Tafseer of The Women · An-Nisaa · 4:1
O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer.
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 His word — Mighty and Exalted is He: يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ نَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ (O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from a single soul — 4:1)
Abū Jaʿfar said: He — exalted is His mention — means by His statement "O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from a single soul": guard yourselves, O mankind, against your Lord, that you do not oppose Him in what He has commanded you and in what He has forbidden you, lest there come upon you of His punishment what you would not be able to bear.
Then He — exalted is His mention — described Himself as the One who created all creatures from a single being, in order to make His servants know how the beginning of that creation from the single soul came about, and to point out to them thereby that they are all sons of one man and one mother, and that they are kin to one another, and that the right of one upon another is obligatory, just as the right of a brother upon his brother is obligatory, because they are united in descent from one father and one mother; and that safeguarding one another's right is likewise incumbent upon them, even if the point of meeting in lineage at the common ancestor is far removed, just as that which is incumbent upon them in near lineage. And [He did this] in order to bring them thereby to compassion toward one another, so that they would treat one another with equity and not wrong one another, and so that the strong among them would render to the weak his right in a proper manner, according to what Allah has imposed upon him. Therefore He said: "who created you from a single soul," that is: from Ādam, as in:—
8400 – Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: concerning "He created you from a single soul," that is from Ādam, peace be upon him.
8401 – Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: "O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from a single soul," that is: Ādam, Allah's blessing be upon him.
8402 – Sufyān ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of a man, on the authority of Mujāhid: "He created you from a single soul," he said: Ādam.
And the analogue of His word "from a single soul (nafs wāḥida)," whereby a man is meant, is the saying of the poet:
"Your father is a caliph, another woman bore him, and you are a caliph — that is perfection."
He said "another woman bore him" while he meant "the man," but he used the feminine form because of the word "khalīfa" (which is grammatically feminine). And He — exalted is His mention — said "from a single soul (nafs wāḥida)" because of the femininity of the word "nafs," while the meaning is: from a single man. And had it been said "from a single soul (nafs wāḥid)," with the masculine form expressed according to the meaning, that too would have been correct.
The explanation of His word — exalted is His praise: وَخَلَقَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَبَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالا كَثِيرًا وَنِسَاءً (And He created from it its mate, and dispersed from the two of them many men and women)
Abū Jaʿfar said: He — exalted is His praise — means by His statement "and He created from it its mate": and He created from the single soul its spouse — He means by "zawj" (mate) the second one paired with her. And that, according to what the exegetes say, is his wife Ḥawwāʾ (Eve).
* Mention of who said that:
8403 – Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word: "and He created from it its mate," he said: Ḥawwāʾ, from his lowest rib while he was asleep; then he awoke and said: "athā" — in Nabataean: a woman.
8404 – Al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, the like of it.
8405 – Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: "and He created from it its mate," that is Ḥawwāʾ, who was created from Ādam, from a rib of his ribs.
8406 – Mūsā ibn Hārūn related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn Ḥammād informed us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, who said: He settled Ādam in the Garden, and he walked about in it alone, with no spouse with whom he could find rest. Then he fell asleep, and he awoke, and behold, by his head sat a woman, whom Allah had created from his rib. He asked her: what are you? She said: a woman. He said: and for what were you created? She said: so that you might find rest with me.
8407 – Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, who said: Upon Ādam, Allah's blessing and peace be upon him, sleep was cast — according to what has reached us from the People of the Book among the people of the Torah and others among the people of knowledge, on the authority of ʿAbdallāh ibn al-ʿAbbās and others — and then a rib was taken from his ribs, from his left side, and its place was closed up, while Ādam slept and did not awake from his sleep, until Allah — blessed and exalted is He — created from that rib of his his spouse Ḥawwāʾ and fashioned her into a woman, so that he might find rest with her. And when the sleep was removed from him and he awoke from his sleep, he saw her beside him and said — according to what they claim, and Allah knows best —: my flesh and my blood and my spouse! And he found rest with her.
8408 – Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "and He created from it its mate," He made from Ādam Ḥawwāʾ.
And as for His word "and dispersed from the two of them many men and women," that means: and He spread abroad from the two of them — that is, from Ādam and Ḥawwāʾ — "many men and women," whom He had already seen, just as He — exalted is His praise — said: كَالْفَرَاشِ الْمَبْثُوثِ (like scattered moths) [Surah al-Qāriʿa: 4].
Of that one says: "Allah dispersed (batha) the creation and spread it abroad (abathha)."
And in accordance with what we have said concerning it, the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
8409 – Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "and dispersed from the two of them many men and women," "He dispersed," means: He created.
The explanation of His word — exalted is His praise: وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ الَّذِي تَسَاءَلُونَ بِهِ وَالأَرْحَامَ (And fear Allah, by whom you ask one another, and the wombs [kinship ties])
Abū Jaʿfar said: The reciters differed in its recitation.
The majority of the reciters of Medina and Basra recited it "tassāʾalūna" with doubling (tashdīd), in the meaning of "tatasāʾalūna" (you ask one another); then one of the two "tāʾs" was assimilated into the "sīn," so that they made of the two a single doubled "sīn."
And some reciters of Kufa recited it "tasāʾalūna," with lightening (takhfīf), on the pattern of "tafāʿalūna."
They are two well-known recitations and two eloquent linguistic forms — I mean the lightening and the doubling in His word "tasāʾalūna bihi" — and with whichever of the two the reciter recites, he attains correctness therein, because the meaning of it, in whichever of the two ways it is recited, does not differ.
As for its explanation: fear Allah, O mankind, by whom, when one of you asks another for something, he asks by Him as well, so that the asker says to the one asked: "I ask you by Allah, and I adjure you by Allah, and I impose upon you by Allah," and what resembles that. He — exalted is His mention — says: just as you, O mankind, magnify your Lord with your tongues, so that you deem that whoever has given you his covenant and then breaks it has committed something grave — so then, magnify Him through your obedience to Him in what He has commanded you, and through your abstention from what He has forbidden you, and guard yourselves against His punishment for opposing Him in what He has commanded you or forbidden you, as in:—
8410 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Zuhayr related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, concerning His word: "and fear Allah, by whom you ask one another," he said, He says: fear Allah, by whom you make covenants and compacts.
8411 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ: "and fear Allah, by whom you ask one another," he says: fear Allah, by whom you enter into compacts and covenants.
8412 – Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Abī Jaʿfar, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas, the like of it.
8413 – Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj informed us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, he said: Ibn ʿAbbās said: "you ask one another by Him," he said: you show affection to one another by Him.
And as for His word "and the wombs (al-arḥām)," the exegetes differed in its explanation. Some of them said: its meaning is: and fear Allah, by whom, when you ask one another for something, the asker says to the one asked: "I ask you by Him and by the womb [kinship tie] (al-raḥim)."
Mention of who said that:
8414 – Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ḥakkām related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Ibrāhīm: "fear Allah, by whom you ask one another, and the wombs," he says: fear Allah, by whom you show one another affection, and the wombs. He says: the man asks by Allah and by the womb.
8415 – Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, he said: it is like the saying of the man: "I ask you by Allah, I ask you by the womb," that is, His word: "and fear Allah, by whom you ask one another, and the wombs."
8416 – Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Ibrāhīm: "fear Allah, by whom you ask one another, and the wombs," he said, He says: "I ask you by Allah and by the womb."
8417 – Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of Ibrāhīm: it is like the saying of the man: "I ask you by the womb."
8418 – Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: "fear Allah, by whom you ask one another, and the wombs," he said, He says: "I ask you by Allah and by the womb."
8419 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: al-Ḥimmānī related to us, saying: Sharīk related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr — or Mughīra — on the authority of Ibrāhīm, concerning His word: "and fear Allah, by whom you ask one another, and the wombs," he said: it is the saying of the man: "I ask you by Allah and the womb."
8420 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Suwayd related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak informed us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, he said: it is the saying of the man: "I adjure you by Allah and the womb."
Muḥammad (i.e. al-Ṭabarī) said: And upon this explanation rests the opinion of some who recited His word "wa-l-arḥāmi" in the genitive (khafḍ), by joining "al-arḥām" to the "hāʾ" in His word "bihi," as if He meant: and fear Allah, by whom you ask one another, and by the wombs. Thus one joined a noun to a hidden pronoun in the genitive. And that is not an eloquent form of speech among the Arabs, for they do not join a noun to a hidden pronoun in the genitive, except in the necessity of poetry, and that on account of the constraints of the verse. But as for ordinary speech, there is nothing that compels the speaker to choose what is detested in expression and what is bad in case-inflection. And among what occurs in poetry of referring a noun back to a hidden pronoun in the genitive is the saying of the poet:
"We hang up our swords upon something like the columns, and between them and the ankle are deep, far-reaching hollows."
He joined "the ankle (al-kaʿb)," which is a noun, to the "hāʾ and alif" in his word "between them (baynahā)," which form a hidden pronoun.
And others said: its explanation is: and fear Allah, by whom you ask one another, and fear the wombs, that you do not sever them.
* Mention of who said that:
8421 – Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His word: "and fear Allah, by whom you ask one another, and the wombs," he says: fear Allah, and fear the wombs, do not sever them.
8422 – Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: "and fear Allah, by whom you ask one another, and the wombs — verily, Allah is a watcher over you," it has been mentioned to us that the Prophet of Allah, Allah's blessing and peace be upon him, used to say: fear Allah, and maintain the wombs [ties of kinship], for that is more lasting for you in this world and better for you in the Hereafter.
8423 – ʿAlī ibn Dāwūd related to me, saying: ʿAbdallāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning the word of Allah: "and fear Allah, by whom you ask one another, and the wombs," he says: fear Allah, by whom you ask one another, and fear Allah with regard to the wombs, so maintain them.
8424 – Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Hushaym related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His word: "and fear Allah, by whom you ask one another, and the wombs," he said: fear Him by whom you ask one another, and fear Him with regard to the wombs.
8425 – Sufyān related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Khuṣayf, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning the word of Allah: "by whom you ask one another, and the wombs," he said: fear the wombs, that you do not sever them.
8426 – Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning His word: "and fear Allah, by whom you ask one another, and the wombs," he said: it is the saying of the man: "I adjure you by Allah and the womb."
8427 – Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, that the Prophet, Allah's blessing and peace be upon him, said: fear Allah, and maintain the wombs [ties of kinship].
8428 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: "by whom you ask one another, and the wombs," he said: fear the wombs, that you do not sever them.
8429 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Zuhayr related to me, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, concerning His word: "by whom you ask one another, and the wombs," he said, He says: fear Allah with regard to the wombs, so maintain them.
8430 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ: "and fear Allah, by whom you ask one another, and the wombs," he said, He says: and fear Allah with regard to the wombs, so maintain them.
8431 – Al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Isḥāq related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Ḥammād — and Abū Jaʿfar al-Khazzāz informed us — on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: that Ibn ʿAbbās used to recite "wa-l-arḥāma," saying: fear Allah, do not sever them.
8432 – Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, he said: Ibn ʿAbbās said: fear the wombs.
8433 – Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Abī Jaʿfar, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, he said: "and fear Allah, by whom you ask one another, and the wombs," that you do not sever them.
8434 – Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word: "and fear Allah, by whom you ask one another," and fear the wombs, that you do not sever them — and he recited: وَالَّذِينَ يَصِلُونَ مَا أَمَرَ اللَّهُ بِهِ أَنْ يُوصَلَ (and those who maintain that which Allah has commanded to be maintained) [Surah al-Raʿd: 21].
Abū Jaʿfar said: And upon this explanation, he who recited it in the accusative recited it in the accusative, in the meaning of: and fear Allah, by whom you ask one another, and fear the wombs, that you do not sever them — by joining "al-arḥām" in its accusative inflection to the name of Allah — exalted is His mention.
He said: And the recitation that we do not permit any reciter to recite otherwise is the accusative: ( وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ الَّذِي تَسَاءَلُونَ بِهِ وَالأرْحَامَ ), in the meaning of: and fear the wombs, that you do not sever them, on account of what we have already expounded, namely that the Arabs do not join a noun to a hidden pronoun in the genitive, except in the necessity of poetry, according to what we have described before.
The explanation of His word: إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَيْكُمْ رَقِيبًا (1) (Verily, Allah is a watcher over you)
Abū Jaʿfar said: He — exalted is His mention — means by it: verily, Allah has ever been a watcher over you.
And He means by His word "over you," over the people to whom He — exalted is His praise — said: يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمُ (O mankind, fear your Lord). And when the one addressed and the one absent occur together in the report, then the Arab renders the utterance in the address form; thus he says, when he addresses one man or a group who together with others who are absent have performed an action: "you have done thus, and you have performed thus."
And He means by His word "raqīb (watcher)": a guardian, one who registers your deeds over you, who keeps close watch over your safeguarding of the sanctity of your wombs [kinship ties] and your maintaining of them, and over your severing of them and your neglect of their sanctity, as in:—
8435 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: "verily, Allah is a watcher over you," a guardian.
8435m – Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: I heard Ibn Zayd concerning His word: "verily, Allah is a watcher over you," over your deeds, He knows them and is aware of them.
And to that belongs the saying of Abū Duʾād al-Iyādī:
"As the sitting-places of the watchers (al-ruqabāʾ) before the throwers, their hands stretched upward."
