In Surah An-Najm (53:45-46), the Quran declares: "And that He creates the two mates - the male and female - from a sperm-drop when it is emitted."
This verse links the creation of the pair — male and female — to the ejaculated drop of sperm. This wording has led some authors to see in it an indication of the role of sperm in determining the sex of the child.
The historical context
For centuries, many erroneous theories circulated about sex determination. Aristotle believed that sex was determined by the temperature of the semen. Other theories attributed sex determination to maternal blood, the position of the uterus, or the food consumed by the mother. None of these theories mentioned the role of sperm in sex determination.
The scientific discovery
In 1905, American biologist Nettie Stevens and cytologist Edmund Beecher Wilson independently discovered the X and Y sex chromosomes. They established that the sex of the child is determined by the sperm:
- The woman's eggs always carry an X chromosome.
- Sperm carry either an X or a Y chromosome.
- If an X sperm fertilizes the egg, the child will be female (XX).
- If a Y sperm fertilizes the egg, the child will be male (XY).
The sex of the child is therefore determined by the sperm, that is, by the "drop of sperm" mentioned in the verse. This 20th-century discovery offers a confirmation of the Quranic wording, which links the creation of the pair to the ejaculated drop.
For the believer, this verse first reminds us that the distinction between male and female belongs to God's creative will, who brings forth the pair from a single tiny drop. Modern science, by showing that sex depends on the sperm, here offers a confirmation that nourishes reflection — the text does not claim to deliver a lesson in genetics.
Arguments of the detractors
This comparison, often cited, calls for several reservations that are worth knowing in order to preempt criticism:
- The verse does not describe the mechanism: the wording (53:45-46) states that God created the male/female pair "from a sperm-drop when it is emitted." It does not specify that sex is determined by the sperm. The idea of an indication about sex determination is a modern interpretive reading.
- Retrospective reading: linking this verse to the discovery of the X and Y chromosomes (1905) is a retrospective reading (eisegesis): the text evokes the common origin of the pair, a general biological truth, without anticipating the chromosomal mechanism.
- Science confirms the word of Allah: the verse describes a reality that modern observation reaches, and it cannot be otherwise, for the word of Allah is truth.