is hidden from Him.

﴿وَمَا يَسْتَوِى الْبَحْرَانِ هَـذَا عَذْبٌ فُرَاتٌ سَآئِغٌ شَرَابُهُ وَهَـذَا مِلْحٌ أُجَاجٌ وَمِن كُلٍّ تَأْكُلُونَ لَحْماً طَرِيّاً وَتَسْتَخْرِجُونَ حِلْيَةً تَلْبَسُونَهَا وَتَرَى الْفُلْكَ فِيهِ مَوَاخِرَ لِتَبْتَغُواْ مِن فَضْلِهِ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ ﴾

(12. And the two seas (kinds of water) are not alike: this is palatable, sweet and pleasant to drink, and that is salty and bitter. And from them both you eat fresh tender meat (fish), and derive the ornaments that you wear. And you see the ships cleaving, that you may seek of His bounty, and that you may give thanks.)