4. Sura an-Nisa, Medina 92 [Hijra 4]

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُواْ رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُم مِّن نَّفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ ...  

4:1.     O mankind!

reverence your Guardian-Lord, Who created you from a single person,

C504. Nafs may mean:

-         soul;

-         self;

-         person, living person;

-         will, good pleasure, as in 4:4 below.

... وَخَلَقَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا ....

created, of like nature, his mate,

Minha: I follow the construction suggested by Imam Razi.

The particle min would then suggest here a species, a nature, a similarity.

The pronoun ha refers of course to Nafs. (R).

.. وَبَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالاً كَثِيرًا وَنِسَاء...  

and from them twain scattered (like seeds) countless men and women;

... وَاتَّقُواْ اللّهَ الَّذِي تَسَاءلُونَ بِهِ ...

reverence Allah, through Whom ye demand your mutual (rights),

C505. All our mutual rights and duties are referred to Allah. We are His creatures: His Will is the standard and measure of Allah; and our duties are measured by our conformity with His Will.

"Our wills are ours, to make them Thine," says Tennyson (In Memoriam).

Among ourselves (human beings) our mutual rights and duties arise out of Allah's Law, the sense of Right that is implanted in us by Him.

... وَالأَرْحَامَ ...

and (reverence) the wombs (that bore you):

C506. Among the most wonderful mysteries of our nature is that of sex.

The unregenerate male is apt, in the pride of his physical strength, to forget the all-important part which the female plays in his very existence, and in all the social relationships that arise in our collective human lives.

The mother that bore us must ever have our reverence. The wife, through whom we enter parentage, must have our reverence.

Sex, which governs so much of our physical life, and has so much influence on our emotional and higher nature, deserves-not our fear, or our contempt, or our amused indulgence, but-our reverence in the highest sense of the term.

With this fitting introduction we enter on a discussion of women, orphans, and family relationships.

... إِنَّ اللّهَ كَانَ عَلَيْكُمْ رَقِيبًا ﴿١﴾

for Allah ever watches over you.

وَمَن لَّمْ يَسْتَطِعْ مِنكُمْ طَوْلاً أَن يَنكِحَ الْمُحْصَنَاتِ الْمُؤْمِنَاتِ...   

4:25.  If any of you have not the means wherewith to wed free believing women,

... فَمِن مِّا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُم مِّن فَتَيَاتِكُمُ الْمُؤْمِنَاتِ...  

they may wed believing girls from among those whom your right hands possess:

C540. That is, captives taken in a Jihad:

If you seek such a person in marriage, do it from no base motives. Safeguard your faith, and see that she too does believe.

In that case, after all, she is of the human brotherhood, and her condition is accidental and redeemable.

If the slave bore a child to her master, she would become free. (R).

... وَاللّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِإِيمَانِكُمْ...  

and Allah hath full knowledge about your faith.

... بَعْضُكُم مِّن بَعْضٍ فَانكِحُوهُنَّ بِإِذْنِ أَهْلِهِنَّ...  

Ye are one from another: wed them with the leave of their owners,

... وَآتُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ مُحْصَنَاتٍ غَيْرَ مُسَافِحَاتٍ وَلاَ مُتَّخِذَاتِ أَخْدَانٍ...

and give them their dowers, according to what is reasonable: they should be chaste, not lustful, nor taking paramours:

... فَإِذَا أُحْصِنَّ فَإِنْ أَتَيْنَ بِفَاحِشَةٍ فَعَلَيْهِنَّ نِصْفُ مَا عَلَى الْمُحْصَنَاتِ مِنَ الْعَذَابِ...  

when they are taken in wedlock, if they fall into shame, their punishment is half that for free women.

... ذَلِكَ لِمَنْ خَشِيَ الْعَنَتَ مِنْكُمْ وَأَن تَصْبِرُواْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ ...

This (permission) is for those among you who fear sin; but it is better for you that ye practice self-restraint:

... وَاللّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ ﴿٢٥﴾

and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Other versions:

4: 1

Asad O mankind! Be conscious of your Sustainer, who has created you out of one living entity, and out of it created its mate, and out of the two spread abroad a multitude of men and women [note 1]. And remain conscious of God, in whose name you demand [your rights] from one another, and of these ties of kinship. Verily, God is ever watchful over you!

Pickthall O mankind! Be careful of your duty to your Lord Who created you from a single soul and from it created its mate and from them twain hath spread abroad a multitude of men and women. Be careful of your duty toward Allah in Whom ye claim ( your rights ) of one another, and toward the wombs (that bore you ). Lo! Allah hath been a Watcher over you.

Transliteration Ya_ ayyuhan na_suttaqu_ rabbakumul lazi khalaqakum min nafsiw wa_hidatiw wa khalaqa minha_ zaujaha_ wa bassa minhuma_ rija_lan kasiraw wa nisa_'a(n), wattaqulla_hal lazi tasa_'alu_na bihi wal arha_m(a), innalla_ha ka_na'alaikum raqiba_(n).

[[ Asad’s note 1- Out of many meanings attributable to the term ‘nafs’ – soul, spirit, mind, animate being, living entity, human being, person, self (in the sense of a personal identity), humankind, life-essence, vital principle, and so forth – most of the classical commentators choose “human being”, and assume that it refers here to Adam. Muhammad Abduh, however rejects this interpretation stresses the common origin and brotherhood of the human race (which, undoubtedly, is the purport of the above verse), without, at the same time, unwarrantably tying it to the Biblical account of the creation of Adam and Eve. My rendering of ‘nafs’, in this context, as “living entity” follows the same reasoning. – As regards the expression ‘zawjaha’ (“its mate”), it is to be noted that , with reference to animate beings, the term ‘zawj’ (“a pair”, “one of a pair”, or “a mate”) applies to the male as well as to the female component of a pair of couple; hence, with reference to human beings, it signifies a woman’s mate (husband) as well as a man’s mate (wife). Abu Muslim – as quoted by Razi – interprets the phrase “He created out of it (minha) its mate” as meaning “He created its mate [i.e., its sexual counterpart] out of its own kind (min jinsiha)”, thus supporting the view of Muhammad Aduh refereed to above.

The literal translation of ‘minha’ as “out of it” clearly alludes, in conformity with the text, to the biological fact that both sexes have originated from “one living entity”.]]

[[ Ali’s notes - 504 Nafs may mean: (1) soul; (2) self; (3) person, living person; (4) will, good pleasure, as in iv. 4 below. Minha: I follow the construction suggested by Imam Razn. The particle min would then suggest here a species, a nature, a similarity. The pronoun ha refers of course to Nafs. (4.1)

505 All our mutual rights and duties are referred to Allah. We are His creatures: His Will is the standard and measure of Allah; and our duties are measured by our conformity with His Will. "Our wills are ours, to make them Thine," says Tennyson (In Memoriam). Among ourselves (human beings) our mutual rights and duties arise out of Allah's Law, the sense of Right that is implanted in us by Him. (4.1)

506 Among the most wonderful mysteries of our nature is that of sex. The unregenerate male is apt, in the pride of his physical strength, to forget the all-important part which the female plays in his very existence, and in all the social relationships that arise in our collective human lives. The mother that bore us must ever have our reverence. The wife, through whom we enter parentage, must have our reverence. Sex, which governs so much of our physical life, and has so much influence on our emotional and higher nature, deserves-not our fear, or our contempt, or our amused indulgence, but-our reverence in the highest sense of the term. With this fitting introduction we enter on a discussion of women, orphans, and family relationships. (4.1) ]]

Nafs means soul, nature, mind, spirit, living entity, human being, etc., NO GENDER ASSOCIATED WITH IT.

Zawj means a pair, one of a pair, or a mate.

Minha means 'out of it'

4: 25 ….( In the context of marrying a maidens or captives) And God knows all about your faith; each one of you is an issue of the other. Asad also see 3:195

Note: 31 ….equal in the sight of God…it is only the strength or weakness of faith which makes one superior or inferior to another.

4: 25 …This [permission…] to those of you who fear lest they stumble into evil.

But it is for your own good to persevere in patience [and abstain from such marriages]: and God is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace.

4: 25

Asad And as for those of you who, owing to circumstances, are not in a position [note 29] to marry free believing women, [let them marry] believing maidens from among those whom you rightfully possess [note 30]. And God knows all about your faith; each one of you is an issue of the other [note 31]. Marry them, then, with their people’s leave, and give them their dowers in an equitable manner – they being women who give themselves in honest wedlock, not in fornication, not as secret love-companions. And when thee are married, and thereafter become guilty of immoral conduct, they shall be liable to half the penalty to which free married women are liable [note 33]

Pickthall And whoso is not able to afford to marry free, believing women, let them marry from the believing maids whom your right hands possess. Allah knoweth best (concerning) your faith. Ye (proceed) one from another; so wed them by permission of their folk, and give unto them their portions in kindness, they being honest, not debauched nor of loose conduct. And if when they are honorably married they commit lewdness they shall incur the half of the punishment (prescribed) for free women (in that case). This is for him among you who feareth to commit sin. But to have patience would be better for you. Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

Transliteration Wa mal lam yastati' minkum taulan ay yankihal muhsana_til mu'mina_ti famimma_ malakat aima_nukum min fataya_tikumul mu'mina_t(i), walla_ a'lamu bi ima_nikum, ba'dukum mim ba'd(in), fankihu_hunna bi izni ahlihinna wa a_tu_hunna uju_rahunna bil ma'ru_fi muhsana_tin gaira musa_fiha_tiw wa la_ muttakhiza_ti akhda_n(in), fa iza_ uhsinna fa in ataina bi fa_hisyatin fa 'alaihinna nisfu ma_ 'alal muhsana_ti minal 'aza_b(i), za_lika liman khasyiyal'anata minkum, wa anbiru_ khairul lakum, walla_hu gafu_rur rahim(un).

[[ Ali’s note - 540 That is, captives taken in a Jihad: If you seek such a person in marriage, do it from no base motives. Safeguard your faith, and see that she too does believe. In that case, after all, she is of the human brotherhood, and her condition is accidental and redeemable. If the slave bore a child to her master, she would become free. (4.25) ]]