Surah Ya-Sin 36:77
سُورَةُ يسٓ · Meccan · Verse 77 of 83
أَوَلَمْ يَرَ ٱلْإِنسَٰنُ أَنَّا خَلَقْنَٰهُ مِن نُّطْفَةٍۢ فَإِذَا هُوَ خَصِيمٌۭ مُّبِينٌۭ
Translation
Can man not see that We created him from a drop of fluid? Yet- lo and behold!- he disputes openly,
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'Has man not seen that We created him from a drop, and then he is an open adversary?' Ibn Ashur and al-Biqa'i stop at the staggering contrast: from a single, lowly drop of fluid to a bold disputant standing in open argument against his own Maker. The arc from that humble origin to this arrogance is the whole tragedy of forgetfulness. Ask yourself: my confidence, my sense of standing to judge and object, rests on a self that began as a drop I contributed nothing to. This verse asks me to hold my origin and my arrogance in the same glance. When I find myself arguing with how things are, with my Lord Himself, do I remember what I was made from, and how quickly the swagger should shrink before that memory?
Grounded in classical tafsir: Ibn Ashur, al-Biqa'i, al-Saadi.
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Ya-Sin 36:77 is discussed in 4 study guides on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
Reflect on this verse
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