15:26 Al-Hijr (The Rock)

يذكر تعالى نعمته وإحسانه على أبينا آدم عليه السلام، وما جرى من عدوه إبليس، وفي ضمن ذلك التحذير لنا من شره وفتنته فقال تعالى: { وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ } أي آدم عليه السلام { مِنْ صَلْصَالٍ مِنْ حَمَإٍ مَسْنُونٍ } أي: من طين قد يبس بعد ما خمر حتى صار له صلصلة وصوت، كصوت الفخار، والحمأ المسنون: الطين المتغير لونه وريحه من طول مكثه.

قال ابن عباس ومجاهد وقتادة: المراد بالصلصال ههنا التراب اليابس والظاهر أنه كقوله تعالى " خلق الإنسان من صلصال كالفخار وخلق الجان من مارج من نار " وعن مجاهد أيضا " الصلصال " المنتن وتفسير الآية بالآية أولى وقوله " من حمإ مسنون " أي الصلصال من حمإ وهو الطين والمسنون الأملس كما قال الشاعر: ثم خاصرتها إلى القبة الخض راء تمشي في مرمر مسنون أي أملس صقيل ولهذا روي عن ابن عباس أنه قال هو التراب الرطب وعن ابن عباس ومجاهد أيضا والضحاك إن الحمأ المسنون هو المنتن وقيل المراد بالمسنون ههنا المصبوب.

The Substances from which Mankind and Jinns were created

Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid and Qatadah said that Salsal means dry mud. The apparent meaning is similar to the Ayah:

خَلَقَ الإِنسَـنَ مِن صَلْصَـلٍ كَالْفَخَّارِ - وَخَلَقَ الْجَآنَّ مِن مَّارِجٍ مِّن نَّارٍ

(He created man (Adam) from sounding clay like the potter's clay, And He created the Jinns from a smokeless flame of fire.) (55:14-15) It was also reported from Mujahid that,

صَلْصَـلٍ

(dried (sounding) clay) means "putrid", but it is more appropriate to interpret an Ayah with another Ayah.

مِّنْ حَمَإٍ مَّسْنُونٍ

(of altered mud) means the dried clay that comes from mud, which is soil. "Altered" here means smooth.

وَالْجَآنَّ خَلَقْنَـهُ مِن قَبْلُ

(And the Jinn, We created earlier) means before creating humans.

مِن نَّارِ السَّمُومِ

(from the smokeless flame of fire.) Ibn `Abbas said, "It is the smokeless flame that kills." Abu Dawud At-Tayalisi said that Shu`bah narrated to them from Abu Ishaq, who said: "I visited `Umar Al-Asamm when he was sick, and he said: `Shall I not tell you a Hadith that I heard from `Abdullah bin Mas`ud He said: `This smokeless flame is one of the seventy parts of the smokeless fire from which the Jinn where created. Then he recited,

وَالْجَآنَّ خَلَقْنَـهُ مِن قَبْلُ مِن نَّارِ السَّمُومِ

(And the Jinn, We created earlier from the smokeless flame of fire)."' The following is found in the Sahih,

«خُلِقَتِ الْمَلَائِكَةُ مِنْ نُورٍ، وَخُلِقَتِ الْجَانُّ مِنْ مَارِجٍ مِنْ نَارٍ، وَخُلِقَ آدَمُ مِمَّا وُصِفَ لَكُم»

(The angels were created from light, the Jinn were created from a smokeless flame of fire, and Adam was created from that which has been described to you.) The Ayah is intended to point out the noble nature, good essence and pure origin of Adam.

And verily We created man Adam out of a dry clinking clay that gives off a clinking sound when it is tapped of malleable mud black mud.

Going Ahead and Remaining Behind in Righteous Deeds: The Difference in Degrees

Some exegetic interpretations of the words: (al-mustaqdimin) : 'those who go ahead' and: (al-musta'khirin) : 'those who remain behind' appearing in verse 24: الْمُسْتَقْدِمِينَ ~.A11 have been variously reported from Tafsir authorities among the Sahabah ؓ and Tabi` in. These are:

1. 'Al-Mustaqdimin' are those born to date, and 'Al-Musta'khirin' are those not born yet [ Qatadah and ` Ikrimah ].

2. 'Al-Mustaqdimin' means the dead, and 'Al-Musta'khirin' means those alive till now [ Ibn ` Abbas and Dahhak ]

3. 'Al-Mustaqdimin' signifies good people who came before the appearance of the Ummah of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، and 'Al-Mustakhirin' refers to his Ummah itself [ Mujahid ].

4. 'Al-Mustaqdimin' denotes people who obey Allah and do good deeds while 'Al-Musta'khirin' refers to people who disobey Him and neglect what is good [ Hasan and Qatadah ]

5. 'Al-Mustaqdimin' are people who remain ahead in the rows of Sal, or in the front lines of Jihad, and in other righteous deeds - and 'Al-Musta'khirin' are those who remain behind in these deeds of merit, stay in the rear rows and are used to being late [ which is the Tafsir given by leading authorities Hasan al-Basri, Said ibn al-Musaiyyab, al-Qurtubi, al-Sha` bi and others ]

It is obvious that there is no distinct conflict or contradiction in these sayings, in the real sense. They can be accommodated all in one because the all-encompassing knowledge of Allah Ta` ala covers all kinds of people 'who go ahead' or 'remain behind.'

In his Tafsir, Al-Qurtubi has said that this verse indicates the merit of performing Salah in the first row, and soon after the time it becomes due. This is in accordance with the Hadith where the Holy Prophet ﷺ has been reported to have said: If people were to find out the enormous merit of calling the Adhan and standing in the first row of Salah, everyone would have started making the effort to necessarily stand in the first row, and when there would remain no space for everybody to stand there, lots would have to be drawn.

With this, Al-Qurtubi has also reported the saying of Sayyidn Ka'b ؓ : 'There are some people in this Ummah who, when they put their forehead on the ground for their Sajdah, forgiveness is granted to all those who are praying behind them.' Therefore, Sayyidna Ka'b liked to be in the last row in the hope that 'perhaps, there may be in the front rows, some servant of Allah of the class, because of whose barakah (blissful presence), I may be forgiven.'

What is apparent here is that real merit does lie in praying in the first row - as stands proved from the clear statements of the Qur'an and Sunnah. But, a person who does not, for some reason, find a place in the first row, then, he too will have a sort of merit in that there may perhaps be some righteous servant of Allah praying in the front rows for whose sake, he too may be forgiven. And the way praying in the first row of Salah stands proved from this verse, also proved is the superiority of being in the front lines of Jihad.

Surely We created man of a dried clay of fetid mud. It has been narrated that Ibn ʿUmar had taken up the sessions. Kaʿb said to a man among those sitting with him, “Ask Ibn ʿUmar from what God created Adam.” Ibn ʿUmar said, “He created Adam from five things: clay, water, fire, light, and wind.” At Ibn ʿUmar's response, Kaʿb said, “Sit with him, for surely he is a man of knowledge.” What is understood from this report is that the Exalted Lord created Adam from five things: clay, water, fire, light, and wind. The wisdom in this is that the Exalted Lord created every one of His creatures from one kind. He created the angels from light and He created the jinn from fire. These are the light of exaltedness and the fire of exaltedness, which is why Iblis swore by exaltedness [38:82], for he was created from the fire of exaltedness and the angels from the light of exaltedness. God created the birds from wind, He created the beasts and the crawling things of the earth from dust, and He created the creatures of the sea from water. He created each from one kind, but He created Adam from all of these kinds so as to honor him and make him eminent. Thus he would be superior to all the creatures of the world. All are subjected to him, and he is given ruling power over all. This is why the Lord of the Worlds says, “We indeed honored the children of Adam, and We carried them on land and sea, and We provided them with goodly things, and We made them much more excellent than many of those We created” [17:70].