What the angel keeps saying over an unborn child
Three announcements, then four questions, then it is written.
يَا رَبِّ نُطْفَةٌ، يَا رَبِّ عَلَقَةٌ، يَا رَبِّ مُضْغَةٌ
Yā rabbi nuṭfah, yā rabbi ʿalaqah, yā rabbi muḍghah
My Lord, a drop. My Lord, a clot. My Lord, a morsel of flesh.
Where this comes from
An angel is assigned to every womb and reports each stage aloud. When Allah wills to complete the creation the angel asks: male or female, wretched or blessed, what provision, what lifespan. And it is written while the child is still inside its mother.
The full narration
Narrated Anas bin Malik:The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "At every womb Allah appoints an angel who says, 'O Lord! A drop of semen, O Lord! A clot. O Lord! A little lump of flesh." Then if Allah wishes (to complete) its creation, the angel asks, (O Lord!) Will it be a male or female, a wretched or a blessed, and how much will his provision be? And what will his age be?' So all that is written while the child is still in the mother's womb
Source
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī · 318
- Agreed upon as authentic (al-Bukhārī / Muslim)