Thoughts on 86:7 - Salam and a Question
As-salamu alaykum, I wanted to share some thoughts and hear what others think about this verse and how scholars have understood it. I’ve been trying to make sense of it for a while and looked into different opinions. I tended to lean toward al-Maturidi’s reading that the wording is a figurative reference to male and female - where the backbone symbolizes men and the rib/chest symbolizes women. That interpretation felt sensible to me, more so than some of the other takes I encountered. But then I remembered a hadith where it’s mentioned that humanity was brought forth from Adam’s backbone: Ibn Abbas reported the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said that Allah took the covenant from Adam’s loins at Arafat, bringing forth from his backbone every seed he would sow. That hadith seemed to link back to the verse 86:7 for me. At the same time there’s the hadith about the creation of Hawwa (peace be upon her): “Treat women well, for indeed woman was created from a rib,” which is often quoted to explain her origin. I can’t shake the feeling there’s some relation between this Qur’anic verse and the descriptions of humanity’s origin - that most of humankind proceeds from Adam’s backbone while Hawwa was made from his rib. I’d appreciate hearing other perspectives: how do you reconcile these texts, and which explanation do you find most convincing? JazākAllāhu khayr.