Al Mizan an Exegesis of the Quran (volume Seven)

Volume 7: Surah An-nisaa, Verse 1

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

O people! fear your Lord, Who created you from a single being and created its mate of the same (kind) and spread from these two, many men and women; and fear Allah, by Whom you demand one of another (your rights), and (be mindful of) relationship; surely Allah is vigilant over you (1)

COMMENTARY

The chapter aims - as may be seen from this opening verse - describing matrimonial laws, like the number of wives allowed, the women with whom marriage is forbidden and things like that; together with the laws of inheritance. It also touches some other matters, e.g., some rules of prayer, jihad, evidence, commerce, etc., and some comments on the People of the Book.

The subject matters indicate that it is a Medinite chapter revealed after hijrah. Apparently it was revealed piecemeal, not all at one time, although we find in most of the verses some sort of connection with one another.

This verse (as well as a few following ones which touch the subject of orphans and women) are a sort of prologue to prepare the minds for the rules of inheritance and marriage. The permissible number of wives that comes in the third verse - although an important subject - has been mentioned here just as a side-line, taking advantage of the talk preceding it, as we shall describe in its Commentary.

QUR'AN: O people! fear your Lord, Who created you from a single being and created its mate of the same (kind) and spread from these two, many men and women:

The verse calls them to the fear of their Lord, to the piety, concerning their selves, as they all are human beings, identical in their humanity; there is no difference among them in this reality; man and woman, big and small, old and young, weak and strong, all are the same in their humanity.

Therefore, man should not oppress woman, nor should a big and strong person trample on his smaller or weaker fellow, neither in their society to which Allah has guided them for completion of their happiness, nor in the laws or rules adopted by them which Allah has inspired them to. They have been given the laws in order that they may live easy life, their existence may be protected and they may continue in this world, as individuals and as members of society;

This explains why the verse is addressed to the "the people", and not only to the believers. It also shows why they have been admonished to fear their "Lord", instead of saying "fear Allah" or using some other divine name, because the condition attributed to them, "Who created you from a single being. . . many men and women", encompasses the whole mankind and is not confined to the believers; and these are the attributes more relevant to Lordship (i.e., concerned with the affairs of managing and perfecting) and not with the attributes of worship or divinity.

The words, "Who created you from a single being and created its mate of the same (kind) ": "an-Nafs (translated here as "being") according to the dictionary and language denotes the thing itself. They say: "He came to me (nafsuhu - himself); or "He came to me ('aynuhu; - the self same); although the basis for use of these two words, "an-nafs" and "al-'ayn" in this meaning (self; same; quiddity of a thing) is etymologically different.

an-Nafs of a man is that because of which man is man; and it is the combination of soul and body in this life and only the soul in the life of al-Barzakh, as we have explained in the Commentary of the verse: And do not speak of those who are slain in Allah's way as dead; nay, (they are) alive, but you do not perceive (2:154).

The context obviously shows that the words, "a single being", refer to Adam (a.s.) and "its mate" to Adam's wife. These two were the progenitors of this species to which we all belong; and all the human beings return to the same root, to those two parents, as Allah says in other verses too: He has created you from a single being, then made its mate of the same (kind) (39:6); O children of Adam! let not the Satan cause you to fall into affliction as he expelled your parents from the Garden 17:27); and the Satan is quoted as saying: If Thou shouldst respite me to the Day of Resurrection, I will most certainly cause his progeny to perish except a few (17:62).

Some exegete has opined: The words, "a single being" and "its mate", in this verse refer to human couple of male and female in general, on which human progeny depends. The verse in effect means: 'Allah has created everyone of you from a human father and mother, there is no difference among you in this respect.' Thus it goes parallel to the words of Allah:

O you people! surely We have created you of a male and a female, and made you nations and tribes that you may recognize each other; surely the most honorable of you with Allah is the one among you who guards himself most (against evil) (49:13). Apparently, it shows that there is no distinction among individuals inasmuch as each has been born of a couple of the same species - from a male and a female.

But this interpretation is patently false. The said exegete has missed the clear difference between this verse of the Chapter of the "The Women" and that of the Chapter 49 (The Chambers). The latter intends to show that all human beings are one inasmuch as all are human beings, and there is no difference among them in this respect because everyone is born of a human father and a human mother; therefore no one should think himself as superior to the others, as there is no distinction or superiority except through piety.

On the other hand, the verse under discussion intends to show their unity in their reality, that all human beings, in spite of their great number and their division between males and females, are the branches of the same root; and although they are now numerous, all of them have sprung from the same source, as the apparent meaning of the phrase, "and spread from these two, many men and women", shows. This idea is lost if we take the words, "a single being", and "its mate", to mean human males and females in general who are the means of producing children. Moreover, this interpretation is not in keeping with the Chapter's main aim, as explained above.

The phrase, "and created its mate of the same (kind)": ar-Raghib has said: "Each member of a pair of opposite sexes in living creatures is called az-zawj (pair, couple, mate); so is a pair in animate and inanimate things, e.g., a pair of socks or shoes; also it is used for anything taken together with another, whether they are similar or opposite to each other use of az-zawjah (wife) (to denote female or the above-mentioned pairs) is bad language."

The clause, "and created its mate of the same", apparently is meant to show that its mate was of the same species - similar in humanity to the (original) "single soul"; and that all these human beings are the offspring of the original couple - the two similar human beings. The preposition min (from, of) therefore signifies origin. The verse has the same import as the others given below:

And Allah has made wives for you from among yourselves, and has given you sons and grandchildren from your wives ... (16:72);

And one of His signs is that He created mates for you from yourselves that you may find rest in them, and He put between you love and compassion (30:21);

The Originator of the heavens and the earth; He made mates for you from among yourselves, and mates of the cattle too, multiplying you thereby (42 :11);

Of similar connotation is the verse: And of every thing We have created pairs that you may be mindful (51:49).

In spite of this clear meaning, some exegetes have written that the verse tends to show that the mate was derived from that single being and created from one of its parts. These explanation aims at making the verse conform with some traditions, which say that Allah had created Adam's wife from one of his ribs. But the fact remains that the verse does not support this view.

The clause, "and spread from these two, many men and women: "al-Bathth" (to spread, to propagate through dissemination or scattering, etc.); Allah says: So that they shall be as scattered dust (56:6). On this connotation is based the idiom, to spread the sorrow; and that is why sometimes they use the word al-bathth to denote grief and sorrow itself, because it is something which man by nature spreads (to his friends and relatives); Allah says: He said: "I only complain of (baththi) my grief and sorrow to Allah" (12:86).

The verse apparently shows that the present human race originates from Adam and his wife without anyone else having any share in it; Allah says: "and spread from these two, many men and women;" He has not said: 'and spread from these two and some others'. Proceeding from this interpretation we arrive at the following two conclusions:

First: The words, "many men and women", refer to all human beings from their progeny, be they their immediate children or children's children how low so ever. Thus the words mean: and spread you, O people! from these two.

Second: Marriage of the first generation after Adam and his wife (i.e., of their immediate children), was done between brothers and sisters (i.e., Adam's sons married his daughters), because they were the only human males and females at that time. There was no harm in this; because it is a legislative matter and it depends on the discretion of Allah; He may allow it one day and disallow it another day. Allah says:

Judgment is only Allah's (12:40);

And Allah pronounces an order - there is no repelled of His decree (13:41);

. . . and He does not make any one His associate in His judgment (18:26);

And He is Allah, there is no god but He! All praise is due to Him and this (life) and the hereafter, and His is the judgment, and to Him you shall be brought back (28:70).

QUR'AN: and fear Allah by Whom you demand one of another (your rights), and (be mindful of) relationship:

"at-Tasa'ul" (to ask one another); here it refers to people's asking one another in the name of Allah. One says to his companions: I ask you by Allah to do so and so; it is adjuration by Allah. To ask one another by Allah is an allegorical expression alluding to the reverence and love they have for Allah, because man swears by only that which he respects and loves.

As for the word, "and relationship", the conjunctive apparently joins it to the name "Allah" Thus it would mean fear Allah and (be mindful of) relationship. Another explanation joins it to the pronoun "whom" which is in position of accusative; it gets support from Hamzah's recital (wa'l-arhami) whereby the last letter "m" is recited with the vowel point " I " (instead of the "a" which is the more common recital) to make it conform with the joint pronoun "whom" — although the grammarians do not give much credence to such construction. However, in this case the meaning would be as follows: and fear Allah by whom and by the relationship you ask one of another your rights; you say to one another, I ask you by Allah, and I ask you by the relationship.

This was the explanation given by some people, but the context and the Qur'anic style in general does not agree with it: If "relationship" is treated as an independent as-silah (synthetic relative clause) of the relative pronoun al-ladhi (he who, that which), then the reconstructed sentence will be as follows: and fear Allah, He who, by relationship you ask one of another; this construction omits the pronoun "by whom", which is not correct. And if the whole phrase beginning with "Allah" is taken together as one as-silah, (fear Allah by whom and by the relationship) then it would make relationship equal to Allah in majesty and grandeur, and it is totally against the Qur'anic manners.

Of course, there is no harm if one is told to fear Allah and be mindful of relationship in the same breath, because the preceding sentence has clearly shown the relationships as a creation of Allah. Also, at-taqwa (guarding against, piety, fear) has also been attributed in divine speech to others than Allah. For example:

And fear an affliction which may not smite those of you in particular who are unjust (8:25);

And fear the day in which you shall be returned to Allah (2:281);

And guard yourselves against the fire, which has been prepared for the unbelievers (3:131).

In any case, this section of the speech coming after the first part (O people! fear. . . and women) is a sort of particularization after generalization, a restriction after liberalization. The first part in effect says: Fear Allah because He is your Lord and because He has created and made you, O people! from one root that is preserved in your being, from one substance that is preserved and propagated through your propagation; and it is the species known as humanity.

On the other hand, the second part implies as follows: Fear Allah because you believe in His majesty and Power (and it is an aspect of His Lordship, and one of its concomitants); and remain mindful of the unity of relationship which He has created in you (and relationship is a branch of unity and an aspect of the essence that permeates all the human beings).

It shows why the order to fear Allah has been repeated in the second sentence. The second sentence itself is a repetition of the first with an additional import: It throws full light on the importance of relationship.

"ar-Rihm" means uterus, womb, the internal reproductive organ of a woman, whose function is to develop the sperm into a child. Then they began using it for relationship, because of the association between a receptacle and its content, as the relatives issue forth from the same womb. ar-Rihm therefore is relative, plural "al-arham" (relatives).

The Qur'an has given full importance to relationship as it has done to the community and nation. Relationship is a small society, while nation is a big one. The Qur'an has concerned itself with the affairs of society, and has counted it as a reality having its own special characteristics and effects. Likewise, it has concerned itself with the affairs of individual man, and has counted him as a reality having its own characteristics and effects which spring from his existence. Allah says:

And He it is Who has made two seas to flow freely, the one sweet that subdues thirst by its sweetness, and the other salt that burns by its sweetness; and between the two He has made a barrier and inviolable obstruction. And He it is Who has created man from the water, then He has made for him blood-relationship and marriage-relationship, and your Lord is powerful (25:53-54);

. . . and made you nations and tribes that you may recognize each other... (49:13);

. . . and the possessors of relationship have the better claim in the ordinance of Allah to inheritance . . . (33:6);

But if you held command, you were sure to make mischief in the land and cut off the ties of kinship (47:22);

And let those fear who, should they leave behind them weakly offspring, would fear on their account . . . (4:9).

There are many other verses of the same import.

QUR'AN: surely Allah is vigilant over you:

"ar-Raqib" (guard; preserve); al-muraqabah (to watch; to keep an eye on); may be it is derived from ar-raqabah (neck) because they used to watch the necks of their slaves. Or it may be based on the fact that a watcher or guard usually stretches his neck for looking towards the object he is watching or guarding. However, this word does not imply mere watching or guarding; it means watching over activities of the watched person - all his acts of commission and omission - in order to reform the defects and make up the deficiencies, or just to keep the record; in other words, it implies guarding a thing with special concern towards it in knowledge and observation. That is why it is used for vigilance, observation, supervision, guarding, awaiting and controlling. Allah is called ar-Raqib because He preserves the actions of the people in order to give them their recompense. He says:

. . . and your Lord is the Preserver of all things (34:21);

. . . Allah watches over them, and you have no charge over them (42:6).

Therefore your Lord let fall upon them the whip of chastisement. Most surely your Lord is on watch (89:13-14).

Look at the command of being mindful of humanity's unity (which pervades each and every human being) and of preserving its characteristics; and note that this order is followed by the reminder that Allah watches everything. Then you will appreciate the great threat it poses, and the ominous warning it gives to the transgressors. Also, if you ponder on this reality, you will realize that all the verses dealing with the topics of transgressing the limit, oppressing the people, doing mischief in the land, exceeding the bounds and things like that (and which generally have prescribed such harsh and painful chastisement for the offenders) have very strong connection with the divine purpose, i.e., protecting the humanity's unity from disorder, decline and fall.