Surah An-Nahl (16) — Ayah 78

(Ayah78) ➊ {وَ اللّٰهُ اَخْرَجَكُمْ مِّنْۢ بُطُوْنِ اُمَّهٰتِكُمْ …:} The mention of Allah’s blessings and the proofs of His being the only deity, which began from verse (65) of this surah «{ وَ اللّٰهُ اَنْزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَآءِ مَآءً }», continues here. In this verse, the first favor is bringing forth from the wombs of mothers. Many stages are included in this beforehand. After forming a complete child in the womb for nine months, providing a way out, and bringing the child out safely along with the mother— is this a trivial matter? Despite such a great favor, Allah has used very harsh words for man’s ingratitude and for adopting shirk, saying: «{ قُتِلَ الْاِنْسَانُ مَاۤ اَكْفَرَهٗ (17) مِنْ اَيِّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقَهٗ (18) مِنْ نُّطْفَةٍ خَلَقَهٗ فَقَدَّرَهٗ (19) ثُمَّ السَّبِيْلَ يَسَّرَهٗ}» [ عبس : ۱۷ تا ۲۰ ] “Destroyed is man! How ungrateful he is, from what thing did He create him? From a drop, He created him, then determined his measure, then made the way (out of the mother’s womb) easy for him.”

➋ {لَا تَعْلَمُوْنَ شَيْـًٔا:} When a human comes out of the mother’s womb, he knows nothing, then Allah teaches him some things naturally, for example, finding the mother’s milk, sucking it, putting whatever he finds into his mouth, etc. The way to obtain other necessities of eating, drinking, and sustaining life, Allah has placed in the nature of every creature except man, otherwise nothing would remain alive.

➌ {وَ جَعَلَ لَكُمُ السَّمْعَ وَ الْاَبْصَارَ وَ الْاَفْـِٕدَةَ … :} Ears, eyes, and hearts have been granted to every living being, but all other creatures benefit from them only as much as is in their nature. The way a duck used to swim millions of years ago, there has been no change or progress in it even now; the same is the case with birds, cattle, and sea creatures. Predators and insects also continue on the same path, whereas Allah has granted man some choice so that he can choose between guidance and misguidance. Then, the ears, eyes, and heart given to him preserve the experiences of previous generations through writing, convey them to those who come after, and remain engaged in new inventions. As a result, man has achieved such worldly progress that in terms of residence, travel, food and drink— in short, in every matter, there is no comparison between the comforts of the first human and today’s human. Similarly, in obtaining energy, he has reached the atom, from which he has prepared countless means of destruction as well as human benefits. In short, if man reflects on the abilities granted by Allah, he would never deny His existence, nor associate any partner with Him, nor call anyone else a fulfiller of needs, remover of difficulties, provider, or helper of the poor, because no one else has any share in any blessing, nor would he show any negligence in His worship and obedience, rather, at all times, with his heart, tongue, and every limb, he would express gratitude to Him in word and deed.

➍ { لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُوْنَ :} Allah has made all this so that you may give thanks. Although it is not mentioned here whether man gave thanks or not, in many other places Allah has said that most people do not give thanks, as He said: «{ وَ لٰكِنَّ اَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَشْكُرُوْنَ }» [ المؤمن : ۶۱ ] “But most people do not give thanks.” And He said: «{ وَ قَلِيْلٌ مِّنْ عِبَادِيَ الشَّكُوْرُ }» [ سبا : ۱۳ ] “And few of My servants are grateful.” The reason is that for recognizing their Creator, they neither use their ears, nor their eyes, nor their hearts. See Surah Al-A’raf (179).