Sūrat al-Nisāʾ

Medinan; it consists of one hundred and seventy-six verses.

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Al-Nisāʾ (The Women)

"O Mankind" Meaning: O children of Adam.

"Who created you from a single soul" Meaning: He branched you from one origin, which is the soul of Adam, your father.

If you ask: To what is the phrase "and created from it its mate" conjoined? I say: There are two views.

1. It is conjoined to a deleted element, as if it were said: "From a single soul He originated or began [you], and created from it its mate." It was deleted because the meaning indicates it; the sense is: He branched you from a single soul—this being its description—in that He originated it from dust and created its mate, Eve, from one of its ribs.
2. It is conjoined to "created you," and the address in "O Mankind" is to those to whom the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was sent. The meaning is: He created you from the soul of Adam—because they are part of the species branched from him—and created from it your mother, Eve, and dispersed from both of them "many men and women"—other than you from the past nations, to denote totality.

If you ask: The soundness and eloquence of speech require that an order to fear God (taqwā) be followed by that which necessitates, invites, or urges it. How, then, is His creating them from a single soul, in the detail mentioned, a cause for taqwā? I say: Because it indicates His immense power. He who is capable of such is capable of all things, including the punishment of the disobedient. Contemplating this leads one to fear the One capable of it and dread His punishment. Furthermore, it indicates His abundant grace upon them; thus, it is their duty to fear Him regarding ingratitude for it and negligence in fulfilling the thanks due to Him.

Alternatively, He may intend a specific taqwā: to fear Him regarding the preservation of rights among themselves, so they do not sever what must be joined. It is as if it were said: "Fear your Lord, who has joined you together, as He made you branches from a single root." Therefore, preserve the rights owed to one another and do not neglect them. This meaning aligns with the themes of the Surah.

It is recited as khāliqan (creator) and bāththan (disperser) as an active participle, serving as the predicate for a deleted subject, estimated as: "He is the Creator."

"Through whom you ask one another" Meaning: You ask one another by Him (tatasāʾalūna bihi), where the tāʾ is assimilated into the sīn. It is also recited as tasāʾalūna by dropping the second tāʾ, meaning: some of you ask others by Allah and by the ties of kinship (al-arḥām). One says: "By Allah and by the kinship, do such-and-such," as a way of seeking compassion, or "I adjure you by Allah and the kinship." Or, you ask others by Allah and the kinship; thus tafāʿalūna is used in place of tafʿalūna for the plural, like saying "I saw the crescent" (raʾaytu al-hilāl) and "we saw it together" (tarāʾaynāhu). This is supported by the reading of those who read taslūna bihi (with or without the hamza).

"And the kinship" (wa-l-arḥām) It is recited with all three vowel endings. The accusative (al-arḥāma) is based on two views: either it is conjoined to "Fear Allah and the kinship," or it is conjoined to the position of the prepositional phrase (bihi), like saying "I passed by Zayd and [by] Amr." This is supported by the reading of Ibn Masʿūd: "You ask by Him and by the kinship."

The genitive (al-arḥāmi) is based on conjoining an explicit noun to a pronoun, which is not sound because the attached pronoun is connected to its noun, and the prepositional phrase is like a single unit. Thus, in the phrase "I passed by him and Zayd," the connection is too strong; it is as if one were conjoining to a part of a word. Therefore, it is not permitted, and the operator must be repeated (e.g., "I passed by him and by Zayd"). Do you not see the correctness of "I saw you and Zayd" or "I passed by Zayd and Amr"? Because the connection was not strong, as it was not repeated. Some have strained to justify this reading by assuming a repetition of the preposition.

The nominative (al-arḥāmu) is based on it being an initial subject with a deleted predicate, as if it were said: "And the kinship is likewise," meaning: "The kinship is also something to be feared," or "The kinship is something by which one asks."

The meaning is: They used to acknowledge that they had a Creator, and they used to ask one another by mentioning Allah and the kinship. Thus, it was said to them: Fear Allah who created you, fear the One by whom you adjure one another, and fear the kinship, so do not sever it. Or: Fear Allah, whom you seek to move to compassion by mentioning Him and by mentioning the kinship.

By coupling the kinship with His Name, the Almighty has signaled that its connection is of high status, as He said: "That you worship none but Him, and to parents, do good" (Al-Isrāʾ). Al-Hasan said: "If someone asks you by Allah, give to him; and if someone asks you by the kinship, give to him." The kinship has a status near the Throne; its meaning is what is narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him): "The kinship is suspended from the Throne; when the one who maintains it approaches, it rejoices and speaks to him, and when the one who severs it approaches, it veils itself from him."

Ibn ʿUyaynah was asked about the saying of the Prophet (ﷺ): "Choose well for your seed," and he said: "He means for your children, by placing his child in a lawful place." Have you not heard the words of the Almighty: "And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the kinship"? The first of its connections is to choose for it a lawful place, so he does not sever his kinship or his lineage—for the adulterer is the stone (i.e., he has no claim). Then he should choose health, avoid vice, and not place it in a bad position, following his desire and whim without guidance from Allah.