Human Reproduction

From the moment ancient human writings enter intodetail (however slight) on the subject of reproduction, they inevitablymake statements that are inaccurate. In the Middle Ages-and even inmore recent time-reproduction was surrounded by all sorts of myths andsuperstitions. How could it have been otherwise, considering the factthat to understand its complex mechanisms, man first had to possess aknowledge of anatomy, the discovery of the microscope had to be made,and the so-called basic sciences had to be founded which were tonurture physiology, embryology, obstetrics, etc.

The situation is quite different in the Qur’an. TheBook mentions precise mechanisms in many places and describesclearly-defined stages in reproduction, without providing a singlestatement marred by inaccuracy. Everything in the Qur’an is explainedin simple terms which are easily understandable to man and in strictaccordance with what was to be discovered much later on.

Human reproduction is referred to in several dozen verses of theQur’an, in various contexts. It is explained through statements whichdeal with one or more specific points. They must be assembled to give ageneral idea of the verses as a whole, and here, as for the othersubjects already examined, the commentary is in this way made easier.

REMINDER OF CERTAIN BASIC CONCEPTS

It is imperative to recall certain basic conceptswhich were unknown at the time of the Qur’anic Revelation and thecenturies that followed.

Human reproduction is effected by a series ofprocesses which we share in common with mammals. The starting point isthe fertilization of an ovule which has detached itself from the ovary.

It takes place in the Fallopian tubes half-waythrough the menstrual cycle. The fertilizing agent is the male sperm,or more exactly, the spermatozoon, a single fertilizing cell being allthat is needed. To ensure fertilization therefore, an infinitely smallquantity of spermatic liquid containing a large number of spermatozoons(tens of millions at a time) is .required. This liquid is produced bythe testicles and temporarily stored in a system of reservoirs andcanals that finally lead into the urinary tract; other glands aresituated along the latter which contribute their own additionalsecretions to the sperm itself.

The implantation of the egg fertilized by thisprocess takes place at a precise spot in the female reproductivesystem: it descends into the uterus via a Fallopian tube and lodges inthe body of the uterus where it soon literally implants itself byinsertion into the thickness of the mucosa and of the muscle, once theplacenta has been formed and with the aid of the latter. If theimplantation of the fertilized egg takes place, for example, in theFallopian tubes instead of in the uterus, pregnancy will be interrupted.

Once the embryo begins to be observable to the nakedeye, it looks like a small mass of flesh at the centre of which theappearance of a human being is at first indistinguishable. It growsthere in progressive stages which are very well known today; they leadto the bone structure, the muscles, the nervous system, thecirculation, and the viscerae, etc.

These notions will serve as the terms of referenceagainst which the statements in the Qur’an on reproduction are to becompared.

HUMAN REPRODUCTION IN THE QUR’AN

It is not easy to gain an idea of what the Qur’ancontains on this subject. The first difficulty arises from the factalready mentioned, i.e. that the statements dealing with this subjectare scattered throughout the Book. This is not however a majordifficulty. What is more likely to mislead the inquiring reader is,once again, the problem of vocabulary.

In fact there are still many translations andcommentaries in circulation today that can give a completely false ideaof the Qur’anic Revelation on this subject to the scientist who readsthem. The majority of translations describe, for example, man’sformation from a ‘blood clot’ or an ‘adhesion’. A statement of thiskind is totally unacceptable to scientists specializing in this field.In the paragraph dealing with the implantation of the egg in thematernal uterus, we shall see the reasons why distinguished Arabistswho lack a scientific background have made such blunders.

This observation implies how great the importance ofan association between linguistic and scientific knowledge is when itcomes to grasping the meaning of Qur’anic statements on reproduction.

The Qur’an sets out by stressing the successivetransformations the embryo undergoes before reaching its destination inthe maternal uterus.

–sura 82, verses 6 to 8:”O Man! Who deceives you about your Lord the Noble, Who created you andfashioned 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 textof the Qur’an draws attention to several points concerning reproductionwhich might be listed as follows:

1. fertilization is performed by only a very smallvolume of liquid.
2. the constituents of the fertilizingliquid.
3. the implantation of the fertilized egg.
4. the evolution of the embryo.

1.Fertilization is Performed by Only a Very Small Volume of Liquid

The Qur’an repeats this concept eleven times usingthe following expression:

–sura 16, verse 4:”(God) fashioned man from a small quantity (of sperm).”

The Arabic word nutfa has been translated bythe words ‘small quantity (of sperm)’ because we do not have the termsthat are strictly appropriate. This word comes from a verb signifying’to dribble, to trickle’; it is used to describe what remains at thebottom of a bucket that has been emptied out. It therefore indicates avery small quantity of liquid. Here it is sperm because the word isassociated 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 thegenital organs.

–sura 23, verse 13. God is speaking:”Then We placed (man) as a small quantity (of sperm) in a safe lodgingfirmly established.”

It must be added that the adjective which in thistext refers to the ‘firmly established lodging’ makin is, Ithink, hardly translatable. It expresses the idea of a firmlyestablished and respected place. However this may be, it refers to thespot where man grows in the maternal organism. It IS important tostress the concept of a very small quantity of liquid needed in thefertilization process, which is strictly in agreement with what we knowon this subject today.

2. TheConstituents of the FertilizingLiquid

The Qur’an describes the liquid enablingfertilization to take place in terms which it is interesting to examine:

1. ‘sperm’, as has been stated precisely (sura 75,verse 37)
2. ‘a liquid poured out’. “Man was fashioned from aliquid poured out” (sura 86, verse 6)
3. ‘a despised liquid’ (sura 32, verse 8 and sura77, verse 20)The adjective ‘despised’ (mahin) would, it seems, be interpretednot so much on account of the nature of the liquid itself, as more thefact that it is emitted through the outlet of the urinary tract, usingthe channels that are employed for passing urine.
4. ‘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 viewwas shared by older commentators, who could not have had any idea ofthe physiology of fertilization, especially its biological conditionsin the case of the woman. They thought that the word simply meant theunification of the two elements.

Modern authors however, like the commentator of the Muntakabedited by the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Cairo, havecorrected this view and note here that the ‘small quantity of sperm’ ismade up of various component parts. The commentator in the Muntakabdoes not go into detail, but in my opinion it is a very judiciousobservation.

What are the components parts of sperm?Spermatic liquid is formed by various secretions which come from thefollowing glands:

1. the testicles: the secretion of the male genitalgland contains spermatozoons, which are elongated cells with a longflagellum; they are bathed in a sero-fluid liquid.
2. the seminal vesicles. these organs arereservoirs of spermatozoons and are placed near the prostate gland;they also secrete their own liquid but it does not contain anyfertilizing agents.
3. the prostate gland: this secretes a liquid whichgives the sperm its creamy texture and characteristic odour.
4. the glands annexed to the urinary tract:Cooper’s or Méry’s glands secrete a stringy liquid andLittré’s glands give off mucous.

These are the origins of the ‘mingled liquids’ whichthe Qur’an would appear to refer to.There is, however, more to be said on this subject. When the Qur’antalks of a fertilizing liquid composed of different components, it alsoinforms us that man’s progeny will be maintained by something which maybe 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 isextracted, the issue of something else, the best part of a thing’. Inwhatever way it is translated, it refers to a part of a whole.

Fertilization of the egg and reproduction areproduced by a cell that is very elongated: its dimensions are measuredin ten thousandths of a millimetre. In normal conditions [ It is estimated that in one cubiccentinletre of sperm there are 25 million spermatozoons with, undernormal conditions, an ejaculation of several cubic centimetres.],only one single cell among several tens of millions produced by a manwill actually penetrate the ovule; a large number of them are leftbehind and never complete the journey which leads from the vagina tothe ovule, passing through the uterus and Fallopian tubes. It istherefore an infinitesimally small part of the extract from a liquidwhose composition is highly complex which actually fulfills itsfunction.

In consequence, it is difficult not to be struck bythe agreement between the text of the Qur’an and the scientificknowledge we possess today of these phenomena.

3.The Implantation of the Egg In the Female Genital Organs.

Once the egg has been fertilized in the Fallopiantube it descends to lodge inside the uterus; this is called the’implantation of the egg’. The Qur’an names the lodging of thefertilized 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) isthe result of the development of villosities, veritable elongations ofthe egg, which, like roots in the soil, draw nourishment from thethickness of the uterus necessary to the egg’s growth. These formationsmake the egg literally cling to the uterus. This is a discovery ofmodern times.

The act of clinging is described five differenttimes 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 theword ‘alaq. It is the original meaning of the word. A meaningderived from it, ‘blood clot’, often figures in translation; it is amistake against which one should guard: man has never passed throughthe stage of being a ‘blood clot’. The same is true for anothertranslation of this term, ‘adhesion’ which is equally inappropriate.The original sense of ‘something which clings’ corresponds exactly totoday’s firmly established reality.

This concept is recalled in four other verses whichdescribe successive transformations from the small quantity of spermthrough 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 whichclings.”

–sura 40, verse 67:”(God) fashioned you from a small quantity (of sperm), from somethingwhich 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 dueproportion.”

The organ which harbours the pregnancy is qualifiedin the Qur’an by a word which, as we have seen, is still used in Arabicto signify the uterus. In some suras, it is called a ‘lodging firmlyestablished’ (sura 23, verse 13, quoted above and sura 77, verse 21) [ In another verse (sura 6, verse 98) a placeof sojourn is mentioned. It is expressed in a term very similar to thepreceding one and would also seem to signify the maternal uterus.Personally, I believe this to be the meaning of the verse, but adetailed interpretation would involve much lengthier explanation whichis beyond the scope of this book.].

4. Evolution ofthe Embryo inside theUterus

The Qur’anic description of certain stages in thedevelopment of the embryo corresponds exactly to what we today knowabout it, and the Qur’an does not contain a single statement that isopen to criticism from modern science.

After ‘the thing which clings’ (an expression whichis well-founded, as we have seen) the Qur’an informs us that the embryopasses through the stage of ‘chewed flesh’, then osseous tissue appearsand is clad in flesh (defined by a different word from the precedingwhich signifies ‘intact flesh’).

–sura 23, verse 14:”We fashioned the thing which clings into a chewed lump of flesh and Wefashioned the chewed flesh into bones and We clothed the bones withintact 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 itsdevelopment, it looks to the naked eye like chewed flesh. The bonestructure develops inside this mass in what is called the mesenchyma.The bones that are formed are covered in muscle; the word lahmapplies to them.

Another verse which requires extremely delicateinterpretation is the following:

–sura 39, verse 6:”(God) fashions you inside the bodies of your mothers, formation afterformation, in three (veils of) darkness.” (zulumat)

Modern intrepreters of the Qur’an see in this versethe three anatomical layers that protect the infant during gestation:the abdominal wall, the uterus itself, and the surroundings of thefoetus (placenta, embryonic membranes, amniotic fluid).I am obliged to quote this verse for the sake of completeness; theterpretation given here does not seem to me to be disputable from ananatomical point of view but is this what the text of the Qur’an reallymeans?

It is known how certain parts appear to becompletely out of proportion during embryonic development with what islater to become the individual, while others remain in proportion.

This is surely the meaning of the word mukallaqwhich signifies ‘shaped in proportion’ as used in verse 5, sura 22 todescribe 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 thesenses 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 asmall quantity (of sperm) when it is poured out.”

The formation of the sexual organs is described intwo sura of the Qur’an:

–sura 35, verse 11:”God created you from dust, then from a sperm-drop, then He made youpairs (the male and female).”

–sura 75, verse 39:

“And, (God) made of him a pair, the male andfemale.”

As has already been noted, all statements in theQur’an must be compared with today’s firmly established concepts: theagreement between them is very clear. It is however very important tocompare them with the general beliefs On this subject that were held atthe time of the Qur’anic Revelation in order to realize just how farpeople were in those days from having views on these problems similarto those expressed here in the Qur’an. There can be no doubt that theywould have been unable to interpret the Revelation in the way we cantoday because we are helped by the data modern knowledge affords us. Itwas, in fact, only during the Nineteenth century that people had aslightly clearer view of this question.

Throughout the Middle Ages, the most diversifieddoctrines originated in unfounded myths and speculations: theypersisted for several centuries after this period. The most fundamentalstage in the history of embryology was Harvey’s statement (1651) that”all life initially comes from an egg”. At this time however, whennascent science had nevertheless benefited greatly (for the subject inhand) from the invention of the microscope, people were still talkingabout the respective roles of the egg and the spermatozoon. Buffon, thegreat naturalist, was one of those in favor of the egg theory, butBonnet supported the theory of the seeds being ‘packed together’. theovaries of Eve, the mother of the human race, were supposed to havecontained the seeds of all human beings, packed together one inside theother. This hypothesis came into favor in the Eighteenth century.

More than a thousand years before our time, at aperiod when whimsical doctrines still prevailed, men had a knowledge ofthe Qur’an. The statements it contains express in simple terms truthsof primordial importance which man has taken centuries to discover.

THE QUR’AN AND SEX EDUCATION

Our epoch believes that it has made manifolddiscoveries in all possible fields. It is thought that greatinnovations have been made in the field of sex education, and theknowledge of the facts of life which has been opened up to young peopleis regarded as an achievement of the modern world. Previous centurieswere noted for their deliberate obscurity on this point and many peoplesay that religion-without stating which religion-is the cause of it.

The information set out above is proof however thatfourteen centuries ago theoretical questions (as it were) on humanreproduction were brought to man’s attention. This was done as far aswas possible, taking into account the fact that the anatomical andphysiological data needed for further explanations were lacking. Oneshould also remember that, to be understood, it was necessary to usesimple language suited to the level of comprehension of those wholistened to the Preaching.

Practical considerations have not been silentlyignored. There are many details in the Qur’an on the practical side oflife in general, and the way man should behave in the many situationsof his existence. His sex life is no exception.

Two verses in the Qur’an deal with sexual relationsthemselves. They are described in terms which unite the need forprecision with that of decency. When translations and explanatorycommentaries are consulted however, one is struck by the divergencesbetween them. I have pondered for a long time on the translation ofsuch verses, and am indebted to Doctor A. K. Giraud, Former Professorat the Faculty of Medicine, Beirut, for the following:

–sura 86, verse 6 and 7:

“(Man) was fashioned from a liquid poured out. Itissued (as a result) of the conjunction of the sexual area of the manand the sexual area of the woman.” The sexual area of the man isindicated in the text of the Qur’an by the world sulb(singular). The sexual areas of the woman are designated in the Qur’anby the word tara’ib (plural).

This is the translation which appears to be mostsatisfactory. It is different from the one that is often given byEnglish and French translators, i.e. ” (Man) has been created by aliquid poured out which issues from between the vertebral column andthe bones of the breast.” This would seem more to be an interpretationthan a translation. It is hardly comprehensible.

The behavior of a man in his intimate relationshipswith his wife is stated explicitly.

There is the order concerning the menstruationperiod contained in verses 222 and 223, sura 2; God gives the followingcommand to the Prophet:

–sura 2, verses 222 and 223:”They (the Believers) question thee concerning menstruation. Say: Thisis an evil. Keep away from women during menstruation and do notapproach them until they are clean. When they have purified themselves,go to them, as God ordered it to you.”Verily, God loves the repentants and loves those who purifiedthemselves.”Your wives are a tilth. Go to your tilth as you will. Do (some goodact) for your souls beforehand.”

The beginning of this passage is very clear inmeaning: it formally forbids a man to have sexual contact with a womanwho has her period. The second part describes the process of tillingwhich the sower performs before sowing the seed which is to germinateand produce a new plant. Through this image therefore, stress isindirectly laid on the importance of bearing in mind the final purposeof sexual contact, i.e. reproduction. The translation of the finalphrase is by R. Blachère: it contains an order which seems torefer to the preliminaries before sexual contact.

The orders given here are of a very general kind.The problem of contraception has been raised with regard to theseverses: neither here, nor anywhere else, is reference made to thissubject. Nor is provoked abortion referred to. The numerous passages quotedabove on the successive transformations of the embryo make it quiteclear, however, that man is considered to be constituted as of thestage described by the existence of ‘something which clings’. Thisbeing so, the absolute respect of the individual human being, which isreferred to so often in the Qur’an, brings with it a total condemnationof provoked abortion. This attitude is today shared by all monotheisticreligions.

Sexual relations are permitted at night during theFast in the month of Ramadan. The verse concerning Ramadan is asfollows:

–sura 2, verse 187:”Permitted to you, on the night of the fast, is to break chastity withyour wives. They are a garment for you and you are a garment for them.So hold intercourse with them and seek what God has ordained for you.”

In contrast to this, no exception to the rule ismade for pilgrims in Makka during the celebration days of thePilgrimage.

–sura 2, verse 197:”For whom undertakes (the duty of) the Pilgrimage in its time, nowooing and no license.”

This prohibition is formal, as is the fact thatother activities are forbidden, e.g. hunting, fighting, etc.Menstruation is again mentioned in the Qur’an in connection withdivorce. The Book contains the following verse:

–sura 65, verse 4:”For your wives who despair of menstruation, if you doubt about them,their period of waiting will be three months. For those who never havetheir monthly periods and those who are pregnant their period will beuntil they lay down their burden.”

The waiting period referred to here is the timebetween the announcement of the divorce and the time it comes intoeffect. Those women of whom it is said ‘they despair of menstruation’have reached the menopause. A precautionary period of three months isenvisaged for them. Once this period is completed, divorced women whohave reached the menopause may remarry.

For those who have not yet menstruated, thepregnancy period has to be awaited. For pregnant women, divorce onlycomes into effect once the child is born.

All these laws are in perfect agreement withphysiological data. One can, furthermore, find in the Qur’an the samejudicious legal provision in the texts dealing with widowhood.

Thus, the theoretical statements dealing withreproduction, and the practical instructions on the sex life ofcouples, do not contradict and cannot be placed in opposition to thedata we have from modern knowledge, nor with anything that can belogically derived from it.