Surah An-Nisa 4:1

Which was revealed in Al-Madina

Virtues of Surat An-Nisa, A Madinan Surah

Al-`Awfi reported that Ibn `Abbas said that Surat An-Nisa' was revealed in Al-Madinah. Ibn Marduwyah recorded similar statements from `Abdullah bin Az-Zubayr and Zayd bin Thabit. In his Mustadrak, Al-Hakim recorded that `Abdullah bin Mas`ud said, "There are five Ayat in Surat An-Nisa' that I would prefer to the life of this world and all that is in it,

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَظْلِمُ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ

(Surely, Allah wrongs not even the weight of an atom,) 4:40,

إِن تَجْتَنِبُواْ كَبَآئِرَ مَا تُنهَوْنَ عَنْهُ

(If you avoid the great sins which you are forbidden to do) 4:31,

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَن يَشَآءُ

(Verily, Allah forgives not that partners should be set up with Him (in worship), but He forgives except that (anything else) to whom He wills) 4:48,

وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذ ظَّلَمُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ جَآءُوكَ

(If they (hypocrites), when they had been unjust to themselves, had come to you) 4:64, and,

وَمَن يَعْمَلْ سُوءاً أَوْ يَظْلِمْ نَفْسَهُ ثُمَّ يَسْتَغْفِرِ اللَّهَ يَجِدِ اللَّهَ غَفُوراً رَّحِيماً

(And whoever does evil or wrongs himself, but afterwards seeks Allah's forgiveness, he will find Allah Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful) 4:110." Al-Hakim recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, "Ask me about Surat An-Nisa', for I learned the Qur'an when I was still young." Al-Hakim said, "This Hadith is Sahih according to the criteria of the Two Sahihs, and they did not collect it."

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

The Command to have Taqwa, a Reminder about Creation, and Being Kind to Relatives

Allah commands His creatures to have Taqwa of Him by worshipping Him Alone without partners. He also reminds to them of His ability, in that He created them all from a single person, Adam, peace be unto him.

وَخَلَقَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا

(And from him He created his wife) Hawwa' (Eve), who was created from Adam's left rib, from his back while he was sleeping. When Adam woke up and saw Hawwa', he liked her and had affection for her, and she felt the same toward him. An authentic Hadith states,

«إِنَّ الْمَرْأَةَ خُلِقَتْ مِنْ ضِلَعٍ، وَإِنَّ أَعْوَجَ شَيْءٍ فِي الضِّلَعِ أَعْلَاهُ، فَإِنْ ذَهَبْتَ تُقِيمُهُ كَسَرْتَهُ، وَإِنِ اسْتَمْتَعْتَ بِهَا اسْتَمْتَعْتَ بِهَا وَفِيهَا عِوَج»

(Woman was created from a rib. Verily, the most curved portion of the rib is its upper part, so, if you should try to straighten it, you will break it, but if you leave it as it is, it will remain crooked.) Allah's statement,

وَبَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالاً كَثِيراً وَنِسَآءً

(And from them both He created many men and women;) means, Allah created from Adam and Hawwa' many men and women and distributed them throughout the world in various shapes, characteristics, colors and languages. In the end, their gathering and return will be to Allah. Allah then said,

وَاتَّقُواْ اللَّهَ الَّذِى تَسَآءَلُونَ بِهِ وَالاٌّرْحَامَ

(And have Taqwa of Allah through Whom you demand your mutual (rights) and revere the wombs), protect yourself from Allah by your acts of obedience to Him. Allah's statement,

الَّذِى تَسَآءَلُونَ بِهِ

(through Whom you demand your mutual (rights)), is in reference to when some people say, "I ask you by Allah, and then by the relation of the Rahim (the womb, i.e. my relationship to you)", according to Ibrahim, Mujahid and Al-Hasan. Ad-Dahhak said; "Fear Allah Whom you invoke when you conduct transactions and contracts." "And revere the womb by not cutting the relations of the womb, but keep and honor them, as Ibn `Abbas, `Ikrimah, Mujahid, Al-Hasan, Ad-Dahhak, Ar-Rabi`, and others have stated. Allah's statement,

إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلَيْكُمْ رَقِيباً

(Surely, Allah is always watching over you.) means, He watches all your deeds and sees your every circumstance. In another Ayah, Allah said;

وَاللَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ شَهِيدٌ

(And Allah is Witness over all things.) 58:6. An authentic Hadith states,

«اعْبُدِاللهَ كَأَنَّكَ تَرَاهُ، فَإِنْ لَمْ تَكُنْ تَرَاهُ،فَإِنَّهُ يَرَاك»

(Worship Allah as if you see Him, for even though you cannot see Him, He sees you.) This part of the Ayah encourages having a sense of certainty that Allah is always watching, in a complete and perfect manner. Allah mentioned that He has created mankind from a single father and a single mother, so that they feel compassion for each other and are kind to the weaker among them. In his Sahih, Muslim recorded that Jarir bin `Abdullah Al-Bajali said that a delegation from Mudar came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he saw their state, wearing striped woolen clothes due to poverty. After the Zuhr prayer, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood up and gave a speech in which he recited,

يَٰـأَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُواْ رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِى خَلَقَكُمْ مِّن نَّفْسٍ وَٰحِدَةٍ

(O mankind! Have Taqwa of your Lord, Who created you from a single person,) until the end of the Ayah. He also recited,

يٰأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ اللَّهَ وَلْتَنظُرْ نَفْسٌ مَّا قَدَّمَتْ لِغَدٍ

(O you who believe! Have Taqwa of Allah. And let every person look to what he has sent forth for the tomorrow) 59:18. He also encouraged them to give charity, saying,

«تَصَدَّقَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ دِينَارِهِ، مِنْ دِرْهَمِهِ، مِنْ صَاعِ بُرِّهِ، مِنْ صَاعِ تَمْرِه»

(A man gave Sadaqah from his Dinar, from his Dirham, from his Sa` of wheat, from his Sa` of dates) until the end of the Hadith. This narration was also collected by Ahmad and the Sunan compilers from Ibn Mas`ud.

Di dalam ayat ini Allah memerintahkan kepada manusia agar bertakwa kepada Allah, yang memelihara manusia dan melimpahkan nikmat karunia-Nya. Dialah Yang menciptakan manusia dari seorang diri yaitu Adam. Dengan demikian, menurut jumhur mufasir, Adam adalah manusia pertama yang dijadikan oleh Allah. Kemudian dari diri yang satu itu Allah menciptakan pula pasangannya yang biasa disebut dengan nama Hawa. Dari Adam dan Hawa berkembang biaklah manusia. Dalam Al-Qur'an penciptaan Adam disebut dari tanah liat (al-Anam/6:2; as-Sajdah/32:7; Shad/38:71 dan dalam beberapa ayat lagi). Dalam an-Nisa/4:1 disebutkan "... dan (Allah) menciptakan pasangannya (Hawa) dari dirinya; ..." Kata-kata dalam Surah an-Nisa ayat pertama ini sering menimbulkan salah pengertian di kalangan awam, terutama di kalangan perempuan, karena ada anggapan bahwa perempuan diciptakan dari rusuk Adam, yang sering dipertanyakan oleh kalangan feminis. Ayat itu hanya menyebut ... wa khalaqa minha zaujaha, yang diterjemahkan dengan menciptakan pasangannya dari dirinya; lalu ada yang mengatakan bahwa perempuan itu diciptakan dari rusuk Adam, dan pernyataan yang terdapat dalam beberapa hadis ini ada yang mengira dari Al-Qur'an. Di dalam Al-Qur'an nama Hawa pun tidak ada, yang ada hanya nama Adam. Nama Hawa (Eve) ada dalam Bibel ("Manusia itu memberi nama Hawa kepada isterinya, sebab dialah yang menjadi ibu semua yang hidup." (Kejadian iii. 20), (Hawwa dari kata bahasa Ibrani heva, dibaca: hawwah, yang berarti hidup). Pernyataan bahwa perempuan diciptakan dari rusuk laki-laki itu terdapat dalam Perjanjian Lama, Kitab Kejadian ii. 21 dan 22: "Lalu Tuhan Allah membuat manusia itu tidur nyenyak; ketika tidur, Tuhan Allah mengambil salah satu rusuk dari padanya, lalu menutup tempat itu dengan daging. Dan dari rusuk yang diambil Tuhan Allah dari manusia itu, dibangun-Nyalah seorang perempuan, lalu dibawa-Nya kepada manusia itu."

Kemudian sekali lagi Allah memerintahkan kepada manusia untuk bertakwa kepada-Nya dan seringkali mempergunakan nama-Nya dalam berdoa untuk memperoleh kebutuhannya. Menurut kebiasaan orang Arab Jahiliah bila menanyakan sesuatu atau meminta sesuatu kepada orang lain mereka mengucapkan nama Allah. Allah juga memerintahkan agar manusia selalu memelihara silaturrahmi antara keluarga dengan membuat kebaikan dan kebajikan yang merupakan salah satu sarana pengikat silaturrahmi.

Ilmu Hayati Manusia (Human Biology) memberikan informasi kepada kita, bahwa manusia dengan kelamin laki-laki mempunyai sex-chromosome (kromosom kelamin) XY, sedang manusia dengan kelamin wanita mempunyai sex-chromosome XX. Ayat di atas menjelaskan bahwa "manusia diciptakan dari diri yang satu dan daripadanya Allah menciptakan istrinya". Ayat ini menjelaskan kepada kita bahwa 'diri yang satu itu tentu berjenis kelamin laki-laki, sebab kalimat berikutnya menyatakan, 'daripadanya diciptakan istrinya. Dari sudut pandang Human Biology hal itu sangatlah tepat, sebab sex-chromosome XY (laki-laki) dapat menurunkan kromosom XY atau XX; sedang kromosom XX (wanita) tidak mungkin akan membentuk XY, karena dari mana didapat kromosom Y? Jadi jelas bahwa laki-laki pada hakikatnya adalah penentu jenis kelamin dari keturunannya. Diri yang satu itu tidak lain adalah Adam.