Embryology in the Quran: Difference between revisions

Embryology in the Quran (view source)

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 ===The Nutfah (Semen) Stage and the Missing Female Ovum===
-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 euphamism 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||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>}}
-A nice example of nutfah usage can be found in a pre-[[Islam|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>
 Verses 80:18-19, and 77:20-22 together with 23:13 strongly imply that it is semen that is stored in the womb and developed into the embryo, as the [[Greek and Jewish Ideas about Reproduction in the Quran and Hadith|Jews and Greeks]] believed.
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 {{Quote|{{Quran-range|80|18|19}}|'''Pickthall:'''From what thing [shayinشَىْءٍ] doth He create him? From a drop of seed [nutfatin نُّطْفَةٍ]. He createth him and proportioneth him}}
-{{Quote|{{Quran-range|77|20|22}}|'''Sahih International:''' Did We not create you from a liquid disdained? And We placed it in a firm lodging For a known extent.}}
+{{Quote|{{Quran-range|77|20|22}}|'''Yusuf Ali:''' Have We not created you from a fluid (held) despicable [ma-in maheenin مَّآءٍ مَّهِينٍ]? The which We placed in a place of rest, firmly fixed [qararin makeenin قَرَارٍ مَّكِينٍ], For a period (of gestation), determined (according to need)?}}
-Verses 20-21 closely parallel 23:13, which too says "We placed it (jaAAalnahu) in a safe place (qararin makeen)", and uses the word nutfah instead of maa' maheenin (liquid disdained). The 'hu' ending to jaAAalnahu can mean him or it, and probably means the former in 23:13. However, 77:20 uses the 2nd person "you", so the latter meaning, 'it' is clearly intended in the next verse, in reference to the liquid.
+Verses 20-21 closely parallel 23:13, which too says "We placed it (jaAAalnahu) in a safe place (qararin makeen)", and uses the word nutfah instead of maa' maheenin ('water despised'; maa' was another euphemism for semen). The 'hu' ending to jaAAalnahu can mean him or it, and probably means the former in 23:13. However, 77:20 uses the 2nd person "you", so the latter meaning, 'it' is clearly intended in the next verse, in reference to the liquid.
 {{Quote|{{Quran|23|13}}|'''Pickthall:'''Then placed him as a drop (of seed) [nutfatan نُطْفَةً] in a safe lodging [qararin makeenin قَرَارٍ مَّكِينٍ];}}