Sex Determination and sex Differentiation As Revealed in the Holy Quran and Hadith

1. Sex Determination and sex Differentiation As Revealed in the Holy Quran and Hadith By Professor Megahed . M. Abu El - Magd Mansoura Diabetes and Endocrinology Unit 2002

2. Three Main steps for human sex determination & differentiation 1-At the genetic level at the time of gamete fertilization. 2- Differentiation of the gonads 3- Development of the internal & external genitalia in response to secretions from the differentiated gonads.

3. At the genetic level * Very early at the time of fertilization. * Male gamete united with female gamete. * If the sperm which fertilizes the ovum is carrying a Y- chromosome, the off spring will be a boy. * While if it is carrying X- chromosome it will be a girl (By the will of God)

4. The Holy Quran described these facts obviously, which were only known scientifically in the twentieth century.

5. وَأَنَّهُ خَلَقَ الزَّوْجَيْنِ الذَّكَرَ وَالْأُنثَى That He did create in pairs, male and female, مِن نُّطْفَةٍ إِذَا تُمْنَى From a seed when lodged (in its place); ترجمة المعاني: (عبد الله يوسف علي) (النجم 45،46)

6. أَيَحْسَبُ الْإِنسَانُ أَن يُتْرَكَ سُدًى Does Man think that he will be left uncontrolled, (without purpose)? أَلَمْ يَكُ نُطْفَةً مِّن مَّنِيٍّ يُمْنَى Was he not a drop of sperm emitted (in lowly form)? ثُمَّ كَانَ عَلَقَةً فَخَلَقَ فَسَوَّى Then did he become a clinging clot; then did (Allah) make and fashion (him) in due proportion. ترجمة المعاني: (عبد الله يوسف علي) (القيامة 36 :38)

7. فَجَعَلَ مِنْهُ الزَّوْجَيْنِ الذَّكَرَ وَالْأُنثَى And of it He made two sexes, male and female. أَلَيْسَ ذَلِكَ بِقَادِرٍ عَلَى أَن يُحْيِيَ الْمَوْتَى Has not He, (the same), the power to give life to the dead? ترجمة المعاني: (عبد الله يوسف علي) (القيامة 39 ،40)

9. The Gonadal sex * The term sex determination refers to the development of gonadal. Sex- the process that occurs approximately 7 to 8 weeks gestation in the human fetus when either testis or ovary development occurs (Primary sex differentiation)

10. * The primary sex determination occurs when the premordial gonads differentiate to either testes or ovaries.

11. The origin and time of formation of the gonads (primary sex differentiation) * Before the 7th week, no sex cords are seen in the gonads & it is impossible to differentiate morphologically between the male and female gonads, although the sex of the embryo is determined since the time of fertilization Hamilton Boyd & Mossman. Page 338, 400.

12. Of the embryo is a male the premordial germ cells carry XY sex chromosomes - A gene on the short arm of the Y-chromosome - called the testis - determining factor (TDF), stimulate the undifferentiated gonads into a testis.

13. و أخرج الامام مسلم (كتاب القدر) عنحذيفةابناسيدرضى الله عنه قوله صلى الله عليه وسلم : “اذا مر بالنطفةثنتانوأربعون ليلة بعث الله ملكا فصورها و خلق سمعها وبصرها وجلدها ولحمها وعظامها ثم قال يارب أذكر أم أنثى فيقضى ربك ما شاء ويكتب الملك “

14. The Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him)said :”When the Nutfa enters the womb and stays there forty nights ,God sends an angel to give it is formand creates its hearing , visual apparatus , skin , bone and flesh . Then he asks : O God , is it a boy or a girl ? And God determines whatever He decides . “ Narrated by Muslim (Kitab Al Qadar).

37. فَلْيَنظُرِ الْإِنسَانُ مِمَّ خُلِقَ Now let man but think from what he is created! خُلِقَ مِن مَّاء دَافِق He is created from a drop emitted, ترجمة المعاني: (عبد الله يوسف علي) (الطارق 5 ، 6)

38. يَخْرُجُ مِن بَيْنِ الصُّلْبِ وَالتَّرَائِب Proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs: إِنَّهُ عَلَى رَجْعِهِ لَقَادِرٌ Surely (Allah) is able to bring him back (to life)! ترجمة المعاني: (عبد الله يوسف علي) (الطارق 7 ، 8)

40. *The testis develops on the posterior abdominal wall opposite the first lumbar vertebra, later it descends to the scrotum pulling after it the testicular artery of the abdominal aorta. * The testis descends till it reaches the deep inguinal ring in the 3rd month. * The testis reaches the scrotum in the 8th month.

41. * The ovary also develops on the posterior abdominal wall opposite the first lumbar vertebra. *Descent of the ovary: The ovary reaches the false pelvis in 3rd month and the true pelvis shortly after birth. * As the ovary descends, it pulls the ovarian artery from the abdominal aorta.

42. The above mentioned Quaranic Ayes states clearly the site of formation of human gonads. The commentators of the Holy Quran differed in their explanation of this aye into two main groups. The first group includes the majority of the old commentators like Ibn Jarrir El Tabri, Ibn Kathir, Tafsir El Galalain who understood that the semen (male secretion) comes from the bones if the back and the female part comes from the ribs or breast.

43. Ibn El Qaiem refused this explanation. He stated that the word between means that the vertebral column & ribs lie in the same person either male or female(Ilam Al Mowoquin) volume 1/158.

44. Al Qurtobi, Al Oloosi, said that the Quaranic ayes are clear in indicating that both the male & female sexual gonads come from a place in between the bones of the back and the ribs.

45. It is important to notice that the nerve supply the blood supply and the lymph drainage remains in the whole life of the human individual connected to the area cited in the Holy Quran as between the vertebral column and the ribs.

46. The testicular artery comes from the abdominal aorta at the level of the second limber vertebra. The right testicular vein drains into the I.V.C while the left drains into the left renal veins.

47. The anatomical & embryological data greatly help in under standing the facts mentioned in Holy - Quran and the sayings of prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him).

48. These facts mentioned in Quran and Hadith precede the scientists by more than one thousand year. Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) mentioned since more than 1400 years very accurate statements.

49. The formation of the external Genitalia * The external genitalia pass into an indifferent stage- early in the third week the genital tubercle forms as a result of union of mesodermal at the site of the cloaca.

50. * At the sixth week the cloaca is subdivided by a septum into two parts:the urogenital and anal membranes. Mean while genital swellings become visible on each side of the urethral fold.