Tafsir of Al-A'raf 7:189

(It is He who created you) is a new commencement intended to establish the monotheism that is the ultimate objective. Placing the relative pronoun as the predicate is for the sake of glorifying the subject. It means: He, the Exalted, is that Being of majestic status who created all of you alone, without anyone else having any role in that whatsoever.

(From one soul)—which is Adam, peace be upon him, according to what the majority has decreed—(and made from it)—meaning, from its species, just as in His saying, the Exalted: "He made for you mates from yourselves." The min (from) indicates origin, though the famous view is that it denotes partition (partitive), meaning: from his body, based on the report that the Exalted created Eve from the left rib of Adam, peace be upon him. The modality is unknown to us, and nothing renders Allah the Exalted incapable. The verb is conjoined to the relative clause and is included under its ruling. There is no harm in its content preceding the content of the first in terms of existence, since the waw (and) does not necessitate sequence in this context. It is either in the sense of "ordained," thus His saying (its mate), with its first and second objects being the prepositional phrase that precedes it; or it is in the sense of "fashioned," and the prepositional phrase relates to it, having been placed before the direct object for the reason mentioned repeatedly, or relates to an omitted word acting as a state (hal) for the object.

(That he might dwell in her)—a final cause for the "making," meaning: that he might find comfort in her and tranquility with her. The hidden pronoun refers back to the "soul." Although the apparent form would be the feminine—since "soul" (nafs) is among the feminine nouns categorized by convention, and thus its adjective is feminine—it was used in the masculine form because the intended meaning is Adam. If it had been feminized according to the apparent form, one might falsely imagine the "dwelling" to be attributed to the female, whereas the intention is the opposite. Al-Zamakhshari stated that the masculine is better in terms of conformity to the meaning. He clarified this in al-Kashshaf by stating that since the "dwelling" is explained as inclination, and it encompasses the sexual inclination—which is the prelude to the sexual act, especially since it is confirmed with the fa (then) in the words of the Exalted: (Then when he covered her), and "covering" is inevitably attributed to the male—the conformity lies in attributing it to him as well, even if it is mutual. This contains an indication that the multiplication of the species is a cause for companionship, just as singularity is a cause for loneliness. Furthermore, since the one created first was the origin, it is appropriate that the creation of the mate was for his dwelling after feeling lonely, not the reverse, for that is inconsistent in wording and meaning. However, Ibn al-Shihna mentioned that if "soul" refers to the human being himself, it is masculine even if the word is feminine in form (just as "three souls" comes to mean "three persons"). If the spirit (ruh) is intended, it is feminine and nothing else, and its diminutive is nufaisa. So understand this.

The objective pronoun in (covered her) refers to the "mate," which is in the sense of "wife" (feminine). The "covering" is a metaphor for intercourse, meaning: when he had intercourse with her.

(She conceived a light burden)—meaning, a light carried thing. This refers to the fetus when it is in the state of a drop, a clot, or a lump, for there is no heaviness in it relative to the stages that follow. Thus, "burden" (hamlan) is in the accusative case as a direct object. The word haml (with a fat'ha on the ha) refers to what is in a womb or on a tree, while with a kasra it refers to the opposite, though both kasra and fat'ha have been narrated for both. It is also permitted that it be an infinitive (verbal noun) in the accusative as an absolute object, and that "lightness" refers to the absence of suffering—meaning, she carried a pregnancy that was light for her, and she did not experience from it the distress and harm that some pregnant women experience from their pregnancies.

(So she went on with it)—meaning, she persisted with it, as Ibn Abbas and al-Dahhak recited it. The intention is that she remained with it as she was before, standing, sitting, taking, and leaving. This is a meaning with no ambiguity. The claim that it is a transposition—meaning "it continued with her"—is considered a transposition by the critics. Abu al-'Aliyah and others recited (marat) with takhfif (lightening). It is said to be a lightened form of marrat, just as one says zalt for zallat. Others say it is from mirya (doubt), meaning: she was in doubt regarding the affair of her pregnancy. Ibn Umar and al-Jahdari recited (famarat) from mara yamuru (to move back and forth), so it is in the meaning of the majority's recitation, or it is from mirya like the recitation of Abu al-'Aliyah, with the pattern fa'alat and the final radical dropped due to the two meeting quiescent letters.

(Then when she became heavy)—meaning, she became one possessed of weight due to the size of the fetus in her womb. The hamza here is for "becoming" (sayrura), like their saying atamara and al-bana (to become possessed of dates or milk). It is also said that it is for entering into the time of the action, meaning: she entered into the time of heaviness, like asbaha (he entered the morning). The first is more apparent. The literal meaning of heaviness is what first comes to mind, and the opposition between it and the first meaning of lightness is apparent. Sometimes it is meant to signify distress so as to oppose the second meaning of lightness, but the literal meaning is the most immediate in both places. It was also recited as (uthqilat) in the passive voice, with the hamza for causation, meaning: her pregnancy made her heavy.

(They called upon Allah)—meaning Adam and Eve, peace be upon them, when they feared the outcome of the affair, so they became concerned and humbled themselves before Him, the Almighty and Majestic.

(Their Lord)—meaning, the Owner of their affairs, who is worthy of being the specific target of prayer. There is an indication here that they commenced with this in their prayer, which is their known practice in supplication. The object of the prayer is omitted to imply that the oath-like sentence indicates it: they prayed to Him, the Exalted, that He grant them a righteous one, and they promised to reciprocate with gratitude by way of emphatic swearing. And they said—or were saying:

(If You give us a righteous one)—meaning, offspring of our own kind, upright. It is also said: a child free from structural corruption, such as the absence of some limbs or the like, and this is the view of a group. From al-Hasan, it is said "a male," but this is contrary to the apparent meaning.

(We shall surely be)—we, or we and our offspring—(among the grateful)—those who are firmly established in gratitude to You for Your giving, or it is said: for Your favors, of which this blessing is one. It is also permitted that the pronoun in "give us" refers to both of them and everyone who descends from their lineage, though that is not clearly stated.