Surah 32. As-Sajdah, Ayah 8

Lit., "He caused [i.e., as pointed out in note [6] above, "He causes"] his procreation [or "his begetting"] to be out of...", etc.

Then comes life and the reproduction of life. We are still looking at the purely physical aspect, but it is now a stage higher; it is an animal. Its reproduction is through the sperm or semen, which is a quintessence of every part of the body of man. Yet it issues from the same part of his body as the urine, and is therefore despicable in man's sight. It is a living cell or cells, summing up so much ancestral life-history. Cf. xxiii. 12, and n. 2872.