Surah Taha, Ayah 56

The Completion of Musa's Reply to Fir`awn

This is from the completion of Musa's speech concerning the description of His Lord when Fir`awn asked him about Him. He (Musa) said,

الَّذِى أَعْطَى كُلَّ شَىءٍ خَلْقَهُ ثُمَّ هَدَى

(He Who gave to each thing its form and nature, then guided it aright.) Then, Fir`awn attempted to present some argumentative rebuttal during Musa's reply. Yet, Musa continued by saying, "He is the One Who made the earth as a bed for you." Some recited the word as Mihadan and others recited it as Mahdan, which means `a place of rest that you settle down upon.' It also may mean `that which you stand upon, sleep upon or travel upon its back.'

The composition of every human being contains, together with the seed, the earth of the place when he will be buried

The words مِنْهَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ (From this We created you) in verse 55 means that Allah created you from the earth. This verse is addressed to all mankind although it is known that man is created from seed and not from earth, except Sayyidna 'Adam (علیہ السلام) who was created directly from earth. One possible explanation for this is that since Sayyidna 'Adam علیہ السلامٍ is the father of all mankind and was himself created from earth, therefore all his descendants have been similarly described. Others have said that the seed itself is made of earth therefore anything created from the seed is in fact created from the earth. According to Imam al-Qurtubi (رح) the text of the Qur'an clearly indicates that man is created from the earth.

The creation of the earth, the institution of the system of rainfall, the growth of plants and greenery and other natural phenomena that have made the present world habitable for living things, are astonishingly great and wonderful manifestations. They are ‘signs’ which prove that the Creator and Lord of this world can be none other than Almighty God. In order to bring into existence such a world as the present one, extraordinary power is required, which is available neither to any ‘Sun’ nor to any ‘King’. This being so, there is no alternative but to admit that the One who has created our world and the One who controls it is a Superior Being, namely God. This proves, moreover, that this world has not been created in vain; ours is not a world which has come into existence without purpose and which is likely to end in the same way. A meaningful world implies a meaningful end. Keen observation of this world provides proof of the oneness of God and also of the life hereafter.