لَقَدۡ خَلَقۡنَا ٱلۡإِنسَٰنَ فِىٓ أَحۡسَنِ تَقۡوِيمٍ
We have certainly created man in the best of stature.
“We have certainly created the human being in the most upright fashion.”
This ayah presents a statement that might seem to contradict our daily experience.
If you ask the average person whether humans are fundamentally good or evil, many would lean toward the negative.
Modern psychology, influenced heavily by figures like Sigmund Freud, often assumes we are deeply flawed from childhood, constantly trying to ‘untwist’ our disorders.
When you watch the news, read history, or even reflect on your own experiences with people, it’s easy to conclude that humanity is fundamentally broken.
Even the angels questioned this reality. When Allah announced His intention to place a khalifah on earth, they asked:
أَتَجۡعَلُ فِيهَا مَن يُفۡسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسۡفِكُ ٱلدِّمَآءَ
“Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood?”
2/30
Their observation wasn’t wrong—look at what humans have done throughout history, and their comment seems remarkably accurate.
Yet Allah makes a counter-statement here that is both profound and hopeful.
فِىٓ أَحۡسَنِ تَقۡوِيمٍ
in the best of stature
We created the human being فِىٓ أَحۡسَنِ تَقۡوِيمٍ—in the most beautiful, most upright fashion.
The word تَقۡوِيم comes from قَامَ, meaning to stand upright and firm, balanced and not leaning to either side.
This continues the theme we saw in earlier surahs about the nafs being perfectly balanced—the soul and how it was proportioned:
وَنَفۡسٍ وَمَا سَوَّىٰهَا
“And [by] the soul and He who proportioned it”
91/7
Allah placed competing forces within us: emotions and intellect, personal needs and family obligations, individual rights and social responsibilities.
We have tendencies that pull in opposite directions, yet we’re given the capacity to balance between all of them.
This is the remarkable nature of Allah’s creation.
أَحۡسَنِ
the best
The word أَحۡسَنِ emphasizes this isn’t just balance—it’s the most beautiful balance.
And notice that تَقۡوِيمٍ is indefinite, suggesting this balance manifests at every stage of our lives. As we age, Allah grants us the balance appropriate to that age.
Some scholars even noted the physical dimension of this uprightness. Humans stand upright naturally, unlike most creatures. The Qur’an itself asks:
أَفَمَن يَمۡشِى مُكِبًّا عَلَىٰ وَجۡهِهِۦٓ أَهۡدَىٰٓ أَمَّن يَمۡشِى سَوِيًّا عَلَىٰ صِرَٰطٍ مُّسۡتَقِيمٍ
“Then is one who walks fallen on his face better guided or one who walks erect on a straight path?”
67/22
Our physical posture reflects our spiritual potential.
Consider also what Allah protected most carefully in our bodies. Our skull, a hard shell of bone, protects the brain. Our ribcage, a strong cage of bone, protects the heart.
These two organs—the mind and the heart—are the sources of our uprightness, and they receive the greatest physical protection. Even this is part of أَحۡسَنِ تَقۡوِيمٍ.
The connection to those opening oaths becomes clear now. Those remarkable messengers—Moses, Abraham, Jesus, Muhammad (peace be upon them)—are forever recorded in history as proof that humans can reach extraordinary heights.
They were not supernatural beings. The Prophet (peace be upon him) was told to say:
قُلۡ إِنَّمَآ أَنَا۠ بَشَرٌ مِّثۡلُكُمۡ
“Say, ‘I am only a man like you.’”
18/110
Their examples demonstrate what humanity is truly capable of when living up to the potential Allah built into us.
Yes, humanity is often disappointing. But that doesn’t mean we’re not capable of greatness.
The story of those lands proves what amazing taqwim humanity possesses, especially as modeled in those messengers.