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wa-huwa lladhī khalaqa mina l-māʾi basharan fa-jaʿalahū nasaban wa-ṣihran wa-kāna rabbuka qadīran
It is He who created the human being from water, then invested him with ties of blood and marriage, and your Lord is all-powerful.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah al-Furqan - Verse 54
54. “And He it is Who has created man from water, then He made him related in blood and in wedlock; and your Lord is ever Powerful.”
The purpose of ‘water’ in this noble verse is the sperm of man, and the evidence of it is found in the following two verses:
Since the previous verses talked about the falling of rain as well as the locating of the salty and sweet waters besides each other, now this verse mentions the creation of man from water, It says:
Verily carving on water and shaping such a novel figure on water is the reason for omnipotence of Allah. In fact, the former verses talked about the growth of plants because of rain water, but here it speaks about a higher level that is the creation of man from water. Therefore, commentators say that the purpose of water here is sperm from which all men are generated by Allah’s might. By sexual intercourse, man's sperm, which is floating in water, joins woman's ovum and the first blossom of man’s life, that is the first living cell of man, will be created.
If man carefully studies the various phases of forming sperm from the beginning up to the end of fetal period, he sees a lot of signs of Allah’s might and magnificence so that they will be enough to know His Pure Essence. This commentary will be proved by the sentence that follows the verse and we will explain it. Moreover, undoubtedly most of man’s body consists of water; therefore we can say that the main material of every man is water. Consequently, man can very scarcely resist lack of water, while he can survive many days and weeks without eating food.
Of course, it is also possible that all of these meanings are included in the concept of the verse. That is, both the first man is created from water, and all human beings are created from (seaman) water, and water is the most important material of man’s body. Water is the simplest material of the world, but how has it become the source of such wonderful creation? This is the reason for His might. After mentioning the creation of man, the increase of generations is brought up.
It says:
The purpose of the Arabic word ‘Nasab’ (blood) is the relationship that is between men by way of reproductions and births, such as the relationship between father and offspring or relationship between brothers. The purpose of the Qur’anic word /sihr/ (wedlock), which originally means ‘groom’, is the relationship that occurs through marriage between two families, such as the relation of man with the close relatives of his wife which is created in this way.
These two are what Islamic jurists say as ‘the indirect cause’ and ‘lineage’ in the subject of marriage. In Surah An-Nisa’, No. 4, seven of the unmarriageable ones (mother, daughter, sister of mother, sister of father, daughter of brother, and daughter of sister) that are created by lineage or parentage, and four cases of the indirect cause (daughter of wife, mother of wife, wife of issue, and wife of father) are mentioned. Of course, there are other opinions about this sentence stated by commentators, but this one is stronger and clearer, including this one: some say that the word ‘Nasab’ means ‘male offspring’ and the word /sihr/ means ‘female offspring’, for blood relationships traditionally are counted depending on fathers not mothers.
But as we said in the commentary of the 61st verse of Surah ’Al-i-‘Imran, it is a big mistake that is originated from customs and traditions that were before Islam. They thought that blood relationship has been originated only from father, and mother has no role. But as it is specified by Islamic jurisprudence and all the Islam learned persons, all ordinances that are about lineally being unmarriageable are from both the father side and mother side.
It is interesting that there is a famous tradition which is recorded in Shi‘ite and Sunni books. According to this tradition, this verse is sent down about the Prophet (p.b.u.li.) and Imam Ali (as), for the Prophet (S) married his daughter, Fatimah (as), off to Ali (as), therefore, Ali (as) was both the cousin of the Prophet (S) and spouse of his daughter. This is the meaning of the Qur’anic phrase ‘Nasaban Wa Sehran’ (related in blood and in wedlock).10
As we have repeatedly said, these narrations are some clear extensions of the verse and they do not prevent generality of the meaning of the verse. This verse includes any relationship that is created by the way of blood and marriage and one of its clear extensions is the bilateral relationship of Ali (as) and Prophet (S). At the end of the verse, in order to put emphasis on the former issues, the Qur’an says:
Footnotes