وَٱللَّهُ أَخْرَجَكُم مِّنۢ بُطُونِ أُمَّهَٰتِكُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ شَيْـًٔا وَجَعَلَ لَكُمُ ٱلسَّمْعَ وَٱلْأَبْصَٰرَ وَٱلْأَفْـِٔدَةَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
Wa'llāhu akhrajakum min buṭūni ummahātikum lā taʿlamūna shayʾan wa jaʿala lakumu'l-samʿa wa'l-abṣāra wa'l-afʾida, laʿallakum tashkurūn
"God brought you out of the bellies of your mothers knowing nothing, and He gave you hearing, eyes and hearts — that you might give thanks."
This triad was treated at many places in this commentary, and a table of four links was drawn up at al-Sajda, 32/9. I rely on that treatment and widen the table from here:
| Place | Sentence | The work of the triad |
|---|---|---|
| al-Aḥqāf 46/26 | Wa jaʿalnā lahum samʿan wa abṣāran wa afʾidatan fa-mā aghnā ʿanhum… | Given — it availed nothing |
| al-Jāthiya 45/23 | Wa khatama ʿalā samʿihī wa qalbihī wa jaʿala ʿalā baṣarihī ghishāwa | Closed off — a seal and a veil |
| Fuṣṣilat 41/20 | Shahida ʿalayhim samʿuhum wa abṣāruhum wa julūduhum | They bore witness — the third is the skin |
| al-Sajda 32/9 | Wa jaʿala lakum … qalīlan mā tashkurūn | Given — little thanks given |
| al-Muʾminūn 23/78 | Wa huwa'lladhī anshaʾa lakumu'l-samʿa wa'l-abṣāra wa'l-afʾida | Brought into being — constructed |
| al-Mulk 67/23 | Qul huwa'lladhī anshaʾakum wa jaʿala lakum … qalīlan mā tashkurūn | Given — little thanks given |
| al-Isrāʾ 17/36 | Inna'l-samʿa wa'l-baṣara wa'l-fuʾāda kullu ulāʾika kāna ʿanhu masʾūlā | Held to account |
| al-Naḥl 16/78 | Wa jaʿala lakum … laʿallakum tashkurūn | Given — thanks is hoped for |
In al-Muʾminūn this verse was named in the table of the distribution of the root ن-ش-أ within that sūra, and in al-Isrāʾ in the table of that sūra's structure; and at al-Mulk, 67/23, the question of singular and plural within the triad was treated in detail. I rely on those treatments and do not repeat them.
The summary of what was recorded in the al-Mulk section is this: samʿ is singular, abṣār and afʾida plural; the soundest explanation is that samʿ stands in the verbal-noun form. The order runs from outside inward: two that gather, one that works upon what is gathered. And the choice of afʾida rather than qulūb suggests that what is given is not an organ but a centre of apprehension.
al-Naḥl's link is set apart from the others by one expression, and this is the most striking thing in the verse.
In the other seven occurrences the triad is named alone, or together with a concluding sentence. In al-Naḥl it comes with a note of state: lā taʿlamūna shayʾā — "knowing nothing at all."
| The other occurrences | al-Naḥl 16/78 | |
|---|---|---|
| What precedes the triad | A verb (jaʿala, anshaʾa, khatama) | A scene of coming out — akhrajakum min buṭūni ummahātikum |
| A note of state | (none) | Lā taʿlamūna shayʾā |
| The closing | Qalīlan mā tashkurūn (32/9, 67/23) — an accent on scarcity | Laʿallakum tashkurūn — an accent on hope |
One — the triad is enumerated after a starting point. In the other verses the faculties are named as given; here the condition before the giving is stated as well: knowing nothing at all. The verse shows the zero.
Two — the consequence is this: the triad is enumerated not as equipment but as a difference. Three doors are given to a being that comes out without knowledge. Where knowledge comes from is shown by the distance between the two halves of the sentence.
Three — the difference of the closing. al-Sajda and al-Mulk say qalīlan mā tashkurūn (little do you give thanks) — a rebuke. al-Naḥl says laʿallakum tashkurūn — a hope. And this agrees with the sūra as a whole: al-Naḥl is a sūra of an enumeration of favours, and the purpose of the enumeration will be said outright in the eighty-first verse.
| Verse | Expression | Where in the life |
|---|---|---|
| 78 | Akhrajakum … lā taʿlamūna shayʾā | The beginning — unknowing |
| — | Wa jaʿala lakumu'l-samʿa wa'l-abṣāra wa'l-afʾida | The middle — the faculties |
| 70 | Lā yaʿlama baʿda ʿilmin shayʾā | The end — knowledge taken back |
I record this as my own reading: the sūra describes a human life along the axis of knowledge and closes both its ends with the same word. And the middle step — the three doors — is precisely the name of the difference between those two ends.