Transliteration:( Yaaa aiyuhan naasut taqoo Rabbakumul lazee khalaqakum min nafsinw waahidatinw wa khalaqa minhaa zawjahaa wa bas sa minhumaa rijaalan kaseeranw wa nisaaa'aa; wattaqul laahallazee tasaaa 'aloona bihee wal arhaam; innal laaha kaana 'alaikum Raqeeba )
"O mankind! Fear your Lord, Who created you from a single soul and created from it, its mate, and spread from them many men and women. And fear Allah in Whose name you ask one another, and [pay attention to] the ties of kinship. Surely, Allah is ever watchful over you." (Kanzul Imaan)
By "fear", it is meant that disbelievers should come to faith, while believers should avoid sin and perform good deeds.
The term "mankind" includes both believers and non-believers, but excludes jinns, who are not addressed in this verse.
Piety (taqwa) manifests in many forms and levels, tailored to one’s state of belief and responsibility.
This part reminds us that all of humanity originates from Hazrat Adam (may Allah be pleased with him) and Bibi Hawa (may Allah be pleased with her).
Bibi Hawa was created from the body of Hazrat Adam, without the use of sperm—a miraculous act by Allah.
This unique creation is unlike the natural decay where worms may emerge from a body—they are not its progeny.
Just like a household head bears responsibility for their family, Hazrat Adam carries the burden of all humanity.
This verse subtly teaches that each person must contribute to the betterment of mankind:
All humans are like branches and fruits of the same tree, interconnected and interdependent.
Hence, Muslims should not boast of their race or nationality, for ultimately, all nations are one in origin.
The phrase "you ask" means seeking your rights from others in the name of Allah:
Allah is Bountiful (Kareem), so if even His name brings generosity, imagine the boundless bounty of the Lord Himself!
It encourages mutual respect and justice when invoking the name of Allah in social dealings.
Islam emphasizes the importance of family bonds and warns against severing them:
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“If anyone desires an increase in wealth and longevity, they should maintain good ties with their relatives.”
📚 Hadith References
Sahih Bukhari:
Narrated by Abu Hurairah (رضي الله عنه), the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Whoever would like his provision to be increased and his lifespan to be extended should maintain good relations with his kith and kin.”
(Sahih Bukhari, Book 78, Hadith 2)
Sunan Ibn Majah:
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Whoever wishes for his lifespan to be prolonged and his sustenance to be increased should maintain the ties of kinship.”
(Sunan Ibn Majah, Book 37, Hadith 224)
1. O mankind! Have Taqwa of your Lord, Who created you from a single person, and from him He created his mate, and from them both He created many men and women, and have Taqwa of Allah through Whom you demand your mutual (rights), and revere the wombs. Surely, Allah is always watching over you.
Allah commands His creatures to have Taqwa of Him by worshipping Him Alone without partners. He also reminds to them of His ability, in that He created them all from a single person, Adam, peace be unto him.
(And from him He created his wife) Hawwa’ (Eve), who was created from Adam’s left rib, from his back while he was sleeping. When Adam woke up and saw Hawwa’, he liked her and had affection for her, and she felt the same toward him. An authentic Hadith states,
(Woman was created from a rib. Verily, the most curved portion of the rib is its upper part, so, if you should try to straighten it, you will break it, but if you leave it as it is, it will remain crooked.) Allah’s statement,
(And from them both He created many men and women;) means, Allah created from Adam and Hawwa’ many men and women and distributed them throughout the world in various shapes, characteristics, colors and languages. In the end, their gathering and return will be to Allah. Allah then said,
(And have Taqwa of Allah through Whom you demand your mutual (rights) and revere the wombs), protect yourself from Allah by your acts of obedience to Him. Allah’s statement,
(through Whom you demand your mutual (rights)), is in reference to when some people say, “I ask you by Allah, and then by the relation of the Rahim (the womb, i.e. my relationship to you)”, according to Ibrahim, Mujahid and Al-Hasan. Ad-Dahhak said; “Fear Allah Whom you invoke when you conduct transactions and contracts.” “And revere the womb by not cutting the relations of the womb, but keep and honor them, as Ibn `Abbas, `Ikrimah, Mujahid, Al-Hasan, Ad-Dahhak, Ar-Rabi`, and others have stated. Allah’s statement,
(Surely, Allah is always watching over you.) means, He watches all your deeds and sees your every circumstance. In another Ayah, Allah said;
(And Allah is Witness over all things.) ﴿58:6﴾. An authentic Hadith states,
(Worship Allah as if you see Him, for even though you cannot see Him, He sees you.) This part of the Ayah encourages having a sense of certainty that Allah is always watching, in a complete and perfect manner. Allah mentioned that He has created mankind from a single father and a single mother, so that they feel compassion for each other and are kind to the weaker among them. In his Sahih, Muslim recorded that Jarir bin `Abdullah Al-Bajali said that a delegation from Mudar came to the Messenger of Allah , and he saw their state, wearing striped woolen clothes due to poverty. After the Zuhr prayer, the Messenger of Allah stood up and gave a speech in which he recited,
(O mankind! Have Taqwa of your Lord, Who created you from a single person,) until the end of the Ayah. He also recited,
(O you who believe! Have Taqwa of Allah. And let every person look to what he has sent forth for the tomorrow) ﴿59:18﴾. He also encouraged them to give charity, saying,
(A man gave Sadaqah from his Dinar, from his Dirham, from his Sa` of wheat, from his Sa` of dates) until the end of the Hadith. This narration was also collected by Ahmad and the Sunan compilers from Ibn Mas`ud.
(4:1) O men! Fear your Lord Who created you from a single being and out of it created its mate; and out of the two spread many men and women.[1] Fear Allah in Whose name you plead for rights, and heed the ties of kinship. Surely, Allah is ever watchful over you.
1. What are the mutual rights of human beings, what are the principles on which a sound and stable family life can be established, are questions that are discussed a little further on in this surah. As an appropriate introduction to the subject, the surah opens by exhorting the believers to fear God and to avoid courting His displeasure, and by urging them to recognize that all human beings have sprung from the same root and that all of them are, therefore, of one another’s flesh and blood. The expression ‘Who created you from a single being (nafs)’ indicates that the creation of the human species began with the creation of one individual. At another place, the Qur’an specifies that the one person from whom the human race spread in the world was Adam. For Adam being the progenitor of mankind see Towards Understanding the Qur’an, (Surah Al-Baqarah, ayat 31) and (Surah Al-Aaraf, ayat 11).
The details how out of that ‘being’ its mate was created are not known to us. The explanation which is generally given by the commentators of the Qur’an and which is also found in the Bible is that Eve was, created out of a rib of Adam. (The Talmud is even more detailed in that it states that Eve was created out of Adam’s thirteenth rib on the left side.) The Qur’an, however, is silent on the matter and the tradition which is adduced in support of this statement does not mean what it is often thought to be. It is thus better that we leave the matter in the same state of ambiguity in which it was left by God, rather than waste our time trying to determine, in detail, the actual process of the creation of man’s mate.
The author alludes to, but does not quote, the text of the following tradition:
Muslim, ‘Rida’ah’, 61 and 62; Tirmidhi, ‘Talaq” 12; Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 2, pp. 428, 449, 497, 530 and vol. 6, p. 279 – Ed.
[156]- In whose name. [157]- i.e., request favors and demand rights. [158]- i.e., fear Allāh in regard to relations of kinship. [159]- When used in conjunction with Allāh's attributes, the word "ever" (occurring repeatedly throughout this sūrah and elsewhere, such as in sūrah al-Aḥzāb) is quite inadequate in imparting the sense of continuation expressed by the word "kāna" in Arabic, which indicates "always was, is, and always will be." [160]- Ever-present and taking account of everything.
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