The story of creation in the tradition does not fit, intersect or correspond with what is in the Book of God. When we reflect on the origin of creation as it is in Surat al-Nisa, we find that what is in the Qur’an is one thing, and what is in the narratives is another.
Let’s read this first verse of Surah al-Nisa carefully:
“O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from a single soul and created from it her husband, and from them produced many men and women, and fear Allah, with whom you ask for forgiveness and mercy, for Allah has been watching over you” (Al-Nisa 1).
I: The rhetorical structure of the verse
The verse addresses humanity as a whole, not just believers, unlike many other places in the Qur’an that begin with “O you who believe.” This universal directive indicates that what is to be said here is a universal origin of human existence, not related to a specific law or nation, but to the very foundation of human existence. This comprehensive directive indicates that what will be said here is a universal origin of human existence, not related to a particular law or nation, but to the very foundation of human existence itself.
II: The Meaning of “One Self” – An Evolutionary Existentialist Reading
In the tradition, the one breath is interpreted as Adam, and his wife is Eve. However, a contemplative reading, free from the captivity and limitation of narratives, sees the “one breath” as a symbol of the one human essence from which all human beings branch out, not a single person.
The verse does not say “from one male”, but “from one soul”; that is, from one living entity, from one existential origin.
This opens the door to the notion of a common origin for living things, which is surprisingly consistent with modern scientific knowledge about the origin of species and evolution.
It is He who created you from dust, then from an embryo, then from a leech…” (Ghafir 67).
“He has created you in different forms” (Noah 14)
The word “phases” here is a very precise Quranic key; it refers to a gradual, step-by-step change in creation, which is the same as what modern science calls evolution.
But the Qur’an does not see it as random, but as directed towards a goal: “Who perfected everything He created” (Al-Sajdah 7), meaning that every transformation has a purpose and an orientation towards perfection.
In Arabic, nafs is not an abstract soul, but a living, conscious entity capable of interaction.
When God says:
“He created you from one breath”
It means that conscious life in humans goes back to a single living origin, the first seed of the human essence, which began in ancient beings and accumulated over millions of years until it reached the pinnacle of consciousness in humans.
From this perspective, the “one self” is not the physical Adam, but the existential Adam: The first consciousness that opens up in matter.
Third: The One Self as a Cosmic Evolutionary Principle
The Qur’an emphasizes elsewhere the unity of the biological origin of beings:
- “Allah created every animal from water” (Al-Nur 45).
This verse establishes that water is the first cradle of all life, not just human beings, which is in line with the evolutionary view that life began from the first aquatic organisms. - “Then he made his offspring from a string of water” (Al-Sajdah 8).
A “lineage” is the epitome of the first living matter, a precise expression of the evolution of organic matter from its simplest form. - “It is He who created you from dust, then from an embryo, then from a blastocyst…” (Ghafir 67).
Here, the Qur’an presents a clear biological hierarchy in the stages of creation, from inanimate matter to organic life and then to the stage of the human mind.
From this perspective, a single soul is not necessarily “Adam,” but rather the first cell that carried the seeds of life and consciousness, or the first organism from which the evolutionary chains branched out to the human being.
IV: “And he created her husband from her” – the duality of formation and integration
If a single soul represents the first living origin, then “out of her he made her husband” can be understood as a binary division within the first biological structure, which created sexual complementarity and reproduction.
This is in line with biological phenomena in which sexual reproduction originated from single-celled organisms that split into two complementary patterns, which the Qur’an expresses in a beautiful symbolic form.
Her “husband” is not necessarily a female person, but can mean the other pole in the biological equilibrium that allows species to multiply and expand.
Fifth: “And out of them sprang many men and women. “
Broadcasting here may refer to evolutionary branching; that is, the gradual extension of the human organism through generations and long biological transformations, until the features and races diversified.
Man is not a sudden leap, but the result of a series of existential rebirths of the same soul in multiple forms.
VI: One Self and Collective Consciousness
“One Self” can also be read in terms of the common human innate mind; all human beings share a single psychological and spiritual structure, branching out into individuals as cells branch out from a single entity.
This meaning is emphasized by the Almighty:
“We have honored the children of Adam” (Al-Israa’ 70)
“And I breathed into him from my spirit” (Al-Hajar 29)
It is not a physical act, but the actualization of the essence of mind and associated consciousness in living matter, that is, the transition of life from matter to consciousness.
Seventh: Fear God in the womb
The verse concludes with the command to be pious twice, and a reminder of mercy:
“And fear God, with whom you have a relationship.“
As if to say: Once you realize that you are of one breath, do not separate yourself from others, because the great womb is humanity itself.
Piety here is a realization and knowledge of the unity of human existence and the responsibility to preserve it.
Conclusion of reflection:
- The One Self represents the vital and existential origin of humanity, not a particular person.
- “Positive/Negative – Active/Passive.)
- The verse establishes the principle of gradual cosmic evolution, not sudden, discrete creation.
- Man is part of the cosmic chain that begins with earth and water and ends with consciousness and mind.
- Taqwa in the context of the verse is a comprehensive awareness of belonging to the whole, and has nothing to do with what jurists call religious rituals.
