Tafseer of The Groups · Az-Zumar · 39:6
He created you from one soul. Then He made from it its mate, and He produced for you from the grazing livestock eight mates. He creates you in the wombs of your mothers, creation after creation, within three darknesses. That is Allah, your Lord; to Him belongs dominion. There is no deity except Him, so how are you averted?
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ نَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ ثُمَّ جَعَلَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَأَنْزَلَ لَكُمْ مِنَ الأَنْعَامِ ثَمَانِيَةَ أَزْوَاجٍ يَخْلُقُكُمْ فِي بُطُونِ أُمَّهَاتِكُمْ خَلْقًا مِنْ بَعْدِ خَلْقٍ فِي ظُلُمَاتٍ ثَلاثٍ ذَلِكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ لا إِلَهَ إِلا هُوَ فَأَنَّى تُصْرَفُونَ (6) (He created you from a single soul; then He made from it its mate; and He sent down for you of the cattle eight pairs. He creates you in the bellies of your mothers, creation after creation, in three darknesses. That is Allah, your Lord; to Him belongs the dominion; there is no god but He. So how are you turned away? (39:6))
The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: ( خَلَقَكُمْ ) (He created you), O people, ( مِنْ نَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ ) (from a single soul), that is to say: from Adam, ( ثُمَّ جَعَلَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا ) (then He made from it its mate), He says: then He made from Adam his wife Eve (Ḥawwāʾ); and that is because Allah created her from a rib of his ribs.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) have spoken.
* Mention of those who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying ( خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ نَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ ): that is to say Adam; then He created from him his wife Eve, He created her from a rib of his ribs.
If someone were to ask: how is it said "He created you from a single soul, then He made from it its mate"? For the progeny of Adam was created from Adam and his wife, and there is no doubt that the two parents come before the child. To this there are various answers. The first of them is that one says: this was said because it has been transmitted from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: "When Allah created Adam, He stroked over his back and brought forth from it every soul that will exist until the Day of Resurrection; then He thereafter made him dwell in the garden (janna), and thereafter He created Eve from a rib of his ribs." This is one view. The second is: that a man of the Arabs sometimes reports about another with two acts, introducing the first of the two in meaning with "thumma" (then), when it belongs to the report of the speaker, as one says: "There has reached me what came forth from you today, then (thumma) what came forth from you yesterday is more astonishing"; that is a sequencing from the report of the speaker. The third manner is: that the creation of the mate is referred back to the word "wāḥida" (single), as if it were said: "He created you from a soul, it alone, then He made from it its mate", so that in "wāḥida" lies the meaning: He created her alone — as the rajaz-poet said:
I made him ready for the adversary who transgresses; I overcame you by means of him without effort. (1)
In the meaning of: the one who, when he transgresses, you overcome him; and the meaning of "kawwaḥtuhu" is: I overcame him.
And the view that the people of knowledge hold deserves most to be the correct one, and that is the first view which I have mentioned, namely that one says: Allah brought forth the progeny of Adam from his loins before He created Eve; and the narration of a group of the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ has come with this. The two other views rest upon the methods of the scholars of Arabic.
And His saying ( وَأَنْزَلَ لَكُمْ مِنَ الأَنْعَامِ ثَمَانِيَةَ أَزْوَاجٍ ) (and He sent down for you of the cattle eight pairs): The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: and He made for you of the cattle eight pairs: of the camels two, of the cattle (oxen) two, of the sheep two, and of the goats two — as He, whose praise is exalted, said: ثَمَانِيَةَ أَزْوَاجٍ مِنَ الضَّأْنِ اثْنَيْنِ وَمِنَ الْمَعْزِ اثْنَيْنِ (eight pairs: of the sheep two and of the goats two (6:143)).
As Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both of them — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His saying ( مِنَ الأَنْعَامِ ثَمَانِيَةَ أَزْوَاجٍ ): he said: of the camels, the cattle, the sheep and the goats.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying ( وَأَنْزَلَ لَكُمْ مِنَ الأَنْعَامِ ثَمَانِيَةَ أَزْوَاجٍ ): of the camels two, of the cattle two, of the sheep two, and of the goats two, of each kind a pair.
It has been related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His saying ( وَأَنْزَلَ لَكُمْ مِنَ الأَنْعَامِ ثَمَانِيَةَ أَزْوَاجٍ ): that is to say of the goats two, of the sheep two, of the cattle two, and of the camels two.
And His saying ( يَخْلُقُكُمْ فِي بُطُونِ أُمَّهَاتِكُمْ خَلْقًا مِنْ بَعْدِ خَلْقٍ ) (He creates you in the bellies of your mothers, creation after creation): The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: He begins your creation, O people, in the bellies of your mothers, creation after creation; and that is because He brings into being therein a drop (nuṭfa), which He then makes into a blood-clot (ʿalaqa), then into a lump of flesh (muḍgha), then into bones, then He clothes the bones with flesh, then He brings him forth as another creation — blessed and exalted is Allah. That, then, is His creation of him, creation after creation.
As Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima ( يَخْلُقُكُمْ فِي بُطُونِ أُمَّهَاتِكُمْ خَلْقًا مِنْ بَعْدِ خَلْقٍ ): he said: a drop, then a blood-clot, then a lump of flesh.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both of them — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His saying ( خَلْقًا مِنْ بَعْدِ خَلْقٍ ): he said: a drop, then what follows upon it until his creation is completed.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda ( يَخْلُقُكُمْ فِي بُطُونِ أُمَّهَاتِكُمْ خَلْقًا مِنْ بَعْدِ خَلْقٍ ): a drop, then a blood-clot, then a lump of flesh, then bones, then flesh, then He caused it to grow for her — the stages of creation.
Hannād ibn al-Sarī related to us, saying: Abū al-Aḥwaṣ related to us, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning His saying ( يَخْلُقُكُمْ فِي بُطُونِ أُمَّهَاتِكُمْ خَلْقًا مِنْ بَعْدِ خَلْقٍ ): he said: thereby is meant a creation after the creation: a blood-clot, then a lump of flesh, then bones.
Muḥammad related to us, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His saying ( يَخْلُقُكُمْ فِي بُطُونِ أُمَّهَاتِكُمْ خَلْقًا مِنْ بَعْدِ خَلْقٍ ): he said: they are drops, then they become blood-clots, then they become lumps of flesh, then they become bones, then the spirit is breathed into them.
It has been related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His saying ( فِي بُطُونِ أُمَّهَاتِكُمْ خَلْقًا مِنْ بَعْدِ خَلْقٍ ): a creation from a drop, then a blood-clot, then a lump of flesh.
And others said: no, rather the meaning of it is: He creates you in the bellies of your mothers after His creation of you in the back of Adam. They said: that is the creation after the creation.
* Mention of those who said that:
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said ( يَخْلُقُكُمْ فِي بُطُونِ أُمَّهَاتِكُمْ خَلْقًا مِنْ بَعْدِ خَلْقٍ ): he said: a creation in the bellies after the first creation with which He created them in the back of Adam.
And the more correct of the two views in this is the view which ʿIkrima and Mujāhid stated, and whoever stated the same as they did concerning it, for Allah, Mighty and Exalted, has informed that He creates us as a creation after a creation in the bellies of our mothers in three darknesses, and He has not informed that He creates us in the bellies of our mothers after our creation in the back of Adam. That is in accordance with His saying: وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الإِنْسَانَ مِنْ سُلالَةٍ مِنْ طِينٍ * ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَاهُ نُطْفَةً فِي قَرَارٍ مَكِينٍ * ثُمَّ خَلَقْنَا النُّطْفَةَ عَلَقَةً (And indeed, We created man from an extract of clay * then We made him a drop in a firm lodging-place * then We created the drop into a blood-clot (23:12-14)) ... the rest of the verse.
And His saying ( فِي ظُلُمَاتٍ ثَلاثٍ ) (in three darknesses): that is to say: in the darkness of the belly, the darkness of the womb and the darkness of the placenta (al-mashīma).
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the people of interpretation have spoken.
* Mention of those who said that:
Hannād ibn al-Sarī related to us, saying: Abū al-Aḥwaṣ related to us, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima ( فِي ظُلُمَاتٍ ثَلاثٍ ): he said: the three darknesses are: the belly, the womb and the placenta.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Simāk, on the authority of ʿIkrima ( فِي ظُلُمَاتٍ ثَلاثٍ ): he said: the belly, the placenta and the womb.
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās ( فِي ظُلُمَاتٍ ثَلاثٍ ): he said: by the three darknesses is meant: the belly of his mother, the womb and the placenta.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both of them — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His saying ( فِي ظُلُمَاتٍ ثَلاثٍ ): he said: the belly, the womb and the placenta.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda ( فِي ظُلُمَاتٍ ثَلاثٍ ): the placenta, the womb and the belly.
Muḥammad related to us, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī ( فِي ظُلُمَاتٍ ثَلاثٍ ): he said: the darkness of the placenta, the darkness of the womb and the darkness of the belly.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying ( فِي ظُلُمَاتٍ ثَلاثٍ ): he said: the placenta in the womb, and the womb in the belly.
It has been related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, saying: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His saying ( فِي ظُلُمَاتٍ ثَلاثٍ ): the womb, the placenta and the belly; and the placenta is that which lies upon the child when it comes out, and that, in the case of animals, is the membrane (al-salā).
And His saying ( ذَلِكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ ) (That is Allah, your Lord): The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: This One who has performed these deeds, O people, He is your Lord — not the one who can bring no benefit to himself, nor ward off harm from himself, nor bring you any good, nor avert any evil from you: namely your idols and your gods.
And His saying ( لَهُ الْمُلْكُ ) (to Him belongs the dominion): He, Mighty and Exalted, says: to your Lord, O people, whose description is as He has described Himself to you and whose power is as He has made clear to you, belongs the dominion — the dominion of the worldly life and the Hereafter and the power over both — to no one else. As for the kings of the worldly life, one of them possesses only something and not something else; he thus has only a limited portion of the dominion. But as for the complete dominion, which is the dominion in the absolute sense, that belongs to Allah, the One, the Overwhelming.
And His saying ( لا إِلَهَ إِلا هُوَ فَأَنَّى تُصْرَفُونَ ) (there is no god but He; so how are you turned away): The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: it is not fitting that any be worshipped besides Him, and worship is permissible only for Him ( فَأَنَّى تُصْرَفُونَ ) (so how are you turned away): The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: so how are you turned away, O people, so that you turn from the worship of your Lord, whose description is this description, to the worship of one who has with him for you neither harm nor benefit?
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the people of interpretation have spoken.
* Mention of those who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda ( فَأَنَّى تُصْرَفُونَ ): he said: it is like His saying ( تُؤْفَكُونَ ) (you are turned away).
Muḥammad related to us, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī ( فَأَنَّى تُصْرَفُونَ ): he said to the polytheists (mushrikīn): whither are your minds turned away from this?
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The footnotes:
(1) The two verses belong to rajaz-poetry; the author of al-Lisān cited them under "kawḥ" as a witness that "kawwaḥahu" has the meaning of "he rejected him / overcame him". Al-Azharī said: al-takwīḥ is overcoming, and Abū ʿAmr cited: "I made him ready for the adversary ... the verse". It also belongs to the witnesses of al-Farrāʾ in Maʿānī al-Qurʾān (folio 283). He said in the explanation of the saying of the Exalted "He created you from a single soul, then He made from it its mate", while the mate was created before the child? Therein lie two manners from Arabic. The first of them is that the Arabs, when they report about a man with two acts, introduce the latter with "thumma" when it is in meaning the latter. Sometimes they make "thumma" (apply) to that whose meaning comes first, and they make "thumma" part of the report of the speaker. Of that is that you say: "There has reached me what you did today, then (thumma) what you did yesterday is more astonishing"; this is a sequencing from the report of the speaker. And you say: "I gave you something today, then what I gave you yesterday is more". This belongs to that. The other manner is that you refer the creation of the mate back to "wāḥida" (single), as if He said: "He created you from a soul, it alone, then He made from it its mate", so that in "wāḥida" lies the meaning: He created her alone. He said: one of the Arabs recited to me: "I made him ready for the adversary ... the verse". And the meaning of it is: the one who, when he transgresses, you "kawwaḥtuhu" (overcame) him. And "kawwaḥtuhu": I overcame him. End.
