Al-Mu'minun 23:7–12

فَمَنِ ابْتَغَىٰ وَرَ‌اءَ ذَٰلِكَ فَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْعَادُونَ (However, those who seek (sexual pleasure) beyond that are the transgressors - 7). Satisfying one's desire with someone other than one's own wife or a lawfully acquired slave-girl is strictly forbidden and the ban includes adultery (marrying a woman whom one is not allowed to marry under the religious code is also adultery), having sex with one's wife or slave-girl when she is menstruating or is confined, or having unnatural sex with them, homosexuality and bestiality, while most jurists include masturbation also in the ban. (Tafsir Bayan ul-Qur’ an, Qurtubi, al-Bahr ul-Muhit, etc.)

Fifth Attribute of a good Muslim is that he should discharge his trust truly and faithfully. وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِأَمَانَاتِهِمْ وَعَهْدِهِمْ رَ‌اعُونَ (And [ success is attained ] by those who honestly look after their trusts and covenant, - 23:8). The word اَمَنَات (trusts) covers everything which a person has undertaken to perform or which have been placed under his care as trust. Since it may be of many kinds, the word is used in plural, so that it may include all sorts of trusts whether they may relate to the rights of Allah or to the rights of human beings. To perform scrupulously all the injunctions and duties made obligatory by religious laws and to abstain from things which have been forbidden or declared undesirable is to look after the trust that relates to the rights of Allah. As regards the discharge of trusts relating to the rights of human beings, these take numerous forms, and the most well-known is that a person must promptly return to the owner on demand any goods which have been in his custody as trust. Any information received in confidence is a trust and to reveal it to anybody else without the permission of the person who gave it is a breach of trust. Mutual settlement between an employer and an employee of the terms of employment, i.e. the work to be done and time to be spent in the performance of work, and the wages to be paid is a trust and binding on both the parties and a violation of this agreement by either party would constitute a breach of trust. Hence discharge of trust is an all-encompassing word.

Sixth Attribute of a perfect Muslim is to fulfill his covenant. The word عھد . (covenant) has two connotations. One is a covenant between two parties specifying the duties and obligations of either party and is binding on both and a breach of this covenant by either party is a fraud and deceit and therefore forbidden in Islam. The other is where a person voluntarily promises to give something to someone or undertakes to do some job. This is known as وعدہ (promise) and its fulfillment is also obligatory under the dictates of Shari. There is a Hadith which says العدۃ دین (a promise is like a debt). It means that a promise is like a debt and must be fulfilled in the same manner as a debt must be discharged, the difference being that whereas the repayment of a debt can be enforced through a court of law, a voluntary promise is not enforceable likewise. Nevertheless the person making the promise is morally bound to abide by it and failure to do so would be a sin unless there is a religious ground for his inability to fulfill his promise.

Seventh attribute

وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَلَىٰ صَلَوَاتِهِمْ يُحَافِظُونَ (And who consistently observe their prayers -23:9). To observe one’ s prayers here means to offer them regularly at the appointed time, and the word صَلَوَات (Prayers) has been used in the plural form to include all the five prayers. In an earlier verses the word صَلَوَاتِ (Salah: prayers) was used in the singular because the emphasis was on Khushu` which is the essence of all prayers whether they are fard, wajib, sunnah or nafl.

A careful study of the above seven attributes would show that they encompass all the duties which man owes to Allah and to fellow men, and all the laws governing those duties. A person who possesses these attributes and adheres to them is a complete mu'min (believer) and deserving of falah in this world and in the Hereafter. It will also be noted that these seven attributes begin and also end with a reference to prayers which suggests that if prayers are offered in the prescribed manner with all their requirements, the other attributes will appear automatically.

أُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْوَارِ‌ثُونَ الَّذِينَ يَرِ‌ثُونَ الْفِرْ‌دَوْسَ

Those are the inheritors who will inherit Firdaus (Paradise) - 23:10, 11.

The good Muslims who possess the attributes described above have been declared in this verse to be the heirs to the garden of Paradise. There is a suggestion here that just as the assets of a deceased person must devolve on his heirs, similarly the possessors of these attributes will, without doubt, enter Paradise. It should be noted that the possessors of these seven qualities have been mentioned in the beginning as those who attain falah or success, then after describing these qualities it is mentioned in this last sentence that possessors of these qualities will inherit Paradise. This indicates that the total falah (success) may be achieved in Paradise only.

Commentary

In the earlier verses it was explained that man can achieve falah (success) in this world and in the Hereafter by spending his time in assiduously worshipping Allah and, in compliance with His commands, by keeping his body and soul pure at all times and by discharging the claims and duties which he owes to fellow human beings. The present verse gives an account of the universal and supreme power of Allah the Almighty and a manifestation of His power in the process leading to the creation of the human race. If a person whom Allah has given wisdom and intelligence ponders seriously the meanings of these verses, he must necessarily choose the path which would lead him to falah in this world and in the Hereafter.

وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ مِن سُلَالَةٍ مِّن طِينٍ

And We have created man from an extract of clay. - 23:12

The word سُلَالَةٍ sulalah means "extract" and طِينٍ means "wet earth" or clay and the verse means that man was created from some special elements extracted from earth. Creation of mankind began with Sayyidna 'Adam (علیہ السلام) who was himself created from this essence of earth. Therefore the first creation has been related to earth after which the seed of one man becomes the means of another man's creation.

Seven stages of the creation of man

In the above verse seven stages in the creation of man have been described. These are:

(1) سُلَالَةٍ مِّن طِينٍ (an extract of clay).

(2) نُطْفَةً (sperm-drop),

(3) عَلَقَةَ (clot),

(4) مُضْغَةَ (foetus-lump),

(5) عِظَامَ (bones),

(6) clothing bones with flesh, and

(7) completion of the process of creation by blowing the spirit into the child.

A very interesting story about Sayyidna ` Abbas ؓ

Qurtubi in his commentary has related a very interesting story in which Sayyidna ` Abbas ؓ is said to have determined the exact date of the Night of Majesty (لَیلَۃُ القَدر) and based his reasoning on this verse: The story goes likes this. One day Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ ' while sitting in the company of some eminent companions of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، asked them on what date of the month of Ramadan the Night of Majesty (Lailatulqadr) would fall. None of them was able to mention a specific date so they all said that only Allah knew the answer. Sayyidna Umar ؓ then turned to Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ who was the youngest among them and asked him if he had an answer to the question. Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ then said, "0 Amir ul-Mominin! Allah created seven skies and seven earths. He created man in seven stages and provided him sustenance from seven sources. Therefore in my opinion the Night of Majesty (لَیلَۃُ القَدر) will surely fall on the twenty-seventh night of the month of Ramadan." When Sayyidna Umar ؓ heard this reasoning, he said to the companions, "See, this lad has given an answer which none of you could give". This story is reproduced at length in the Musnad of Ibn Abi Shaibah. When Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ mentioned the seven stages of man's creation, he was obviously alluding to this verse. As for the seven sources of human sustenance, the reference is to the verse in Surah ` Abas عبس :

وَفَاكِهَةً وَأَبًّا وَحَدَائِقَ غُلْبًا وَزَيْتُونًا وَنَخْلًا وَعِنَبًا وَقَضْبًا فَأَنبَتْنَا فِيهَا حَبًّا

And therein made the grains to grow and vines, and reeds, and olives, and palms, and dense-tree gardens, and fruits, and pastures. 80:27 - 31

This verse mentions eight items of which the first seven are food for human beings and the eighth provides fodder for animals.

The supreme beauty and eloquence of the Qur'anic language is evident from the fact that the seven stages of the creation of man have not all been described in the same manner. In describing the metamorphosis of the human foetus from one stage to the next, the word ثُمّ (afterwards) has been used at some place which is a suggestion of some delay in the process, while at other places the particle فَ has been used as a prefix indicating uninterrupted succession in the process of change. Some of the changes in the human foetus in mother's womb take a long time to take place whereas other changes occur in relatively shorter periods. Thus the word ثُمّ has been used in the context of the first two changes. First there is سُلَالَةٍ مِّن طِينٍ