40
edits
Semen Production in the Quran: Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
→External Links: Added a reference
| [checked revision] | [checked revision] |
Lightyears (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
(→External Links: Added a reference) |
||
| (4 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
[[Category:Islam and Science]] | [[Category:Islam and Science]] | ||
[[Category:Qur'an]] | [[Category:Qur'an]] | ||
{{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 | {{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 other (now known to be erroneous) theories proposed in the 5th century BC (1000 years before Islam). Plato believed that semen defused from brain and spinal marrow, while his contemporary, Hippocrates, taught that semen comes from all the fluid in the body, diffusing from the brain into the spine, before passing through the kidneys and via the testicles into the penis.]]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"<ref>sulb - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume4/00000436.pdf Lane's Lexicon] page 1712</ref>) and the ''tara’ib'' (literally "ribs"<ref name="Lane Lexicon taraib2" />). Several specific interpretations have been proposed, critiqued, and withdrawn by modern Islamic scholars - none, however, have been welcomed by the professional scientific or historian community. | ||
The most common of these revisionary perspectives which advocate an interpretation of the Quran via its reconciliation with modern science include that of Drs. Maurice Bucaille and A. K. Giraud (according to which ''sulb'' and ''tara’ib'' refer to the sexual areas of the male and female); Ahmed A. Abd-Allah (according to which all acknowledged translations and tafsirs are in error, as ''sulb'' and ''tara’ib'' refer instead to to the male's “hardening” penis and the female's erogenous zones other than the vagina); Dr. Zakir Naik (according to which ''sulb'' and ''tara’ib'' refer to the backbone and ribs of both sexes and where the blood, nerve and lymphatic supply to the gonads are being described rather than the act of sexual reproduction); Dr. Jamal Badawi (according to which the verses refer not to semen production but to the blood of the aorta as the ‘gushing fluid poured forth’); Hamza Tzortzis (according to whom the Quran refers to childbirth from between a woman's backbone and ribs); Muhammad Asad (according to which ''sulb'' refers to the male's loins and ''tara'ib'' to the female's pelvic arch); Moiz Amjad (who adopts Naik's positions, and further claims that the ''sulb'' and ''tara'ib'' 'region' alluded to are special euphemisms for the sexual organs); and Yusuf Ali (according to which the backbone is only symbolically alluded to as a symbol of male strength where semen flows between the backbone and ribs). | The most common of these revisionary perspectives which advocate an interpretation of the Quran via its reconciliation with modern science include that of Drs. Maurice Bucaille and A. K. Giraud (according to which ''sulb'' and ''tara’ib'' refer to the sexual areas of the male and female); Ahmed A. Abd-Allah (according to which all acknowledged translations and tafsirs are in error, as ''sulb'' and ''tara’ib'' refer instead to to the male's “hardening” penis and the female's erogenous zones other than the vagina); Dr. Zakir Naik (according to which ''sulb'' and ''tara’ib'' refer to the backbone and ribs of both sexes and where the blood, nerve and lymphatic supply to the gonads are being described rather than the act of sexual reproduction); Dr. Jamal Badawi (according to which the verses refer not to semen production but to the blood of the aorta as the ‘gushing fluid poured forth’); Hamza Tzortzis (according to whom the Quran refers to childbirth from between a woman's backbone and ribs); Muhammad Asad (according to which ''sulb'' refers to the male's loins and ''tara'ib'' to the female's pelvic arch); Moiz Amjad (who adopts Naik's positions, and further claims that the ''sulb'' and ''tara'ib'' 'region' alluded to are special euphemisms for the sexual organs); and Yusuf Ali (according to which the backbone is only symbolically alluded to as a symbol of male strength where semen flows between the backbone and ribs). | ||
| Line 47: | Line 47: | ||
This concept did not just apply to Adam. Another hadith confirms that ''sulb'' refers in this way even to the backbone of a specific man's father. | This concept did not just apply to Adam. Another hadith confirms that ''sulb'' refers in this way even to the backbone of a specific man's father. | ||
{{Quote|{{Al Tirmidhi||5|44|3103}}|[...] Az-Zuhri said: "'Ubaidullah bin 'Abdullah bin 'Utbah informed me that 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud disliked Zaid bin Thabit copying the Musahif, and he said: 'O you Muslims people! Avoid copying the Mushaf and the recitation of this man. By Allah! When I accepted Islam he was but '''in the loins of a disbelieving man'''' - meaning Zaid bin Thabit [...]}} | {{Quote|{{Al Tirmidhi||5|44|3103}}|[...] Az-Zuhri said: "'Ubaidullah bin 'Abdullah bin 'Utbah informed me that 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud disliked Zaid bin Thabit copying the Musahif, and he said: 'O you Muslims people! Avoid copying the Mushaf and the recitation of this man. By Allah! When I accepted Islam he was but '''in the loins of a disbelieving man'''' - meaning Zaid bin Thabit [...]}} | ||
===Similar ancient ideas=== | |||
Plato (d. 347 BCE) believed that semen came from brain and spinal marrow. An open access paper published by the Royal Society London observes that the idea of semen deriving from the backbone has a long history: | |||
{{Quote|[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4213433/ Leonardo da Vinci and the origin of semen] - Denis Nobel et. al.<ref>Noble D, DiFrancesco D, Zancani D. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4213433/ Leonardo da Vinci and the origin of semen] ''Notes and Records; Royal Society London Publishing''. 2014 Dec 20; 68(4):391-402. doi: 10.1098/rsnr.2014.0021. PMID: 27494016; PMCID: PMC4213433.</ref>|The view that semen was derived from the spinal cord was old enough to be denied by Alcmaeon in the sixth century bc, but Plato and Hippocrates subscribed to it. Plato in his Timaeus considers the brain and spinal ‘marrow’ as but a special form of bone marrow (Timaeus, 73) in which ‘God implanted his divine seed’.<BR /> | |||
[...]<BR /> | |||
"And the marrow inasmuch as it is animate and has been granted an outlet from the passage of egress for drink [the penis] has endowed that part with a love for generating by implanting therein a lively desire for emission (Timaeus, 91)."}} | |||
Plato's connection of brain and spinal marrow was an ancient one. The Hebrew word מוח and Arabic مخ share the proto-semetic etymological root *muḫḫ- meaning “head; brain; marrow”.<ref>https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%97#Hebrew</ref><ref>https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%D9%85%D8%AE#Arabic</ref> | |||
Hippocrates (d. 375 BCE) around the same time 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> | |||
{{Quote|Joseph Bajada "Sexual Impotence: The Contribution of Paolo Zacchia, 1582-1659", Rome: Editrice Pontifica Universita Gregoriana, 1988, pp. 44-45|According to Hippocrates, this semen is the product of the whole body, though it is the brain which mostly contributes to its formation. At the moment of sexual intercourse, the humidity in the body becomes like effervescent foam, the semen is carried through the veins to the spinal cord and the kidneys, whence it makes its way to the testicles en route to the genital organ.}} | |||
==Classical perspectives== | ==Classical perspectives== | ||
===Ibn Kathir=== | ===Ibn Kathir=== | ||
{{ | The idea that al sulb in {{Quran|86|7}} refers to the backbone of the man and al tara'ib to the ribs of the woman was among the opinions included by al-Tabari in his tafsir, and became the mainstream classical view. In both cases where "the backbone" of the man is mentioned by Ibn Kathir in the quote below, the words are the "sulb" of the man in arabic. | ||
{{Quote|[http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-At-Tariq/How-Man-is-created-is-a-Proof---- Tafsir of Ibn Kathir for Q. 86:6-7 - qtafsir.com]|Allah says, | |||
(So, let man see from what he is created!) This is alerting man to the weakness of his origin from which he was created. The intent of it is to guide man to accept (the reality of) the Hereafter, because whoever is able to begin the creation then he is also able to repeat it in the same way. This is as Allah says, | |||
(And He it is Who originates the creation, then He will repeat it; and this is easier for Him.) (30:27) Then Allah says, | |||
(He is created from a water gushing forth.) meaning, the sexual fluid that comes out bursting forth from the man and the woman. Thus, the child is produced from both of them by the permission of Allah. Due to this Allah says, | |||
(Proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs.) meaning, the backbone (or loins) of the man and the ribs of the woman, which is referring to her chest. Shabib bin Bishr reported from `Ikrimah who narrated from Ibn `Abbas that he said, | |||
(Proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs.) "The backbone of the man and the ribs of the woman. It (the fluid) is yellow and fine in texture. The child will not be born except from both of them (i.e., their sexual fluids).'' Concerning Allah's statement, | |||
(Verily, He is Able to bring him back (to life)!) This means that He is able to return this man that is created from fluid gushed forth. In other words, He is able to repeat his creation and resurrect him to the final abode. This is clearly possible, because whoever is able to begin the creation then he surely is able to repeat it. Indeed Allah has mentioned this proof in more than one place in the Qur'an.}} | |||
The theory that conception arises from a mixture of male and female sexual fluids (maniy) mentioned by Ibn Kathir was one of the influential teachings of the 2nd century CE Greek physician Galen, and is found also in the Talmud. These ideas are clearly apparent in a variety of hadiths, and possibly even in the Quran itself (see the article [[Sources of Islamic Theories of Reproduction]]). | |||
==Modern revisionary perspectives== | ==Modern revisionary perspectives== | ||
===Maurice Bucaille - sexual areas of the man and woman=== | ===Maurice Bucaille - sexual areas of the man and woman=== | ||
| Line 72: | Line 95: | ||
{{Quote|{{citation|author=Zakir Naik|title=The Qur'an & Modern Science: Compatible or Incompatible?|url=https://sites.google.com/site/quransciences/embryology/drop-from-ribs|year=2012|publisher=Islamic Book Services/Peace Vision|ISBN=9789960984933}}|“Now let man but think From what he is created! He is created from A drop emitted – Proceeding from between The back bone and the ribs.” [Al-Qur’an Surah al-Burooj 86:5-7] | {{Quote|{{citation|author=Zakir Naik|title=The Qur'an & Modern Science: Compatible or Incompatible?|url=https://sites.google.com/site/quransciences/embryology/drop-from-ribs|year=2012|publisher=Islamic Book Services/Peace Vision|ISBN=9789960984933}}|“Now let man but think From what he is created! He is created from A drop emitted – Proceeding from between The back bone and the ribs.” [Al-Qur’an Surah al-Burooj 86:5-7] | ||
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 | 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 makes a number of errors in his claims here. Firstly, {{Quran|8|6}} does not mention a "drop emitted" but rather a water (i.e. fluid) ejected (māin dāfiqin), which was always understood to mean semen, and in the next verse is said to come forth from between the backbone and ribs. | |||
Secondly, his interpretation of the verses to mean the embryonic development of the testes is misleading, as the verse implies a fully developed and functional reproductive system, rather than an embryonic structure. Embryonic testes do not emit, ejaculate, gush forth, pour forth, spurt or ejaculate any substance; only peri- and post-pubertal testes and associated glands do. | |||
Naik’s explanation of the nerve, blood and lymphatic circular from the abdominal aorta is not relevant to the phenomenon being discussed. Semen is directly responsible for human reproduction, something which cannot be claimed for nerve signals, blood or lymph, or countless other anatomical features enabling a sexually active being. Circulation and nerve supply also do not correlate with embryonic origin. For example, the blood supply, lymphatics and nerve supply of the lower limbs originate in the abdomen and pelvis. This does not mean the lower limbs embryonically originated in the abdomen and pelvis. | |||
Finally, critics note that Naik incorrectly presents the biology and location of the phenomenon he describes in a number of ways. The original position of the cells, which are destined to develop into spermatogonia (sperm producing cells) are 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. | |||
The primordial germ cells form in the wall of the yolk sac during week 4. They later migrate into the developing gonads at week 6 and differentiate into the definitive germ cells (oogonia / spermatogonia).}}The full argument of the critics runs as follows. If Naik’s assertion that the verse refers to the embryonic testes is accepted, it is not evident whether the gonads are located where he claims, i.e. between the spinal column and the eleventh and twelfth ribs. A cross-sectional diagram of the human embryo shows the gonads at or around the level of the placenta.<center>[[File:Gondev154.gif|alt=|thumb]]</center>Consequently, it cannot be said that the embryonic testes is located between the spinal column and the eleventh and twelfth ribs as the gonadal or genital ridge (precursor of the gonads) is generally held to lie medial to the lower part of the mesonephros, while the adult kidney actually develops from the metanephros. | The primordial germ cells form in the wall of the yolk sac during week 4. They later migrate into the developing gonads at week 6 and differentiate into the definitive germ cells (oogonia / spermatogonia).}}The full argument of the critics runs as follows. If Naik’s assertion that the verse refers to the embryonic testes is accepted, it is not evident whether the gonads are located where he claims, i.e. between the spinal column and the eleventh and twelfth ribs. A cross-sectional diagram of the human embryo shows the gonads at or around the level of the placenta.<center>[[File:Gondev154.gif|alt=|thumb]]</center>Consequently, it cannot be said that the embryonic testes is located between the spinal column and the eleventh and twelfth ribs as the gonadal or genital ridge (precursor of the gonads) is generally held to lie medial to the lower part of the mesonephros, while the adult kidney actually develops from the metanephros. | ||
| Line 82: | Line 113: | ||
Additionally, the inferior pole of the kidney lies around ''L3'' (the third lumbar vertebra), such that the embryonic testes must be below ''L3''. The twelfth rib does not extend below ''L2''. And because the testes are ''below'' the kidneys, there is no possibility that the testes were ever between the ribs and the backbone either in the embryonic or the adult (as with cryptorchidism) stage. | Additionally, the inferior pole of the kidney lies around ''L3'' (the third lumbar vertebra), such that the embryonic testes must be below ''L3''. The twelfth rib does not extend below ''L2''. And because the testes are ''below'' the kidneys, there is no possibility that the testes were ever between the ribs and the backbone either in the embryonic or the adult (as with cryptorchidism) stage. | ||
===Jamal Badawi - blood supply to the testes and ovaries=== | ===Jamal Badawi - blood supply to the testes and ovaries=== | ||
{{Quote|{{cite web|url= http://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/wonders.htm|title= A Christian Response to Dr. Jamal Badawi's "Seven Wonders of The Quran"|publisher= Answering-Islam|author= Sam Shamoun|date= accessed February 9, 2014|archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/6NG3qZLdv|deadurl=no}}|Badawi must assume that "gushing fluid poured forth" refers to the aorta which according to a book cited by him, Clinical Anatomy, supplies the testes and ovaries with the necessary nutrients and this is what the Quran refers to.}}According to critics, Badawi’s proposition repeats the error found in Naik’s proposition regarding blood circulation. | {{Quote|{{cite web|url= http://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/wonders.htm|title= A Christian Response to Dr. Jamal Badawi's "Seven Wonders of The Quran"|publisher= Answering-Islam|author= Sam Shamoun|date= accessed February 9, 2014|archiveurl= http://www.webcitation.org/6NG3qZLdv|deadurl=no}}|Badawi must assume that "gushing fluid poured forth" refers to the aorta which according to a book cited by him, Clinical Anatomy, supplies the testes and ovaries with the necessary nutrients and this is what the Quran refers to.}}According to critics, Badawi’s proposition repeats the error found in Naik’s proposition regarding blood circulation. | ||
| Line 148: | Line 176: | ||
'''The meaning of ''min bain''''' | '''The meaning of ''min bain''''' | ||
Another point alluded to by Dr. Campbell, is that the phrase ''min bain'' which literally means ''“''from between''”''. If this interpretation is accepted, which seems to be the case from a reading of the commonly accepted translations, then one must also note that semen emanates ''from'' the penis, and not ''from between'' the penis and the vagina. To be strictly correct, semen emanates ''from'' the penis ''into'' the vagina. This point seems to rule out tara’ib from anything to do with the female sexual partner. | Another point alluded to by Dr. Campbell, is that the phrase ''min bain'' which literally means ''“''from between''”''. If this interpretation is accepted, which seems to be the case from a reading of the commonly accepted translations, then one must also note that semen emanates ''from'' the penis, and not ''from between'' the penis and the vagina. To be strictly correct, semen emanates ''from'' the penis ''into'' the vagina. This point seems to rule out tara’ib from anything to do with the female sexual partner. His full response to claims of miracles in embryology and semen production can be read in the chapter 'Anatomy, Embryology and Genetics', pages 181-198 of his book, which can be read online for free following the link, [https://archive.org/details/quran-bible-campbell/%5BDr_William_Campbell%5D_The_Qur%27an_and_the_Bible_in_%28z-lib.org%29/page/181/mode/1up The Quran and the Bible : in the light of history and science]. | ||
==See Also== | ==See Also== | ||
| Line 161: | Line 189: | ||
*[http://www.answering-islam.org/Campbell/s4c2b.html Science and Revelation: Anatomy, Embryology and Genetics] | *[http://www.answering-islam.org/Campbell/s4c2b.html Science and Revelation: Anatomy, Embryology and Genetics] | ||
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUveLSqGyYc&t=906s Seminal Fluid From the Backbone: The Honest Truth] - ''islamwhattheydonttellyou164 - YouTube Video'' | |||
*[https://theislamissue.wordpress.com/2019/01/21/quran-866-7-semen-comes-from-between-backbone-and-ribs/ Quran 86:6-7: Semen comes from between backbone and ribs. - The Islam Issue] | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||