Al-Infitar 82:7 - Linguistic Miracle

Who created you, then did Taswiyah of you, then balanced you

The words Taswiyah and Adal (translated as balanced) both mean roughly the same thing and the difference in their meaning here is subject of much debate. Taswiyah comes from the root sīn wāw alif which means to even something out. This root was used for a man whose belly was in line with his chest, as well as for making something protruding even and flat.⁵⁷ Hence, this also came to be used in the meaning of removing defects because when you make something even, you basically remove what makes it uneven. Hence, when Allah says that He did Taswiyah of human beings after creating Him, He refers to the fact that not only did He create him, but made him a capable entity who is able to fulfill his roles. He created you for a purpose,

then gave you all the capabilities needed to fulfill that purpose, with no flaws or defects that would hinder you from fulfilling it.

Everything is complete now isn’t it? Allah created you then gave you all the capabilities to fulfill your purpose and mission and did not leave any flaw in you that would prevent you from fulfilling it. What else do you need? Isn’t this a complete working system? Then why does Allah mention balancing the human being after it?

Adal (translated as balanced) at its root was used for the balancing of scales in a measure. Similarly, when they loaded weights on a camel, they did so in a way that the load weighed equally on both the left and the right so that the camel would not fall in either direction.⁵⁸ Similarly, Allah has balanced us with two forces inside us that are necessary for our function. If the weight weighs more on one side of the camel than the other, the camel collapses in its direction. Similarly, if Allah had made either of the two forces inside us more heavy, then we would collapse as well. These two forces can refer to many things, but in my opinion it primarily refers to two things. Firstly, to the balance of reason and emotion and secondly, to the balance of the physical and spiritual. Life cannot be lived purely on reason nor purely on emotion, but rather on a delicate balance of both. Same for the physical and the spiritual. You cannot live for the sake of pleasure nor should you become a monk in a distant mountain. Your body and soul both need to be tended to.

⁵⁷ Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 2, p. 934
⁵⁸ Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 3, p.1423