In post 4 you claim that: ‘The common ancestor of humankind is a female’, and by way of justification, translate the first verse of sūrah Al-Nisa thus:
‘O Mankind ! Fear your LORD who created you from a single being (female) and created from her mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women…’.
Allow me to remind you that parentheses are not found in the Qur’an; that they are used by translators to clarify a text – or to express a personal opinion, or prejudice…in your case the word ‘female’.
Here is Professor M.A.S. Abdel Haleem’s translation:
‘People, be mindful of your Lord, who created you from a single soul (min nafsun wahida), and from it (min'hā) created its mate (zawjahā), and from the pair of them spread countless men and women far and wide; be mindful of God, in whose name you make requests of one another.’ (‘The Qur’an’ – my emphasis).
There are those who opine that the man (ʾĀdam) was created first, and that the woman (not named in the Qur’an, but now spoken of as Hawa’) was fashioned from one of his ribs. I think this opinion is incorrect; and here’s why:
In Al-Nisa 1, Allāh (subḥānahu ūta'āla) is addressing everyone – men and women. Imagine, for a moment, that He is addressing ʾĀdam and Hawa’only, and at the same time. ʾĀdam understands that he was created from a single soul, and that from that same soul was created his wife. Hawa’ understands that she was created from a single soul, and that from that same soul was created her husband. In short, Allāh (subḥānahu ūta'āla) is saying that both were created from the same substance; the same entity.
Haleem reminds us that the word ‘min'hā’ means: ‘From the same essence (and that) Razi convincingly reached this conclusion based on comparison with many instances when min anfusikum is used in the Qur’an’. (‘The Qur’an’).
As you say in your post, the term ‘nafs’, from which we get ‘nafsun’, is indeed feminine. According to context, ‘nafs’ can be rendered: a person; an individual; a soul; essence; matter; spirit; and also as a breath of life (cf: Abdul Rasheed Siddique’s ‘Qur’anic Key Words – a Reference Guide’).
What you omit to say is that ‘nafs’ – although feminine – can, and is, applied to both sexes: Here are some examples:
‘Say (Prophet), ‘God knows everything that is in your hearts, whether you conceal or reveal it; He knows everything in the heavens and earth; God has power over all things.’ On the Day when every soul (nafsin) finds all the good it has done present before it, it will wish all the bad it has done to be far, far away. God warns you to beware of Him, but God is compassionate towards His servants.’ (Al‘Imran: 29-30’ ‘The Qur’an’).
As you can see, in this example ‘nafsin’ refers to both men and women.
And this:
‘God does not burden any soul (nafsan) with more than it can bear: each gains whatever good it has done, and suffers its bad – ‘Lord, do not take us to task if we forget or make mistakes. Lord, do not burden us as You burdened those before us. Lord, do not burden us with more than we have strength to bear. Pardon us, forgive us, and have mercy on us. You are our Protector, so help us against the disbelievers.’ (Al-Baqara 286).
Yet again, in this example ‘nafsan’ refers to both men and women.
Finally:
‘When God says, ‘Jesus, son of Mary, did you say to people, “Take me and my mother as two gods alongside God”?’ he will say, ‘May You be exalted! I would never say what I had no right to say – if I had said such a thing You would have known it: You know all that is within me (nafsī), though I do not know what is within You (nafsika), You alone have full knowledge of things unseen (Al-Ma’ida 116).
In this example ‘nafs’ is applied to Yeshua (ʿalayhi as-salām) – a man, of course; but also to Allāh (subḥānahu ūta'āla); who is neither male nor female.
As you know, the word ‘zawj’ – from which we get ‘zawjahā’ (rendered ‘mate’ in Haleem’s translation; and in yours) indicates a spouse; a pair; or a partner. Grammatically speaking it is masculine; nevertheless (like ‘nafs’) it is applied to both sexes. For example:
‘If a husband re-divorces his wife after the second divorce, she will not be lawful for him until she has taken another husband (zawjan); if that one divorces her, there will be no blame if she and the first husband return to one another, provided they feel that they can keep within the bounds set by God. These are God’s bounds, which He makes clear for those who know.’ (Al-Baqara 230).
And this:
‘If you wish to replace one wife (zawjin) with another, do not take any of her bride-gift back, even if you have given her a great amount of gold.’ (Al-Nisa 20).
According to Shaykh Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Al-Nisa 1:
‘Indicates a progression in human creation from singularity (a single soul, reflecting the singularity of God), to duality (its mate), to multiplicity (a multitude of men and women). The single soul is widely understood to refer to Adam, and its mate to Eve (Ḥawwāʾ). Although soul (nafs) is grammatically feminine and mate (zawj) is grammatically masculine, this does not necessarily make the correlation to Adam and Eve, respectively, problematic for most commentators. The interweaving of masculine and feminine references suggests a reciprocity of the masculine and feminine in human relations and marriage, which is also implied in other verses (cf. 2:187; 30:21).’ (‘The Study Qur’an’).
With the greatest respect - and an acknowledgement of your good intentions - I think you need to revisit your case.
‘O Mankind ! Fear your LORD who created you from a single being (female) and created from her mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women…’.
Allow me to remind you that parentheses are not found in the Qur’an; that they are used by translators to clarify a text – or to express a personal opinion, or prejudice…in your case the word ‘female’.
Here is Professor M.A.S. Abdel Haleem’s translation:
‘People, be mindful of your Lord, who created you from a single soul (min nafsun wahida), and from it (min'hā) created its mate (zawjahā), and from the pair of them spread countless men and women far and wide; be mindful of God, in whose name you make requests of one another.’ (‘The Qur’an’ – my emphasis).
There are those who opine that the man (ʾĀdam) was created first, and that the woman (not named in the Qur’an, but now spoken of as Hawa’) was fashioned from one of his ribs. I think this opinion is incorrect; and here’s why:
In Al-Nisa 1, Allāh (subḥānahu ūta'āla) is addressing everyone – men and women. Imagine, for a moment, that He is addressing ʾĀdam and Hawa’only, and at the same time. ʾĀdam understands that he was created from a single soul, and that from that same soul was created his wife. Hawa’ understands that she was created from a single soul, and that from that same soul was created her husband. In short, Allāh (subḥānahu ūta'āla) is saying that both were created from the same substance; the same entity.
Haleem reminds us that the word ‘min'hā’ means: ‘From the same essence (and that) Razi convincingly reached this conclusion based on comparison with many instances when min anfusikum is used in the Qur’an’. (‘The Qur’an’).
As you say in your post, the term ‘nafs’, from which we get ‘nafsun’, is indeed feminine. According to context, ‘nafs’ can be rendered: a person; an individual; a soul; essence; matter; spirit; and also as a breath of life (cf: Abdul Rasheed Siddique’s ‘Qur’anic Key Words – a Reference Guide’).
What you omit to say is that ‘nafs’ – although feminine – can, and is, applied to both sexes: Here are some examples:
‘Say (Prophet), ‘God knows everything that is in your hearts, whether you conceal or reveal it; He knows everything in the heavens and earth; God has power over all things.’ On the Day when every soul (nafsin) finds all the good it has done present before it, it will wish all the bad it has done to be far, far away. God warns you to beware of Him, but God is compassionate towards His servants.’ (Al‘Imran: 29-30’ ‘The Qur’an’).
As you can see, in this example ‘nafsin’ refers to both men and women.
And this:
‘God does not burden any soul (nafsan) with more than it can bear: each gains whatever good it has done, and suffers its bad – ‘Lord, do not take us to task if we forget or make mistakes. Lord, do not burden us as You burdened those before us. Lord, do not burden us with more than we have strength to bear. Pardon us, forgive us, and have mercy on us. You are our Protector, so help us against the disbelievers.’ (Al-Baqara 286).
Yet again, in this example ‘nafsan’ refers to both men and women.
Finally:
‘When God says, ‘Jesus, son of Mary, did you say to people, “Take me and my mother as two gods alongside God”?’ he will say, ‘May You be exalted! I would never say what I had no right to say – if I had said such a thing You would have known it: You know all that is within me (nafsī), though I do not know what is within You (nafsika), You alone have full knowledge of things unseen (Al-Ma’ida 116).
In this example ‘nafs’ is applied to Yeshua (ʿalayhi as-salām) – a man, of course; but also to Allāh (subḥānahu ūta'āla); who is neither male nor female.
As you know, the word ‘zawj’ – from which we get ‘zawjahā’ (rendered ‘mate’ in Haleem’s translation; and in yours) indicates a spouse; a pair; or a partner. Grammatically speaking it is masculine; nevertheless (like ‘nafs’) it is applied to both sexes. For example:
‘If a husband re-divorces his wife after the second divorce, she will not be lawful for him until she has taken another husband (zawjan); if that one divorces her, there will be no blame if she and the first husband return to one another, provided they feel that they can keep within the bounds set by God. These are God’s bounds, which He makes clear for those who know.’ (Al-Baqara 230).
And this:
‘If you wish to replace one wife (zawjin) with another, do not take any of her bride-gift back, even if you have given her a great amount of gold.’ (Al-Nisa 20).
According to Shaykh Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Al-Nisa 1:
‘Indicates a progression in human creation from singularity (a single soul, reflecting the singularity of God), to duality (its mate), to multiplicity (a multitude of men and women). The single soul is widely understood to refer to Adam, and its mate to Eve (Ḥawwāʾ). Although soul (nafs) is grammatically feminine and mate (zawj) is grammatically masculine, this does not necessarily make the correlation to Adam and Eve, respectively, problematic for most commentators. The interweaving of masculine and feminine references suggests a reciprocity of the masculine and feminine in human relations and marriage, which is also implied in other verses (cf. 2:187; 30:21).’ (‘The Study Qur’an’).
With the greatest respect - and an acknowledgement of your good intentions - I think you need to revisit your case.
