3. WOMANHOOD IN ISLAM

3. Womanhood in Islam ~ 38 ~ Neither in the verse of the Qur’an quoted above, nor in any other verse of the Qur’an, is there any mention of Eve having been created from Adam’s rib. The Qur’an says only that Eve was created from “it.” What this “it” refers to is the point in question. Most of those commentators who have penetrated deep into the meaning of the Qur’an have taken “It” to refer to “species”: Eve was created — not from Adam himself — but from the same species as Adam. This is the explanation given — among others — by Abu Muslim Asfahani, and it is this explanation that fits in with other verses of the Qur’an. In several verses of the Qur’an the word for “soul” (nafs) has been used to mean “species.” Such verses provide a clear elucidation of the verse quoted above. A selection of them is given here: God has created for you spouses, of your own kind.34 And of His signs is that He has created for you — of your own kind — spouses, that you might take comfort in them.35