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:

Brother Burhan,

Assalaamu-Alaikum-Wa-Rahmatullaahi-Wa-Barakaatuhu,

I got the following quoted in my mail box and I had forwared the same to some of my friend.

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It was said that once a brother was driving while visiting in a kafir country, along with his wife. A lady pulled up beside him and started yelling obceneties at him, and asking " why are you doing that to her". She was talking about his veiled wife.

He told her to pullover on the side, and she did.

He said "you asked me a question, I will answer it"

"where is your money he said?"

Reluctantly she answered "in my wallet"

"where is your wallet?" he asked.

"why? Why do you want to know" she replied.

He said "you asked me a question and I will answer it, I am not going to rob you, just answer the question"

"in my purse" she said.

"where do you keep your purse?"

"Why?" she asked.

"You asked a question and I will answer it, where do you keep your purse?"

"Under the seat in my car" she answered.

"why do you do that?"

"why go through the trouble of putting your money in your wallet, then in a purse, the putting the purse under the seat?"

"To protect it, should someone want to steal it" she said.

"that is why my wife is covered, to protect her. If no one sees her they won`t want to steal or harm her."

"Woman was made from the rib of man. She was not created from his head to top him, nor from his feet to be stepped upon. She was made from his side to be close to him, from beneath his arm to be protected by him, and near his heart to be loved by!"

"

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On this one of my friends asked me this question.

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"Woman was made from the rib of man.

Can you please quote any Quranic Verse in this support.

Regards

Moh`d Roohul Abedin

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Please help me to answer him, is there any mention of this that Woman was Made from the rib of man in Quran or not. What is the realy fact, please eloborate me so that can forward your reply to this friend of mine.

Thanking you in Advance. May Allah Give you Better reward for this. Aameen.

Qutub

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Woman made from rib of man

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.

Your Question: Please help me to answer him, is there any mention of this that Woman was Made from the rib of man in Quran or not. What is the realy fact, please eloborate me so that can forward your reply to this friend of mine.

There is no mention in the Glorious Quran regarding the creation of the first woman and the mother of mankind, Hadrat Hawwa, from the rib of man….but what is mentioned in the Glorious Quran is that Hadrat Hawwa was created from the ‘nafs’ (soul or person) of Hadrat Adam.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisaa verse 1:

1 O mankind! Reverence your Guardian-Lord Who created you (all) from a single ‘nafs’, and from it (the nafs) created his mate (Hawwa), 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.

Beloved brother, the term used by Allah Subhanah in the Glorious Quran 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 the first woman, Hadrat Hawwa, from the ‘nafs’ of Hadrat Adam (a.s.).

There is indeed mention in the authentic and established traditions of the Messenger of Allah (saws) regarding the creation of the woman from the rib:

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 mankind that the 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 and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan