The Quran

Preface

فاطِرُ السَّماواتِ وَالأَرضِ ۚ جَعَلَ لَكُم مِن أَنفُسِكُم أَزواجًا وَمِنَ الأَنعامِ أَزواجًا ۖ يَذرَؤُكُم فيهِ ۚ لَيسَ كَمِثلِهِ شَيءٌ ۖ وَهُوَ السَّميعُ البَصيرُ

Yusuf Ali

(He is) the Creator of the heavens and the earth: He has made for you pairs from among yourselves, and pairs among cattle:¹ by this means does He multiply you: there is nothing whatever like unto Him, and He is the One that hears and sees (all things).

The mystery of sex has not only its physical aspects, but its moral and spiritual aspects, and therefore mankind is in this respect differentiated from the lower animals, and among mankind the grades and qualities are suggested by the phrase “from among yourselves”. As regards cattle, they are specially mentioned among the animals, as having special relations with man and specially subserving his needs, not only in the physical sphere, but also in the matter of transport, which is the key to all civilisation and culture: Cf. 36:71-73; also 23:21-22, where they are compared to ships, the symbol of international intercourse.