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!
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