Meditation on Surah 4:1
The Original Soul Split in Two, With Reverence
In the opening of Al Nisā (The Women), The Prophet, peace be upon him, describes the Creation of humanity as the Split Soul, with a specific commandment to revere the female aspect:
Your Guardian-Lord
Who created you
From a single Person
Created, of like nature
His mate, and from them twain
Person is the Arabic word Nafs (singular, plural Naf),
meaning soul, individual self, a living person, or the ego
For a time, even if only for a moment, there was a single Nafs
God makes no mistakes, he cannot be unsatisfied with his own Creation
Fulfilling God’s purpose, the Nafs was divided into 2 parts of like nature
Woman is not a rib taken from a man
she is half of the same person
Split in twain
Partners in the glory of Creation
The soul was made a mate
The soul was given to itself
Fear Allah, through Whom
Ye demand your mutual (rights)
And (reverence) the wombs
(That bore you): for Allah
Ever watches over you.
All rights and duties come from the Creator
God is the standard and measure of what is Good
Revere the mothers, the wombs, plural
The most ancient of spiritual traditions
It is wisdom for a man to understand that he and all of his brothers and sisters owe their lives to their mothers, their elder matrons, and by extension to all women
Revere and honor her: God is watching
The Creation story, beautiful in its simplicity, is perfectly placed. The womb is where creation is made manifest. New birth: God’s continuing glory on Earth through his children and their generations
The physical proof of God’s Will is Birth and the Mystery of the Female Aspect
…and from them
Scattered like seeds
Countless men and women
The scattering of seed a deliberate act of God and by definition sanctified
Sex is his creation, subject to his laws and commandments
When one honors and reveres sex, one honors and reveres God
There is no sin here, no blame laid for the state of humanity, only holiness
Humanity is by its nature subject to God for every breath and act
The Creation of women is in accordance with God’s Plan and inherently Good
Any individual duty in the fulfillment of God’s plan begins here
In harmony, split in two at the dawn of time, together
Two halves of the protean soul
Verses from The Meaning of the Holy Qur’an by Abdullah Yusuf Ali
Two alternate translations of the verse from Quran.com:
O humanity! Be mindful of your Lord Who created you from a single soul, and from it He created its mate, and through both He spread countless men and women. And be mindful of Allah — in Whose Name you appeal to one another — and honour family ties. Surely Allah is ever Watchful over you.
— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear QuranO 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.
— Saheeh International
