Semen Production in the Quran: Difference between revisions

{{QualityScore|Lead=4|Structure=4|Content=4|Language=4|References=3}}[[File:Hippocrates.jpg|thumb|280px|right|Qur'an 86:7 says that sperm originates from the backbones and the ribs, a theory similar to another (now known to be erroneous) theory proposed by Hippocrates in 5th century BC (1000 years before Islam). Hippocrates taught that semen comes from all the fluid in the body, diffusing from the brain into the spinal marrow, before passing through the kidneys and via the testicles into the penis.<ref>Hippocratic Writings (Penguin Classics, 1983) pp. 317-318</ref>]]Towards the end of the 20th century and into the early 21st century, drawing on the work of a broad and largely Saudi-financed movement to demonstrate the concordance of [[Islam and Science|Islamic scriptures and modern science]], attempts have been made to defend the '''[[Quran|Qur'anic]] idea of semen production''' (found in {{Quran-range|86|6|7}}) from between the ''sulb'' (literally "backbone") and the ''tara’ib'' (literally "ribs"). Several specific interpretations have been proposed, critiqued, and withdrawn by modern Islamic scholars - none, however, have been welcomed by the professional scientific or historian community.

Independent corroboration that ''sulb'' in the Qur'an refers to the back or backbone is found in another verse on the same subject using a different Arabic word for back. {{Quran|7|172}} says that the offspring of the children of Adam are 'from their backs (loins)'. Instead of ''sulb'', the word here is ''thahr'', which means the back<ref>thahr - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume5/00000212.pdf Lane's Lexicon Book I page 197]</ref>, as is also the case in other verses such as {{Quran|6|31}}.{{Quote|{{Quran|7|172}}|'''Sahih International:''' And [mention] when your Lord took from the children of Adam - from their loins - their descendants and made them testify of themselves, [saying to them], "Am I not your Lord?" They said, "Yes, we have testified." [This] - lest you should say on the day of Resurrection, "Indeed, we were of this unaware."

One other verse in the Qur'an uses the word ''sulb''. In this case there is no mention of ''tara'ib''. It is an example of the simple Arabic phrase mentioned in Lane's Lexicon (see above), based on the belief that the seed of men proceed from their backs.{{Quote|{{Quran|4|23}}|'''Corpus:''' Forbidden to you (are) your mothers and your daughters and your sisters [...] And wives (of) your sons, those who (are) from your loins and that you gather together [between] two sisters except what has passed before.}}Slightly more explicitly, a hadith in [[Sahih Bukhari]] (also in {{Muslim|39|6733}}) uses ''sulb'' to say that the source of Adam's future progeny was in his back from before they were conceived.{{Quote|{{Bukhari|8|76|562}}|The Prophet (pbuh) said, "Allah will say to the person who will have the minimum punishment in the Fire on the Day of Resurrection, 'If you had things equal to whatever is on the earth, would you ransom yourself (from the punishment) with it?' He will reply, Yes. Allah will say, 'I asked you a much easier thing than this while you were in the backbone of Adam, that is, not to worship others besides Me, but you refused and insisted to worship others besides Me."'}}

{{Quote|{{cite web|url= http://www.muhajabah.com/islamicblog/archives/a_quranic_journal/002121.php|title= A Quranic Journal: Surah at-Tariq ayah 7|publisher= Al-Muhajabah|author= |date= November 13, 2002|archiveurl= http://archive.is/UJp0t|deadurl=yes}}|''Yakhruju min bayni as-sulbi w'at-tara'ib''

''Proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs''

This concludes the description started in ayah 5. The following is an excerpt of commentary on this passage, from Tafsir Ibn Kathir:

Critics also argue that Abd-Allah’s proposition is undercut by the definitions of ''tara’ib'' he provides. He does not show that the tafsirs and dictionaries explain ''tara’ib'' to mean vagina. ''Tara’ib'' is defined as the upper chest or ribs, or according to some sources can also mean the two legs, two arms or two eyes<ref name="Lane Lexicon taraib2">tara'ib - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000338.pdf Lane's Lexicon Book 1 page 301]</ref>. While erogenous zones are important in foreplay, the sexual act must be consummated through the vagina.

In embryonic stages, the reproductive organs of the male and female, i.e. the testicles and the ovaries, begin their development near the kidney between the spinal column and the eleventh and twelfth ribs. Later they descend; the female gonads (ovaries) stop in the pelvis while the male gonads (testicles) continue their descent before birth to reach the scrotum through the inguinal canal. Even in the adult after the descent of the reproductive organ, these organs receive their nerve supply and blood supply from the Abdominal Aorta, which is in the area between the backbone (spinal column) and the ribs. Even the lymphatic drainage and the venous return goes to the same area.}}Critics argue that Zakir Naik incorrectly present the biology of the phenomenon he describes above. The original position of the cells, they note, are destined to develop into spermatogonia (sperm producing cells) and is not ventro-medial to the kidneys (where these cells develop) but the wall of the yolk sac:{{Quote|{{cite web|url= http://web.indstate.edu/thcme/duong/EMBRYOL.html|title= Urogenital system embryology|publisher= Indiana University School of Medicine|author= Taihung Duong, Ph.D.|date= accessed February 9, 2014|archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fweb.indstate.edu%2Fthcme%2Fduong%2FEMBRYOL.html&date=2014-02-09|deadurl=no}}|Testes and ovaries are derived from the mesodermal epithelium (mesothelium) lining the posterior abdominal wall, the underlying mesenchyme and the primordial germ cells.  

Critics further note that the womb and fetus during pregnancy and childbirth are located below and not within a woman's ribcage.