Islam Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for Muslims, experts in Islam, and those interested in learning more about Islam. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
In the Qu'ran Allah says:
And of every thing We have created pairs: That ye may receive instruction. Qur'an 51:49
However not every creature procreates or reproduces through male and female sexual relationship.
So where's my misunderstanding of the aya, if any, exist?
The ayat means that for every gender, there is an opposite gender (male and female). For every matter, there is an anti-matter. For every positive, there is a negative. This ayat does not limit to animals and it's not necessarily talking about sex.
The assumption that زوجين (pairs) means sexual genders is wrong.
قوله تعالى : ومن كل شيء خلقنا زوجين أي صنفين ونوعين مختلفين
قال ابن زيد : أي ذكرا وأنثى وحلوا وحامضا ونحو ذلك
مجاهد . يعني الذكر والأنثى ، والسماء والأرض ، والشمس والقمر ، والليل والنهار ، والنور والظلام ، والسهل والجبل ، والجن والإنس ، والخير والشر ، والبكرة والعشي ، وكالأشياء المختلفة الألوان من الطعوم والأراييح والأصوات
The Saying of Allah: "And of every thing We have created pairs" , that is different صنفين (categories) and نوعين (types).
Ibn Zaid said: That is male and female, sweet and sour and the like.
Mujahid said: male and female, heavens and earth, sun and moon, light and darkness, plains and mountains, jinn and humans, good and evil, morning and evening, and things that differ in their taste, smells and colours.
ومن كل شيء خلقنا زوجين : أي : جميع المخلوقات أزواج : سماء وأرض ، وليل ونهار ، وشمس وقمر ، وبر وبحر ، وضياء وظلام ، وإيمان وكفر ، وموت وحياة ، وشقاء وسعادة ، وجنة ونار ، حتى الحيوانات والنباتات
(And of everything We have created pairs) meaning, all the created are in pairs, the heaven and earth, night and day, sun and moon, land and sea, light and darkness, faith and disbelief, death and life, misery and happiness, Paradise and Fire, in addition to the animals and plants.
ومن كل شيء خلقنا زوجين: صنفين ونوعين مختلفين كالسماء والأرض ، والشمس والقمر ، والليل والنهار ، والبر والبحر ، والسهل والجبل ، والشتاء والصيف ، والجن والإنس ، والذكر والأنثى ، والنور والظلمة ، والإيمان والكفر ، والسعادة والشقاوة ، والحق والباطل ، والحلو والمر
And of everything We have created pairs : Different categories and types: heavens and earth, sun and moon, night and day, land and sea, plain and mountain, winter and summer, jinn and humans, male and female, light and darkness, belief and kufr, truth and falsehood, sweet and bitter.
Further, Angels are part of creation and are part of everything, yet it is well known that they do not have sexual genders, see 43:19, 53:27, 37:150-151 etc.
I didn't believe in evolution until I read about the liger. If it is a different species entirely I see it as the physical proof the world has long awaited for. I also noted the teaching of the Qur'an which states that "And of everything We(God) made pairs" I challenged myself to see it nature supports this and I was trilled, there was absolutely nothing that goes against the law. What is more surprising is that Islamic beliefs also had this characteristic. Pairs simple translate to types. There are types of people, types of light, types of food, types of weather, force, planets all other things you can think of. In Islam there are types of prayer, types of fast, types of pilgrimage, types of Angel, types of intelligent creations, types of proof, type of marriage, types of recitations of Quran, types of Prophet. So I concluded that evolution too could have obviously been a type of ways some species must have come to this world and that the other were created in their physical form.
Surah Adh-Dhariyat, Verse 49: وَمِن كُلِّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقْنَا زَوْجَيْنِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ
And of everything We have created pairs that you may be mindful. via iQuran
(And of everything We have created pairs) meaning, all the created are in pairs, the heaven and earth, night and day, sun and moon, land and sea, light and darkness, faith and disbelief, death and life, misery and happiness, Paradise and Fire, matter and anti-matter, in addition to the animals and plants. — Tafsir Ibn Kathir ; [English translation]
Asexual species have the pairs of dna within them in order to reproduce. .....
Peace be upon you, This Ayat doesn't mean that every creature is created by male and female sexual relations, but it means that every type of creature you see, must have both genders i.e. male and female. Take examples such as dog and bitch, bull and cow, fox and vixen etc.
"The transcendental function is not something one does oneself, it comes rather from experiencing the conflict of opposites."
And from every infinite potential, we created duality, so that you may come to mind. [Qur'an, 51:49]
Carl Jung
