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Embryology in the Quran: Difference between revisions
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==Summary of the Main Errors in Qur'anic Embryology== | ==Summary of the Main Errors in Qur'anic Embryology== | ||
The main errors can be summarised as follows and are further discussed in the rest of this article. | |||
'''1).''' A number of verses collectively demonstrate a belief that the earliest, nutfah stage of development is made of semen, perhaps mixed with a female fluid, which is placed in the womb for a known term, and where it undergoes various stages of development (as also taught by Galen and in the Jewish Talmud). See [[Greek and Jewish Ideas about Reproduction in the Quran and Hadith|this article]] for the most comprehensive explanation and evidence. Futhermore, there is no sign that the author of the Qur'an was aware of the female egg (ovum). | '''1).''' A number of verses collectively demonstrate a belief that the earliest, nutfah stage of development is made of semen, perhaps mixed with a female fluid, which is placed in the womb for a known term, and where it undergoes various stages of development (as also taught by Galen and in the Jewish Talmud). See [[Greek and Jewish Ideas about Reproduction in the Quran and Hadith|this article]] for the most comprehensive explanation and evidence. Futhermore, there is no sign that the author of the Qur'an was aware of the female egg (ovum). | ||
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'''3).''' Bones are formed before being clothed with flesh. In fact cartilage models of the bones start to form at the same time as and in parallel with surrounding muscles, and this cartilage is literally replaced with bone. | '''3).''' Bones are formed before being clothed with flesh. In fact cartilage models of the bones start to form at the same time as and in parallel with surrounding muscles, and this cartilage is literally replaced with bone. | ||
The author of the Qur'an imagined a sequence of stages, which when examined without the false definitions and arbitrary assumptions made by apologists, clearly has no resemblance to the actual development process of a child in the womb. Someone with a modern, scientific knowledge of embryology can instead marvel at the exquisite complexity that results from a process of co-ordinated cell differentiation and signalling, encoded in our genetic instruction set by millions of years of evolution. | |||
==Analysis== | ==Analysis== | ||
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The word translated “seed” in Pickthall’s translation is nasl, which means progeny (i.e. descendants).<ref>نسل nasl - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000286.pdf Lane’s Lexicon] Suppliment, page 3032</ref> | The word translated “seed” in Pickthall’s translation is nasl, which means progeny (i.e. descendants).<ref>نسل nasl - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000286.pdf Lane’s Lexicon] Suppliment, page 3032</ref> | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran | {{Quote|{{Quran|3|59}}|'''Pickthall:'''Lo! the likeness of Jesus with Allah is as the likeness of Adam. He created him of dust [turabin تُرَابٍ], then He said unto him: Be! and he is.}} | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran | {{Quote|{{Quran|15|26}}|'''Yusuf Ali:'''We created man from sounding clay [salsalin صَلْصَٰلٍ], from mud [hamain حَمَإٍ] molded into shape;}} | ||
These verses clearly state that the first [[Creation of Humans from Clay|man was made ''from'' clay]] (min مِّنْ means 'from' or 'of'), and that clay was a building material, that was moulded and shaped, and not a catalytic compound, as some apologetics claim in an attempt to link the Qur'an with one theory about the origin of all life on Earth. | These verses clearly state that the first [[Creation of Humans from Clay|man was made ''from'' clay]] (min مِّنْ means 'from' or 'of'), and that clay was a building material, that was moulded and shaped, and not a catalytic compound, as some apologetics claim in an attempt to link the Qur'an with one theory about the origin of all life on Earth. | ||
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The first stage of Qur'anic embryology is the nutfah stage. The word nutfah<ref name="LLnutfah"></ref> literally meant a small amount of liquid, and was a euphemism for semen. The Lisan al Arab dictionary of classical Arabic gives these definitions (translated from the Arabic): | The first stage of Qur'anic embryology is the nutfah stage. The word nutfah<ref name="LLnutfah"></ref> literally meant a small amount of liquid, and was a euphemism for semen. The Lisan al Arab dictionary of classical Arabic gives these definitions (translated from the Arabic): | ||
{{Quote|1=نُّطْفَة in Lisan al Arab|2=A little water; a little water remaining in a waterskin; a little water remaining in a bucket; pure water, a little or a lot<ref>http://www.baheth.info/all.jsp?term=%D9%86%D8%B7%D9%81</ref>}} | {{Quote|1=نُّطْفَة in Lisan al Arab|2=A little water; a little water remaining in a waterskin; a little water remaining in a bucket; pure water, a little or a lot; the water of the man; semen is called nutfah for its small amount<ref>http://www.baheth.info/all.jsp?term=%D9%86%D8%B7%D9%81</ref>}} | ||
A nice example of nutfah usage can be found in a pre-Islamic poem where it is used to mean “the small quantity of wine that remained in a wineskin”.<ref>Irfan Shahid, “Byzantium and the Arabs in the sixth century. Volume 2, Part 2”, p.145, Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks, 2009</ref> | A nice example of nutfah usage can be found in a pre-Islamic poem where it is used to mean “the small quantity of wine that remained in a wineskin”.<ref>Irfan Shahid, “Byzantium and the Arabs in the sixth century. Volume 2, Part 2”, p.145, Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks, 2009</ref> | ||
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====Hanging / Suspended==== | ====Hanging / Suspended==== | ||
Also flawed is a related claim, that 'alaqah is used here in its meaning of a suspended, or hanging thing, because the early embryo is attached via a connecting stalk to the uterine wall. The problem is that not all embryos hang downwards below their connecting stalk. Rather it depends where in the uterus implantation occurs. The uterus lies fairly horizontal at this time, so depending on the side of the uterus implantation occurs, the early embryo can also be above its stalk, as this diagram<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.babycenter.com/fetal-development-twins-images-4-weeks|2=2013-06-01}} Fraternal twins in the womb -- 4 weeks] - BabyCenter Medical Advisory Board, June 1, 2013</ref> of twins at 4 weeks demonstrates : | Also flawed is a related claim, that 'alaqah is used here in its meaning of a suspended, or hanging thing, because the early embryo is floating in amniotic fluid, and is attached via a connecting stalk to the uterine wall in which it is buried. The problem is that not all embryos hang downwards below their connecting stalk. Rather it depends where in the uterus implantation occurs. The uterus lies fairly horizontal at this time, so depending on the side of the uterus implantation occurs, the early embryo can also be above its stalk, as this diagram<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.babycenter.com/fetal-development-twins-images-4-weeks|2=2013-06-01}} Fraternal twins in the womb -- 4 weeks] - BabyCenter Medical Advisory Board, June 1, 2013</ref> of twins at 4 weeks demonstrates : | ||
<center>[[File:Fraternal twins in womb-4 weeks.jpg]]</center> | <center>[[File:Fraternal twins in womb-4 weeks.jpg]]</center> | ||
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====Leech==== | ====Leech==== | ||
Apologists who are fond of leech metaphors should consider that unlike a leech, which simply sucks blood from its host, the embryo circulates and exchanges blood and waste products with its mother.<ref>Barry Mitchell & Ram Sharma 2009. Embryology: An Illustrated Colour Text. Second Edition. Churchill Livingstone ElSevier. Page 10-11</ref> A leech has many characteristics such as size, behaviour, shape, color, appearance. Why would the author use 'alaqah intending such a metaphorical meaning when his listeners could not be expected to know in what respect the analogy applies? It is a | Apologists who are fond of leech metaphors should consider that unlike a leech, which simply sucks blood from its host, the embryo circulates and exchanges blood and waste products with its mother.<ref>Barry Mitchell & Ram Sharma 2009. Embryology: An Illustrated Colour Text. Second Edition. Churchill Livingstone ElSevier. Page 10-11</ref> Furthermore, a leech attaches itself directly to the surface of its host. In contrast, the [[w:Blastocyst|blastocyst]] stage embryo implants into the uterine wall ([[w:Endometrium|endometrium]]) by means of an outer cell layer surrounding it, called the [[w:Syncytiotrophoblast|syncytiotrophoblast]]. It is the syncytiotrophoblast which invades the endometrium, burying the entire embryo within the wall (unlike a leech), establishes a circulatory connection, and will later form the outer layer of the [[w:Placenta#Development|placenta]]. | ||
A leech has many characteristics such as size, behaviour, shape, color, appearance. Why would the author use 'alaqah intending such a metaphorical meaning when his listeners could not be expected to know in what respect the analogy applies? It is no more than a Texan Sharpshooter fallacy<ref>{{cite web|quote= The Texas sharpshooter fallacy is an informal fallacy in which pieces of information that have no relationship to one another are called out for their similarities, and that similarity is used for claiming the existence of a pattern. This fallacy is the philosophical/rhetorical application of the multiple comparisons problem (in statistics) and apophenia (in cognitive psychology). It is related to the clustering illusion, which refers to the tendency in human cognition to interpret patterns where none actually exist. The name comes from a joke about a Texan who fires some shots at the side of a barn, then paints a target centered on the biggest cluster of hits and claims to be a sharpshooter.|url= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_sharpshooter_fallacy|title= Texas sharpshooter fallacy|publisher= Wikipedia|author= |date= accessed August 13, 2013|archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FTexas_sharpshooter_fallacy&date=2013-08-13|deadurl=no}}</ref>, typical of Islamic miracle claims, to choose one characteristic - shape - which in their eyes, to a very and arbitrarily limited degree, has a similarity with that of an embryo, and draw any conclusions, particularly as the early embryo passes through a wide range of shapes and they are both biological organisms. Moreover, such apologetics have to conveniently ignore the embryo's yolk sac, which gradually becomes incorporated into its developing gut, when depicting the embryo. | |||
====Congealed Blood==== | ====Congealed Blood==== | ||
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In order to compare with science the Qur'anic statement that Allah makes 'ithaman (bones<ref name="LLitham"></ref>) and then clothes (fa-kasawna<ref name="LLkasawa"></ref>) the bones with lahman (flesh<ref name="LLlahm"></ref>), first we should see what science has discovered about the process of bone and muscle formation. Here is a brief description for both of them, without any detail on the relative timing of parallel processes. The section that follows afterwards contains numerous cited scientific sources stating the timing of these processes. | In order to compare with science the Qur'anic statement that Allah makes 'ithaman (bones<ref name="LLitham"></ref>) and then clothes (fa-kasawna<ref name="LLkasawa"></ref>) the bones with lahman (flesh<ref name="LLlahm"></ref>), first we should see what science has discovered about the process of bone and muscle formation. Here is a brief description for both of them, without any detail on the relative timing of parallel processes. The section that follows afterwards contains numerous cited scientific sources stating the timing of these processes. | ||
Mesoderm is the middle of the three layers of the early embryo. Some of the mesoderm cells form blocks called somites either side of the neural tube (this tube will eventually form the spinal cord and brain). These somites will differentiate into sclerotome and myotome, which form the cartilage models and become connective tissues (including muscles) of the axial skeleton (i.e. everything except the limbs, shoulders and pelvis). | [[w:Mesoderm|Mesoderm]] is the middle of the three layers of the early embryo. Some of the mesoderm cells ([[w:Paraxial_mesoderm|paraxial mesoderm]]) form a series of blocks called [[w:Somite|somites]] either side of the neural tube (this tube will eventually form the spinal cord and brain). These somites will differentiate into sclerotome and myotome, which form the cartilage 'models' (or 'templates') and become connective tissues (including muscles) respectively of the future [[w:Axial_skeleton|axial skeleton]] (i.e. everything except the limbs, shoulders and pelvis). The myotome differentiates and migrates as the sclerotome is condensing into mesenchyme, which will produce cartilage. Each process occurs segmentally down the somites in a cranio-caudal sequence (head to tail). | ||
Another area of mesoderm (lateral plate mesoderm) proliferates especially quickly in certain positions to form the limb buds. There, mesenchyme cells condense into distinct masses within the limb buds. These mesenchyme cells differentiate into chondrocytes, which | Another area of mesoderm (lateral plate mesoderm) proliferates especially quickly in certain positions to form the limb buds. There, mesenchyme cells condense into distinct masses within the limb buds. These mesenchyme cells differentiate into chondrocytes, which secrete the cartilage matrix and are embedded in it. Thus cartilage models of the future limb bones gradually form ([[w:Chondrogenesis|chondrification]]). Once the cartilage models have formed and while they are still growing, the cartilage is literally replaced with actual bone by osteoblasts ([[w:Endochondral_ossification|ossification]]) working outwards from centres of the cartilage models. Osteoclasts remove the remnants of the mineralized cartilage. Ossification also starts in the axial skeleton some time after it has begun in the limbs, except for the upper and lower jaw, which start to ossify slightly earlier. | ||
Meanwhile, the process of muscle formation begins as soon as the limb buds appear. Myoblast cells migrate from somites to populate the limb buds. They aggregate into distinct masses, differentiating and fusing into muscle fibres, as the condensing mesenchyme starts to chondrify, and before the resulting cartilage models begin to ossify. | Meanwhile, the process of limb muscle formation begins as soon as the limb buds appear. Myoblast cells migrate from somites to populate the limb buds. They aggregate into distinct masses, differentiating and fusing into muscle fibres, as the condensing mesenchyme starts to chondrify, and before the resulting cartilage models begin to ossify. | ||
====The Timing of These Processes==== | ====The Timing of These Processes==== | ||
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Here is the scientific evidence for the contemporaneous development of cartilage/bone and muscles. | Here is the scientific evidence for the contemporaneous development of cartilage/bone and muscles. | ||
A very detailed account of musculo-skeletal development in the human limb by clinical-geneticist Robert Jan Galjaard can be read online.<ref>Galjaard, R.J.H. [http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/10474/030924_Galjaard,%20Robert-Jan%20Harmen.pdf Mapping Studies of Congenital Limb Anomalies]. Ablasserdam: Haveka, B.V., 2003, page 16 [http://www.webcitation.org/6lFwBQq9z webcitation archive link]</ref> It details that muscle precursor cells migrate from the somites into the limb buds (ca. day 26), well before the condensing core of mesenchyme has started to chondrify into cartilage bone models in the upper part of the upper limb (ca. day 37), followed by the lower part (ca. day 41). The myoblasts have grouped into distinct masses by this stage and are differentiating into muscle fibres. The upper limbs later start to ossify (ca. day 54). | A very detailed account of musculo-skeletal development in the human limb by clinical-geneticist Robert Jan Galjaard can be read online.<ref>Galjaard, R.J.H. [http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/10474/030924_Galjaard,%20Robert-Jan%20Harmen.pdf Mapping Studies of Congenital Limb Anomalies]. Ablasserdam: Haveka, B.V., 2003, page 16 [http://www.webcitation.org/6lFwBQq9z webcitation archive link]</ref> It details that muscle precursor cells migrate from the somites into the limb buds (ca. day 26), well before the condensing core of mesenchyme has started to chondrify into cartilage bone models in the upper part of the upper limb (ca. day 37), followed by the lower part (ca. day 41). The myoblasts have grouped into distinct masses by this stage and are differentiating into muscle fibres. The upper limbs later start to ossify (ca. day 54). Chondrification of mesenchyme, the grouping of myogenic masses, and ossification all occur in a proximal-distal order (upper to lower part of each limb). The digits of the hands only start to chondrify ca. day 51. | ||
Professor Peter Law confirms that myoblasts are found in the limb buds day 26.<ref>Law, Peter et al., ''Pioneering Human Myoblast Genome Therapy as a Platform Technology of Regenerative Medicine.'' In: Stem Cell Therapy. Erik Greer (Editor). Nova Science Publishers, Inc. 2006. Page 3.</ref> | Professor Peter Law confirms that myoblasts are found in the limb buds day 26.<ref>Law, Peter et al., ''Pioneering Human Myoblast Genome Therapy as a Platform Technology of Regenerative Medicine.'' In: Stem Cell Therapy. Erik Greer (Editor). Nova Science Publishers, Inc. 2006. Page 3.</ref> | ||
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Myoblasts have aggregated into ventral and dorsal masses in the upper limb by day 36 and the start of chondrification.<ref>Sivakumar, B. et. al. ''Congenital Hand Differences'' in Farhadieh, R. et. al. (ed.) Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery: Approaches and Techniques, Chichester: Wiley, 2015, p.660 [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=tCq9BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA660#v=onepage&q&f=false Google books preview]</ref> | Myoblasts have aggregated into ventral and dorsal masses in the upper limb by day 36 and the start of chondrification.<ref>Sivakumar, B. et. al. ''Congenital Hand Differences'' in Farhadieh, R. et. al. (ed.) Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery: Approaches and Techniques, Chichester: Wiley, 2015, p.660 [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=tCq9BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA660#v=onepage&q&f=false Google books preview]</ref> | ||
A detailed account by Walker and Miranda, including useful diagrams, explains that after day 35, the premuscle regions of the limb containing myoblasts and fibroblasts become distinct and have started to fuse together to become myotubes (which form muscle fibres) | A detailed account by Walker and Miranda, including useful diagrams, explains that after day 35, the premuscle regions of the limb containing myoblasts and fibroblasts become distinct, and by day 45 have started to fuse together to become myotubes (which form muscle fibres). With axial musculo-skeletal development, myotomes have migrated (these form axial muscle) and sclerotomes have started to condense into mesenchyme (which will form cartilage) in the 5th week.<ref>Walker, U. A., and Miranda, A. F. ''Muscle Metabolism in the Fetus and Neonate'' in Cowett, R. M. (ed.) Principles of Perinatal-Neonatal Metabolism, 2nd Edition, Volume 1, New York: Springer, 1998, pp.642-643 [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=eoy-BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA642#v=onepage&q&f=false Google Books preview]</ref> | ||
According to Rugh, Building blocks are present for 40 pairs of muscles, which are located from the base of the skull to the bottom of the spinal column by day 28<ref>Conception to Birth Roberts Rugh, Ph.D., Landrum B. Shettles, Ph.D., M.D. Harper & Row, (New York), 1971, p.35</ref> (these are the myotomes of the somites). Muscles appear in the pelvis day 31<ref>ibid. p.43</ref>. Movement of the muscles is being controlled by the nervous system by the 6th week <ref>ibid. p.34</ref>. All of the muscle blocks have appeared by day 36 after conception<ref>ibid. p.46</ref>. | According to Rugh, Building blocks are present for 40 pairs of muscles, which are located from the base of the skull to the bottom of the spinal column by day 28<ref>Conception to Birth Roberts Rugh, Ph.D., Landrum B. Shettles, Ph.D., M.D. Harper & Row, (New York), 1971, p.35</ref> (these are the myotomes of the somites). Muscles appear in the pelvis day 31<ref>ibid. p.43</ref>. Movement of the muscles is being controlled by the nervous system by the 6th week <ref>ibid. p.34</ref>. All of the muscle blocks have appeared by day 36 after conception<ref>ibid. p.46</ref>. | ||
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Even if we were to accept that the Qur'an was only referring to precursors of bone and not bone itself, even though it used the Arabic word for bone ('itham), and not cartilage (ghurdoof), the embryology is still wrong. Even if, with further and unjustifiable generosity, we suppose that the Qur'an means only the very beginning of the formation of the cartilage (chondrification) before they are in any sense complete shapes and the beginning of the formation of muscles, even this happens at the same stage (around day 41). Going back earlier still, it can even be pointed out that the precursors of muscles (myoblasts) and precursors to the cartilage (mesenchyme) are present in the limb bud as soon as it arises. | Even if we were to accept that the Qur'an was only referring to precursors of bone and not bone itself, even though it used the Arabic word for bone ('itham), and not cartilage (ghurdoof), the embryology is still wrong. Even if, with further and unjustifiable generosity, we suppose that the Qur'an means only the very beginning of the formation of the cartilage (chondrification) before they are in any sense complete shapes and the beginning of the formation of muscles, even this happens at the same stage (around day 41). Going back earlier still, it can even be pointed out that the precursors of muscles (myoblasts) and precursors to the cartilage (mesenchyme) are present in the limb bud as soon as it arises. | ||
Of course, the natural reading of verse 23:14 is that the bones have some sort of meaningful shape, and can meaningfully be called bones. This is certainly not the case when the condensed mesenchyme has merely started to | Of course, the natural reading of verse 23:14 is that the bones have some sort of meaningful shape, and can meaningfully be called bones. This is certainly not the case when the condensed mesenchyme has merely started to produce cartilage. Furthermore, the natural reading of verse 23:14 is that all the bones have some meaningful presence worthy of the label 'bones' before Allah clothes them with flesh. As noted in the evidence above, fingers only start to even chondrify after muscle formation is already well underway in the upper part of the limbs. | ||
We have more evidence that 23:14 refers to things already recognisable as bones being clothed with muscles or flesh elsewhere in the Qur'an. Verse 2:259 uses the same Arabic words as does 23:14 for 'bones', 'clothed' and 'flesh' to describe the resurrection of a donkey which had been dead for 100 years. The main embryology passages, such as verse 22:5 (see quote above) suggests that embryological development has similarities with resurrection. | We have more evidence that 23:14 refers to things already recognisable as bones being clothed with muscles or flesh elsewhere in the Qur'an. Verse 2:259 uses the same Arabic words as does 23:14 for 'bones', 'clothed' and 'flesh' to describe the resurrection of a donkey which had been dead for 100 years. The main embryology passages, such as verse 22:5 (see quote above) suggests that embryological development has similarities with resurrection. | ||
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==Other Apologetic Claims== | ==Other Apologetic Claims== | ||
===Gender Determination=== | ===Gender Determination=== | ||
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====Intersex People==== | ====Intersex People==== | ||
Furthermore, not everyone is simply a male with XY sex chromosomes, or a female with XX sex chromosomes. A small minority are called [[w:intersex]] due to certain types of genetic or phenotypic sex variations, including:<ref>[https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/001669.htm | Furthermore, not everyone is simply a male with XY sex chromosomes, or a female with XX sex chromosomes. A small minority are called [[w:intersex]] due to certain types of genetic or phenotypic sex variations, including:<ref>[https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/001669.htm Medline plus - Intersex]</ref> | ||
* Those who are 46, XY intersex. The person has the chromosomes of a man, but the external genitals are incompletely formed, ambiguous, or clearly female. | * Those who are 46, XY intersex. The person has the chromosomes of a man, but the external genitals are incompletely formed, ambiguous, or clearly female. | ||
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* Those who are 46, XX intersex. The person has the chromosomes of a woman, the ovaries of a woman, but external (outside) genitals that appear male. | * Those who are 46, XX intersex. The person has the chromosomes of a woman, the ovaries of a woman, but external (outside) genitals that appear male. | ||
* True Gonadal intersex. Such people have both male and female gonads (ovaries and testes), and may have ambiguous external genitalia. | * True Gonadal intersex (formerly called True Hermaphroditism). Such people have both male and female gonads (ovaries and testes), and may have ambiguous external genitalia. | ||
* Other genetic configurations include XXX, and XXY (1 in 1000 people)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.isna.org/faq/frequency |title=How common is intersex? | Intersex Society of North America |publisher=Isna.org |accessdate=10 October 2016}}</ref>. These people have no discrepancy between their gonads and external genitalia, but there may be problems with sex hormone levels, and overall sexual development. | * Other genetic configurations include XXX, and XXY (1 in 1000 people)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.isna.org/faq/frequency |title=How common is intersex? | Intersex Society of North America |publisher=Isna.org |accessdate=10 October 2016}}</ref>. These people have no discrepancy between their gonads and external genitalia, but there may be problems with sex hormone levels, and overall sexual development. | ||
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Others claim that verses 35:37 and 32:7-8 hint at sperm within the semen. These claims are debunked by means of very similar verses and other reasons at the end of the article [http://wikiislam.net/wiki/Greek_and_Jewish_Ideas_about_Reproduction_in_the_Quran_and_Hadith#Other_apologetic_claims Greek and Jewish Ideas about Reproduction in the Quran and Hadith] | Others claim that verses 35:37 and 32:7-8 hint at sperm within the semen. These claims are debunked by means of very similar verses and other reasons at the end of the article [http://wikiislam.net/wiki/Greek_and_Jewish_Ideas_about_Reproduction_in_the_Quran_and_Hadith#Other_apologetic_claims Greek and Jewish Ideas about Reproduction in the Quran and Hadith] | ||
=== | ===Fetus is in Three Layers of darkness=== | ||
The word butun (بطن)<ref>بطن butun - [[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000257.pdf Lane's Lexicon] Volume 1, page 220</ref> means belly/abdomen/midriff, though some translators like to use the more specific word "womb". There are many more layers in the human body such as the endometrium, myometrium, perimetrium, peritoneum, besides the cervix uteri, corpus uteri, abdomen (with walls), and placenta (with layers). The idea of three membranes around the fetus (chorion, allantois, and amnion) was taught by the highly influential Greek physician, Galen. | The word butun (بطن)<ref>بطن butun - [[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000257.pdf Lane's Lexicon] Volume 1, page 220</ref> means belly/abdomen/midriff, though some translators like to use the more specific word "womb". Tafsirs interpreted the "three darknesses" as the placenta, womb (uterus) and belly. There are in fact many more layers in the human body such as the endometrium, myometrium, perimetrium, peritoneum, besides the cervix uteri, corpus uteri, abdomen (with walls), and placenta (with layers). The idea of three membranes around the fetus ([[w:Chorion|chorion]], [[w:Allantois|allantois]], and [[w:Amnion|amnion]]) was taught by the highly influential Greek physician, Galen. Perhaps the Qur'anic author is simply repeating this idea, which applies only to the embryonic membranes. | ||
The allantois is a sac-like structure which becomes part of the umbilical cord, hardly a 'a darkness' for the embryo. The other two membranes, the chorion and amnion, together form the [[w:Amniotic_sac|amniotic sac]], which is quite thin and transparent. | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|39|6}}| | {{Quote|{{Quran|39|6}}| | ||
He created you | He created you from one soul. Then He made from it its mate, and He produced for you from the grazing livestock eight mates. He creates you in the wombs of your mothers, creation after creation, within three darknesses. That is Allah, your Lord; to Him belongs dominion. There is no deity except Him, so how are you averted?}} | ||
===The Least Period of Conception=== | |||
Another claim is that the Qur'an correctly states that the least period of conception is 6 months. They base this claim on two verses. | |||
{{Quote| {{Quran|46|15}}|'''Pickthal:''' And We have commended unto man kindness toward parents. His mother beareth him with reluctance, and bringeth him forth with reluctance, and the bearing of him and the weaning of him is thirty months, till, when he attaineth full strength and reacheth forty years, he saith: My Lord! Arouse me that I may give thanks for the favour wherewith Thou hast favoured me and my parents, and that I may do right acceptable unto Thee. And be gracious unto me In the matter of my seed. Lo! I have turned unto Thee repentant, and lo! I am of those who surrender (unto Thee).}} | |||
{{Quote| {{Quran|31|14}}|'''Pickthal:''' And We have enjoined upon man concerning his parents. His mother beareth him in weakness upon weakness, and his weaning is in two years. Give thanks unto Me and unto thy parents. Unto Me is the journeying.}} | |||
Dr. Omar Abdul Rehman claims that ‘the two texts taken together leave only six months (22 weeks i.e., five and half Gregorian months are equal to about six [[Islamic Lunar Calendar|lunar months]]. of pregnancy).’ Here, Dr. Abdul Rehman’s sleight of hand to fit 22 weeks into six lunar months is ludicrous as each lunar month consists of four weeks, while five and a half Gregorian months consist of about 23.8 weeks. | |||
Dr. Al-Ghazal also claims that according to ‘scientific facts’ the least period of conception is 22 weeks. | |||
Even assuming the arbitrary claim by Drs Al-Ghazal and Abdul Rehman of 22 weeks, being the ‘most cases’ scenario (which is false according to medical statistics – see below), one is left with the conclusion that the Qur'an is still in error as six lunar months is 24 weeks, not 22 weeks. | |||
This two-week difference is very important to the development and survivability of the fetus. Hence, it should not be summarily dismissed and rounded to the nearest month. If anything, it should be rounded to five lunar months, not six. | |||
Regardless, the claim of six lunar months or 22 weeks as the least period of conception or ‘minimum period for fetal viability’ is unsupported by modern medical science. | |||
{{Quote||A fetus is defined as being viable if it has the ability to "potentially able to live outside the mother's womb [that is, can survive], albeit with artificial help." In the fifties viability was reached about 30 weeks after conception. Modern medical technology changed that to 25 weeks in the seventies. Now viability continues to be pushed further and further back in the pregnancy and is now as early as 19 weeks. | |||
21 and 22 week premature babies are now supported routinely, and have a good chance of survival. By 24 weeks after conception, premature babies have a 40% chance of reaching adulthood without any major complications. By 28 weeks, the chance is 90%. By 29 weeks, survival is almost definite. (Note: These percentages are from reports written during the late 1980s. Current survival rates are most likely much higher.)<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20050205142039/http://www.abortioninfo.net/facts/development4.shtml Fetal Development/Viability] - Abortioninfo</ref>}} | |||
Thus, it can be seen that the minimum period of fetal viability has changed, at least in recent history. It was never 22 weeks or 6 lunar months prior to the era of modern medicine, being likely to have been at least 30 weeks. Now, it has shrunk to only 19 weeks in countries with advanced pediatric medicine. We would suggest the minimum period of fetal viability in many third-world countries would still be around 30 weeks. Thus, Qur'anic embryology's proposition of the least period of conception is false. | |||
===The End of Cell Differentiation=== | ===The End of Cell Differentiation=== | ||
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# The word 'alaqah probably means blood clot in the embryology verses, which corresponds to no actual embryological stage. Even if this was not the intended meaning, the foolishness of using a word with such an explicit biological meaning in a description of a biological process (embryology) means that the Qur'an can not be divine in origin. | # The word 'alaqah probably means blood clot in the embryology verses, which corresponds to no actual embryological stage. Even if this was not the intended meaning, the foolishness of using a word with such an explicit biological meaning in a description of a biological process (embryology) means that the Qur'an can not be divine in origin. | ||
# The stages of bone formation then clothing with flesh is in error, even assuming that 'itham means both bone and cartilage. | # The stages of bone formation then clothing with flesh is in error, even assuming that 'itham means both bone and cartilage. | ||
# The | # The apologetic claim of cell differentiation at the Mudgha stage is incorrect, as modern embryology has discovered cell differentiation occurring before and after the putative ‘Mudgha’ stage. | ||
# The claim that the Qur'an correctly predicted the beginning of the fetal stage is shown to be in error because the transition between the embryo and the fetus is arbitrary. | # The claim that the Qur'an correctly predicted the beginning of the fetal stage is shown to be in error because the transition between the embryo and the fetus is arbitrary. | ||
# The claim that the Qur'an correctly states the least period of conception at 24 weeks is in error, as according to modern medical knowledge this period is closer to 21-22 weeks or even less with advanced medical science, and at least 30 weeks without modern medical assistance. Similarly, other apologetic claims regarding sperm, the womb, and gender determination are disproved by other verses and scientific knowledge. | # The claim that the Qur'an correctly states the least period of conception at 24 weeks is in error, as according to modern medical knowledge this period is closer to 21-22 weeks or even less with advanced medical science, and at least 30 weeks without modern medical assistance. Similarly, other apologetic claims regarding sperm, the womb, and gender determination are disproved by other verses and scientific knowledge. | ||