فَإِذَا سَوَّيۡتُهُۥ وَنَفَخۡتُ فِيهِ مِن رُّوحِى فَقَعُواْ لَهُۥ سَٰجِدِينَ
So when I have proportioned him and breathed into him of My [created] soul, then fall down to him in prostration.
سَوَّيۡتُهُۥ
When I have proportioned him
Taswiyah carries meanings such as arranging something, shaping it and creating harmony between its parts. As Allah says in the second ayah of Surah Al-A‘la:
ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ فَسَوَّىٰ
“Who created and proportioned”
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In this ayah, the verb خَلَقَ refers to creating, while فَسَوَّىٰ refers to arranging what was created and bringing it into a harmonious form.
So after man was created from clay, he was also given a period of taswiyah so that he could take on human form and reach the level of humanity; the parts of his body were refined until they reached their proper consistency.
Once these finishing touches are complete, Allah declares that He will breathe into this creation مِن رُّوحِى “of My soul.”
This soul is one of Allah’s special creations, a divine element He willed to place within humanity.
Then comes the command: “Fall down in prostration before him.”
This reveals the unique honor that the human being has possessed from the very first moment of creation.