The Creation and Formation of Humankind; The Third Stage: Clay
Selections from the Book The Story of The Beginning of Creation and The Creation of Adam, peace be upon him …
Written by Dr. Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi...
Episode (95)
Allah Almighty informed us that He created Adam from clay, which is the stage of mixing soil with water to form mud. He says; {It is He who created you from clay and then decreed a term and a specified time [known] to Him; then [still] you are in dispute.} [Al-An'am: 2]. He also states, {[Allah] said, "What prevented you from prostrating when I commanded you?" [Satan] said, "I am better than him. You created me from fire and created him from clay [i.e., earth]."} [Al-A'raf: 12]. Furthermore, Allah Almighty says; {Who perfected everything which He created and began the creation of man from clay.} [As-Sajdah: 7] and; {[So mention] when your Lord said to the angels, "Indeed, I am going to create a human being from clay.} [Sad: 71].
The clay from which Adam was created is described in the Holy Quran with three characteristics, which can be considered as the stages of transforming soil and clay into a body of flesh, blood, bones, and organs. These characteristics are:
Sticky/Thick clay.
Altered black mud.
Sounding clay.
My teacher, Dr. Salman Al-Oudah (may Allah preserve him), states: "I find the stages of clay within myself as I go through transformations of joy and sadness, happiness and misery, calmness and upheaval, certainty and doubt. I remember the thick mud, the sounding clay, and the scented mud. I also recall the water that mixed with the clay, with its sweet, fresh, clear elements as well as its salty and bitter aspects. All the stages of clay manifest within me, along with the different types of water:
I find the scented mud in the pores of my body, and I need to cleanse it to feel the thrill of cleanliness and the fragrance of perfume. I discover it in the pores of my soul, and I need to engage in glorification, praise, remembrance, and seeking forgiveness to erase moments of heedlessness or distraction, responding to the commanding self.
Clay is fertile and capable of growth; it can nurture flowers, plants, and beneficial trees, but it can also harbor thorns and toxic, narcotic plants. Within us, there exists both piety and wickedness, the believer and the ungrateful.
The fact that Allah Almighty created man from the clay of the earth enhances our potential for thriving upon it, delving into its secrets, understanding its laws, and working within it. Labor and toil, along with the sweat of one's brow, are not a shame; they are the essence of distinction and creativity.
Clay provides flexibility, allowing for shaping and adaptation to climatic and social changes, unlike if creation were from straw or stone. Stone is hard and does not yield, while straw is scattered and does not unify. Clay offers diversity—red and black and everything in between, pure and impure and everything else in between—while the differences in temperaments and inclinations enrich life and expand it.
Clay combines softness and strength, and it symbolizes an end. Allah Almighty said: {From it [i.e., the earth] We created you, and into it We will return you, and from it We will extract you another time.} [Taha: 55].
Success is always granted to those who begin their work with their eyes on the end goal: “Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a traveler”. Dust remains our origin, even if we place domes of gold over our graves and insist on surpassing simplicity, even after our death.
- Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi, The Story of The Beginning of Creation and The Creation of Adam, peace be upon him, pp. 712-715.
- My father taught me Adam, Al-Awda, p. 14.
- Adam and Eve: Secrets and Facts, Abdel-Baqi, p. 34.
For further information and review of the sources for the article, see:
The Book of The Story of The Beginning of Creation and The Creation of Adam, peace be upon him on the official website of Sheikh Dr. Ali Muhammad al-Sallabi:
