Sex determination and human creation in Islam:
The sections of this article are:
1- In the Noble Quran.
2- In the Sayings of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him.
Let us look at what Allah Almighty and Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him said about the human creation and formation from the time of sexual intercourse to the time of birth.
In the Noble Quran:
Let us look at what Allah Almighty said in the Noble Quran:
"Now let man but think From what he is created! He is created from A drop emitted -- Proceedings from between the backbone and the ribs: Surely (Allah) is able To bring him back (To life)! The Day that (All) things secret Will be tested, (Man) will have No power, And no helper. (The Noble Quran, 86:5-10)"
Where does the male's semen come from?
"A man's seed is the quintessence of his body. It is therefore said metaphorically to proceed from his loins, i.e., from his back between the hipbones and his ribs. His backbone is the source and symbol of his strength and personality. In his spinal cord and in the brain is the directive energy of the central nervous system, and this directs all action, organic and psychic. The spinal cord is continuous with the Medulla Oblongata in the brain." [2]
"Verily We created Man from a drop of mingled sperm, In order to try him: So We gave him (the gifts), Of Hearing and Sight. (The Noble Quran, 76:2)"
"Mingled: the female ovum has to be fertilised with the male sperm before a new animal can be born. Man as an animal has this humble origin. But he has been given the gift of certain faculties of receiving instruction (typified by Hearing) and of intellectual and spiritual insight (typified by Sight). His life has therefore a meaning: with a certain amount of free will, he is to be Allah's vicegerent on earth (2:30). But he must be trained and tried, and that is the whole problem of human life." [3]
Important Note: How could Muhammad peace be upon him have guessed 1400 years ago that the backbone or the "spine" as we call it today play a very essential role in the creation of humans? Also, how could he have guessed that the male is the one that determines the fetus sex since we are created from "drop emitted -- Proceedings from between the backbone and the ribs"? Only the male's semen is visibly "drop emitted" during ejaculation.
The sex of the fetus is determined by the father's sperm. The female ovum contains only the X chromosomes. If the sperm, or the "emitted drop (as the Noble Quran called it)", or the ejaculated drop contains the Y chromosome, then the baby will be a male, otherwise the baby will be a female.
Non of the information above exist in the Bible or any other religious book. There is no way Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him could've guessed it all 1400 years ago. It had to be a Divine Revelation from Allah Almighty.
Scientific and Medical Web Sites that further confirm the Noble Quran's claims:
Does Semen Emanate From Between the Ribs and the Back? From the Understanding Islam web site.
Sexuality for men with spinal cord injuries. This web site explains the importance of the spinal cord to the ability for the male to produce children. The spinal cord is attached to the spine, which is the "backbone" as Allah Almighty called it in the Noble Quran.
Sexuality and Spinal Cord Injuries.
In the Sayings of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him:
Let us look at the following Hadith (Saying) of our beloved Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him:
Thauban, the freed slave of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him), said: "While I was standing beside the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) one of the rabbis of the Jews came and said: Peace be upon you, O Muhammad. I pushed him back with a push that he was going to fall. Upon this he said: Why do you push me? I said: Why don't you say: O Messenger of Allah? The Jew said: We call him by the name by which he was named by his family. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: My name is Muhammad with which I was named by my family. The Jew said: I have come to ask you (something). The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Should that thing be of any benefit to you, if I tell you that? He (the Jew) said: I will lend my ears to it. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) drew a line with the help of the stick that he had with him and then said: Ask (whatever you like). Thereupon the Jew said: Where would the human beings be on the Day when the earth would change into another earth and the heavens too (would change into other heavens)? The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: They would be in darkness beside the Bridge. He (the Jew) again said: Who amongst people would be the first to cross (this bridge).? He said: They would be the poor amongst the refugees. The Jew said: What would constitute their breakfast when they would enter Paradise? He (the Holy Prophet) replied: A caul of the fish-liver. He (the Jew) said. What would be their food alter this? He (the Holy Prophet) said: A bullock which was fed in the different quarters of Paradise would be slaughtered for them. He (the Jew) said: What would be their drink? He (the Holy Prophet) said: They would be given drink from the fountain which is named" Salsabil". He (the Jew) said: I have come to ask you about a thing which no one amongst the people on the earth knows except an apostle or one or two men besides him. He (the Holy Prophet) said: Would it benefit you if I tell you that? He (the Jew) said: I would lend ears to that. He then said: I have come to ask you about the child. He (the Holy Prophet) said: The reproductive substance of man is white and that of woman (i. e. ovum central portion) yellow, and when they have sexual intercourse and the male's substance (chromosomes and genes) prevails upon the female's substance (chromosomes and genes), it is the male child that is created by Allah's Decree, and when the substance of the female prevails upon the substance contributed by the male, a female child is formed by the Decree of Allah. The Jew said: What you have said is true; verily you are an Apostle. He then returned and went away. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: He asked me about such and such things of which I have had no knowledge till Allah gave me that. (Translation of Sahih Muslim, The Book of Menstruation (Kitab Al-Haid), Book 003, Number 0614)"
The Scientific facts that confirm the above claims:
Here are some Medical links that confirm the above information that was told to us 1400 years ago:
http://www.genemed.com/index2.asp?main=pns2.html
http://www.rapidtest.com/BETAHCG_4201.DOCCorpus Luteum.—After the discharge of the ovum
the lining of the follicle is thrown into folds, and vascular processes grow inward from
the surrounding tissue. In this way the space is filled up and the corpus luteum formed.
It consists at first of a radial arrangement of yellow cells
with bloodvessels and lymphatic spaces, and later it merges with the surrounding stroma.
(http://education.yahoo.com/reference/gray/266.html)
Does the color of semen give any indication of fertility? Does it make a difference if semen is clear or white?
The color of sperm is usually a whitish yellow and semitranslucent. The color does not seem to play a role in fertility.
(http://www.ivillagehealth.com/experts/fertility/qas/0,11816,166245_151131,00.html)
See how the male sperms and female eggs interact with each others to determine the fetus' gender. It is similar to what Prophet Muhammad claimed 1400 years ago:
How Is Sex Determined?
By Rick Groleau
Most of the time, an embryo growing in the womb fully develops into either a male
or a female with all the appropriate body parts and, many scientists believe, a mindset
programmed according to its gender. What determines its gender -- in most cases -- are its
sex chromosomes: two X chromosomes in the nucleus of its original egg cell and it will
become a female; a Y and an X chromosome and it will become a male. But exactly what
happens in the womb to make a boy or a girl? This interactive feature illustrates the
astonishing changes that occur during the first 16 weeks of development.
(http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/gender/determined.html)
Bibliography:
1- The Meaning of the Holy Qur'an.
Author: Abdullah Yusuf Ali.
Published by: Amana Publications, 10710 Tucker Street, Suite B, Beltsville, Maryland
20705-2223 USA.
Telephone: (301) 595-5777.
Fax: (301) 595-5888.
ISBN: 0-91597-59-0 (HC).
2- The Meaning of the Holy Qur'an [1], foot note #6071, page 1632.
3- The Meaning of the Holy Qur'an [1], foot note #5832, page 1571.
Allah, Islam, Quran, Muhammad questions and answers.