Our God — Page 80
80 purpose and, thus, made no mention of these. Therefore, no sci- entist can find fault with the Holy Quran as it describes the crea- tion of man concisely and fittingly, which does not conflict with any established scientific facts, but serves as a beacon of light for science on fundamentals. If someone adds his own comments on this Quranic statement and his comments conflict with science, then he is responsible for it—Islam cannot be criticised for that. Likewise, a hadith states that Eve was created from Adam’s rib. From this some have understood that Adam’s body was slit and Eve was created from his rib bone, giving an opportunity to scientists to criticise, whereas, as is characteristic of revealed Books, these words have been used metaphorically. The hadith implies that the woman has been created to be in the company of man and she is an inevitable part of man’s life and his life compan- ion. However, the man must keep in mind that, just as the rib is curved, for certain beneficial reasons, the woman has been created with some inherent frailties; therefore, a man should keep these frailties in mind and treat her with courtesy and understanding. The Holy Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be on him, has used precisely the same words in another hadith: woman is like a curved rib and that is the beauty of the fair sex; therefore, men should be mindful of woman’s inherent frailty and try not to straighten it to the extent that it breaks and loses the beauty of its gender. In short, after a careful study of the words used in the Holy Quran or authentic hadith with reference to the creation of the universe or creation of man, these cannot be criticised at all. Those who have criticised them or considered them objectionable, do so because of their own ignorance or lack of understanding.