Stages of Development of Body and Spirit

The creation of Adam (a.s.) has two aspects: body and spirit. Many verses in the Qur’an discuss various stages and aspects of the body; however, to explain Qur’anic anthropology, one must examine the verses about the evolutionary progression of both body and spirit, as well as the verses about the connection between spirit and body.

The verses that speak about the gradual creation of the body fall into six categories:

1. Verses that describe Adam’s initial creation from dust, like the verse under discussion: “Like Adam, He created him from dust.”
2. Verses that describe human creation from water, such as: “It is He who created the human being from water, then invested him with ties of blood and marriage, and your Lord is all-powerful”(600)
3. Verses that describe human creation from clay: “Certainly We created man from an extract of clay.”(601) Indeed, clay is formed from the mixing of water and dust.
4. Verses that describe human creation from ḥamaʾ masnūn (putrid mud): “Certainly We created man out of a dry clay [drawn] from an aging mud.”(602) God said to the angels: “Indeed I am going to create a human out of a dry clay [drawn] from an aging mud”,(603) and through Satan’s words He relates: “I will not prostrate before a human whom You have created out of a dry clay [drawn] from an aging mud”(604)

When water and dust mix and clay is formed, after some time it becomes putrid mud.

5. Verses that discuss human creation from ṭīn lāzib (sticky clay): “Ask them, is their creation more prodigious or [that of other creatures] that We have created? Indeed We created them from a viscous clay”(605)
6. Verses that speak of the stage when this clay is baked: “He created man out of dry clay, like the potter’s.”(606) Fakhkhār means baked clay like brick and pottery.

From the six categories of verses that describe the gradual physical development of Adam and Eve (a.s.), it can be understood that they (a.s.) did not have parents; however, other humans were born from parents: “It is He who created the human being from water, then invested him with ties of blood and marriage.”(607) The phrase “created the human being from water” refers to the first generation, while “invested him with ties of blood and marriage” refers to subsequent generations. Regarding the matter of evolution in human creation, this will be discussed in the section on allusions and subtleties.

In any case, examining the verses about the gradual development of the human body is not particularly difficult; however, the main challenge lies in organizing and categorizing the verses that inform us about the origin and descending progression of the spirit and its various stages - that is, the stages and degrees it passed through until it became harmonious and united with the body, creating a unity called the human being.

The nature of the spirit’s descending progression, which belongs to God, as well as its connection and harmony with the body, cannot be explained using ordinary words and terminology; rather, one must turn to the Qur’an.

The Qur’an, while describing the physical development of the human being, speaks about how the spirit connects to the body and their union: “Certainly We created man from an extract of clay. Then We made him a drop of [seminal] fluid [lodged] in a secure abode. Then We created the drop of fluid as a clinging mass. Then We created the clinging mass as a fleshy tissue. Then We created the fleshy tissue as bones. Then We clothed the bones with flesh. Then We produced him as [yet] another creature. So blessed is God, the best of creators!.”(608) We created the first generation of humans from clay and subsequent generations from the seed of the previous generation; We transformed the drop into a clinging mass, the clinging mass into a fleshy tissue, and the fleshy tissue into bone; then We clothed the bones with flesh; then We added the spirit to it and made it into something else: “Then We produced him as [yet] another creature.” This expression is much deeper than “and breathed into him of My spirit”,(609) because the breathing of the divine spirit does not indicate that one thing was made from these two units, whereas from the expression “producing him as another creature” - making his very essence different and creating something else - this meaning is clearly evident, and it is after the realization of this stage that “So blessed is God, the best of creators” is presented.

The verses that inform us about the connection between spirit and body are of two types: The first type consists of verses indicating that when the body reaches its proper form, the spirit becomes attached to it: “So when I have proportioned him and breathed into him of My spirit.”(610) This verse both expresses a kind of duality between spirit and body and shows that the spirit existed previously before becoming attached to the body, which is consistent with traditions such as “… Indeed God created the spirits before the bodies….”(611)

The second type consists of verses that are compatible with the human being being “physically originated and spiritually enduring” (jismānīyat al-ḥudūth wa rūḥānīyat al-baqāʾ) and explicitly indicate that this very body, after passing through various stages and phases, reaches the station of spirit. Consequently, “Then We clothed the bones with flesh. Then We produced him as [yet] another creature” means that the same body acquired a different creation, not that something else was given to it. The apparent meaning of the verse under discussion is also that God transformed that same Adam into this form.

Based on this, the spirit had a prior stage, and God brought the body into its presence; meaning that the spiritless body, through elevation, reached the station of spirituality and became possessed of spirit. Of course, just as the body has levels - for example, it was previously without bones and then became possessed of bones - attaining spirit also has degrees.

In summary, “Then said to him, ‘Be,’ and he was” is in harmony with “Then We produced him as [yet] another creature” and these two are of the same kind, while the verse “and breathed into him of My spirit” is of another category, and these two groups of verses have a specific contrast that must be correctly reconciled.

It should be noted that the Qur’an has not clarified that the digestive system, after “Be” indicates God’s will and “and he was” expresses the realization of that will’s intention.