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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books A New Perspective: Women in Islam Chapter 1: Seeking Clarity O Mankind! Be careful of your duty to your Lord, who created you from a single entity and created its mate of the same kind and spread from these two, many men and women; and be careful of your duty to Allah, by whom you demand one another your rights, and to the ties of relationship; surely Allah ever watches over you.

(4:1) Fatma: Allah[^1] expresses that He created mankind “from a single entity” then created its mate; is “mate” in reference to the woman being created from the substance of man? Furthermore, is the Qur’an implying that the creation of the woman came after the making of the man? Sayyid: There are some Muslim scholars who assert that the man was created first and then the woman was created from the remaining substance of the man.

However, by examining the above verse, Allah indicates that the woman and the man were created simultaneously, and that their creation came from the same substance. This is the meaning of “a single entity: min-nafsin waahida.” The creation of the human is a dichotomy in which one body or mass was divided into two parts. Therefore, both genders were created from the exact substance, simultaneously, and thus no element in the creation of the genders is superior to the other.

Fatma: Then, to who is Allah referring when He mentions, “and created its mate ? ” Sayyid: “Its mate” refers to both the wife and husband. Allah affirms that from the same entity He created the spouses. They were not necessarily individually addressed as the wife or the husband. The Qur’an gives compelling evidence that the creation of the man and woman came from one and the same material. Allah divided the genders into two equal parts.

There is no precedence, superiority, or inferiority in the creation of the genders. There is equality. The Qur’an states, “And one of His signs is that He has created for you [men & women], from your own type, spouses so that you may enjoy comfort in their company.” (30:21) Fatma: I have read in some Islamic references that Eve was created from the rib or remnants of Adam.[^2] I have always associated this concept with Christian doctrine, not Islam. What is Islam’s position regarding this issue?

Sayyid: There are some ambiguous Islamic references that claim Eve was created from the rib or remnants of Adam, but there is no substantial evidence regarding the authenticity of such references.