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Sources of Islamic Theories of Reproduction: Difference between revisions
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Sources of Islamic Theories of Reproduction (view source)
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The Lisan al Arab dictionary of classical Arabic gives these definitions (translated from the Arabic): | 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>}} | {{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; the water of the man; semen is called nutfah for its small amount<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- | 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> | ||
===M<U>a</U>a ماء=== | ===M<U>a</U>a ماء=== | ||
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Some apologists claim that this verse shows that nu<U>t</U>fah does not refer to the same substance as maniyy, translating the above words not in the usual way as “drop [nu<U>t</U>fatan] of [min] semen [maniyyin]”, but instead as “sperm-drop from semen”. They also claim that if nutfah referred to semen, that word would have been used instead of maniyy in the many hadith about cleaning semen for ritual purity. | Some apologists claim that this verse shows that nu<U>t</U>fah does not refer to the same substance as maniyy, translating the above words not in the usual way as “drop [nu<U>t</U>fatan] of [min] semen [maniyyin]”, but instead as “sperm-drop from semen”. They also claim that if nutfah referred to semen, that word would have been used instead of maniyy in the many hadith about cleaning semen for ritual purity. | ||
However, as demonstrated above, nu<U>t</U>fah meant a small quantity of liquid, in this context in reference to semen that forms the embryo, whereas maniyy is simply semen. Whenever the Qur’an mentions nu<U>t</U>fah, which indicates the small quantity of liquid, it is emphasizing the humble beginnings of man. In the hadiths that use maniyy, it is a different context where the quantity is irrelevant. In addition, verse 53:46 has virtually the same phrase with the same verb as 75:37, but this time just mentions nu<U>t</U>fah, without maniyy. | However, as demonstrated above, nu<U>t</U>fah meant a small quantity of liquid, in this context in reference to semen that forms the embryo, whereas maniyy is simply semen. Whenever the Qur’an mentions nu<U>t</U>fah, which indicates the small quantity of liquid, it is emphasizing the humble beginnings of man. In the hadiths that use maniyy, it is a different context where the quantity is irrelevant. We also saw in the Lisan al-Arab dictionary above that maniyy is called nutfah because it is a small amount of liquid. | ||
In addition, verse 53:46 has virtually the same phrase with the same verb as 75:37, but this time just mentions nu<U>t</U>fah, without maniyy. | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran|53|46}}|From a drop (of seed) [nu<U>t</U>fatin] when it is poured forth [tumn<U>a</U>];}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|53|46}}|From a drop (of seed) [nu<U>t</U>fatin] when it is poured forth [tumn<U>a</U>];}} | ||