Al-A'raf: (189-190) It is He Who created you...

It is understood that in this verse, the Almighty returns to establishing the principle of Monotheism (Tawhid) and refuting Polytheism (Shirk).

First Issue: Interpretation of the Verse

There are several narrations regarding the interpretation of this verse.

It is narrated from Ibn Abbas that: "It is He Who created you from a single soul" (referring to Adam), "and from it created its mate" (Eve), whom God created from Adam's rib without causing him pain. When Adam covered her (had intercourse with her), she conceived a light burden. When the pregnancy became heavy, Iblis came to her in the form of a man and said: "What is this, O Eve? I fear it might be a dog or a beast, and how do you know how it will exit? Will it exit through your rear, killing you, or will your belly split open?" Eve became afraid and mentioned this to Adam. They both remained worried about this matter. Then Iblis came to her again and said: "If you ask God to make it sound and perfect like you, and to ease its exit from your belly, name it 'Abd al-Harith' (Servant of Al-Harith)," as Al-Harith was Iblis's name among the angels. This is the meaning of His saying: "But when He gave them a righteous offspring, they ascribed to Him partners in respect of what He gave them." That is, when God gave them a sound and righteous child, they ascribed a partner to Him, meaning Adam and Eve ascribed a partner to God, referring to Al-Harith. This concludes the story.

However, this interpretation is flawed, and several points indicate this:

1. The Divine Response: God Almighty says afterward: "Exalted is God above what they associate with Him!" (Al-A'raf: 191). This indicates that those who committed this Shirk were a group (plural).
2. Contextual Evidence: God immediately follows this by saying: "Do they associate with Him that which creates nothing, while they themselves are created?" (Al-A'raf: 191). This shows that the purpose of this verse is to refute those who made idols partners with God, and the matter concerning the accursed Iblis is not the primary focus here.
3. Grammatical Evidence: If the intention was Iblis, God would have said: "Do they associate with Him who creates nothing" (using man for a rational being), not "that which creates nothing" (using ma).
4. Adam's Knowledge: Adam (peace be upon him) had the greatest knowledge of Iblis and knew all the names, as God states: "And He taught Adam all the names" (Al-Baqarah: 31). Given the intense enmity between them and his knowledge that Iblis's name was Al-Harith, how could he name his own child 'Abd al-Harith'? Was he so constrained in names that this was the only one available?
5. Human Reason: If any one of us had a child and hoped for good from him, and someone suggested naming the child with such a name, we would strongly reject it. How could Adam, with his prophethood, vast knowledge, and the experience gained from his own slip-up due to Iblis's whisper, not realize the reprehensibility of such an act?
6. The Nature of the Naming: Even if we assume Adam named the child 'Abd al-Harith,' this naming must be either as a proper noun or as a description.
   • If it was a proper noun, it does not constitute Shirk with God, as proper names and titles do not inherently confer divine status upon the named.
   • If it was a description, it implies Adam believed God had a partner in creation, existence, and formation, which would necessitate declaring Adam an apostate—a position no rational person would hold.

Therefore, based on these points, this interpretation is proven false, and a Muslim must disregard it.

Sound Interpretations of the Verse

Having established the invalidity of the previous view, we now present sound interpretations free from these defects.

Al-Qaffal stated that God mentioned this story as an allegory (mathal) to illustrate the state of these polytheists in their ignorance and their assertion of Shirk. The meaning is as if God is saying:

"It is He Who created every one of you from a single soul, and from it created its mate, a human equal to him in humanity. When the mate covered (had intercourse with) his wife, and pregnancy appeared, the husband and wife supplicated their Lord: 'If You grant us a righteous and sound offspring, we will surely be among the grateful for Your favors and blessings.' When God granted them a sound and righteous offspring, they ascribed partners to God concerning what He gave them."

They ascribed partners by attributing the child's existence sometimes to natural forces (as the naturalists claim), sometimes to the planets (as astrologers claim), and sometimes to idols and statues (as idol worshippers claim).

Then God Almighty says: "Exalted is God above what they associate with Him!" This is a perfectly sound and correct response regarding their Shirk.

The address is directed towards Quraysh during the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him), specifically the lineage of Qusayy.

"It is He Who created you from a single soul" refers to Qusayy. "And from it created its mate" refers to the Arabian lineage of Quraysh, so that he might find repose with her. When they obtained what they requested—righteous and sound offspring—they ascribed partners to God concerning what He gave them by naming their four sons: 'Abd Manaf, 'Abd al-'Uzza, 'Abd Qusayy, and 'Abd al-Lat. The pronoun in "what they associate" refers to them (Qusayy and his descendants) and their progeny who followed them in Shirk.

We accept that this verse relates to the story of Adam (peace be upon him). In this case, there are several ways to resolve the apparent contradiction:

1. Interrogative Denial: The polytheists claimed that Adam (peace be upon him) used to worship idols and refer to them for seeking good and averting evil. God mentions the story of Adam and Eve, recounting their plea: "If You grant us a righteous offspring, we will surely be among the grateful." Then God says: "But when He gave them a righteous offspring, they ascribed to Him partners..." The phrase "they ascribed to Him partners" is presented as a rhetorical question of denial and remoteness. It means: When He gave them a righteous offspring, did they really ascribe partners to Him concerning what He gave them? Then God says: "Exalted is God above what they associate with Him!" meaning, God is exalted above the Shirk of these polytheists who assert Shirk and attribute it to Adam. This is analogous to a benefactor showering someone with favors, and then being told that the recipient intends to slander him and cause him harm. The benefactor would respond by recounting his immense favors and then ask in disbelief: "And yet he responds to me with evil, harm, and aggression?"

2. Ellipsis (Omission of a Noun): The entire story pertains to Adam and Eve, and the only problematic phrase is: "But when He gave them a righteous offspring, they ascribed to Him partners in respect of what He gave them." We interpret this as: "But when He gave them a righteous and sound offspring, their offspring ascribed to Him partners..." (omitting the noun awladuhuma—their offspring—and substituting the possessive pronoun). Similarly, "in respect of what He gave them" means "in respect of what He gave their offspring." This is like the verse: "And ask the town" (Yusuf: 82), meaning, "Ask the people of the town."
   • Objection: If this is the case, why the dual form "they both ascribed" (ja'ala - dual)?
   • Response: Because the offspring consisted of two types: male and female. The dual form refers to these two categories/types. At other times, they are referred to in the plural, as in "Exalted is God above what they associate with Him" (yushrikun - plural).

3. Intention vs. Action (The Status of the Near Ones): We accept that the pronoun refers to Adam and Eve. It is said that when God granted them the righteous child, they resolved to dedicate him entirely to God's service, obedience, and servitude. However, they later changed their minds, sometimes using the child for worldly benefits, and sometimes commanding him to serve God. Although this action involves obedience, the good deeds of the righteous are considered shortcomings for those brought near to God (hasanat al-abrar sayyi'at al-muqarrabin). Therefore, God says: "Exalted is God above what they associate with Him." This interpretation aligns with the Prophetic tradition where God says: "I am the richest of all who are in need of a partner. Whoever performs a deed in which he associates another with Me, I leave him and his association." Under this view, the difficulty is removed.

4. The Meaning of 'Abd (Servant) in Context: We accept the famous story. However, we argue that they named the child 'Abd al-Harith' because they believed he was saved from affliction and illness due to the prayer of that person named Al-Harith. It is common to call someone 'Abd (servant) of the one who bestowed a favor upon them. The proverb states: "I am the servant of him from whom I learned a craft." Some scholars have written on a title page: "The writing of the servant and friend of so-and-so." A poet said:

   And verily, I am the servant of the guest as long as he stays, And I have no other trait resembling servitude thereafter.

Thus, Adam and Eve named the child 'Abd al-Harith' to indicate that he was saved from harm through the blessing of that person's supplication. This does not negate his status as a servant of God in terms of ownership and creation. However, as mentioned, the good deeds of the righteous are shortcomings for the near ones. Because there was a shared term—the word 'Abd'—Adam (peace be upon him) was thus admonished for this action due to the linguistic overlap in the term 'Abd'. This summarizes our discussion on interpreting this verse.

Second Issue: Explanation of the Verse's Terminology

The famous view is that the "single soul" is the soul of Adam, and "its mate" refers to Eve. They explain that her creation from Adam's soul means God created her from one of Adam's ribs. The wisdom cited is that a species is more inclined toward its own kind, and kinship is the reason for attachment.

Critique: This explanation is problematic. If God was capable of creating Adam initially, what compels us to say He created Eve from a part of Adam? Why not say He created Eve ab initio as well? Furthermore, the one capable of creating a human from a single bone is certainly capable of creating him initially. Also, the claim that the number of ribs on the left side is less than the right side contradicts sensory observation and anatomical science.

Alternative Meaning for 'Min' (From): If we reject the rib theory, what is the meaning of the word min (from) in "and from it created its mate"? We have previously mentioned that reference to something can be by its specific individual or by its species. The Prophet (PBUH) said: "This is the ablution; God does not accept prayer without it," referring to the type of ablution, not that specific instance. Similarly, when referring to Eve, the meaning is that God created a mate for Adam from the human species, indicating that God made Adam's mate a human like him.

• "When he covered her" (falamma taghashaha): Meaning he had intercourse with her. Ghashiya and taghashsha mean a man approaching a woman, as he rises above her, resembling a covering (ghashiya), similar to enveloping or clothing. God says: "They are a garment for you, and you are a garment for them."
• "She conceived a light burden" (hamalat hamlan khafifan): They say this refers to the semen/fluid. Haml (with fath) refers to what is in the womb or on a tree branch. Haml (with kasr) refers to what is carried on the back or an animal. They mean she continued with the fluid and the burden easily, able to stand, sit, and walk without feeling heavy.
  • The author of Al-Kashshaf noted that Yahya ibn Ya'mur recited it as famarrat bihi (she passed with it) in the light form, while others recited it as taharrak bihi (it moved within her), derived from muriyah (doubt), as in "Do you then dispute with him?" (referring to doubt arising in her mind about the pregnancy).
• "But when she became heavy" (falamma athqalat): Meaning she reached the stage of heaviness and approached labor.
• "They both called upon their Lord" (da'a rabbahuma): Meaning Adam and Eve. "If You grant us a righteous one (salihan)," meaning a sound offspring like ourselves, "we will surely be among the grateful for Your favors and blessings."
• "But when He gave them a righteous one, they ascribed to Him partners in respect of what He gave them" (falamma atāhumā sālihan ja'alā lahu shurakā'a fīmā ātāhumā): The discussion regarding its interpretation has already been covered exhaustively.

Recitations of "Shuraka'a" (Partners):

• Ibn Kathir, Ibn 'Amir, Abu 'Amr, Hamzah, Al-Kisā'ī, and 'Asim (in Hafs' narration) recited it as shurakā'a (plural).
• Nāfi' and 'Asim (in Abu Bakr's narration) recited it as shurakā' (with kasr on the shin and tanwin on the kaf), meaning they made for Him peers possessing partnership, i.e., partners. Or, it means they innovated Shirk concerning the child for God. Those who recite "shurakā'" argue based on the verse: "Or have they associated with God partners who create like His creation?" (Al-Furqan: 17). They interpret the partners here as Iblis, because whoever obeys Iblis has obeyed all devils. This is if we hold to the famous story. If we do not hold to it, there is no need for interpretation. And God knows best.

Verses 191-194