6,632
edits
Islam and Science: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
| [checked revision] | [checked revision] |
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 58: | Line 58: | ||
The details of embryology as reflected in the Qur’an and the hadith can be summarized as follows; the embryo spends 40 days as a drop of sperm or seed, the embryo then spends another 40 days as a “clot” or a “leech-like clot” of blood, the embryo then spends another 40 days as a “lump of flesh” during which the gender of the child is assigned by an angel at Allah’s direction. | The details of embryology as reflected in the Qur’an and the hadith can be summarized as follows; the embryo spends 40 days as a drop of sperm or seed, the embryo then spends another 40 days as a “clot” or a “leech-like clot” of blood, the embryo then spends another 40 days as a “lump of flesh” during which the gender of the child is assigned by an angel at Allah’s direction. | ||
=== Quranic theory of semen production === | ===Quranic theory of semen production=== | ||
{{Main|Quran and Semen Production}}Qur'an 86:7 says that sperm originates from the backbones and the ribs, a theory similar to another erroneous theory proposed by Hippocrates in 5th century BCE. | {{Main|Quran and Semen Production}}Qur'an 86:7 says that sperm originates from the backbones and the ribs, a theory similar to another erroneous theory proposed by Hippocrates in 5th century BCE. | ||
{{Quote|{{quran-range|86|6|7}}|He [man] is created from a gushing fluid<br> | {{Quote|{{quran-range|86|6|7}}|He [man] is created from a gushing fluid<br> | ||
| Line 74: | Line 74: | ||
Cousin marriage is explicitly permitted in verse 23 of the 4th chapter of the Quran ({{Quran|4|23}}). Muhammad himself married his cousins. Zaynab bint Jahsh, one of Muhammad's wives, was the daughter of his father's sister as well as the former wife of Muhammad's adopted son Zayd ibn Haritha. Muhammad also allowed the marriage of his daughter, Fatimah, to his cousin, [[Ali ibn Abi Talib]], who would later go on to become the fourth [[Rashidun Caliphs|Rightly-guided]] [[Caliph]] of Islam. The second Caliph, [[Umar ibn Al-Khattab|Umar ibn al-Khattab]], also married his cousin, Atikah bint Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nufayl. | Cousin marriage is explicitly permitted in verse 23 of the 4th chapter of the Quran ({{Quran|4|23}}). Muhammad himself married his cousins. Zaynab bint Jahsh, one of Muhammad's wives, was the daughter of his father's sister as well as the former wife of Muhammad's adopted son Zayd ibn Haritha. Muhammad also allowed the marriage of his daughter, Fatimah, to his cousin, [[Ali ibn Abi Talib]], who would later go on to become the fourth [[Rashidun Caliphs|Rightly-guided]] [[Caliph]] of Islam. The second Caliph, [[Umar ibn Al-Khattab|Umar ibn al-Khattab]], also married his cousin, Atikah bint Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nufayl. | ||
Modern cultures strongly discourage cousin marriage due to the higher than normal consanguinity rate among close relatives which results in an increased chance of sharing genes for recessive traits and birth defects. The British geneticist and professor Steve Jones, giving The John Maddox Lecture at the 2011 Hay Festival, stated in relation to Muslim inbreeding, "It is common in the Islamic world to marry your brother’s daughter, which is actually [genetically] closer than marrying your cousin." | Modern cultures strongly discourage cousin marriage due to the higher than normal consanguinity rate among close relatives which results in an increased chance of sharing genes for recessive traits and birth defects. The British geneticist and professor Steve Jones, giving The John Maddox Lecture at the 2011 Hay Festival, stated in relation to Muslim inbreeding, "It is common in the Islamic world to marry your brother’s daughter, which is actually [genetically] closer than marrying your cousin." Tragically, statistical estimates show that close to half of all living Muslims are the offspring of cousin marriages and are, according to scientific standards, inbred. | ||
==Islamic cosmology== | ==Islamic cosmology== | ||
| Line 80: | Line 80: | ||
===Adam, Eve, and the Six Days of Creation=== | ===Adam, Eve, and the Six Days of Creation=== | ||
{{Main|Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Creation}} | {{Main|Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Creation}} | ||
It began six thousand years before the advent of Islam. The first thing to be created was the planet Earth, which took two days to complete, from Sunday to Monday. Then it took another two days to create the mountains, trees, and everything else. The final two days, Thursday and Friday, were spent creating the "heavens", the sun, moon, other planets, and a sixty cubits (approximately ninety feet) tall Adam. | It began six thousand years before the advent of Islam. The first thing to be created was the planet Earth, which took two days to complete, from Sunday to Monday. Then it took another two days to create the mountains, trees, and everything else. The final two days, Thursday and Friday, were spent creating the "heavens", the sun, moon, other planets, and a sixty cubits (approximately ninety feet) tall Adam. | ||