Al-Tafsīr al-Qayyim - Ibn al-Qayyim - (481)

Al-Tafsīr al-QayyimIbn al-Qayyim

[Surah al-Hujurāt (49): verse 13]

“O mankind, We created you from a male and a female and made you peoples and tribes so that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in Allah’s sight is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.” (13)

They said: Sensory observation attests that the constituent parts a child derives from its mother are many times greater than those it derives from its father. It is thus established that the child is formed from the mother’s reproductive fluid and menstrual blood, while the father’s semen acts as a coagulant, like rennet.

The majority disputed this, maintaining that the child is formed from the reproductive fluids of both the man and the woman. They then differed between two views.

The first is that its organs and constituent parts derive from the male’s fluid, while its form derives from the female’s fluid.

The second is that its organs, constituent parts, and form develop from both fluids together, which blend and mingle until they become a single fluid. This is the correct view, for we find that the child’s appearance and bodily form sometimes resemble the father and sometimes the mother. And Allah knows best.

This is indicated by the Most High’s words: “O mankind, We created you from a male and a female.” The male is the source: from him come both the seed and its watering. The female is a vessel and repository for his child, nurturing it in her womb just as she nurtures it in her lap. Hence the child is affiliated to the father in law and lineage. As for its following the mother’s status in freedom or slavery, this is because it was formed and became a child in her womb, and she nourished it with her milk, besides the part of it derived from her. The father has the stronger claim to the child’s lineage and agnatic affiliation because he is its origin, the source of its substance, and the one whose likeness it bears. Whichever parent is superior in religion has the stronger claim to the child, so that Allah’s religion and law take precedence.

[سورة الحجرات (٤٩) : آية ١٣] يا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْناكُمْ مِنْ ذَكَرٍ وَأُنْثى وَجَعَلْناكُمْ شُعُوباً وَقَبائِلَ لِتَعارَفُوا إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَتْقاكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ (١٣) قالوا: الحس شاهد: أن الأجزاء التي في المولود من أمه أضعاف أضعاف الأجزاء التي فيه من أبيه. فثبت أن تكوينه من مني الأم ودم الطمث، ومني الأب عاقد له كالأنفحة. ونازعهم الجمهور، وقالوا: إنه يتكون من مني الرجل والأنثى، ثم لهم قولان. أحدهما: أن يكون من مني الذكر أعضاؤه، وأجزاؤه، ومن مني الأنثى صورته. والثاني: أن الأعضاء والأجزاء والصورة تكونت من مجموع الماءين، وأنهما امتزجا واختلطا وصارا ماء واحدا. وهذا هو الصواب، لأننا نجد الصورة والتشكيل تارة إلى الأب، وتارة إلى الأم. والله أعلم. وقد دل على هذا قوله تعالى: يا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْناكُمْ مِنْ ذَكَرٍ وَأُنْثى والأصل: هو الذكر. فمنه البذر، ومنه السقي. والأنثى وعاء ومستودع لولده. تربيه في بطنها، كما تربيه في حجرها. ولهذا كان الولد للأب حكما ونسبا. وأما تبعيته للأم في الحرية والرق فلأنه إنما تكوّن وصار ولدا في بطنها، وغذته بلبانها مع الجزء الذي فيه منها. وكان الأب أحق بنسبه وتعصيبه لأنه أصله ومادته ونسخته. وكان أشرفهما دينا أولى به، تغليبا لدين الله وشرعه.