Tafseer of The Morning Star · At-Taariq · 86:7
Emerging from between the backbone and the ribs.
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.
His statement: يَخْرُجُ مِنْ بَيْنِ الصُّلْبِ وَالتَّرَائِبِ ("which comes forth from between the backbone and the breast-bones"). He says: it comes forth from between that, and the meaning of the words is: from both of them, just as one says: "much good will come forth from these two things," in the meaning: it comes forth from both of them.
And the people of interpretation differed concerning the meaning of al-tarāʾib and its location. Some of them said: al-tarāʾib is the place of the necklace upon the breast of the woman.
* Mention of those who said that:
ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Aswad al-Ṭufāwī related to me, saying: Muḥammad ibn Rabīʿa related to us, on the authority of Salama ibn Sābūr, on the authority of ʿAṭiyya al-ʿAwfī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: الصُّلْبِ وَالتَّرَائِبِ , he said: al-tarāʾib is the place of the necklace.
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement: يَخْرُجُ مِنْ بَيْنِ الصُّلْبِ وَالتَّرَائِبِ , he says: from between the breasts of the woman.
Yaʿqūb related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Abū Rajāʾ, saying: ʿIkrima was asked about al-tarāʾib, whereupon he said: this — and he placed his hand on his breast between his two nipples.
Ibn al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Salm ibn Qutayba related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Nuʿmān al-Ḥudānī related to me, that he heard ʿIkrima say: يَخْرُجُ مِنْ بَيْنِ الصُّلْبِ وَالتَّرَائِبِ , he said: the backbone of the man, and the breast-bones of the woman.
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Sharīk, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, he said: al-tarāʾib is the breast.
He said: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Misʿar, on the authority of al-Ḥakam, on the authority of Abū ʿIyāḍ, he said: التَّرَائِبِ : the breast.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His statement: يَخْرُجُ مِنْ بَيْنِ الصُّلْبِ وَالتَّرَائِبِ , he said: al-tarāʾib is the breast. And this is the backbone — and he pointed to his back.
And others said: al-tarāʾib is what lies between the two shoulders and the breast.
* Mention of those who said that:
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Isrāʾīl, on the authority of Thuwayr, on the authority of Mujāhid, he said: التَّرَائِبِ is what lies between the two shoulders and the breast.
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 statement: التَّرَائِبِ , he said: lower than the collar-bones.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, he said: the backbone is for the man, and al-tarāʾib for the woman, and al-tarāʾib lies above the two breasts.
And others said: they are the two hands, the two feet, and the two eyes.
* Mention of those who said that:
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, concerning His statement: يَخْرُجُ مِنْ بَيْنِ الصُّلْبِ وَالتَّرَائِبِ , he said: al-tarāʾib are the extremities of the man: the two hands, the two feet, and the two eyes; those are al-tarāʾib.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Abū Rawq, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: يَخْرُجُ مِنْ بَيْنِ الصُّلْبِ وَالتَّرَائِبِ , he said: al-tarāʾib are the two hands and the two feet.
He said: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, saying: another said: al-tarāʾib is the fluid of the woman and the backbone of the man.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, who said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His statement: يَخْرُجُ مِنْ بَيْنِ الصُّلْبِ وَالتَّرَائِبِ : his two eyes, his two hands, and his two feet.
And others said: the meaning of that is that it comes forth from between the backbone of the man and his throat-pit.
* 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 statement: يَخْرُجُ مِنْ بَيْنِ الصُّلْبِ وَالتَّرَائِبِ , he says: it comes forth from between the backbone of the man and his throat-pit.
And others said: they are the ribs that are below the backbone.
* Mention of those who said that:
Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Ashʿath, on the authority of Jaʿfar, on the authority of Saʿīd, concerning His statement: يَخْرُجُ مِنْ بَيْنِ الصُّلْبِ وَالتَّرَائِبِ , he said: al-tarāʾib are the ribs that are below the backbone.
And others said: it is the sap of the heart.
* Mention of those who said that:
Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: al-Layth related to me, that Maʿmar ibn Abī Ḥabība al-Madīnī narrated to him, that there had reached him, concerning Allah's statement: يَخْرُجُ مِنْ بَيْنِ الصُّلْبِ وَالتَّرَائِبِ , a report, he said: it is the sap of the heart, and from it the child comes into being.
And the correct view concerning that, in our judgment, is the statement of those who said: it is the place of the necklace of the woman, there where it falls upon her breast; for that is what is well known in the language of the Arabs, and with it their verses of poetry have been transmitted. Al-Muthaqqab al-ʿAbdī said:
"And of gold that is poured upon a breast-bone (tarīb), like the color of ivory, without wrinkles." (1)
And another said:
"And the saffron upon her breast-bones (tarāʾib) gleamed, and with it the throat-pits and the upper breast." (2)
