This paper examines Qurʾanic references to the creation of humanity from a nafs wāḥida ("single soul") and traces how classical Muslim exegetes interpreted the concept of the nafs in relation to human origins, gender, and ontology. Although the Qurʾan frequently employs the grammatically feminine term nafs to describe the primordial source of humanity, exegetical tradition overwhelmingly identifies this nafs with Adam and interprets the creation of its "mate" as Eve. Through close linguistic analysis of verses employing khalaqa ("created") and jaʿala ("made/appointed"), and through engagement with exegetical works by figures such as al-Tabari, al-Rāzī and Ibn Kathīr, the paper shows how subtle textual shifts and extra-Qurʾanic traditions—especially the ḥadīth of the "crooked rib"—contributed to hierarchical origin narratives. The paper argues that these readings reflect exegetes' social and theological assumptions more than the Qurʾanic text itself, and proposes alternative interpretations of nafs wāḥida as a universal human essence rather than a specifically male origin.