Dr Abdur Rahman Bhutta, Germany
Section 2 – The creation of man and woman (Genesis 1, 2)
In chapters 1 and 2 of Genesis, the creation of man and woman is described. It is said that the man was formed out of dust from the ground and the woman from the rib of the man. Let us analyse the story of man’s creation and see what we can learn from it.
(2a) The creation of man from dust
It is common knowledge that all earthly beings are made of earthly elements, and man is no exception. The food that we use to nourish our bodies comes, directly or indirectly, from the earth. (Five Volume Commentary of the Holy Quran, Surah al-Hijr, Ch. 15: V.27, pp. 1594-1597) We are also told in the Bible that eventually our bodies are destined to go to the ground and mix with dust. (Ps. 90:3, 104:29-30, Ecc. 12:7)
The Holy Quran also mentions that man is created from dust (Surah Aal-e-‘Imran, Ch.3: V.60; 7:13). However, nothing can be made or moulded out of the dry dust or sand unless it is mixed with water. Modern scientists, who are working hard to find the origin of life, now agree that life began in a muddy and stagnant mixture of clay and water on the seashores.
For millions of years, this smelly and blackish mud fermented in the blazing heat of the sun, resulting in the production of amino acids, which serve as the building blocks of proteins and living tissues. As the next step, this muddy mixture was splashed onto the hot rocks, where it dried up to make plates of various sizes and thus the amino acids were preserved in these plates of clay and silicon. So life started on land, which, after billions of years, resulted in the creation of man. (Hazrat Mirza Tahir Ahmadrh, Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge & Truth, 1998, pp. 372-374)
On the issue of creation of man from the ‘muddy and dried clay’, the Holy Quran says:
“When thy Lord said to the angels, ‘I am about to create man from clay, ‘And so when I have fashioned him in perfection, and have breathed into him of My Spirit, fall ye down in submission to him.’” (Surah Sad, Ch.38: V.72-73)
Again, it says:
“And, surely, We created man from dry ringing clay, from black mud wrought into shape.” (Surah al-Hijr, Ch.15: V.27)
(2b) What does the creation of man from dust mean?
In declaring the creation of man from dust, clay and mud, there is a deep message underlying it. The clay or dust, when dry, cannot be given any definite shape but when mixed with water and made into ‘mud’, it can be moulded into any shape or form. To say that man has been created from ‘mud’, is to point out the fact that the man has been given a docile nature and that he, like the pliable mud, can mould himself into any good shape. He has a natural disposition to adapt to any situation, good or bad.
Moreover, the divine revelation is likened to the ‘heavenly water’. The ‘muddy’ creation of man, therefore, emphasises the fact that for his moral and spiritual development and progress, he needs to obey and follow divine guidance, and that he should always seek divine help in this field. Otherwise, without this ‘heavenly water’, his moral and spiritual faculties might dry up and disintegrate. (Five Volume Commentary of the Holy Quran, Surah Ale-‘Imran, Ch.3: V.50, pp. 495-497, Surah al-Hijr, Ch. 15: V.27, pp. 1594-1597)
(2b-i) What does ‘breathing of spirit’ mean?
It may be mentioned here that “breathing the spirit” does not mean that the man was physically dead at that time, and that he became physically alive only when the ‘spirit’ was breathed into him. It means that God, having developed man’s physical and mental capabilities (having ‘fashioned’ him), instilled in him the faculty of spiritual progress so that he may have communion with God.
And it is this faculty that made man a real ‘human’, and put him above all the other creatures. The word ‘spirit’ can mean life, soul, angel, inspiration, revelation or any other divine command. Here in the above quoted verse, it refers to the ‘breathing of soul’, thus making man a spiritual being. As such, he is expected to develop and display his moral and spiritual faculties; and the angels are appointed to assist him in his struggle to progress in this field. (Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmadra, Tafsir-e-Kabir, 1986, Vol. 7, Surah ash-Shu‘ara’, Ch.26: V.2, pp. 9-10)
(2c) Man’s creation as the ‘image of God’ and its significance
In the first chapter of Genesis, it is mentioned that man has been created in ‘the image of God’ (Gen. 1:27). It may be mentioned that the Holy Prophetsa of Islam is also reported to have said that:
“Allah created Adam in His image [suratihi].” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-isti’zan, Bab bad’i s-salam, Hadith 6227)
This is indeed a very fine and fitting expression that highlights the singular status of man in the universe and points out the real purpose of his creation. It makes him the crown of creation and shows that he has the ability to imitate divine attributes to varying extents. He has been gifted with extraordinary intelligence and wisdom, through which he can improve his physical, mental and social levels of life, and can dominate the other creatures of the world.
(2c-i) The ‘image of God’ in the real sense of the word.
However, what makes the man ‘an image of God’ in the real sense of the word, is the faculty that has been granted to him to improve and progress in the moral and spiritual fields. And it is this faculty in particular that raises him above all the other creatures – even above the angels. Using all these faculties, man is expected to obey God so sincerely, love Him so dearly and follow His commandments so devotedly that he may be seen as a model of sacrifice and submission to the will of God.
At this stage, God’s attributes begin to reflect in his person and through his personality, the people around him enrich themselves with a living faith in their God. (Five Volume Commentary of the Holy Quran, Surah adh-Dhariyat, Ch.51: V.57, pp. 2995-2996) They rally around such a divine personality and follow him to improve their spiritual status. In this sense, the Prophets of God are the ‘images of God’ par excellence. Their followers are expected to be like them. They should try to be ‘images of God’ according to their own individual moral and spiritual calibre. At this point, one is reminded of a saying of the Holy Prophetsa of Islam about the purpose of man’s creation. He is reported to have said that God told him:
“I (God) was a hidden treasure and I intended to be recognised, so I created mankind.” (Tafsir Ruh al-Ma‘ani, and Tafsir al-Razi, Surah Adh-Dhariyat, Ch.51: V.57)
(2c-ii) Man’s ultimate objective: to be ‘a slave of God’
The ultimate object of man’s creation, mentioned in the Holy Quran, is exactly on the same lines. God says:
“And I have not created the Jinn and the men but that they may worship Me.” (Surah Adh-Dhariyat, Ch.51: V.57)
It is necessary to explain that the Arabic word translated as ‘worship’ is derived from the word ‘‘abd’ which literally means ‘a slave’. To worship God, therefore, involves obeying Him like a slave and serving Him to one’s full capacity. It requires one to submit to the will of God so closely and completely as to receive the impression of His attributes on one’s personality, and then to manifest these divine attributes in one’s day-to-day affairs of life.
In the Bible, this state of man’s submission to God’s will is shown as a ‘father-son’ relationship, and the people are encouraged to serve God as ‘a son serves his father’ so that they may become ‘sons of God’. In the Bible, God is introduced and presented to the people of Israel as ‘their father’. (Mat. 5:9,45. 6:4,6,8,9,15,18)
In the Holy Quran, however, this ‘father-son’ relationship is raised a step higher and is presented as a ‘master-slave’ relationship. Islam, therefore, requires from its devoted followers a total and unconditional submission to the will of God under all circumstances, no matter how difficult. (Five Volume Commentary of the Holy Quran, Surah Adh-Dhariyat, Ch.51: V.57, pp. 2995-96)
We know that a son has his own personal rights, and he also inherits what belongs to his father. He can, on reasonable grounds, argue with his father, disagree with him; and even disobey him if and when the situation so demands. But a slave has no rights of his own; he has to obey his master under all circumstances, good or bad.
And if the master is ‘The Master of the universe and a Gracious and Merciful King of the heavens and earth’, who would not like to be a slave of such a Master? So, all that the slave has to do is serve his Master honestly, sincerely and to the best of his ability. Such a slave has nothing to fear or lose; he might, in fact, end up far better than a ‘careless son’.
(2d) The woman created from ‘the rib’ of man
In Gen.2:15-22 we are told that “God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.” Then God thought that it was not good for man to be alone and decided to make ‘a helper fit for him’. So out of the ground, God formed birds, beasts and cattle and presented them to the man, but none of them was found to be a ‘helper fit for man’. Then the Lord God took one of the ribs of man and made that rib into a woman and brought her to the man. So in this way, ‘a helper fit for man’ was found at last.
(2d-i) Literally, the creation of woman from the rib, makes no sense
This story is quite confusing and questionable from many angles. It is said that God was looking for “a helper fit for man”, and God made birds and beasts and presented them to man. The man named those creatures but did not find any of them suitable for him as a helper.
Now in this context, the question is: Did God think those birds and beasts were suitable helpers for man? If not, why did He present them to man in the first place? What was God trying to propose to the man? And do we understand that God would not have created the woman if the man had found any cow, camel or goat to be useful and helpful in his work to till the ground and to give him company in that loneliness? Would there have been any need to create the women in that case?
Obviously there would have been no need to create the woman if a ‘suitable helper’ could be found in the animal kingdom. The extreme step of removing the rib of the man and turning it into a woman was taken only as an emergency because “no helper fit for man” was found from among the birds and animals. One wonders why could God not create the woman from the ground as He had done the man and the other creatures. Taken literally, the whole affair makes no sense and looks absurd.
(2 Dii) The story is contradictory
The other contradiction that we have is that in Gen. 1:24-25 we read that “God made the beasts of the earth according to their kind and cattle according to their kind […].” And then we are told in the next verse that “God said, “Let us make man in our image… So God created man in His own image.” (Gen.1:26-27 ). Here it is clearly mentioned that different kinds of animals were created before God made man in His own image. But in Gen. 2:15-19 we are told the opposite. There we read that God created the animals after the creation of man. Let us have a look:
“The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden […]Then the Lord God said, ´It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him`. “So out of ground, the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air.” (Gen.2:15-19)
(2d-iii) There were women around; why create one from man’s rib?
Coming back to the creation of woman, we have read that man was alone in the garden of Eden and God wished to provide him with a ‘suitable helper’. Finding none out of the animals on earth, God had to create a woman out of the rib of man. The obvious inference is that when man lived in the garden, there was no woman on earth and the first woman to be created was Eve. But on the contrary, we read in the first chapter that when God created man, He had “created them both male and female.” We read:
“So God created man in His own image, in the image of God, He created him; male and female, he created them. And God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth […].” (Gen.1:27-28)
So we see that long before man came to live in the Garden of Eden, God had already “created men, both male and female so that they may multiply and fill the earth.” The creation of men and women, therefore, was already a part of the divine plan and the creation of woman in the Garden of Eden could not be incidental to the loneliness of the man. There were people around at that time and God could have provided a suitable match for Adamas out of his close blood relations, calling her “his own flesh.” So the impression given in this ‘man’s rib’ story, as if Adamas and Eve were the first human beings to be created, is not correct. (Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad, Tafsir-e-Kabir, 1986, Vol. 1, Surah al-Baqarah, Ch.2: V.31, pp. 294-295)
(2d-iv) Adamas was not created directly from the dust
It must be understood that when it is said that man has been ‘created from the dust’, it only means that the organic matter which served as the starting point of man’s physical life was created from the dust. And then onwards this living matter, passing through various stages of development for billions of years, ultimately resulted in the creation of human beings. The fact that man, and all other creatures too, were basically created from dust, is confirmed by the common observation that all these forms of life eventually become dust after their death. (Ibid., p. 290-293)
But when we talk of the man who lived in the Garden of Eden some six thousand years ago, we talk of Adamas who was the progenitor of our modern generation, who was morally and spiritually fully developed and who was appointed by God as His first Prophet for the guidance of the people around him. Of course, he had his own opponents who, as we shall see later, created problems for him. But let us first solve the riddle of ‘creation of woman out of the rib of man’.
(2e) ‘Creation of woman from the rib of man’, the real meaning
As already mentioned above, there were women around when Adamas was living in the Garden of Eden and, therefore, there was no need to remove the rib of man to create one. We are told that Adamas was asleep when this ‘rib operation’ was undertaken; and this gives credence to the view that this incident could well be a vision that Adamas had seen during his sleep.
Anyway, in view of all the above-cited contradictory and confused statements, this incident cannot be taken literally and has to be interpreted so that its symbolic message may be understood. Before we proceed further, it may be helpful to know that the Holy Prophetsa of Islam has also passed similar remarks about the ‘creation of women’ in general. He is reported to have said:
“Treat women nicely, for a woman is created from a rib, and the most curved portion of the rib is its upper portion, so if you try to straighten it, it will break, but if you leave it as it is, it will remain crooked. So treat women nicely.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab ahadithi l-anbiya, Bab khalqi adama salawatullahi alayhi wa dhuriyyatihi, Hadith 3331)
(2e-i) The moral and message of this symbolic expression
Now, in the light of the above-cited saying of the Holy Prophetsa of Islam, it becomes clear that by calling ‘the creation of woman from the rib of man’, the attention of the husbands has been drawn, in a symbolic way, to the sensitive position that their wives hold in their hearts and homes.
The husbands are reminded that:
The ribs are a very important part of their bodies. They, therefore, should treat and take care of their wives as an important part of their own body.
The ribs lie very close to the heart, underscoring the essential and cherished role a loving wife plays in a man’s heart and home, alongside other important family and societal connections.
The ribs make a bony cage that houses the essential organs of man and protects them. And the women, by their nature, are known to be the ‘homemakers’. It is the woman who really makes ‘the home’ where her husband and her kids feel at home; and find peace of mind and pleasure of heart, which is so essential for the prosperity of the entire family.
Last, but not least, the ribs are made naturally curved and flexible so that they can take all the external pressure and safeguard the underlying organs from the stress, strain and strife of life.
The woman too, like ribs, takes all the brunt and blows of life with a natural spirit of sacrifice and patience for the welfare of the entire family. The security of her home, and to keep it intact, is always her chief concern; and she guards it rather jealously. But emotionally, she is very weak and sensitive; and can get hurt easily.
Moreover, as a fair and frail sex, she has a natural trait of self-respect and personal dignity, which she does not like to compromise. And, therefore, any man who, while dealing with his wife, does not take into consideration her natural traits and trends, and tries to ‘straighten her’ while ignoring her sensitivities, runs the risk of breaking her heart, and his home. (Hazrat Mirza Bashir-ud-Din Mahmud Ahmad, Tafsir-e-Kabir, 1986, Vol. 1, Surah al-Baqarah, Ch.2: V.31, p. 303)
So we see that a beautiful advisory statement, issued so wisely in symbolic words, came to be taken literally, and then to justify this literal ‘creation of woman from the rib’, a senseless excuse was invented that God had ‘to create the woman from the rib of man’ because He could not find any “helper fit for man” from among the animal kingdom.