وَاللَّهُ خَلَقَكُم مِّن تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ مِن نُّطْفَةٍ
And Allah did create you from dust, then from Nutfah,
means, He initiated the creation of your father Adam from dust, then He created his offspring from semen of worthless water.
ثُمَّ جَعَلَكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا
then He made you pairs.
means, male and female, as a kindness and a mercy from Him, He gave you partners from your own kind, that you may find repose in them.
وَمَا تَحْمِلُ مِنْ أُنثَى وَلَا تَضَعُ إِلاَّ بِعِلْمِهِ
And no female conceives or gives birth but with His knowledge.
means, He knows about that and nothing is hidden from Him at all, but,
وَمَا تَسْقُطُ مِن وَرَقَةٍ إِلاَّ يَعْلَمُهَا وَلَا حَبَّةٍ فِى ظُلُمَـتِ الاٌّرْضِ وَلَا رَطْبٍ وَلَا يَابِسٍ إِلاَّ فِى كِتَـبٍ مُّبِينٍ
not a leaf falls, but He knows it. There is not a grain in the darkness of the earth nor anything fresh or dry, but is written in a Clear Record. (6;59)
We have already discussed in this respect in the Ayah;
اللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَحْمِلُ كُلُّ أُنثَى وَمَا تَغِيضُ الاٌّرْحَامُ وَمَا تَزْدَادُ وَكُلُّ شَىْءٍ عِندَهُ بِمِقْدَارٍ
عَـلِمُ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَـدَةِ الْكَبِيرُ الْمُتَعَالِ
Allah knows what every female bears, and by how much the wombs fall short or exceed. Everything with Him is in (due) proportion. All-Knower of the unseen and the seen, the Most Great, the Most High. (13;8-9)
وَمَا يُعَمَّرُ مِن مُّعَمَّرٍ وَلَا يُنقَصُ مِنْ عُمُرِهِ إِلاَّ فِي كِتَابٍ
And no aged man is granted a length of life nor is a part cut off from his life, but is in a Book.
means, some of those sperm are granted a long life, which He knows and it is recorded with Him in the First Book.
وَلَا يُنقَصُ مِنْ عُمُرِهِ
(nor is a part cut off from his life), Here the pronoun (his) refers to mankind in general, not to a specific person, because the long life which is recorded in the Book and is known by Allah will not be cut off.
It was reported via Al-Awfi that Ibn Abbas said concerning the Ayah,
وَمَا يُعَمَّرُ مِن مُّعَمَّرٍ وَلَا يُنقَصُ مِنْ عُمُرِهِ إِلاَّ فِي كِتَابٍ
إِنَّ ذَلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرٌ
And no aged man is granted a length of life nor is a part cut off from his life, but is in a Book. Surely, that is easy for Allah.
There is no one for whom Allah has decreed a long life but he will reach the age that has been decreed for him. When he reaches the time that has been decreed for him, he will not surpass it. And there is no one for whom Allah has decreed a short life but it will end when he reaches the age that has been decreed for him.
Allah says;
وَلَا يُنقَصُ مِنْ عُمُرِهِ إِلاَّ فِي كِتَابٍ
إِنَّ ذَلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرٌ
nor is a part cut off from his life, but is in a Book. Surely, that is easy for Allah.
He said, "That is recorded in a Book with Him."
This was also the view of Ad-Dahhak bin Muzahim.
On the other hand, some of them said,
"The phrase
وَمَا يُعَمَّرُ مِن مُّعَمَّر
(And no aged man is granted a length of life) means, what He decrees for him of life, and
وَمَا يُعَمَّرُ مِن مُّعَمَّر
(nor is a part cut off from his life) means, his time is constantly decreasing.
All of this is known to Allah year after year, month after month, week after week, day after day, hour after hour. Everything is written with Allah in His Book.
This was reported by Ibn Jarir from Abu Malik, and was also the view of As-Suddi and Ata Al-Khurasani.
In the Tafsir of this Ayah, An-Nasa'i recorded that Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, said,
"I heard the Messenger of Allah say;
مَنْ سَرَّهُ أَنْ يُبْسَطَ لَهُ فِي رِزْقِهِ وَيُنْسَأَ لَهُ فِي أَثَرِهِ فَلْيَصِلْ رَحِمَه
Whoever would like to have ample provision and a long life, let him uphold the ties of kinship."
It was also recorded by Al-Bukhari, Muslim and Abu Dawud.
إِنَّ ذَلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرٌ
Surely, that is easy for Allah.
means, that is very easy for Him, and He has detailed knowledge of all His creation, for His knowledge encompasses all things, and nothing at all is hidden from Him