The Quran

Preface

وَاللَّهُ جَعَلَ لَكُم مِن أَنفُسِكُم أَزواجًا وَجَعَلَ لَكُم مِن أَزواجِكُم بَنينَ وَحَفَدَةً وَرَزَقَكُم مِنَ الطَّيِّباتِ ۚ أَفَبِالباطِلِ يُؤمِنونَ وَبِنِعمَتِ اللَّهِ هُم يَكفُرونَ

Yusuf Ali

And God has made for you mates (and companions) of your own nature,¹ and made for you, out of them, sons and daughters and grandchildren,² and provided for you sustenance of the best: will they then believe in vain things, and be ungrateful for God’s favours?-

Of your nature: or of yourselves. Cf. 4:1 and n. 504. Self, or Personality, or Soul, all imply a bundle of attributes, capacities, predilections, and dispositions, which we may sum up in the word Nafs, or nature. Roman was made to be (I) a mate or companion for man; (2) except for sex, of the same nature as man, and therefore with the same moral and religious rights and duties; and (3) she is not to be considered a source of all evil or sin, as the Christian monks characterised her but rather as a blessing, one of the favours, (Ni'mah) of God,###
Hajadah: collective plural, daughters, grandchildren, and descendants. The root hafada also implies obedient service and ministration. Just as the sons (first mentioned) should be a source of strength, so daughters and grandchildren should serve and contribute to the happiness of fathers and grandparents, and are to be looked upon as further blessings.