"And He has created you in stages." The interpretation of Qatadah: Meaning: a drop of sperm, then a clot, then a lump of flesh, then bone, then flesh.
Muhammad said: "(In stages)," meaning: stage after stage; He moved you from one state to another, and this is the meaning of the statement of Qatadah. And His saying: "Expect," means: you fear. Similar to it is the saying of the poet:
(Their abode is the Essence of the God, and their religion is… upright, so they do not fear other than the consequences.)
Meaning: They do not fear anything except the final outcomes of deeds.
﴿وَقد خَلقكُم أطوارا﴾ تَفْسِيرُ قَتَادَةَ: يَعْنِي: نُطْفَةً ثُمَّ عَلَقَةً ثُمَّ مُضْغَةً ثُمَّ عَظْمًا ثُمَّ لَحْمًا.
قَالَ محمدٌ: (أَطْوَارًا) أَيْ: طَوْرًا بَعْدَ طَوْرٍ، نَقَلَكُمْ مِنْ حَالٍ إِلَى حَالٍ، وَهُوَ مَعْنَى قَوْلِ قَتَادَةَ. وَقَوْلُهُ: ﴿تَرْجُونَ﴾ تَخَافُونَ، وَمِثْلُهُ قَوْلُ الشَّاعِرِ:
(مَحِلَّتُهُمْ ذَاتُ الْإِلَهِ وَدِينُهُمْ … قويمٌ فَمَا يَرْجُونَ غَيْرَ الْعَوَاقِبِ)
أَيْ: مَا يخَافُونَ إِلَّا خَوَاتِم الْأَعْمَال.
