وَٱللَّهُ خَلَقَكُم مِّن تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ مِن نُّطْفَةٍ ثُمَّ جَعَلَكُمْ أَزْوَٰجًا وَمَا تَحْمِلُ مِنْ أُنثَىٰ وَلَا تَضَعُ إِلَّا بِعِلْمِهِۦ وَمَا يُعَمَّرُ مِن مُّعَمَّرٍ وَلَا يُنقَصُ مِنْ عُمُرِهِۦٓ إِلَّا فِى كِتَٰبٍ
"God created you from dust, then from a drop; then He made you pairs. No female conceives or gives birth save with His knowledge. And no lengthening of the life of one whose life is lengthened, and no shortening of his lifespan, is otherwise than in a book."
The verse sets two fields side by side: birth and lifespan. Both have to do with a beginning and a term.
وَمَا تَحْمِلُ مِنْ أُنثَىٰ وَلَا تَضَعُ إِلَّا بِعِلْمِهِ — the same sentence was treated in Fuṣṣilat at 41/47 (wa mā taḥmilu min unthā wa lā taḍaʿu illā bi-ʿilmih), and it was recorded there that it is mentioned together with the fruit's coming out of its sheath: the scope of the knowledge is described by way of the most hidden processes. I rely on that treatment.
وَمَا يُعَمَّرُ مِن مُّعَمَّرٍ وَلَا يُنقَصُ مِنْ عُمُرِهِ — the lexicographers dwell on the meaning of this sentence:
| Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1 | The lengthening or the shortening of a person's life is written in the book |
| 2 | Two different persons are meant, the long-lived and the short-lived; the term of both is written |
Both readings are transmitted; I do not impose a preference, and I do not enter into the discussion of destiny. What the verse says in its wording is that the term is recorded.
And its connection with the construct ajalin musammā is worth recording: in the forty-fifth verse the sūra will repeat the same idea on the scale of a society.