[al-Zumar 6], admits of two interpretations. The first is that it specifies the kind, as many people understand it. The meaning is that He sent down eight mates, just as He said, “And We sent down iron” [al-Hadīd 25]. Their being sent down is like the sending down of semen. Here, min is like min in His words, “And He is the One who produced gardens, trellised and untrellised” [al-Anʿām 141], through to His words, “And of the livestock, beasts of burden and smaller livestock” [al-Anʿām 142], and then, “Eight mates” [al-Anʿām 143]. That is, He produced from among the livestock beasts of burden and smaller livestock—eight mates.

Alternatively, min may indicate the point of origin, as in His words, “He sent down water from the sky” [al-Raʿd 17], and, “And created from it its mate” [al-Nisāʾ 1]. The meaning would then be that He sent down eight mates, sending them down from the livestock, thus mentioning the place from which they were sent down.

Both interpretations are possible in His words in the other surah:

“He has made for you spouses from among yourselves, and mates from among the livestock; He multiplies you thereby. There is nothing like Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing” (11) [al-Shūrā 11].

In His words, “He has made for you spouses from among yourselves,” does this mean that He has made for you