| ` |
Was Woman Created From the Left Rib
of Man?
Rights of Women in Islam
Hypothesis:
According to the Qur’an, not only the
rights of woman but also her being is part of the man and there is no
natural or inherent nobility in woman.
The belief that woman was created from the left rib of man,
which regrettably many believe has Islamic basis, is completely baseless and is
part of the Israeliaates (1). It is written in the Torah:
21 And the Lord
God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of
his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof;
22 And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and
brought her unto the man.
23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she
was taken out of Man. (2)
This belief, gradually and over time has solidified in the
minds of uninformed groups of Muslims who have no clue as to the origin of this
Verse. But since the above Verse has been wrongly associated with the Verse 4:1
in the Qur’an it calls for some explanation:
1.Verse 4:1 in the Qur’an is
directed towards Naas (نَّاس) or people, not just men (or women.) It says:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ نَفْسٍ
وَاحِدَةٍ وَخَلَقَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَبَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالًا كَثِيرًا
وَنِسَاءً وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ الَّذِي تَسَاءَلُونَ بِهِ وَالْأَرْحَامَ
إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَيْكُمْ رَقِيبًا
O mankind!
reverence your Guardian-Lord, who created you from a single person,
created, of like nature, His mate, and from them twain scattered (like
seeds) countless men and women;- reverence God, through whom ye demand
your mutual (rights), and (reverence) the wombs (That bore you): for God
ever watches over you. (3)
2. What is intended by “single
source” in the above Verse is the origin and source of life of the first
cell. Form a scientific point of view, close to two thirds of the history of
life of the planet earth has been void of sex. Millions of years ago as a
result of a huge leap on the evolution ladder, the necessary association of
make and female sexes for producing offsprings was created and the
characteristics of species has since been carried forth by male and female
sexes. It seems like what is meant by “single source” is the single cell
form which later male and female sexes have evolved, and in its most sublime
and most complex form has evolved into human being.
3. If based on myths and
traditional sayings woman was created from the being of man, and if
according to the common misconception, Adam was the first being on the
planet earth (4), then in Chapter Al-Nesa, Verse 1 it would
be necessary to state, “we created woman from the being of Adam!, and not
from a single source, i.e., the first cell.
In any event, man and woman are one soul in two bodies, with
two roles and responsibilities, none of whom has inherent excellence over the
other, except for their own personal behavior.
1) Thoughts and beliefs imported into
Islam by the Jews who converted to Islam in the first few years after Islam
had been declared
2) Genesis 2:21-23. Clearly, this is not
the word of God and was not said by Moses. It has been said by those who
have passed on the word for centuries, and it has also been influenced by
their outlook and ideology
3) Qur’an 4:1
4) The phrase “Adam Abolbashar,” (Adam
the father of mankind) has no basis in the Qur’an. The Qur’an has specified
that God chose Adam over the world’s population just as he did with Noah,
the family of Abraham and the family of Imran (Qur’an 3:33). This means that
Adam, among the peoples of his time, was the first person to exhibit merit
and suitability for control over choice and free will, in other words, to
have achieved the title of Adam
|
` |
