WikiIslam

Sources of Islamic Theories of Reproduction: Difference between revisions

Page Discussion

Sources of Islamic Theories of Reproduction (view source)

Revision as of 12:44, 26 July 2022

211 bytes added ,  26 July 2022
no edit summary
[checked revision][checked revision]
No edit summary
No edit summary
Line 1: Line 1:
{{QualityScore|Lead=1|Structure=3|Content=4|Language=2|References=4}}
{{QualityScore|Lead=1|Structure=3|Content=4|Language=3|References=4}}
[[File:Galen.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The writers of the Qur’an and hadith were influenced by Galen, the hugely influential 2<sup>nd</sup> Century Greek physician.]]
[[File:Galen.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The writers of the Qur’an and hadith were influenced by Galen, the hugely influential 2<sup>nd</sup> Century Greek physician.]]
==Introduction==
==Introduction==
Line 94: Line 94:
==Evidence of influence==
==Evidence of influence==


The purpose of this section is to demonstrate the influence of ideas from other cultures on the Qur’an and hadith regarding reproduction. It will go without saying that these ideas are inaccurate compared with current [[Islam and Science|scientific]] knowledge of [[reproduction]] and [[embryology]]. All Qur’an quotes are from Yusuf Ali’s translation.
This section documents the influence of ideas from other cultures on the Qur’an and hadith regarding reproduction. It will go without saying that these ideas are inaccurate compared with current [[Islam and Science|scientific]] knowledge of [[reproduction]] and [[embryology]]. All Qur’an quotes are from Yusuf Ali’s translation.


===A mingled drop===
===A mingled drop and semen placed in the womb===


{{Quote|{{Quran|76|2}}|Verily We created Man from a drop of mingled sperm [nutfatin amshajin], in order to try him: So We gave him (the gifts), of Hearing and Sight.}}
{{Quote|{{Quran|76|2}}|Verily We created Man from a drop of mingled sperm [nutfatin amshajin], in order to try him: So We gave him (the gifts), of Hearing and Sight.}}
Line 110: Line 110:
In each case, the word translated “fluid” is m<U>a</U>a<ref>For the Arabic: http://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=7&tSoraNo=76&tAyahNo=2&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1</ref> (see above for definition), so there is no case for retro-fitting the sperm or ovum into it. Similar comments from Muhammad’s [[Sahabah|companions]] appear in [[al-Tabari]]’s Tafsir on 76:2. His companions apparently believed that the mingled nu<U>t</U>fah was a mixture of male and female semen.
In each case, the word translated “fluid” is m<U>a</U>a<ref>For the Arabic: http://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=7&tSoraNo=76&tAyahNo=2&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=1</ref> (see above for definition), so there is no case for retro-fitting the sperm or ovum into it. Similar comments from Muhammad’s [[Sahabah|companions]] appear in [[al-Tabari]]’s Tafsir on 76:2. His companions apparently believed that the mingled nu<U>t</U>fah was a mixture of male and female semen.


Now we shall see that this same idea was taught by Galen, the hugely influential 2<sup>nd</sup> Century Greek physician. Galen’s main treatise about embryology was called “On Semen”, and his works were studied by Muhammad’s nearby contemporaries in Alexandria, Egypt and in Gundeshapur, southwestern Syria.<ref>Marshall Clagett, “Greek Science in Antiquity”, pp.180-181, New York: Abelard-Schuman, 1955; Dover, 2001</ref>
This same idea was taught by Galen, the hugely influential 2<sup>nd</sup> Century Greek physician. Galen’s main treatise about embryology was called “On Semen”, and his works were studied by Muhammad’s nearby contemporaries in Alexandria, Egypt and in Gundeshapur, southwestern Syria.<ref>Marshall Clagett, “Greek Science in Antiquity”, pp.180-181, New York: Abelard-Schuman, 1955; Dover, 2001</ref>


Galen said that the embryo is initially formed out of the male semen mixed (μίγνυται) with what he called the female semen, which also forms an additional membrane entwined (ἐπιπλεκονταί) with that of the male semen. He believed that blood from the woman is subsequently drawn in via the uterus and membrane, and this combined material literally goes on to form the fetus.<ref>Philip De Lacy (editor and translator). “Galen: On Semen (Corpus Medicorum Graecorum 5.3.1.)”, pp.85-89, Berlin: Akademie. Verlag, 1992</ref> This will be explained a little more later. Unlike Galen (and before him, Hippocrates) with the two-semens theory, Aristotle believed that there was only a male semen, which does not itself provide material for the embryo, but triggers its formation from menstral blood.<ref>Philip De Lacy (editor and translator). “Galen: On Semen (Corpus Medicorum Graecorum 5.3.1.)”, p.65, Berlin: Akademie. Verlag, 1992</ref> The quoted comments from Muhammad’s companions are good evidence for Galenic influence in 7<sup>th</sup> century Arabia.
Galen said that the embryo is initially formed out of the male semen mixed (μίγνυται) with what he called the female semen, which also forms an additional membrane entwined (ἐπιπλεκονταί) with that of the male semen. He believed that blood from the woman is subsequently drawn in via the uterus and membrane, and this combined material literally goes on to form the fetus.<ref>Philip De Lacy (editor and translator). “Galen: On Semen (Corpus Medicorum Graecorum 5.3.1.)”, pp.85-89, Berlin: Akademie. Verlag, 1992</ref> This will be explained a little more later. Unlike Galen (and before him, Hippocrates) with the two-semens theory, Aristotle believed that there was only a male semen, which does not itself provide material for the embryo, but triggers its formation from menstral blood.<ref>Philip De Lacy (editor and translator). “Galen: On Semen (Corpus Medicorum Graecorum 5.3.1.)”, p.65, Berlin: Akademie. Verlag, 1992</ref> The quoted comments from Muhammad’s companions are good evidence for Galenic influence in 7<sup>th</sup> century Arabia.
Line 126: Line 126:
{{Quote|{{quran-range|77|20|22}}|Have We not created you from a fluid (held) despicable [m<U>a</U>-in maheenin]? The which We placed in a place of rest, firmly fixed, For a period (of gestation), determined (according to need)?}}
{{Quote|{{quran-range|77|20|22}}|Have We not created you from a fluid (held) despicable [m<U>a</U>-in maheenin]? The which We placed in a place of rest, firmly fixed, For a period (of gestation), determined (according to need)?}}
   
   
In both cases, the “place of rest, firmly fixed” (qararin makeenin) obviously refers to the womb, with 77:22 adding that it is for a “period determined” (and certainly does not mean the female ovum, which is only penetrated by a single sperm cell and not the “fluid (held) despicable”).
===Semen stage lasts 40 days===
===Semen stage lasts 40 days===


Line 193: Line 195:
{{Quote||He is created of both, the semen [nu<U>t</U>fati] of the man and the semen [nu<U>t</U>fati] of the woman. The man’s semen [nu<U>t</U>fatu] is thick and forms the bones and the tendons. The woman’s semen [nu<U>t</U>fatu] is fine and forms the flesh and blood<ref>Translation by Basim Musallam, “Sex and Society in Islam”, p.52, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983, cited in Timothy Winter, "[http://www.thefreelibrary.com/PULCHRA+UT+LUNA%3A+SOME+REFLECTIONS+ON+THE+MARIAN+THEME+IN...-a066241177 ’Pulchra ut luna: some Reflections on the Marian Theme in Muslim-Catholic Dialogue.]" Journal of Ecumenical Studies 36/3 (1999): 439-469</ref>}}
{{Quote||He is created of both, the semen [nu<U>t</U>fati] of the man and the semen [nu<U>t</U>fati] of the woman. The man’s semen [nu<U>t</U>fatu] is thick and forms the bones and the tendons. The woman’s semen [nu<U>t</U>fatu] is fine and forms the flesh and blood<ref>Translation by Basim Musallam, “Sex and Society in Islam”, p.52, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983, cited in Timothy Winter, "[http://www.thefreelibrary.com/PULCHRA+UT+LUNA%3A+SOME+REFLECTIONS+ON+THE+MARIAN+THEME+IN...-a066241177 ’Pulchra ut luna: some Reflections on the Marian Theme in Muslim-Catholic Dialogue.]" Journal of Ecumenical Studies 36/3 (1999): 439-469</ref>}}


See the references section for a link to the Arabic<ref>For the Arabic see #4424: http://hadith.al-islam.com/Page.aspx?pageid=192&TOCID=35&BookID=30&PID=4206</ref>. Not only can we see that the male nu<U>t</U>fah is none other than semen (“thick”), but the process described is completely wrong from a scientific perspective. We can even trace the origins of these ideas to the Talmud:
See the references section for a link to the Arabic<ref>For the Arabic see #4424: http://hadith.al-islam.com/Page.aspx?pageid=192&TOCID=35&BookID=30&PID=4206</ref>. Not only is it apparent that the male nu<U>t</U>fah is none other than semen (“thick”), but the process described is completely wrong from a scientific perspective. The origins of these ideas can be traced as far back as the Talmud:


{{Quote|Babylonian Talmud, Nidda 31a|Our Rabbis taught: There are three partners in man, the Holy One, blessed be He, his father and his mother. His father supplies the semen of the white substance out of which are formed the child’s '''bones, sinews''', nails, the brain in his head and the white in his eye; his mother supplies the semen of the red substance out of which is formed his skin, '''flesh''', hair, '''blood''' and the black of his eye;<ref name="Nidda 31a"></ref>}}  
{{Quote|Babylonian Talmud, Nidda 31a|Our Rabbis taught: There are three partners in man, the Holy One, blessed be He, his father and his mother. His father supplies the semen of the white substance out of which are formed the child’s '''bones, sinews''', nails, the brain in his head and the white in his eye; his mother supplies the semen of the red substance out of which is formed his skin, '''flesh''', hair, '''blood''' and the black of his eye;<ref name="Nidda 31a"></ref>}}  


It’s worth pointing out that this hadith and the Talmud also have striking similarities with what Galen taught in his work, “On Semen”, Galen says:
Also notable is that this hadith and the Talmud have striking similarities with what Galen taught in his work, “On Semen”, Galen says:


{{Quote|On Semen, p.99|But (the fetus) has first of all the vegetative power, which creates not from blood but from the semen itself artery and vein and nerve, bone and membrane<ref>Philip De Lacy (editor and translator). “Galen: On Semen (Corpus Medicorum Graecorum 5.3.1.)”, p.99, Berlin: Akademie. Verlag, 1992</ref>}}
{{Quote|On Semen, p.99|But (the fetus) has first of all the vegetative power, which creates not from blood but from the semen itself artery and vein and nerve, bone and membrane<ref>Philip De Lacy (editor and translator). “Galen: On Semen (Corpus Medicorum Graecorum 5.3.1.)”, p.99, Berlin: Akademie. Verlag, 1992</ref>}}
Line 209: Line 211:
Here, blood refers to the mother’s blood, some fine and some thick, which Galen believed is drawn via the uterus and membrane into the combined male and female semens after they have mixed in her womb.<ref>Philip De Lacy (editor and translator). “Galen: On Semen (Corpus Medicorum Graecorum 5.3.1.)”, pp.87-91, Berlin: Akademie. Verlag, 1992</ref> That Galen and the Talmud say the fleshy parts are formed from the woman’s blood rather than her semen barely detracts from the other striking similarities with the hadith.  
Here, blood refers to the mother’s blood, some fine and some thick, which Galen believed is drawn via the uterus and membrane into the combined male and female semens after they have mixed in her womb.<ref>Philip De Lacy (editor and translator). “Galen: On Semen (Corpus Medicorum Graecorum 5.3.1.)”, pp.87-91, Berlin: Akademie. Verlag, 1992</ref> That Galen and the Talmud say the fleshy parts are formed from the woman’s blood rather than her semen barely detracts from the other striking similarities with the hadith.  


Another reason that apologists should best avoid this hadith is that modern Islamic scholars classify it as having weak authenticity. {{Muslim|3|614}} is a similar hadith, which instead of mentioning nutfah and saying what is formed from each semen, gives the resemblance theory mentioned above after saying that the man’s water (m<U>a</U>a) is white and the woman’s water (m<U>a</U>a) is yellow. {{Muslim|3|608}} is a version of the hadith we look at next, but adds that the man’s water is thick and white and the woman’s water is thin and yellow.
In any case, this hadith is graded as having weak authenticity. {{Muslim|3|614}} is a similar hadith, which instead of mentioning nutfah and saying what is formed from each semen, gives the resemblance theory mentioned above after saying that the man’s water (m<U>a</U>a) is white and the woman’s water (m<U>a</U>a) is yellow. {{Muslim|3|608}} is a version of the hadith we look at next, but adds that the man’s water is thick and white and the woman’s water is thin and yellow.


==="Then why does a child resemble (its mother)?"===
==="Then why does a child resemble (its mother)?"===
Lightyears
Editors, em-bypass-2, Reviewers, rollback, Administrators
2,743

edits

Retrieved from "http://wikiislamica.net/wiki/Special:MobileDiff/135539"