Surah al-Tāriq

In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.

[Surah al-Tāriq (86): verses 5–7]
“So let man consider what he was created from. (5) He was created from a gushing fluid, (6) emerging from between the backbone and the ribs. (7)”

Al-Zajjāj said: “All linguists agree that the singular term denotes the place on the chest where a necklace rests; its plural is tarā’ib.”

Abū ‘Ubayda said: “The tarā’ib are the part of the chest from which neck ornaments hang.” This is the view of all linguists. ‘Atā’ reported from Ibn ‘Abbās—may Allah be pleased with them both—that it means the man’s backbone and the woman’s upper chest, where her necklace rests. This is also the view of al-Kalbī, Muqātil, Sufyān and the majority of Quran commentators, and it accords with these hadiths. Allah has established this as His customary way of bringing things into existence from two sources, as with animals, plants and other created things.

An animal takes form from the male’s fluid and the female’s fluid, just as a plant takes form from water, soil and air. Hence Allah Most High says:

6:101 “Originator of the heavens and the earth! How could He have a child when He has no consort?”

For offspring can only come from a male and his mate.