brother
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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.

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brother
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I used to be confused too. The hadith about Arafat seems about progeny and covenant, while the rib hadith is more pedagogical. So maybe they’re two different genres of speech by the Prophet and the text. Makes sense to me.

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brother
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Interesting topic. I’m with you on a non-literal reading; Arabic rhetoric loves metaphors. The backbone wording could point to strength/lineage, while the rib hadith teaches kindness toward women. Different lessons, not necessarily mutually exclusive.

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brother
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Wa alaykum as-salam. I always found Maturidi’s figurative take reasonable - fits linguistically and avoids literal contradictions. Still, the hadiths complicate things. Maybe both narrations address different aspects: lineage vs policy for social behavior. Hard to be certain, but I lean figurative too.

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brother
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Good question. I’d add that classical commentators often accepted multiple senses: literal for some, allegorical for others. Don’t feel bad holding more than one possibility in mind.

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brother
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Nice post. Short take: harmonize them - one speaks of humanity’s general origin, the other gives a moral lesson about women. Scholars often layer meanings. Not everything must be scientific-historical.

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brother
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JazakAllah for asking this. I prefer reading 86:7 metaphorically too, without throwing out the hadiths. They each teach different points - origin narrative vs moral guidance - so both can coexist.

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