30:21

وَمِنۡ ءَايَٰتِهِۦٓ أَنۡ خَلَقَ لَكُم مِّنۡ أَنفُسِكُمۡ أَزۡوَٰجٗا لِّتَسۡكُنُوٓاْ إِلَيۡهَا وَجَعَلَ بَيۡنَكُم مَّوَدَّةٗ وَرَحۡمَةًۚ إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَأٓيَٰتٖ لِّقَوۡمٖ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

Wamin ayatihi an khalaqa lakum min anfusikum azwajan litaskunoo ilayha wajaAAala baynakum mawaddatan warahmatan inna fee thalika laayatin liqawmin yatafakkaroona

And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquillity in them; and He placed between you affection and mercy. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought.

Word by word
  1. وَمِنۡAnd among
  2. ءَايَٰتِهِۦٓHis Signs
  3. أَنۡ(is) that
  4. خَلَقَHe created
  5. لَكُمfor you
  6. مِّنۡfrom
  7. أَنفُسِكُمۡyourselves
  8. أَزۡوَٰجٗاmates
  9. لِّتَسۡكُنُوٓاْthat you may find tranquility
  10. إِلَيۡهَاin them
  11. وَجَعَلَand He placed
  12. بَيۡنَكُمbetween you
  13. مَّوَدَّةٗlove
  14. وَرَحۡمَةًۚand mercy
  15. إِنَّIndeed
  16. فِيin
  17. ذَٰلِكَthat
  18. لَأٓيَٰتٖsurely (are) Signs
  19. لِّقَوۡمٖfor a people
  20. يَتَفَكَّرُونَwho reflect
Ar-Rum · 30:21Makkah

He made spouses from yourselves, with love and mercy.

Marriage as a sign of Allah


What He placed
spousesof your own kind
to find
tranquillityrest in each other
affection and mercyplaced by Him
What holds a marriage
only feelingsgone when they fade
love and mercyboth placed by Allah

Ibn Kathir explains that out of perfect mercy Allah made spouses from people's own kind, so there would be harmony. A man stays with a woman because he loves her, or out of compassion, for their child, or because she needs his care. Both love and mercy keep a home.

The argument over dishes again. Then your spouse brings you tea without being asked, after a long shift. That small kindness is a sign of Allah. When love feels tired, mercy is still there to hold things together.

When the spark fades, the marriage is failing.

Allah put both love and mercy between us. Mercy carries us when love is tired.

Try this

Do one small act of mercy for your spouse or a family member today, without saying why.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 30:20)

And among His signs is this that He created you from dust, and then – behold you are human beings scattered (20)And among His signs is this that He created for you wives from among yourselves, that you may find repose in them, and He has put between you affection and mercy. Verily, in that are indeed signs for a people who reflect (21)

Among the Signs of Allah

Allah says:

وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ

(And among His signs) – which speak of His might and power, is the fact that He created your father Adam out of dust.

 ثُمَّ إِذَا أَنْتُمْ بَشَرٌ تَنْتَشِرُونَ

(and then – behold you are human beings scattered!) So man's origins lie in dust, then in a despised liquid, then he is formed and becomes a clot, then a lump of flesh, then bones in the form of a human being. Then Allah clothes the bones with flesh. Then the soul is breathed into him and he can hear and see. Then he comes forth from his mother's womb, small and weak, but the longer he lives, the stronger he becomes, until he reaches the age where he can build cities and strongholds, and he travels to different lands and across the seas, earning a living and amassing wealth, and he is smart and intelligent and crafty, with ideas and opinions of his own, and each one is able to achieve great things in this world and in the Hereafter according to his individual means. Glory be to the One Who has enabled them and made it easy for them to learn all kinds of skills for earning a living, and has caused them to vary in their levels of knowledge and intellectual ability, and in how handsome or ugly, rich or poor they are, and in whether they are blessed and doomed. Allah says:

وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ أَنْ خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ إِذَا أَنْتُمْ بَشَرٌ تَنْتَشِرُونَ 

(And among His signs is this that He created you from dust, and then – behold you are human beings scattered!) Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Musa said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

إِنَّ اللهَ خَلَقَ آدَمَ مِنْ قَبْضَةٍ قَبَضَهَا مِنْ جَمِيع الْأَرْضِ، فَجَاءَ بَنُو آدَمَ عَلَى قَدْرِ الْأَرْضِ، جَاءَ مِنْهُمُ الْأَبْيَضُ وَالْأَحْمَرُ وَالْأَسْوَدُ وَبَيْنَ ذَلِكَ، وَالْخَبِيثُ وَالطَّيِّبُ، وَالسَّهْلُ وَالْحَزْنُ وَبَيْنَ ذَلِكَ

(Allah created Adam from a handful taken from throughout the earth. Hence the sons of Adam vary as the earth varies, so they are white and red and black and [colors] in between, evil and good, easy-going or difficult – or something in between.)" This was also recorded by Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi, who said, "This Hadith is Hasan Sahih." Allah said:

وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ أَنْ خَلَقَ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَنْفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا

(And among His signs is this that He created for you wives from among yourselves,) meaning, 'He created females of your own kind, to be wives for you.'

 لِتَسْكُنُوا إِلَيْهَا

(that you may find repose in them,) This is like the Ayah,

هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ نَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ وَجَعَلَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا لِيَسْكُنَ إِلَيْهَا ۖ 

(It is He Who has created you from a single person, and He has created from him his wife, in order that he might enjoy the pleasure of living with her)(7:189). This refers to Hawwa'. Allah created her from Adam, from the short rib on his left. If Allah had made all of Adam's progeny male, and created the females from another kind, such as from Jinn or animals, there would never have been harmony between them and their spouses. There would have been revulsion if the spouses had been from a different kind. Out of Allah's perfect mercy He made their wives from their own kind, and created love and kindness between them. For a man stays with a woman because he loves her, or because he feels compassion towards her if they have a child together, or because she needs him to take care of her, etc.

إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

(Verily, in that are indeed signs for a people who reflect.)