سورة مريم

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Malik al-Juhani said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the verse: أَوَلَا یَذْکُرُ الْإِنسَانُ أَنَّا خَلَقْنَاهُ مِن قَبْلُ وَ لَمْ یَکُ شَیْئًا [Does not man remember that We created him before, when he was nothing?]. He said: "At that time man was neither determined in measure nor formed in shape."

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): أَوَلَا یَذْکُرُ الْإِنسَانُ أَنَّا خَلَقْنَاهُ مِن قَبْلُ وَ لَمْ یَکُ شَیْئًا [Does not man remember that We created him before, when he was nothing?] — and the phrase وَ لَمْ یَکُ شَیْئًا [and he was nothing] means that at that point there was no mention of him.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Truly, were it not for Your grace, how would You show forbearance toward one whom You created from a drop of fluid, and before that he was nothing; then You nurtured him with Your pure sustenance, and brought him up amid Your successive blessings, and settled him on the earth [which is like] a cradle for him, and called him to Your obedience — yet by means of Your kindness he gained strength for disobedience and rebellion against You, and denied You, and worshipped another in the shade of Your sovereignty?!

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Humran said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the verse: هَلْ أَتَی عَلَی الْإِنسَانِ حِینٌ مِّنَ الدَّهْرِ لَمْ یَکُن شَیْئًا مَّذْکُورًا [Has there not come upon man a period of time when he was not a thing worth mentioning?]. He said: "He was a thing, but no mention was made of him." I said: "What is your view about the verse: أَوَلَا یَذْکُرُ الْإِنسَانُ أَنَّا خَلَقْنَاهُ مِن قَبْلُ وَلَمْ یَکُ شَیْئًا [Does not man remember that We created him before, when he was nothing?]" He said: "He had no existence in any book or knowledge."

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Nawfali said: Imam Rida (peace be upon him) said to Sulayman al-Marwazi: "What is it that you deny of bada' (Allah's altering of what appears to be decreed), O Sulayman, when Allah the Mighty and Majestic says in the Qur'an: أَ وَ لا یَذْکُرُ الْإِنْسانُ أَنَّا خَلَقْناهُ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَ لَمْ یَکُ شَیْئاً [Does not man see that We created him before, when he was nothing?]. And the verse: 'He is the One who begins creation, then restores it.' (Rum/27). And in this verse He says: 'He adds to creation whatever He wills.' (Fatir/1). And another verse: 'He began the creation of man from clay.' (Sajda/7). And He says: 'There is a group who await the command of Allah — either He will punish them or forgive them.' (Tawba/9). And in this verse He says: 'No one is granted a long life, nor is anyone's life shortened, except that it is recorded in a book.' (Fatir/11)." Sulayman said: "Has anything been narrated on this from your noble forefathers?" He said: "Yes, my father narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) that he said: Allah has two kinds of knowledge: a knowledge that is stored and hidden, which none knows but He Himself, and bada' is part of this knowledge; and a knowledge which He has taught to His angels and prophets. The scholars of the Ahl al-Bayt — the Imams (peace be upon them) — have knowledge of this."

Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him): So Allah sent Jibra'il, and he took a handful [of soil] from the surface of the earth and kneaded it with sweet and salty water, and mixed the natures into it before the spirit was breathed into it. He created him from the surface of the earth, and for this reason he was named Adam, because when he was kneaded with water he became clay-mixed. He cast him at the foot of the mountain like a great mountain. On that day Iblis was on the fifth heaven; he would enter through Adam's nostril and come out from his rear, then strike his belly with his hand and say: "For what purpose have you been created? If you are placed above me, I will not obey you, and if you are placed beneath me, I will not help you." From the day he was created until the spirit was breathed into him, he remained in Paradise for a thousand years. He created him from water and clay, light and darkness, wind and a ray from Allah. On account of the light he comes to faith, and on account of the darkness he inclines to disbelief and misguidance. His earthy nature, upon contact with water, causes him trembling, weakness and roughness of the skin. He is described by four natures: the nature of blood, phlegm, bile and wind. This is the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted: أَ وَ لا یَذْکُرُ الْإِنْسانُ أَنَّا خَلَقْناهُ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَ لَمْ یَکُ شَیْئاً [Does not man remember that We created him before, when he was nothing?].