كَيْفِيَّةِ خَلْقِ الْآدَمِيِّ فِي بَطْنِ أُمِّه : How the Human Being is created in his mother's womb

Abdullah (b. Mas'ud) reported that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) who is the most truthful (of the human beings) and his being truthful (is a fact) said:
" Verily your creation is on this wise. The constituents of one of you are collected for forty days in his mother's womb in the form of blood, after which it becomes a clot of blood in another period of forty days. Then it becomes a lump of flesh and forty days later Allah sends His angel to it with instructions concerning four things, so the angel writes down his livelihood, his death, his deeds, his fortune and misfortune. By Him, besides Whom there is no god, that one amongst you acts like the people deserving Paradise until between him and Paradise there remains but the distance of a cubit, when suddenly the writing of destiny overcomes him and he begins to act like the denizens of Hell and thus enters Hell, and another one acts in the way of the denizens of Hell, until there remains between him and Hell a distance of a cubit that the writing of destiny overcomes him and then he begins to act like the people of Paradise and enters Paradise."

حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ، وَوَكِيعٌ، ح وَحَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ، اللَّهِ بْنِ نُمَيْرٍ الْهَمْدَانِيُّ - وَاللَّفْظُ لَهُ - حَدَّثَنَا أَبِي وَأَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ وَوَكِيعٌ قَالُوا حَدَّثَنَا الأَعْمَشُ، عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ وَهْبٍ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَهُوَ الصَّادِقُ الْمَصْدُوقُ ‏ "‏ إِنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ يُجْمَعُ خَلْقُهُ فِي بَطْنِ أُمِّهِ أَرْبَعِينَ يَوْمًا ثُمَّ يَكُونُ فِي ذَلِكَ عَلَقَةً مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ ثُمَّ يَكُونُ فِي ذَلِكَ مُضْغَةً مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ ثُمَّ يُرْسَلُ الْمَلَكُ فَيَنْفُخُ فِيهِ الرُّوحَ وَيُؤْمَرُ بِأَرْبَعِ كَلِمَاتٍ بِكَتْبِ رِزْقِهِ وَأَجَلِهِ وَعَمَلِهِ وَشَقِيٌّ أَوْ سَعِيدٌ فَوَالَّذِي لاَ إِلَهَ غَيْرُهُ إِنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ لَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ حَتَّى مَا يَكُونَ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهَا إِلاَّ ذِرَاعٌ فَيَسْبِقُ عَلَيْهِ الْكِتَابُ فَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ فَيَدْخُلُهَا وَإِنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ لَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ حَتَّى مَا يَكُونَ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهَا إِلاَّ ذِرَاعٌ فَيَسْبِقُ عَلَيْهِ الْكِتَابُ فَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ فَيَدْخُلُهَا ‏"‏ ‏.

Hudhaifa b. Usaid reported directly from Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) that he said:

" When the drop of (semen) remains in the womb for forty or fifty (days) or forty nights, the angel comes and says: My Lord, will he be good or evil? And both these things would be written. Then the angel says: My Lord, would he be male or female? And both these things are written. And his deeds and actions, his death, his livelihood; these are also recorded. Then his document of destiny is rolled and there is no addition to nor subtraction from it."

حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ نُمَيْرٍ، وَزُهَيْرُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ، - وَاللَّفْظُ لاِبْنِ نُمَيْرٍ - قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ بْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ، عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ دِينَارٍ، عَنْ أَبِي الطُّفَيْلِ، عَنْ حُذَيْفَةَ بْنِ أَسِيدٍ، يَبْلُغُ بِهِ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏ "‏ يَدْخُلُ الْمَلَكُ عَلَى النُّطْفَةِ بَعْدَ مَا تَسْتَقِرُّ فِي الرَّحِمِ بِأَرْبَعِينَ أَوْ خَمْسَةٍ وَأَرْبَعِينَ لَيْلَةً فَيَقُولُ يَا رَبِّ أَشَقِيٌّ أَوْ سَعِيدٌ فَيُكْتَبَانِ فَيَقُولُ أَىْ رَبِّ أَذَكَرٌ أَوْ أُنْثَى فَيُكْتَبَانِ وَيُكْتَبُ عَمَلُهُ وَأَثَرُهُ وَأَجَلُهُ وَرِزْقُهُ ثُمَّ تُطْوَى الصُّحُفُ فَلاَ يُزَادُ فِيهَا وَلاَ يُنْقَصُ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

'Abdullah b. Mas'ud reported:
Evil one is he who is evil in the womb of his mother and the good one is he who takes a lesson from the (fate of) others. The narrator came to a person from amongst the Companions of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) who was called Hudhaifa b. Usaid Ghifari and said: How can a person be an evil one without (committing an evil) deed? Thereupon the person said to him: You are surprised at this, whereas I have heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saving:" When forty nights pass after the semen gets into the womb, Allah sends the angel and gives him shape. Then he creates his sense of hearing, sense of sight, his skin, his flesh, his bones, and then says: My Lord, would he be male or female? And your Lord decides as He desires and the angel then puts down that also and then says: My Lord, what about his age? And your Lord decides as He likes it and the angel puts it down. Then he says: My Lord, what about his livelihood? And then the Lord decides as He likes and the angel writes it down, and then the angel gets out with his scroll of destiny in his hand and nothing is added to it and nothing is subtracted from it."

حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو الطَّاهِرِ، أَحْمَدُ بْنُ عَمْرِو بْنِ سَرْحٍ أَخْبَرَنَا ابْنُ وَهْبٍ، أَخْبَرَنِي عَمْرُو، بْنُ الْحَارِثِ عَنْ أَبِي الزُّبَيْرِ الْمَكِّيِّ، أَنَّ عَامِرَ بْنَ وَاثِلَةَ، حَدَّثَهُ أَنَّهُ، سَمِعَ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ مَسْعُودٍ، يَقُولُ الشَّقِيُّ مَنْ شَقِيَ فِي بَطْنِ أُمِّهِ وَالسَّعِيدُ مَنْ وُعِظَ بِغَيْرِهِ ‏.‏ فَأَتَى رَجُلاً مِنْ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يُقَالُ لَهُ حُذَيْفَةُ بْنُ أَسِيدٍ الْغِفَارِيُّ فَحَدَّثَهُ بِذَلِكَ مِنْ قَوْلِ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ فَقَالَ : وَكَيْفَ يَشْقَى رَجُلٌ بِغَيْرِ عَمَلٍ ؟ فَقَالَ لَهُ الرَّجُلُ أَتَعْجَبُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ فَإِنِّي سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ ‏ "‏ إِذَا مَرَّ بِالنُّطْفَةِ ثِنْتَانِ وَأَرْبَعُونَ لَيْلَةً بَعَثَ اللَّهُ إِلَيْهَا مَلَكًا فَصَوَّرَهَا وَخَلَقَ سَمْعَهَا وَبَصَرَهَا وَجِلْدَهَا وَلَحْمَهَا وَعِظَامَهَا ثُمَّ ‏.‏ قَالَ يَا رَبِّ أَذَكَرٌ أَمْ أُنْثَى فَيَقْضِي رَبُّكَ مَا شَاءَ وَيَكْتُبُ الْمَلَكُ ثُمَّ يَقُولُ يَا رَبِّ أَجَلُهُ ‏.‏ فَيَقُولُ رَبُّكَ مَا شَاءَ وَيَكْتُبُ الْمَلَكُ ثُمَّ يَقُولُ يَا رَبِّ رِزْقُهُ ‏.‏ فَيَقْضِي رَبُّكَ مَا شَاءَ وَيَكْتُبُ الْمَلَكُ ثُمَّ يَخْرُجُ الْمَلَكُ بِالصَّحِيفَةِ فِي يَدِهِ فَلاَ يَزِيدُ عَلَى مَا أُمِرَ وَلاَ يَنْقُصُ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

Ali reported:
We were in a funeral in the graveyard of Gharqad when Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) came to us and we sat around him. He had a stick with him. He lowered his head and began to scratch the earth with his stick, and then said: "There is not one amongst you whom a seat in Paradise or Hell has not been allotted and about whom it has not been written down whether he would be an evil person or a blessed person." A person said: Allah's Messenger, should we not then depend upon our destiny and abandon our deeds?" Thereupon he said:" Acts of everyone will be facilitated in that which has been created for him so that whoever belongs to the company of the blessed will have good works made easier for him and whoever belongs to the unfortunate ones will have evil acts made easier for him." He then recited this verse (from the Qur'an): "Then, who gives to the needy and guards against evil and accepts the excellent (the truth of Islam and the path of righteousness it prescribes), We shall make easy for him the easy end and who is miserly and considers himself above need, We shall make easy for him the difficult end" (xcii. 5-10).

حَدَّثَنَا عُثْمَانُ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، وَزُهَيْرُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ، وَإِسْحَاقُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، - وَاللَّفْظُ لِزُهَيْرٍ - قَالَ إِسْحَاقُ أَخْبَرَنَا وَقَالَ الآخَرَانِ، حَدَّثَنَا جَرِيرٌ، عَنْ مَنْصُورٍ، عَنْ سَعْدِ بْنِ عُبَيْدَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ، عَنْ عَلِيٍّ، قَالَ كُنَّا فِي جَنَازَةٍ فِي بَقِيعِ الْغَرْقَدِ فَأَتَانَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَعَدَ وَقَعَدْنَا حَوْلَهُ وَمَعَهُ مِخْصَرَةٌ فَنَكَّسَ فَجَعَلَ يَنْكُتُ بِمِخْصَرَتِهِ ثُمَّ قَالَ ‏"‏ مَا مِنْكُمْ مِنْ أَحَدٍ مَا مِنْ نَفْسٍ مَنْفُوسَةٍ إِلاَّ وَقَدْ كَتَبَ اللَّهُ مَكَانَهَا مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ وَالنَّارِ وَإِلاَّ وَقَدْ كُتِبَتْ شَقِيَّةً أَوْ سَعِيدَةً ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَفَلاَ نَمْكُثُ عَلَى كِتَابِنَا وَنَدَعُ الْعَمَلَ فَقَالَ ‏"‏ مَنْ كَانَ مِنْ أَهْلِ السَّعَادَةِ فَسَيَصِيرُ إِلَى عَمَلِ أَهْلِ السَّعَادَةِ وَمَنْ كَانَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الشَّقَاوَةِ فَسَيَصِيرُ إِلَى عَمَلِ أَهْلِ الشَّقَاوَةِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ ‏"‏ اعْمَلُوا فَكُلٌّ مُيَسَّرٌ أَمَّا أَهْلُ السَّعَادَةِ فَيُيَسَّرُونَ لِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ السَّعَادَةِ وَأَمَّا أَهْلُ الشَّقَاوَةِ فَيُيَسَّرُونَ لِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ الشَّقَاوَةِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ ثُمَّ قَرَأَ ‏{‏ فَأَمَّا مَنْ أَعْطَى وَاتَّقَى * وَصَدَّقَ بِالْحُسْنَى * فَسَنُيَسِّرُهُ لِلْيُسْرَى * وَأَمَّا مَنْ بَخِلَ وَاسْتَغْنَى * وَكَذَّبَ بِالْحُسْنَى * فَسَنُيَسِّرُهُ لِلْعُسْرَى‏}‏