It is not easy to gain an idea of what the Qur'an
contains on this subject. The first difficulty arises
from the fact already mentioned, i.e. that the statements
dealing with this subject are scattered throughout the
Book. This is not however a major difficulty. What is
more likely to mislead the inquiring reader is, once
again, the problem of vocabulary.
In fact there are still many translations and
commentaries in circulation today that can give a
completely false idea of the Qur'anic Revelation on this
subject to the scientist who reads them. The majority of
translations describe, for example, man's formation from
a 'blood clot' or an 'adhesion'. A statement of this kind
is totally unacceptable to scientists specializing in
this field. In the paragraph dealing with the
implantation of the egg in the maternal uterus, we shall
see the reasons why distinguished Arabists who lack a
scientific background have made such blunders.
This observation implies how great the importance of
an association between linguistic and scientific
knowledge is when it comes to grasping the meaning of
Qur'anic statements on reproduction.
The Qur'an sets out by stressing the successive
transformations the embryo undergoes before reaching its
destination in the maternal uterus.
--sura 82, verses 6 to 8:
"O Man! Who deceives you about your Lord the Noble,
Who created you and fashioned you in due proportion and
gave you any form He willed."
--sura 71, verse 14:
"(God) fashioned you in (different) stages."
Along with this very general observation, the text of
the Qur'an draws attention to several points concerning
reproduction which might be listed as follows:
-
fertilization is performed by only a very small volume
of liquid.
-
the constituents of the fertilizing liquid.
-
the implantation of the fertilized egg.
-
the evolution of the embryo.
The Qur'an repeats this concept eleven times using the
following expression:
--sura 16, verse 4:
"(God) fashioned man from a small quantity (of
sperm)."
The Arabic word nutfa has been translated by
the words 'small quantity (of sperm)' because we do not
have the terms that are strictly appropriate. This word
comes from a verb signifying 'to dribble, to trickle'; it
is used to describe what remains at the bottom of a
bucket that has been emptied out. It therefore indicates
a very small quantity of liquid. Here it is sperm because
the word is associated in another verse with the word
sperm.
--sura 75, verse 37:
"Was (man) not a small quantity of sperm which has
been poured out?"
Here the Arabic word mani signifies sperm.
Another verse indicates that the small quantity in
question is put in a 'firmly established lodging' (qarar)
which obviously means the genital organs.
--sura 23, verse 13. God is speaking:
"Then We placed (man) as a small quantity (of sperm)
in a safe lodging firmly established."
It must be added that the adjective which in this text
refers to the 'firmly established lodging' makin
is, I think, hardly translatable. It expresses the idea
of a firmly established and respected place. However this
may be, it refers to the spot where man grows in the
maternal organism. It IS important to stress the concept
of a very small quantity of liquid needed in the
fertilization process, which is strictly in agreement
with what we know on this subject today.
The Qur'an describes the liquid enabling fertilization
to take place in terms which it is interesting to
examine:
-
'sperm', as has been stated precisely (sura 75,
verse 37)
-
'a liquid poured out'. "Man was fashioned from a
liquid poured out" (sura 86, verse 6)
-
'a despised liquid' (sura 32, verse 8 and sura 77,
verse 20)
The adjective 'despised' (mahin) would, it
seems, be interpreted not so much on account of the
nature of the liquid itself, as more the fact that it is
emitted through the outlet of the urinary tract, using
the channels that are employed for passing urine.
-
'Mixtures' or 'mingled liquids' (amsaj):
"Verily, we fashioned man from a small quantity of
mingled liquids" (sura 76, verse 2)
Many commentators, like professor
Hamidullah, consider
these liquids to be the male and female agents. The same
view was shared by older commentators, who could not have
had any idea of the physiology of fertilization,
especially its biological conditions in the case of the
woman. They thought that the word simply meant the
unification of the two elements.
Modern authors however, like the commentator of the Muntakab
edited by the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Cairo,
have corrected this view and note here that the 'small
quantity of sperm' is made up of various component parts.
The commentator in the Muntakab does not go into
detail, but in my opinion it is a very judicious
observation.
What are the components parts of sperm?
Spermatic liquid is formed by various secretions which
come from the following glands:
-
the testicles: the secretion of the male genital
gland contains spermatozoons, which are elongated cells
with a long flagellum; they are bathed in a sero-fluid
liquid.
-
the seminal vesicles. these organs are reservoirs of
spermatozoons and are placed near the prostate gland;
they also secrete their own liquid but it does not
contain any fertilizing agents.
-
the prostate gland: this secretes a liquid which gives
the sperm its creamy texture and characteristic odour.
-
the glands annexed to the urinary tract: Cooper's or
Méry's glands secrete a stringy liquid and Littré's
glands give off mucous.
These are the origins of the 'mingled liquids' which
the Qur'an would appear to refer to.
There is, however, more to be said on this subject. When
the Qur'an talks of a fertilizing liquid composed of
different components, it also informs us that man's
progeny will be maintained by something which may be
extracted from this liquid.
This is the meaning of verse 8, sura 32:
"(God) made his progeny from the quintessence of a
despised liquid."
The Arabic word, translated here by the word
'quintessence', is sulala. It signifies 'something
which is extracted, the issue of something else, the best
part of a thing'. In whatever way it is translated, it
refers to a part of a whole.
Fertilization of the egg and reproduction are produced
by a cell that is very elongated: its dimensions are
measured in ten thousandths of a millimetre. In normal conditions [ It is estimated that in one cubic centinletre of
sperm there are 25 million spermatozoons with, under
normal conditions, an ejaculation of several cubic centimetres.], only one single cell among several tens
of millions produced by a man will actually penetrate the
ovule; a large number of them are left behind and never
complete the journey which leads from the vagina to the
ovule, passing through the uterus and Fallopian tubes. It
is therefore an infinitesimally small part of the extract
from a liquid whose composition is highly complex which
actually fulfills its function.
In consequence, it is difficult not to be struck by
the agreement between the text of the Qur'an and the
scientific knowledge we possess today of these phenomena.
Once the egg has been fertilized in the Fallopian tube
it descends to lodge inside the uterus; this is called
the 'implantation of the egg'. The Qur'an names the
lodging of the fertilized egg womb:
-sura 22, verse 5:
"We cause whom We [ God is speaking]
will to rest in the womb for
an appointed term."
The implantation of the egg in the uterus (womb) is
the result of the development of villosities, veritable
elongations of the egg, which, like roots in the soil,
draw nourishment from the thickness of the uterus
necessary to the egg's growth. These formations make the
egg literally cling to the uterus. This is a discovery of
modern times.
The act of clinging is described five different times
in the Qur'an. Firstly in verses 1 and 2 of sura 96:
"Read, in the name of thy Lord Who fashioned,
Who fashioned man from something which clings."
'Something which clings' is the translation of the
word 'alaq. It is the original meaning of the
word. A meaning derived from it, 'blood clot', often
figures in translation; it is a mistake against which one
should guard: man has never passed through the stage of
being a 'blood clot'. The same is true for another
translation of this term, 'adhesion' which is equally
inappropriate. The original sense of 'something which
clings' corresponds exactly to today's firmly established
reality.
This concept is recalled in four other verses which
describe successive transformations from the small
quantity of sperm through to the end:
--sura 22, verse 5:
"We have fashioned you from . . . something which
clings."
--sura 23, verse 14:
"We have fashioned the small quantity (of sperm)
into something which clings."
--sura 40, verse 67:
"(God) fashioned you from a small quantity (of
sperm), from something which clings."
-sura 75, verse 37-38:
"Was (man) not a small quantity of sperm which has
been poured out? After that he was something which
clings; then God fashioned him in due proportion."
The organ which harbours the pregnancy is qualified in
the Qur'an by a word which, as we have seen, is still
used in Arabic to signify the uterus. In some suras, it
is called a 'lodging firmly established' (sura 23, verse
13, quoted above and sura 77, verse 21) [ In another verse (sura 6, verse 98) a place of
sojourn is mentioned. It is expressed in a term very
similar to the preceding one and would also seem to
signify the maternal uterus. Personally, I believe this
to be the meaning of the verse, but a detailed
interpretation would involve much lengthier explanation
which is beyond the scope of this book.].
The Qur'anic description of certain stages in the
development of the embryo corresponds exactly to what we
today know about it, and the Qur'an does not contain a
single statement that is open to criticism from modern
science.
After 'the thing which clings' (an expression which is
well-founded, as we have seen) the Qur'an informs us that
the embryo passes through the stage of 'chewed flesh',
then osseous tissue appears and is clad in flesh (defined
by a different word from the preceding which signifies
'intact flesh').
--sura 23, verse 14:
"We fashioned the thing which clings into a chewed
lump of flesh and We fashioned the chewed flesh into
bones and We clothed the bones with intact flesh."
'Chewed flesh' is the translation of the word mudga;
'intact flesh' is lahm. This distinction needs to
be stressed. The embryo is initially a small mass. At a
certain stage in its development, it looks to the naked
eye like chewed flesh. The bone structure develops inside
this mass in what is called the mesenchyma. The bones
that are formed are covered in muscle; the word lahm
applies to them.
Another verse which requires extremely delicate
interpretation is the following:
--sura 39, verse 6:
"(God) fashions you inside the bodies of your
mothers, formation after formation, in three (veils of)
darkness." (zulumat)
Modern intrepreters of the Qur'an see in this verse
the three anatomical layers that protect the infant
during gestation: the abdominal wall, the uterus itself,
and the surroundings of the foetus (placenta, embryonic
membranes, amniotic fluid).
I am obliged to quote this verse for the sake of
completeness; the terpretation given here does not seem
to me to be disputable from an anatomical point of view
but is this what the text of the Qur'an really means?
It is known how certain parts appear to be completely out
of proportion during embryonic development with what is
later to become the individual, while others remain in
proportion.
This is surely the meaning of the word mukallaq
which signifies 'shaped in proportion' as used in verse
5, sura 22 to describe this phenomenon.
"We fashioned . . . into something which clings .
. . into a lump of flesh in proportion and out of
proportion."
The Qur'an also describes the appearance of the senses
and the viscerae:
--sura 32, verse 9:
"(God) appointed for you the sense of hearing, sight
and the viscerae."
It refers to the formation of the sexual organs:
--sura 53, verses 45-46:
"(God) fashioned the two of a pair, the male and the
female, from a small quantity (of sperm) when it is
poured out."
The formation of the sexual organs is described in two
sura of the Qur'an:
--sura 35, verse 11:
"God created you from dust, then from a sperm-drop,
then He made you pairs (the male and female)."
--sura 75, verse 39:
"And, (God) made of him a pair, the male and
female."
As has already been noted, all statements in the
Qur'an must be compared with today's firmly established
concepts: the agreement between them is very clear. It is
however very important to compare them with the general
beliefs On this subject that were held at the time of the
Qur'anic Revelation in order to realize just how far
people were in those days from having views on these
problems similar to those expressed here in the Qur'an.
There can be no doubt that they would have been unable to
interpret the Revelation in the way we can today because
we are helped by the data modern knowledge affords us. It
was, in fact, only during the Nineteenth century that
people had a slightly clearer view of this question.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the most diversified
doctrines originated in unfounded myths and speculations:
they persisted for several centuries after this period.
The most fundamental stage in the history of embryology
was Harvey's statement (1651) that "all life
initially comes from an egg". At this time however,
when nascent science had nevertheless benefited greatly
(for the subject in hand) from the invention of the
microscope, people were still talking about the
respective roles of the egg and the spermatozoon. Buffon,
the great naturalist, was one of those in favor of the
egg theory, but Bonnet supported the theory of the seeds
being 'packed together'. the ovaries of Eve, the mother
of the human race, were supposed to have contained the
seeds of all human beings, packed together one inside the
other. This hypothesis came into favor in the Eighteenth
century.
More than a thousand years before our time, at a
period when whimsical doctrines still prevailed, men had
a knowledge of the Qur'an. The statements it contains
express in simple terms truths of primordial importance
which man has taken centuries to discover.
