Question 11: A friend of mine opposed the information “man was created from a sperm drop”in the Quran. He said it was something that could be known by anybody in the era when the Quran was sent down

Question 11: A friend of mine opposed the information “man was created from a sperm drop”in the Quran. He said it was something that could be known by anybody in the era when the Quran was sent down and that it could not be regarded as an evidence that the Quran is a product of divine revelation. How can I answer it?

Dear Brother / Sister,

Answer: Before Islam, people used to make idols from halwa and worship them. He did not know how and by whom he was created. The Quran informed them about their creator and stated that Allah was the creator of everything including themselves. 

The Quran addresses all people to come until Doomsday. Therefore, people in every era learn from the Quran how they should understand their creator, what their duties toward Allah are, who created them, who will resurrect and how they will be taken into account. That is the main duty of religion. The stages of the creation of each being and how they were created are explained within the framework of the information of the people of every era. Knowing them down to the last details will only concern those who are engaged in that science. What a Muslim needs to know about creation is that everything is created by Allah and that they will be resurrected by Him.

There are tens of verses in the Quran about the creation of man. Some of them are as follows:

It is Allah Who created you in a state of (helpless) weakness (ar-Rum, 54).

It is We Who have created you: why will ye not witness the Truth?

Do ye then see?- The (human Seed) that ye throw out,- Is it ye who create it, or are We the Creators? (al-Waqia, 57-59)

In the verses above, God Almighty attracts attention to the fact that sperm, which forms the basis of man, is created from human body and that man is created from that sperm.

What man needs to know is not the content of this sperm, but the miracle of the creation of the organs like eyes, ears, hand and feet from sperm, which is like a drop of water, and to know who does it.

Suppose that the Quran said, “Do you not look at sperm, the chromosomes in it and the genes that have man’s genetic traits on those?”

The people of that era, who did not know about chromosomes and genes, and who did not have the devices to examine them would have justifiably said, “What we see is a drop of water. It is utterly imaginary and nonsensical. Can there be a religion like that”.

A person who knows that Allah created man from sperm in the form of a drop of water is a believer and a candidate for Paradise. However, if a person who knows that sperm in detail and who has received the Nobel prize in the subject of genes and chromosomes does not know Allah and attributes them to chance and nature, that person is a candidate for Hell.

That is the main duty of the religion: To inform people about the creator and to make them know Him. It will be through examples that people will understand and know.

Some of the verses stating that the first man was created out of clay, that his offspring was created from sperm and that he will be resurrected after death by Allah are as follows:

Man We did create from a quintessence (of clay); Then We placed him as (a drop of) sperm in a place of rest, firmly fixed; Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood; then of that clot We made a (fetus) lump; then we made out of that lump bones and clothed the bones with flesh; then we developed out of it another creature. So blessed be Allah, the best to create! After that, at length ye will die: Again, on the Day of Judgment, will ye be raised up (al-Mu’minun, 12-16).

He Who has made everything which He has created most good: He began the creation of man with (nothing more than) clay, And made his progeny from a quintessence of the nature of a fluid despised: But He fashioned him in due proportion, and breathed into him something of His spirit. And He gave you (the faculties of) hearing and sight and feeling (and understanding): little thanks do ye give!?

And they say: “What! when we lie, hidden and lost, in the earth, shall we indeed be in a Creation renewed?” Nay, they deny the Meeting with their Lord.

Say: The Angel of Death, put in charge of you, will (duly) take your souls: then shall ye be brought back to your Lord (as-Sajda, 7-11).

Now let man but think from what he is created! He is created from a drop emitted-Proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs: Surely (Allah) is able to bring him back (to life)! (at-Tariq, 5-8).

And your creation or your resurrection is in no wise but as an individual soul: for Allah is He Who hears and sees (all things) (Luqman, 28).

In the verses above, God Almighty attracts attention to fact that man was created by Allah and that he will be created by Allah again in the hereafter.

It is indicated in the Quran that all living beings were created from water (sperm) as follows:

And Allah has created every animal from water: of them there are some that creep on their bellies; some that walk on two legs; and some that walk on four. Allah creates what He wills for verily Allah has power over all things (an-Nur, 45).

Conclusion:

The Quran informs people about Allah and their duties toward Allah; it teaches people that they will be resurrected after death, called to account for what they do in the world and that those who believe and do good deeds will be sent to Paradise and those who do not accept Allah will be sent to Hell, where they will remain forever.

In order to inform people about those things, the facts are told to them by drawing attention to what they know and see and by giving examples related to them. The Quran was not sent down to tell people about all sciences in detail.

Besides, is the purpose man’s being sent to the world not to know Allah and worship Him? Dealing with science and philosophy is left to people’s own preferences. It is stated by the Quran that he who does not know science and philosophy but knows Allah and worships Him will go to Paradise and that he who knows science and philosophy very well but who does not know Allah will go to Hell.

If man looks at his own creation beginning from the zygote, which is a cell, he will understand that it is done by Allah. In fact, everything, from the circulation of blood in his body to the renewal of the cells every moment so that he will continue living, takes place outside the power and will of man. Who does all those things?

The Prophet states the following in a hadith: “He who knows his soul knows Allah.” (see Ajluni, 2/262). Thus, man can find Allah and understand His power and strength by looking at his own creation and the continuation of his life all the time.

This world is the world testing. If man wishes, he can believe and make his world good and his afterlife nice; or, he can deny Allah, ruining both his world and his afterlife. A small sign is enough for those who understand and believe but all evidence is meaningless and insufficient for those who do not understand and whose hearts and souls are completely distorted. The following is stated in a proverb:

A word to the wise is enough.

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