سورة الحجر

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Allah the Glorified gathered soil from the various parts of the earth — from its hard and soft parts, and its salty and sweet parts — and added water to it until it became pure, prepared clay, and by adding moisture it became sticky. From it He created a fitting form with separate limbs joined to one another. He dried it until it became firm. He continued drying it until it became hard, until at an appointed time and a known term the human frame was completed. Then He breathed into it from the spirit which He created, so it became a living human being, possessing the power of thought that drives him to strive, and possessing thoughts by which he acts upon other beings. He granted the human being limbs and organs to be at his service, and bestowed tools upon him to use in life. He gave him the power of discernment to recognise truth and falsehood, and placed at his disposal the senses of taste and smell, and the means of distinguishing colours and various kinds. He made the human being a mixture of various colours, and of similar and compatible things, and of opposing forces, and of different temperaments — heat, cold, moisture and dryness.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Jabir [al-Ju'fi] narrates from Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Imam Ali (peace be upon him) said: "When Allah willed to create Adam (peace be upon him)... Allah, exalted is His majesty, addressed the angels and said: I am creating a human being from dried clay [like pottery] taken from black, foul-smelling mud. When I have shaped him and breathed into him of My spirit (a noble and great spirit), fall down in prostration before him! (Al-Hijr/28-29). And this was a command from Allah the Mighty and Majestic to the angels before the creation of Adam (peace be upon him), so that He might complete His proof upon them [and that they might be prepared to obey the divine command]. Then Allah the Blessed and Exalted took a handful of sweet, pleasant water and mixed it with earth until it became firm and hard, and said to it: 'From you I shall create the prophets and messengers (peace be upon them), My righteous servants, the guiding Imams (peace be upon them) who invite to Paradise, and their followers until the Day of Resurrection, and I do not care [about anyone] and I am not questioned about what I do, but they will be questioned [before Me]'; [what Allah means is that His creatures will be questioned]. [Then] He took another handful of salty, bitter water and mixed it with earth until it became firm and hard, and said to it: 'From you I shall create the tyrants, the transgressors, the rebellious, the brothers of the satans, those who invite to Hell until the Day of Resurrection, and their followers, and I do not care [about anyone] and I am not questioned about what I do, but they will be questioned [before Me].' And in the case of their fate He stipulated bada' with them (bada' means something which outwardly and according to our supposition was the will and intention of Allah, but after a period of time its opposite appears — in matters of legislation and rulings this is usually called naskh, and in matters of creation, bada'), [meaning they too can, through repentance, worship and piety, be guided to the straight path and come to a good end], but in the case of the fortunate ones, He did not stipulate bada'. Then He mixed both waters together and blended them with earth; then He cast the two of them, while they were an extract of clay, at the foot of His Throne, and commanded the four angels — of the north (Shamal), the west (Dabur), the east (Saba) and the south (Janub) — saying: 'Circle around this extract of clay and prepare it [for creation and life-giving] and breathe upon it, then divide it piece by piece and separate it into distinct portions, and cause the four natures — yellow bile (safra'), black bile (sawda'), blood and phlegm — to flow within it.' So the four angels — Shamal, Saba, Janub and Dabur — circled around it and made the four natures flow within it. [Therefore] the nature of yellow bile, which is one of the four natures of the body, is from the direction of the north wind; and the nature of phlegm is from the direction of the east wind; and the nature of black bile is from the direction of the west wind; and the nature of blood is from the direction of the south wind. After these natures had flowed, the human being came into being and his body was completed. From the nature of yellow bile the human being has the love of life, long hope and greed; from the nature of phlegm, the love of food and drink, gentleness and forbearance; from the nature of black bile, anger, foolishness, disobedience, self-aggrandisement, defiance and haste; and from the nature of blood, the love of women and pleasures, the doing of forbidden acts and the pursuit of lust."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Ishaq al-Qummi said: I came into the presence of Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) ... He said: "O Ishaq! Since Allah the Mighty and Majestic is unique in His oneness, He created all things from nothing. He made sweet water flow over a pure, clean earth for seven days and seven nights, then He drew that water away from it and took a handful from the choicest part of that clay, which was the tinat (nature) of us the Ahl al-Bayt, and He took a handful from beneath that clay, which was the tinat of our Shia, and then He chose us for Himself. Had the tinat of our Shia been left as our tinat was left, not one of them would commit fornication, or steal, or commit sodomy, or drink wine, or do any of these deeds you have mentioned. But Allah the Mighty and Majestic made salty water flow over a cursed earth for seven days and seven nights, then He drew that water away from it and took a handful of it, which is that cursed tinat of black stinking clay, and it is the corrupt tinat, which is the tinat of our enemies. Had Allah the Mighty and Majestic left their tinat in the state in which He took it, [now you] would not see them in the form of human beings, and they would not affirm the two testimonies, nor fast, nor pray, nor pay zakat, nor perform the Hajj of the House of Allah, and you would not see any one of them of good character. But Allah the Blessed and Exalted brought the two tinats — [that is,] your tinat and their tinat — together, mixed them, rubbed them together like hide, and blended them with those two waters. Whatever you have seen from your believing brother of foul speech, or fornication, or other things you mentioned such as drinking wine and the like, is not from his essence nor from his faith; rather it is from the touch of the hostile opponent (nasib) upon him that has caused him to commit these evil deeds you mentioned. And whatever you have seen from the hostile opponent of a pleasing face, good character, fasting, prayer, Hajj of the House of Allah, charity, and good deeds you mentioned, is not from his essence; these actions are only from the touch of faith, which he acquired, and it is the acquisition of the touch of faith." I said: "May I be your ransom! When the Day of Resurrection comes, what then?" He said to me: "O Ishaq! Does Allah gather good and evil in one place? When the Day of Resurrection comes, Allah the Exalted removes the touch of faith from them and returns it to our Shia, and He removes the touch of the nasib along with all the evil deeds they have acquired, and returns it to our enemies, and [thus] everything returns to its first element from which [its creation] began."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): We and our Shia have been created from the tinat (nature) of 'Illiyyin, and our enemies have been created from the tinat of corruption, مِنْ حَمَإٍ مَسْنُونٍ [of black mud fashioned in shape].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abd al-Ghaffar al-Jazi narrates from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) that he said: "Allah the Mighty and Majestic created the believer from the clay of Paradise and the disbeliever from the clay of Hell." And he said: "Whenever Allah wills good for a servant, He purifies his soul and his body; so that he does not hear anything good but he recognizes it, and does not hear anything evil and ugly but he considers it detestable." I also heard him say: "The clays are of three kinds: the clay of the Prophets (peace be upon them), from which the believer too is created, except that the Prophets (peace be upon them) are of its pure and chosen portion, and they are the root, and their virtue is preserved in its place; and the believers are a branch مِنْ طِینٍ لَازِبٍ [of sticky clay] (Saffat/11). For this reason, Allah the Mighty and Majestic does not separate between the Prophets (peace be upon them) and their followers." And he said: "The clay of the enemy of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) is مِنْ حَمَإٍ مَسْنُونٍ [of black mud fashioned in shape]; and the clay of the mustad'afun (the oppressed — those who in this world are compelled to follow the arrogant) is from dust. The believer does not turn away from his faith, nor does the enemy of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) turn away from his enmity, and the mustad'afun are subject to the will of Allah."

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): مِنْ صَلْصَالٍ [means] water mixed with clay; مِنْ حَمَإٍ مَسْنُونٍ [means] black clay that has been altered.