Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Salamalaikum brother,
myself saba i read many books on islam and in one book i read that nowhere in Quran it has written that women is made from man`s rib it is mention only in bible but instead it has written in the Quran that women is made from the same species from which man is created and in Quran species mean soul,what does it mean a wife and husband is from one soul please answer me this question.
MASALAM 

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Answer:

Man woman created from rib

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisaa verse 1: O mankind! Reverence your Guardian-Lord Who created you (all) from a single ‘nafs’ (soul or person), and from it (the nafs) created his mate, and from them twain scattered countless men and women. Reverence Allah through Whom ye demand your mutual (rights), and (reverence) the wombs (that bore you): for Allah ever watches over you.

Indeed, Allah Subhanah declares in the above Aayah of Surah Nisaa (Women) that He created all mankind from a single ‘nafs’ (soul or person, Prophet Adam (a.s.)), and from the same ‘nafs’ he created his mate (Hawwa).

Beloved sister, the term used by Allah Subhanah is ‘nafs’ which has been translated by some commentators as soul, and some commentators as person. Regardless of whatever meaning of the term ‘nafs’ is taken, it clearly means that Allah Subhanah created both the man and the woman from the same ‘nafs’, and that both are not from different species but from one and the same.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 7.114 Narrated by Abu Huraira

The Prophet (saws) said, "Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should not hurt (trouble) his neighbor. And I advise you to take care of the women, for they are created from a rib and the most crooked portion of the rib is its upper part; if you try to straighten it, it will break, and if you leave it, it will remain crooked, so I urge you to take care of the women."

In the above Hadith, the Messenger of Allah (saws) guided man that women are created from a rib. The parable implied is that just as the rib has a natural turn or bent or crookedness in its nature, the nature of woman is distinct and different from the man’s. Just as the rib would break if one tried to change or bend it, the woman too should be accepted, appreciated, and honored with her distinct nature; for if one tries to change or distort the natural nature of the woman she was created in, she too would break.

The hadith does not specify that the woman was created from the rib of man, and most of the commentators and scholars of the hadith state that the hadith is a parable to guide man to recognize, identify and appreciate the distinct difference in the nature of the woman from the man.

The Bible describes the creation of Hadrat Hawwa (Eve) as follows in the Book of Genesis 2:21-24.

So the Lord God caused the man (Adam) to fall into a deep sleep: and while he was sleeping, He took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh.

Then the Lord God made a woman (Eve) from the rib he had taken out of the man, and He brought her to the man.

The man (Adam) said:

“This is now bone of my bones,

And flesh of my flesh:

She shall be called ‘woman’,

For she was taken out of man.”

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother, and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan