What does Tafsir Qurtubi say about al-Hijr verse 29

Allah states the following in verse 29 of the Chapter of al-Hijr: “I breathed into him (Adam) of My spirit.” What does Tafsir Qurtubi comment under this verse?

Dear Brother / Sister,

The meaning of the verse and Qurtubi’s explanation are as follows:

“When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of My spirit, fall ye down in obeisance unto him.”

Our explanations about Allah’s statement: “Behold, thy Lord said to the angels...” are included in the tafsir of the verse 2/30, al-Baqara.

“I am about to create man, from sounding clay from mud molded into shape. When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of My spirit, fall ye down in obeisance unto him.”

Breathing (blowing) means making the wind pass through something. The spirit, on the other hand, is a subtle thing that is invisible to the eye. Allah Almighty’s custom (sunnah) has always been in the form of creating life in the body with this thing.

The reality of it is that creation is attributed to the Creator because the spirit is one of Allah’s creations. Allah Almighty attributes it to His own soul in order to elevate and glorify His honor. Indeed, the expressions “My earth, My sky, My house, Allah’s camel, month of Allah” are similar to it.

Likewise, the phrase “a spirit proceeding from Him” (an-Nisa, 4/171) is similar in this respect.

This has been extensively explained in the Chapter of an-Nisa (in the verse in question). Similarly, in our work “at-Tadhkira”, we mention the hadiths narrating that the spirit is a transparent body, and that the soul (nafs) and the spirit are two different names of the same thing. Explanations on it will be made later too inshallah.

Those who say that the “spirit” is life itself mean that when the spirit is given to the body, it comes to life.

“Fall ye down in obeisance unto him,” i.e. prostrate before him. This prostration is a prostration of greeting and kindness. It is not a prostration with the intention of worship.

Allah has the right to exalt whom He wills. He made the prophets superior to the angels. The explanations on it are included in the tafsir of al-Baqara (verse 2/34, under heading 3)...

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What does “I breathed into him of My spirit” mean?

Allah created man and then breathed into him of His spirit. Here are the verses regarding the issue:

“Behold! thy Lord said to the angels: “I am about to create man, from sounding clay from mud molded into shape. When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of My spirit, fall ye down in obeisance unto him. So the angels prostrated themselves, all of them together.” (al-Hijr, 15/28-30)

Does He have a spirit? What does His breathing mean? I would understand if He had said, “I breathed the spirit”, but He says, “of My spirit”.

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Do not interpret the phrase “of My spirit” as “The Creator has a spirit and has given some of it to man.”

This phrase and similar ones are meant to emphasize the honor, value and importance of the creature called “man”.

The issue of “blowing (breathing)” is metaphorical... It is an example in accordance with the style of the Quran, which is a miracle of speech.

It expresses an invisible event, whose essence cannot be grasped, with a known verb.

For example, if a painter says, “I breathed my art into this painting,” he means this:

“I made it with my art; I reflected my skill into it; there are traces of me in it; you can understand my skill by looking at the painting.”

Man is the work of a pre-eternal and post-eternal artist. He is the one who created his body out of clay, and He is the one who created his spirit.

He has given us a small shadow of His infinite names, attributes and glories so that we can recognize Him. In a way, He has reflected His own qualities.

We can understand the phrase “I breathed into man of My spirit” as “I gave to man small samples of the qualities that I have.”

Man has “ego”, the sense of “egoism”. He can say “I”. He can say “My”.

If he could not, he could not say “you” or “yours” either. Those who cannot comprehend themselves cannot comprehend others.

He says, “I know, I want, I do, I am the owner of my house.”

Acting upon it, he can say, “My Lord also knows, wants, does, creates, and He is the owner of this universe.”

However, he should not forget that he is a creature and his Lord is the creator.

If he tends toward perfection through belief and worship, he will eventually say, “I belong to Him, and what I say belongs to Him.”

He immerses himself in his Lord, gives up egoism, gets rid of arrogance and pride, and becomes a perfect human being.

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