Surah An-Nahl (16) — Ayah 4

(Ayah4){خَلَقَ الْاِنْسَانَ مِنْ نُّطْفَةٍ … : ’’ نَطَفَ‘‘} (ض، ن) To drip. {’’ نُّطْفَةٍ ‘‘} Drop. The letter "Taa" is for expressing contempt or insignificance, meaning from a lowly and insignificant drop. {’’ خَصِيْمٌ ‘‘} Is an intensive form. After mentioning the earth and the heavens, the things created within them are presented as evidence for monotheism; first, the creation of man is mentioned. This matter is explained in detail in Surah Yaseen, where it is said: «{ اَوَ لَمْ يَرَ الْاِنْسَانُ اَنَّا خَلَقْنٰهُ مِنْ نُّطْفَةٍ فَاِذَا هُوَ خَصِيْمٌ مُّبِيْنٌ (77) وَ ضَرَبَ لَنَا مَثَلًا وَّ نَسِيَ خَلْقَهٗ قَالَ مَنْ يُّحْيِ الْعِظَامَ وَ هِيَ رَمِيْمٌ }» [ یٰسٓ : ۷۷، ۷۸ ] "And does man not see that We created him from a drop, yet suddenly he is a clear adversary? And he presents for Us an example and forgets his own creation; he says, 'Who will give life to bones while they are disintegrated?'" {’’ إِذَا ‘‘} "Fajaiyyah" comes in the meaning of "suddenly," that is, the occurrence of such a strange thing that was not even imagined or thought of, meaning if he had remembered, then from a lowly drop, passing through various stages, the man who emerged could not have been expected to argue in this way; rather, the truth was that he should have remembered his own creation. It is also possible that from both parts of the verse, the intention is to argue for Allah's perfect power, that is, He created from a drop, then placed in it all the faculties completely, such as the ability to think, understand, and speak, so that he became capable of reasoning, argument, and debate. (Ruh al-Ma'ani)