question about hadith reliability

[Nzingha]

as salaam alaikum

After doing some research for pregnancy as per quran i came upon something. In the Qur'an it is mentioned that the gender of a child is due to the sperm, but than we have some ahadith in which it is related that at a particular time during an embyronic stage (the variants differ as to when exactly) that an angel comes and writes certain things of the fetus.. one is the name, age when they die and the sex. It is further related at this time the fetus is given a soul. Now me wonders, since by Qur'an which is totally correct, sex is determined by the sperm which implants the egg.. and not some time latter in the womb is this determined.. can the ahadith which relate this information be taken as truth? especially since these ahadith are taken as a dispute as to when the "soul" is inspired?

to check out what i found out about pregnancy in quran check out http://www.angelfire.com/la/IslamicView/Pregnancy.html it is for infertility related issues.. but interesting non the less :)

ma salaam
nzingha

- Never do I argue with a man with a desire to hear him say what is wrong, or to expose him and win victory over him. Whenever I face an opponent in debate I silently pray - O Lord, help him so that truth may flow from his heart and on his tongue, and so that if truth is on my side, he may follow me; and if truth be on his side, I may follow him.
al-Imam Al-Shafi'i

[Munir]

Wa-alaikum as-salaam Sister:

The Qur'an speaks about the physical aspect of the creation of a body, and the hadith which you mentioned speaks about the spiritual aspect and in the spiritual dimension of the journey which is due to start. When the angel writes the action and the taqdir, refers to the things which will happen, or may happen, because we all contribute in our Taqdir (Destiny).The angel does not write in the foetus, only the ruh is put in to the physical body. The other way is: If Qur'an says some thing and the hadith says a different thing, concerning the same issue, then Qur'an is
taken and the hadith is left apart.

Wassalam
Sh Munir

[qaisar]

As-salaamu-alaikum, Sister Nzinga.

This is with reference to your article about hadith reliability & in particular the question of gender (sex) determination of a fetus and the quoting of the hadith about an angel appointed for noting the name, sex,life,fate etc. of the unborn child. One might be a little surprised to know that the information contained in the abovementioned hadith is not exactly wrong or misleading keeping in view modern scientific findings & knowledge regarding gender determination of a fetus. The hadith says that an angel writes the sex (gender) of the fetus at a later stage after it's conception; well this is not exactly wrong as far as modern embryology is concerned. It is very true that,primarily, the gender of a fetus is determined by the sperm (ie. the X or Y chromosome contained in the sperm) at the time of fertilisation at conception. This determines the "genetic sex" of the fetus.
But the actual "PHYSICAL SEX" of the fetus is determined much later in the first few weeks after conception under the influence of certain factors and hormones like testosterone (the male hormone) and the fetus can be DEFINITELY said to be male or female around the 4th month of fetal development which can be confirmed by ultrasound examination. The essential point to remember is that every fetus has the POTENTIAL to develop into EITHER SEX (male or female) even though genetically it has been pre-determined at the time of conception by the sperm. In the absence of the hormone testosterone & other factors (which are secreted much later,after a few weeks), ALL fetuses would develop into females even if they were male (XY) at time of conception. And conversely,female embryos would develop into male fetuses in the presence of excessive testosterone, as can be seen in certain congenital abnormalities (eg. persons who are "eunuchs" by birth). Therefore, it is not wrong to state that the actual gender differentiation (ie. physical sex) of a fetus takes place NOT at the time of conception, but later in the first trimester (first 3 months of pregnancy) under the influence of hormones etc. So co-relating this fact of embryology with the hadith of the angel writing the sex of the fetus at a later time are not mutually contradictory. I can say this as a doctor but anyone can check this fact with any book of Modern Embryology.
Thus, in this case at least, there does not appear to be any opposing clash of knowledge contained in the said hadith and modern scientific facts. The Qur'an also provides more embryological insights by stating:
"He creates you in the wombs of your mothers, in stages, one after another, in three veils of darkness." (V.39:6)
We know now what these "three veils of darkness" are; the amniotic sac, fetal membranes & inner uterus.
Reflecting a little further, Allah states:
"When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of My spirit,...." (V.15:29)
and apply this to human development, we find that the fetus takes the shape of a human being quite early in it's development (as Allah first gives it it's shape; V.7:11) but it is not capable of an independent existence as yet; only after the period of viability has been achieved later on that the fetus is capable of independent existence, perhaps after Allah has breathed into it "of His spirit".
In conclusion, current modern knowledge is concordant with the knowledge contained in the Holy Qur'an and the ahadith (well, at least some of the ahadith).
And Allah Ta' ala knows best.

Wa-salaam,
Dr.Qaisar.

[Nzingha]

as salaam alaikum

Thank you that was very interesting.. think i'll do some more research on the variant ahadith.. medical explanations and add it to our site :)

I'm assuming that this determines hemorphodites <sp??> which brings me to the question.. which would be the true gender.. the genetics or the physical appearance?

ma salaam
nzingha

- Never do I argue with a man with a desire to hear him say what is wrong, or to expose him and win victory over him. Whenever I face an opponent in debate I silently pray - O Lord, help him so that truth may flow from his heart and on his tongue, and so that if truth is on my side, he may follow me; and if truth be on his side, I may follow him.
al-Imam Al-Shafi'i

[Dr Qaisar]

As-salaamu-alaikum, Sister Nzingha.

Regarding your query about "hermaphrodites", I assume you maybe refering to this phenomenon in human beings but before I answer your question, I will have to elaborate on this further. Hermaphroditism is defined as the presence of both male & female reproductive organs in an organism. While hermaphroditism is common in some lower forms of animals (like worms) and also in some plants, "TRUE" hermaphroditism is extremely rare in human beings. This would mean presence of both internal male (testes) and female (ovaries) gonads in the same individual. Such an individual's gender (sex) would be termed as "indeterminate" i.e. neither male or female, irrespective of the external genitalia or the genetic makeup.
The more common type of hermaphroditism in human beings is what is known as "pseudo-hermaphroditism" or "FALSE" hermaphroditism; in this case the individual has the genetic sex of either male or female but external genitalia of the opposite sex. So here the gender (sex) is determined by the presence of the internal reproductive organs i.e. if ovaries are present then the individual is a female and if testes are present, the individual is a male. This is because the internal reproductive organs are involved in the production of gametes (ovum or sperm) and secretion of the respective male or female hormones and the external genitalia can be surgically corrected but not the internal ones.
I hope this answers your question.

Wa-salaam,
Dr.Qaisar.