Interpretation of Fortress 96 (The Clot)
I seek refuge in God from the cursed Satan
In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful
1. ((Read in the Name of your Provider, Who Has created;))
2. ((He Has created man from a clot!))
3. ((Read, and your Provider is the Noblest One,))
4. ((Who has taught by printing ,)) .[25]
5. ((He has taught man what he did not know.))
6. ((Is it not so? But man does transgress all bounds,))
7. ((When he saw himself (a complete human being), he thought himself self-sufficient.))
8. ((Surely, unto your Provider is the return of all!))
9. ((Have you seen the one who forbids))
10. ((A votary when he turns to pray?))
11. ((Have you seen the one who follows the guidance (of Al’lah),))
12. ((Or the one who enjoins piety?))
13. ((Have you seen the one who denies (the truth) and turns away (from Al’lah)?))
14. ((Does he not know that Al’lah observes?))
15. ((Let him beware! If he does not desist, We will drag him by the forelock,))
16. ((A lying, mistaken forelock (spirit of dwindling light).))
17. ((Then let him call upon his help-mates.))
18. ((We will call out the separators (the angels).))
19. ((No! Never obey him! Rather prostrate yourself and come nearer (to Al’lah).))
§§§§§
In the ‘Valuation’ Fortress, God revealed the fruits of science and knowledge gained by humanity when they enter into the Presence of God. Therefore in this noble Fortress, He wants to clarify the necessity of this entrance for our life.
For this reason, He drew our attention to those who oppose, so as to watch their bad actions and misery; just as He also drew our attention to the illuminated believer who is near to God, so as to notice their kindness with creation and their happiness in their lives.
God began this noble Fortress by mentioning the honor of the noble Messenger (cpth), who derived Godly Perfection and Attributes because of his nearness to his Provider. This is what made him merit becoming an Envoy of the Provider of all worlds, and the one who bears His Missions to all people. God says in address to His noble Envoy (cpth).
1. ((Read in the Name of your Provider, Who Has created,))
That is, ((inform My servants about what you have learned about My Words and Guidance.))
The statement ((your Provider)) was mentioned in order to turn people to the source of this speech, so that you may listen to it carefully having learned that it is issued from your Provider.
The word ((Provider)) refers to the Sustainer Who supplies you with life, movement, and existence. By His Sustenance, life flows in each atom; by His permanent Manifestation, you remain alive and continue to exist.
As for the entire statement, ((Read in the Name of your Provider)) it refers to the qualities which the greatest Messenger (cpth) possessed, and to the kinds of perfection which he derived from his Provider; this is what made him worthy of informing humanity of the Godly Commands and Missions.
For example, a king will never charge a layman to read a bulletin in his name before his subjects – rather he will charge this task to his secretary or prime minister, because one who recites in the name of a king should have qualifications and a character that make him worthy of receiving orders directly from his king, and then reciting them to his subjects.
Therefore, due to his great spiritual nearness to his Provider, the noble Envoy acquired lofty merits and attained purity and clarification. These meant that he was qualified to have the truth printed on the surface of his pure and virtuous spirit. He therefore became worthy of reciting the perfection and knowledge that had been imprinted on his spirit.
In brief, the statement ((Read in the Name of your Provider,)) denotes: ((Inform My obedient followers of My words in My Name: viz, on behalf of Me.))
The Almighty revealed to His Messenger one quality of his Provider, Who supplies everything with life; He says: ((Who Has created.))
To ((create)) means to bring something into being which is unprecedented and unique.
All of the creatures you see, and all the beings that your senses touch and perceive have been created upon a strict system, and have been made with a high degree of finesse and perfection by your Provider, Who supplies you with life. Everything is created according to strict laws and depends on a discipline that comes from God.
God wanted to detail this greatness of creation in connection with the origin and formation of the human. He says:
2. ((He Has created man from a clot!))
((Clot)) means ‘a mass of blood’.
This human who is the dearest and the noblest creature among creation, and who has the most perfect shape among them, has been created from nothing but a clot.
Since this is humanity’s origin and basic material, then how great is the Creator’s Potency and how lofty is His Prestige!
Such being the case, it is fit for humanity to submit to their Creator, Who has created them and brought them up. It is appropriate for us to pay attention to His Guidance and follow His Commandments and Revelation.
To show humanity His comprehensive Favor and infinite Grace and Charity, God says:
3. ((Read, and your Provider is the Noblest One,))
The Arabic meaning of the word ((Noblest)) is one who is far removed from any imperfection.
This Verse means that whatever of His Kindness and Donation that you see, and however much of His Largesse and Boons you witness, He has more and more of them and the bliss He has prepared for you is even more lasting and more comprehensive.
The Almighty then clarifies His Bounty for humanity and other creatures when He put instincts in their spirits by which they can live in this world and enjoy happiness and ease. He says:
4. ((Who Has taught by printing,))
The word ((printing)) in this Verse indicates the instincts which God planted on the surfaces of the spirits, and refers to the yearnings which He created within them.
In fact, each creature has special instincts and desires which are always appropriate. For instance, as soon as the young duck hatches, it soon rushes to the water where it is able to swim with amazing skill and finesse. Similarly, the cat predates, the bird builds its nest in the optimum way and in perfect order, the bee builds a solid hive and sucks the nectar of the flowers, and the baby soon moves its lips to suckle the moment it emerges from its mother’s womb.
I wonder, who taught the young duck how to swim in the water? Who taught the cat how to predate and how to kill insects? Who taught the birds how to build nests, and guided them to use the softest feathers and the smallest silky pieces? Who taught the bee how to make its hive? Who taught the baby to suck the moment it comes out into this world?
That is the Potency of the Wise, the All-Knowing and the Great Creator. Whatever suits its own life, and whatever it needs are printed on the surface of each spirit.
This is why you see each creature being naturally led by the instincts which God has fixed within its spirit. They are led to the things on which its life and subsistence depend, and the things which will fulfill its happiness. They have no need of anyone to lead them or to drive them to these things.
These instincts that are fixed in the spirit – along with the yearnings that are printed on the heart – guide each creature and show them how to advance in this existence. Had there been no inscription – that is to say, no printing onto the pages of the spirit – the creatures would have stood around in bafflement, doing nothing, inclining to nothing, and knowing nothing.
This teaching was accomplished by printing; that is, each creature knew how to live in this life by virtue of that printing, fixed on the spirit by the Hand of the Wise and the All-Knowing.
Glory to the One Who created different instincts in each of these creatures and granted them such yearnings, all of which drive them to advance and to enjoy the flavor of existence and the happiness of life.
As proof of that printing, God wanted to acquaint humans themselves with the printing which has been fixed on the surface of the human spirit. He says:
5. ((He Has taught man what he did not know.))
Oh human! Had your Provider not blessed you with such teaching, you would have known nothing; that is, without the yearning that God printed in your spirit, you would have been a solid body which did not know anything, and which did not move even a single step in this life. It is God’s Grace upon you that fixed these instincts in your spirit to help you in this life, giving you desires that would fulfill your happiness.
This printing makes you rush to obtain what you require, and as you do so you can notice and take note of everything around you. Through this imprint upon your instincts, your Provider taught you in such a way as to allow you to discover what has been created for you and to recognize the beings that exist in this uniVerse, just as you can enjoy and take pleasure in the delicacies which He prepared for you. Without this printing you would not have found flavor or pleasure in anything, nor could you satisfy your needs.
After that, the Almighty wanted to acquaint humanity with the necessity of following the Guidance of their Provider as they advance through this life and as they enjoy the yearnings which He created for them, in order that all their actions would become good and enjoyable, so that they relish the happiness and bliss that these actions entail for them. He fixed this in the spirits of humanity by mentioning it in an interrogative tense, so that it would be more effective and become more settled in people’s hearts. He says:
6. ((Is it not so? But man does transgress all bounds,))
The statement ((Is it not so)) aims at fixation, and means: ((is that not true? Am I not your Provider Who created you, human? Am I not the One Who formed you from a clot? Am I not the One Who taught you what you did not know? After all of this, how can you disobey My Commands and transgress all boundaries? Why do you neglect My Advice and shun Me, although I am the One Who created you, and Who knows what will lead you to happiness?))
Then God reproaches humanity for its transgressions and its distance from its Provider. He says:
7. ((When he saw himself (a complete human being), he thought himself self-sufficient.))
That is, ((after you have become a complete human being, and have seen the science and knowledge I granted you, and have witnessed the health, activity and strength with which I obliged you, then, when you saw yourself and your position, you forgot Me and dispensed with Me!! You do not appreciate My Favor though I keep supplying it to you in every moment and at every time! You do not think of My Sympathy and Kindness towards you, although I do not leave you for as much as the twinkle of an eye!!))
To decrease the immoderation of this benighted person, and to diminish the arrogance of this weak and negligent creature, God told them that all of their knowledge and all of the health, life, and power they enjoy only exist due to God’s Favor for them, and by virtue of His Charity. He says:
8. ((Surely, unto your Provider is the return of all!))
In fact, people must always return to their Provider to take support from Him, as He is the source of power for every one of our movements. Without His Sustenance (glory to Him), you are unable to take part in an action or carry out any movement. Never think that you can dispense with your Provider, or that you have any might or power in your own right. Your might and power are taken from Him and you resort to Him in all your affairs, for He is the Steerer Who supplies everything, Who causes growth, and Who directs all.
This Verse also denotes that all the science, knowledge, life and strength that our Provider granted to us are but a consignment that He has left with us. They are a trust and a loan to be regained, so it is absolutely certain that there will come a day when the reversion to Al’lah takes place. This is the day that we die and return to our Provider. He will then take back what He entrusted to us. Thus, on that day our return and our discharge will be to Him.
Next, the Almighty Al’lah draws our attention to the state of those who are near to Him and those who are far from Him, so we will know that the former are happy inside themselves and are charitable to all creatures. He says:
9. ((Have you seen the one who forbids))
10. ((A votary when he turns to pray?))
In this Saying, God brings to our mind a person who has shunned Him even further, to the extent that they have set out to alienate people from Al’lah.
God used the interrogative tense in the statement ((Have you seen)) to declare and confirm His meaning by using a rhetorical question. It means: ((you, human! Look at how those who oppose treat others badly, and observe their generally mean conduct, and then notice their unhappiness in their life and the distress and misery they suffer. In this way you can perceive the suffering for the unbeliever that is entailed by distance from God, and what harm and injury it causes to people.))
11. ((Have you seen the one who follows the guidance (of Al’lah)))
12. ((Or the one who enjoins piety?))
In this Saying, God draws our attention to the states of two believing people: one who is close to Him, and another who is even closer. The closeness of the latter grew until it made them invite people to attain piety and to turn towards Al’lah. God again used the interrogative form in this statement to ask a rhetorical question and confirm His meaning. It means: ((look at the good manners and virtuous behavior emanating from the believer who is close to their Provider and the believer who is even closer and is calling others to obey God; then regard their happiness and the ease and pleasure they enjoy. Had the opposers adopted their conduct, they would not have incurred misery and wretchedness.))
Finally, God draws our attention to the opposer who turned away from Him. He says:
13. ((Have you seen the one who denies (the truth) and turns away (from Al’lah)?))
That is, they turn away from God in spirit without trying to repel others from Him. Although they do not estrange people from the true guidance, their denial and shunning of their Provider make them mistake the way that leads to their gladness.
This is why you also see them suffering inside themselves, unhappy in their life. Their behavior is also bad and harmful to others.
Thus, those who are near to God are happy and charitable, no matter what the degree of their nearness is, whereas those who are distant from Him are unhappy and damaging ((themselves and others