Why does the Holy Qura’an claim that all life forms are created in pairs when bacteria, viruses and other unicellular organisms are created asexually?

 

   This question was originally answered, in brief, by the author on Jan, 3rd, 2019, on Quora.com

The question seems to be an argumentum-ad-ignorantiam.

Qura’an has not specifically mentioned the sexuality of the pair/couple— except when referenced to human beings. Qura’an has also not restricted the “duality in creation” to the “sentient beings”. In the daily-life parlance, a day and night or a pair of socks would not warrant such a specification. So, it would be the case with the bacteria, viruses and unicell organisms. (interchanging/adaptive as explained in Q, 51:49 below.

By the way, Adam (PBUH), is said to, had been created a “Hermaphrodite” (having male and female systems except for the delivery system) so he self-fertilized conceiving “Eve” who then, was delivered through cesarean operation. (said to be, borne out of his rib-cage). Vestiges of it are still witnessed, occasionally, in some men. 

“Verily, all things have We created by pair (in proportion and measure), so that you may reflect OR We have created everything to fulfill a certain purpose”. (Q, 54:49)

Exegetical views about the word “azwaj”–Pair

Lit., “all pairs”. Some commentators regard the term azwaj as synonymous in this context with “kinds” (Baghawi, Zamakhshari, Baydawi, Ibn Kathir): i.e., they take the above phrase to mean no more than that God created all kinds of things, beings and phenomena. Others (e.g., Tabari) see in it a reference to the polarity evident in all creation. Ibn’Abbas (as quoted by Razi) says that it denotes the concept of opposites in general, like “sweet and sour, or white and black, or male and female”; to which Razi adds that everything in creation has its complement, “like high and low, right and left, front and back, past and future, being and attribute”, etc., whereas God – and He alone – is unique, without anything that could be termed “opposite” or “similar” or “complementary”. Hence, the above sentence is an echo of the statement that “there is nothing that could be compared with Him” (112:4).

Reproductive position of micro-organisms, Plants and Animals in terms of science and biology.

Asexual reproduction is found in the majority of living organisms, including most plants, protists (e.g. bacteria, protozoans, and unicellular algae and fungi), and many lower invertebrates such as tapeworms. Other examples of asexual reproductive organisms are hydrae and many lower plants (e.g. ferns). Some organisms are also capable of regeneration, a specialized form of asexual reproduction, for example, starfish, polyps, zebrafish, flatworms, newts, and salamanders. Many plants are capable of total regeneration. Among animals, the lower the form, the more capable it is of total regeneration. The highest animals that exhibit vegetative reproduction are the colonial tunicates (e.g. sea squirts), which, much like plants, send out runners in the form of stolon; small parts of which, form buds that develop into new individuals.

(Note that hydra and jellyfish and many primarily asexual organisms are also capable of sexual reproduction – however many simple organisms like bacteria, yeasts and Fungi Imperfecti are but, asexual).

In asexual organisms (at least in bacteria), the differences between species (different strands) are measured through genetic sequences and organism characteristics.

In these days of high throughput sequencing, most attempts to describe new species come with at least one genomic sequence. Additionally, a whole host of characteristics, including optimal growth temperature, morphology, numerous metabolic capabilities, etc. are used.

Hermaphrodite

Some creatures, for example, sponges, snails, the slug-like sea hare, and some kinds of deep-sea arrow worms are hermaphrodites, that is, they have both sexes in one body.

The objection raised by atheistic minds!

Some apologists may claim that hermaphrodites are actually a male-female pair, as both the sexes are included in one organism. It may be that in a population some hermaphrodites act as males while others as females. This claim, of course, would be totally wrong as a hermaphrodite, by definition, is both male and female at once, even if performing one of its sexual functions at the one time.

Refutation. The objection seems to be argumentum ad ignorantiam, ignoring the declaration “Exalted is He who created all pairs – from what the earth grows and from themselves and from that which they do not know”. Q,36:36 [refer to the examples of Adam conceiving Eve and Marry conceiving without male intervention]

[Logically, a system/unit is described according to the capacities/functions it has, not necessarily performing simultaneously, to justify the description—it is named after; e.g. fax, copier and printer, washer and dryer, etc.]

Exegetical view of the declaration: The mention of “that which they do not know“ evidently relates to things or phenomena not yet understood by man but potentially within the range of his comprehension—maybe sometime in the future.

Ambisexual

Some creatures also change their sex during their life-cycles: Quahogs (hard-shell clams) are born and grow up as a male, but later on, half of them transform into a female. Slipper shells and cup and saucer shells do this too; they commence every season as males, but later on, nearly all of them pass through a phase of ambisexuality and turn into adult females. Some species change sex depending on their environment, such as the marine worm ophryotrocha, if the portly young females are later underfed, they revert back to the male gender. Some fish can also change their sex spontaneously, for example, some groupers and guppies.

“that which they do not know“

We were largely in the dark, some of it was morphological, but past that we don’t know.

Think about the defunct kingdom Protista: we thought that single-celled eukaryotes were all closely related, but now we know that they’re spread around the multicellular eukaryotes.

Protists are eukaryotic organisms that cannot be classified as a plant, animal, or fungus. They are mostly unicellular, but some, like algae, are multicellular. Kelp, or ‘seaweed,’ is a large multicellular protist that provides food, shelter, and oxygen for numerous underwater ecosystems.

“Exalted is He who created all pairs – from what the earth grows and from themselves and from that which they do not know.” (Quran 36:36)

In this verse, “from themselves” means, from the human pair of male and female. And “from that which they do not know” is the process of parthenogenesis and many others. The processes and the terminologies; which were unheard of, when the Quran was revealed or for a long time even after that. Parthenogenesis was discovered in the 18th century by Charles Bonnet.

 

For unisex animal, Allah also gave them a pair, by parthenogenesis, that is embedded within the unisex. Some of the unisex animals are Crayfish: Its egg has a 2n number of chromosomes while all other creature’s egg has n number of chromosomes. So, its egg has a pair. A similar thing happens in Parasitic Wasps.

Komodo Dragon: Its egg starts with n chromosomes. But soon it becomes 2n during the developmental stages, unlike embryogenesis of other animals. So, its pair is made during the developmental process. A similar thing happens in Hammerhead Sharks.

Whiptail Lizard: It is a hybrid product of 2 different lizards. Unusually it has a double number of chromosomes than its parents. So, it is its pair.

Anglerfish: Is female until it reaches maturity, at which point it can switch back and forth between genders. So, pair is created in one.

 

Now we also know that rock-crystals have pairs too!

 

Botany explains that every plant has male and female gender. Even the plants that are unisexual have distinct elements of both male and female. “…. And sent down water from the sky.’ With it have We produced Diverse pairs of plants Each separate from the others.” [Al- Qura’an 20:53]

 

Male, Female and Parthenocarpic-Fruits

Parthenogenesis is a form of reproduction in which the ovum develops into a new individual without fertilization. Natural parthenogenesis has been observed in many lower animals (it is characteristic of the rotifers), especially insects, e.g., the aphid. In many social insects, such as the honeybee and the ant, the unfertilized eggs give rise to the male drones and the fertilized eggs to the female workers and queens. they are also capable of sexual reproduction.

“And the fruit of every kind He made in pairs, two and two.” [Al-Qura’an 13:3] Fruit is the end product of the reproduction of the superior plants. The stage preceding fruit is the flower, which has male and female organs (stamens and ovules). Upon the pollination of the stigmas of the flowers, they bear fruits, which in turn free their seeds at maturity. All fruits, therefore, are equipped with male and female organs; a fact that is mentioned in the Qura’an, 13:3.

 In certain species, fruit can come from non-fertilized flowers (parthenocarpic-fruits) e.g. bananas, certain types of pineapple, fig, orange, vine, etc. They also have definite sexual characteristics.

Matter and Anti-matter “Parity”

Qura’anic verses, particularly 43:12, 51:49, especially 36:36 “things unknown to them”. This part, likely, refers to our understanding of particle physics. The British physicist Paul Dirac discovered the matter in 1933. Antimatter represents the pair/opposite characteristics of the matter. For instance, contrary to matter, antimatter electrons are positive and protons negative.

Schizophyllum commune

Schizophyllum commune is the world’s most widely distributed fungus, occurring on every continent except Antarctica. It is known to have more than 28,000 distinct sexes.

As long as two parental strains are of different mating types, they are able to mate and form fertile offspring. The enormous number of sexes is meant to encourage non-sibling mating and non-relative mating, which ensures genetic diversity in the population.

This species, along with other such fungi is a good counter-example to verse 36:36 as they are things that the Earth grows, yet are not made in pairs. (argumentum ad ignorantiam of atheistic minds)

Refutation: “Distinct Sexes” — ought to be one different from the other—-mating with distinct sex (from itself) would, therefore, create a pair! 

The Chinese concept of “duality in creation”—Yin & Yang

The ancient Chinese already believed in the duality of all creation. This duality principle is known as ‘Yin and Yang’, part of the Taoist belief system. The date of origin of the Yin-Yang duality principle is unknown, however, all reasonable estimates predate Islam by at least two thousand five hundred years. (Note the Yin-Yang symbol dates back to at least 400BC and was present in ancient Shang Dynasty Bronze (age) but the Yin-Yang principle dated much earlier.) The Yellow Emperor, legendary Chinese emperor and cultural hero ruling from 2698 BC to 2598 BC and considered to be the ancestor of the Han Chinese, said “The principle of Ying and Yang is the foundation of the entire universe. It underlies everything in creation. It brings about the development of parenthood; it is the root and source of life and death.

Therefore, the claim, that the existence of antimatter proves the miraculous nature of Qur’anic verses referring to ‘creation in pairs’ is absolutely rational. (yet another argumentum ad ignorantiam of atheistic minds}

 

Refutation

The above quotes of 2698 BC to 2598BC and 400BC; with reference to “Duality in Creation” confirm the veracity of the knowledge contained in the Qura’anic verses, since these are the word of “GOD”, not a human construct! 

https://shakir2.wordpress.com/2019/03/23/quraan-narrates-all-life-forms-are-created-as-pairs-while-bacteria-virus-and-unicellular-organisms-are-asexual/

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Lying and deception in Islam.

Lying is one of the greatest sins in Islam. Text and the corpus juris are quite explicit about this. Evils of lying are more dreadful than the evils of adultery. In one of the Ahadith lying is equated with committing adultery with one’s own mother. 

“Only they forge the lie who do not believe in Allah’s communications, and these are the liars.” (Q,16:105) 

“Surely Allah does not guide him aright who is a liar, ungrateful.” (Q, 39:3) 

A liar also invokes the curse of Allah (SWT) 

“… and pray for the curse of Allah on the liars.” (Q,  3:61) 

“… the curse of Allah be on him if he is one of the liars.” (Q, 24:8) 

Hadith: “When a believer speaks a lie, he becomes prone to committing every other sin; and when this happens, he commits kufr (disbelief) which then makes him liable to enter Hell.” 

Toriyyah (dissimulation) 

It means to say something, which could be interpreted in more than one way. One of the meanings should be the truth while the other ambiguous.  

Example:  If a tyrant comes to one’s place seeking him out but he wants to remain in the safety of his home; a person from his family may answer the door and say, ‘He is not here’; with the intention that ‘He’ is not at the door’. 

Toriyyah (dissimulation) It is a dissimulation which is permissible and legitimate; when spoken in defense of oneself from cruelty or persecution, would not fall within the definition of a lie. Same would justify the three dissimulations uttered by Prophet Abraham (PBUH). 

1) Declaring that he is not feeling well/or is indisposed. 

2) Not acknowledging the Amputation of the arm of the big idol in Ka’aba and pointing instead to the big idol. 

3) Declaring his wife as his sister to protect against the evil intention of the king. 

                                                                  Also 

A statement in the nature of an assumption and a supposition which is contrary to facts is not a lie. It is a metaphoric attribution/assumption which does not belie an established fact. Example: [prophet saying] “If the Rahman (GOD) has a son I would be the first one to serve him” (Q, 43:81) 

 

Hila (Hiyal) [pl] is the avoidance of observing the Islamic law in (extremely) difficult situations while still obeying the letter of the law. 

Note: in Sunni schools it is still controversial while in Shia’a school by 15th century it was fully acceptable; by the force of fatawa issued by Ibn Hajar Al Asqalani, banning its criticism. Hanafites accepted it, Malikites still consider it illegal. There is however a growing debate about the purpose of Sharia’a; its increased interpretational flexibility; in view of the problems/issues faced, due to “Modernity” and “concrete-thinking”, hence revival/increased-employment of Hila as a legitimate tool. Sharia’a based Islamic finance industry is making greater use of it in developing “Riba-(interest)-free” products.  

Imam Bukhari (following the transmission-based juris) differed with Hanafites on the use of legal device “Hila” with vehemence. He condemned the use of “Hiyal” on the basis of hadith “All deeds are judged by their intentions” in tandem with Imam Hanbal and Iban Al Mubarak, who also vehemently rejected the use of Hiyal.  

He also disagreed with Hanafite’s well-known laxity in defining; by employing the device of “hila”—an intoxicant—wine, as grape juice.  

Allah’s planning: (use of Hila) “when we revealed to your mother what was to be revealed” (Q20:38) [ Pharaoh having been told that; someone born in Bani Israel would ruin/kill you, ordered the killing of all male children]. Allah told the mother of Moses to put Moses in a basket and cast him into the river and not to entertain any apprehension about his safety. He will be picked up by the one who is his and My enemy. Your sister working for pharaoh’s family would guide him to you (Moses’s mother) as a sulking nurse, whereby she (Moses’s mother) will not be grieved. [Q, 20:38-39]. 

 Tentative Conclusion of Hiyal Doctrine 

Ḥiyal (sg. ḥīla) are “legal devices” or tools used in achieving certain objectives, lawful or not, through lawful means. Although it is generally agreed that “ḥiyal” are not a subterfuge for the “evasion of the law,” their exact nature and place within Islamic jurisprudence, however, remains an open question. To date, there have been only a few studies devoted to this doctrine and these have focused almost exclusively upon the Ḥanafītes, who developed ḥiyal into a special branch of the law, called makhārij, i.e. “exits”.  

Examined here is the doctrine of the Ḥanafīte together with that of the Mālikīte/Medinaite jurists; who were early witnesses for and against ḥiyal, as conceived by the Ḥanafītes. On the basis of their understanding of the law in terms of utility, Ḥanafītes employed makhārij (exits) to provide remedies for those who sought them. As a particular transmission of Ḥanafīte doctrine, the genre of makhārij sought to confirm the standard doctrine by discovering “exits” suggested therein. Ḥanafīte’s concern for the subject was shared by the Mālikītes, albeit from a different point of view. Mālikītes discussed ḥiyal as jurisprudential materials; that convey the validity of their doctrine, prescribing appropriate solutions. Thus, it is concluded that both the Ḥanafītes and Mālikītes regarded ḥiyal as solutions drawn from the materials of jurisprudence in accordance with the spirit of the law as interpreted by the jurists of their respective schools. 

Taqiyyah. (dissembling) It is termed as an outright lie in the Sunni school of thought. In Shia’a School, however, it is considered (based on the word [ittiqa]) “prudence, precaution or fear”. {A precautionary denial of the faith or its practices in the face of persecution. Kitman (covering)—by silence or omission}. Among the “Twelver-Shia’as” it is politically legitimized to maintain unity among the Muslims in general and fraternity among the shia’a clerics in particular. 

Taqqiyah was developed by Imam Jafar Al Sadiq to protect against the oppression of Abbasid Caliph—Al Mansur—who was a Sunni Muslim.  Also, that esoterically, the “Ilm–knowledge” given to Shia’a Imam has to be hidden from the uninitiated and adversaries until the descending of their “Twelfth-Imam”. [Taqqiyah—This term is often used against Islam and Muslims indiscriminately by the Islamophobes and Anti-Islam polemicists]. 

Its authority is said to have been derived from the Qura’anic verse 3:28 although, there is not the slightest indication of permission for lying or deceiving—except for exoteric stop-gap accommodation of the nonbelievers–in the face of extreme adversity. 

“Believers should not take disbelievers {where the interest of the deniers of the truth clashes with that of the believers} as guardians instead of the believers; and whosoever does so will have nothing to hope for from Allah (SWT), unless it is a precaution against their tyranny. {where there is a reason to fear from them something; which ought to be guarded against, for they are more powerful than the Muslims} And Allah warns you about Himself. And to Allah is the final return” (Q, 3:28) 

Scientific dimension of Divine injunction with respect to Lying, deception, and planning,  

Surah Al-Alaq # 96 verse, 15 & 16 exhibits; how scientifically structured are Islamic injunctions; as shown here, with respect to lying, deceiving and planning. 

“No! If he does not desist, We will surely smite his forehead” – (96:15) 

“A lying sinning forehead” (96:16) 

“And shun the false speech” (Q, 22:30) 

 Lying and deception are generated in the frontal lobe/cortex of the forehead, also known as the “The voice of reason” 

 (we will certainly smite his forehead),  ناصيته NAASIYAH is the forehead. 

  Obvious questions would be. Why did the Quran describe the front of the head as being lying and sinful?  Why didn’t the Quran say that the person was lying and sinful?  What is the relationship between the front of the head and lying and sinfulness?  

 If we look into the skull at the front of the head, we will find that the prefrontal area of the cerebrum (left side of the figure) is what does the physiology tells us about the function of this area?  

 A book entitled Essentials of Anatomy & Physiology explains about this area that; “the motivation and the foresight to plan and initiate movements” occur in the anterior portion of the frontal lobes, the prefrontal area. This is a region of association cortex…” The book also explains, “In relation to its involvement in motivation, the prefrontal area is also thought to be the functional center for aggression”  

So, this area of the cerebrum is responsible for planning, motivating, and initiating good and sinful behavior and is responsible for the telling of lies and the speaking of truth.  Thus, it is befittingly described in the Holy Qura’an; that it is the front of the head lying and sinful when someone lies or commits a sin. “...A lying, sinful “naseyyah” (front of the head)!” 

 

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Allahu-Akbar

Every Muslim invariably uses this phrase one way or the other. It is also used as a battle-cry.  

 In the west, however, this phrase has, by design, been associated with terrorist-attack. 

 In general, everyone including Non-Muslim, know its, obvious exoteric meaning: “God is great”. Most of the people, however, do not know its esoteric grandeur, splendor and majesty.  

 An attempt, therefore, is made to explain/present the grandeur and splendor of this phrase. I, earnestly, seek the help of Almighty Allah (SWT) to make me able to explain it properly. 

 The earth we live on (specifically fashioned to suit the human habitation) was created before the creation of the Universe. It is worth noticing that although Qura’an mentions “seven” earths but none of the rest of the six has so far been discovered; as the exact replica of our earth, including the recently discovered (Exoplanet 452b) earth-II.  

 Our earth appears merely a tiny dot in the faintly luminous band, stretching across the heavens, of our Galaxy, Milky Way. The closest galaxy is the recently discovered dwarf galaxy, VY Canis Majoris, which is 25,000 light-years away. One light year is equal to 9.461 trillion kilometers. 

 Approximately 60,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 men would equal the size of our earth 

 The diameter of our sun is: 1.392 million km whereas the Diameter of our earth is only: 12,740 km, the sun can hold 1,300,000 Earths inside of it. 

 Eta Carinae more than 5 million times bigger and brighter than the sun. 

Betel Geuse 30 million times bigger than our sun. 

 VY Canis Majoris is about 1b times bigger than our sun. 

 Milky Way contains between 300 to 400b suns/stars. If one can travel (almost) at the speed of light or 300,000 km per second it would require 101,000+ years to cover it. 

 Andromeda—our neighbor galaxy is twice as big. 

 Galaxy M18—is 60 times bigger than ours. 

 Galaxy IC-1011—is 600 times bigger than ours. 

 Virgo Supercluster, housing our galaxy, consists of 47000 galaxies. 

 Local Goup—Supercluster—consists of around 100 clusters. 

 There exist around 100, 0000 Superclusters in the universe. 

 That is not it, but also that, there is nothing in the entire created realm which does not bow down to its Creator—Allah (SWT)–willingly or unwillingly.  

 “Whatever beings are there in the Heaven and the Earth do prostrate themselves before Allah (SWT) alone, willingly or unwillingly, as do their shadows morning and evening” (Q, 13:15) 

 (Human beings, Angels, spirits and other things of objective existence; contrasted with their shadows and simulacra, phantasms etc. Satan and Evil, though would like to get away from the awe of Allah (SWT) but not being able, would acknowledge the supremacy and Lordship of Allah (SWT). 

Those who submit willingly are the believers, angels and inanimate beings. Non-believers are the ones who submit, without being conscious, unwillingly.  

 Sum total 

They (rational beings) have not appraised Allah (SWT) with the true appraisal, while the Earth, on the Day of Resurrection, will be entirely within His grip, and the Heavens will be folded in His right hand. Exalted is He and high above what they associate with Him. (Q, 39:67) Allah-o-Akbar! 

 

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