Quranic Terminology: Wombs

Published in August 4, 2018

Translated by: Ahmed Fathy

Introduction:

 We have received this question from one of our dear fellow Quranists; we quote it here followed by our reply: (... Dear Dr. Mansour ... I'd like to pose this question to you about the relation of the term "wombs" in the Quran and one's kin and relatives whom we should visit and treat kindly and charitably ... Would you please shed more light on that topic? Thank you ...).

OUR REPLY:

 The plural term "wombs" is never mentioned in its singular form in the Quranic text; this term refers to two meanings; i.e., it refers literally to the wombs of women and figuratively to one's kin and relatives in the Quranic legislations regarding them. We provide more details in the points below.

Firstly: about the wombs of women:

1- Before the creation of Adam, his soul was created in Barsakh, and from it, all souls of human beings were created: "We created you, then We shaped you, then We said to the angels, "Bow down before Adam;" so they bowed down, except for Satan; he was not of those who bowed down." (7:11). In the predestined time for each soul, it descends on earth to wear its physical body as a fetus inside a womb; each body when born carries the same features of its soul that came from Barsakh; we mean features like color and height; God says the following in the Quran: "It is He who forms you in the wombs as He wills. There is no God except He, the Almighty, the Wise." (3:6); "He is God; the Creator, the Maker, the Designer. His are the Most Beautiful Names..." (59:24).

2- We perceive miraculous scientific indications in the Quran about the stages of the creation and life of human beings here: "O people! If you are in doubt about the Resurrection - We created you from dust, then from a small drop, then from a clinging clot, then from a lump of flesh, partly developed and partly undeveloped. In order to clarify things for you. And We settle in the wombs whatever We will for a designated term, and then We bring you out as infants, until you reach your full strength. And some of you will pass away, and some of you will be returned to the vilest age, so that he may not know, after having known..." (22:5). The ovum and the sperm meet to form the first cell inside the womb and this clot or piece of meat and blood will have its soul later on to become a human being inside the womb, which is a secure location for it; it stays there for a certain period before it is born in the time preordained by the Lord God: "We created man from an extract of clay. Then We made him a seed, in a secure repository. Then We developed the seed into a clot. Then We developed the clot into a lump. Then We developed the lump into bones. Then We clothed the bones with flesh. Then We produced it into another creature. Most Blessed is God, the Best of Creators." (23:12-14); "Did We not create you from an insignificant fluid? Then lodged it in a secure repository? For a known term? We measured precisely. We are the best to measure." (77:20-23).

3- It is quite impossible that the prophet of the gentiles, Muhammad Ibn Abdullah of the Qorayish tribe, who lived in the 7^th century A.D. to know these stages inside the wombs; this means that God (and not Muhammad or any other mortals) is the Author of the Quranic text. Such scientific indications have been proven in our modern age today; such indications prove that Muhammad never authored the Quran; the Lord God refers to wombs while saying the following about Himself: "With God rests the knowledge of the Hour. He sends down the rain, and He knows what the wombs contain. No soul knows what it will reap tomorrow, and no soul knows in what land it will die. God is All-Knowing, Well-Informed." (31:34); "God knows what every female bears, and every increase and decrease of the wombs. With Him, everything is by measure." (13:8).

4- Some naïve, skeptic, Quran-hating persons might say that what is written about wombs in the verses 31:34 and 13:8 is no longer miraculous as modern scientific apparatuses make people know the sex of the fetuses and examine the stages of its creation before its being born; those persons tend to forget the following facts.  

4/1: The Lord God the Creator has made these facts descend within the Quranic text 14 centuries ago; scientists and modern science now prove the authenticity and veracity of the Quran as the Word of the Lord God.

4/2: Modern science can make us see what is inside wombs and stages of development of fetuses/embryos and their sex; yet, God the Omniscient Lord knows more about what is going on to the yet-to-be-born human beings inside the wombs; i.e., how fetuses/embryos are influenced by changes of the body of the mothers, how they influence the mothers' body and wombs, how and when they are being fed, when souls are breathed into them, and how they will look like in terms of facial and bodily features.  

4/3: Besides, the wombs of females mentioned in the verses 31:34 and 13:8 are not confined to human wombs; rather, these verses refer to wombs of all non-human creatures on earth; e.g., the female donkey carries inside its body bacteria and microorganisms, apart from the yet-to-be born jack-ass inside its womb. Of course, all microorganisms reproduce and some of them are females and they carry food and ova inside their bodies. This is not to mention female mammals and other animals and insects of the land and female creatures of the sea. Besides, what every female creature carries is not confined to what is inside wombs; they also carry food, microorganisms, etc. This is not to mention Barsakh creatures (i.e., angels, jinn, and devils) which multiply in ways unknown to human beings. In the verse 13:8, we are informed about the fact that God knows all about all the stages of the development of fetuses/embryos and when souls enter into them; scientists can only know/record physical changes and pulses of the hearts of embryos; they cannot see souls entering into them as this type of knowledge will remain beyond human abilities and will never be recorded or studied.

4/4: The Lord God is the Creator Who has given certain measures to all His creatures: "...Who created everything and determined its measure." (25:2); "Everything We created is precisely measured." (54:49); "...God has set a measure to all things." (65:3); God has decreed the duration of stay of the fetus/embryo inside wombs: "Then lodged it in a secure repository? For a known term? We measured precisely. We are the best to measure." (77:21-23).

Secondly: the term (wombs) refers figuratively to kin and relatives:

1- The basis of kin and relatives is wombs of women for sure; the Almighty Lord God says the following in the Quran: "And it is He who, from fluid, created the human being. Then He made relationships through marriage and mating. Your Lord is Omnipotent." (25:54).

2- The mention of (wombs) is noticed within the context of creating the very first soul of Adam and the rest of human souls from it: "O people! Fear your Lord within piety, who created you from a single soul, and created from it its mate, and propagated from them many men and women. And revere God within piety Whom you ask about, and the wombs. Surely, God is Watchful over you." (4:1). The term (wombs) here means one's kin and relatives, of course.

3- Within Quranic legislations of the Dominant Lord God, kin and relatives care for one another within obedience to the Lord God within piety; God has addressed the following to the Yathreb society during Muhammad's lifetime: "As for those who believed afterwards, and emigrated and struggled with you - these belong with you. But relatives of wombs are nearer to one another in the Book of God. God is Cognizant of everything." (8:75); "The prophet is more caring of the believers than they are of themselves, and his wives are mothers to them. And relatives of wombs are closer to one another in God's Book than the believers or the emigrants, though you should do good to your friends. That is inscribed in the Book." (33:6).

Thirdly: rights of kin and relatives:

1- Within inheritance laws:

1/1: The kin has their rightful inheritance shares: "Men receive a share of what their parents and kin leave, and women receive a share of what their parents and kin leave; be it little or much - a legal share." (4:7).

1/2: The relatives have the right to have money from the inheritance as a type of charity: "If the distribution is attended by the relatives, and the orphans, and the needy, give them something out of it, and speak to them kindly." (4:8).

2- Within written will and testament, one is to specify shares ONLY for parents and members of kin who have inheritance shares: "It is decreed for you: when death approaches one of you, and he leaves wealth, to make a testament in favor of the parents and kin, fairly and correctly - a duty upon the righteous ones." (2:180). We reject the Sunnite hadith/balderdash/myth about there is no need for written will and testament for those who will have inheritors.

3- Within charity:

3/1: We quote this verse about individual charity: "They ask you what they should give. Say, "Whatever charity you give is for the parents, and the relatives, and the orphans, and the poor, and the wayfarer. Whatever good you do, God is aware of it." (2:215).

3/2: God says the following about the description of truthful pious monotheists: "Righteousness does not consist of turning your faces towards the East and the West. But righteous is he who believes in God, and the Last Day, and the angels, and the Scripture, and the prophets. Who gives money, though dear, to kin and relatives, and orphans, and the needy, and the homeless, and the beggars, and for the freeing of slaves; those who perform the prayers, and pay the obligatory charity..." (2:177).

3/3: This is one of the general rules set by the Lord God in the Quran: "God commands justice, and goodness, and generosity towards relatives. And He forbids immorality, and injustice, and oppression. He advises you, so that you may take heed." (16:90).

3/4: Thus, kin and relatives, or relatives of wombs as per the Quranic expression, have to receive their rights by the pious ones: "And give the relatives their rights, and the poor, and the wayfarer, and do not squander wastefully." (17:26); "So give the relatives their rights, and the destitute, and the wayfarer. That is best for those who seek God's presence. Those are the prosperous." (30:38).

3/5: Even those workers/servants of one's dead relatives or parents should have their rights: "To everyone We have assigned beneficiaries in what is left by parents and relatives. Those with whom you have made an agreement, give them their share. God is Witness over all things." (4:33).

4- Their rights in charity, kindness, and good treatment:

4/1: This is mentioned in the Covenant of God with the Israelites: "We made a covenant with the Israelites: "Worship none but God; and be good to parents, and relatives, and orphans, and the needy; and speak nicely to people; and pray regularly, and give alms."..." (2:83). 

4/2: The above divine commands of the Lord God are also addressed to Quran-believing monotheists here: "Worship God, and ascribe no partners to Him, and be good to the parents, and the relatives, and the orphans, and the poor, and the neighbor next door, and the distant neighbor, and the close associate, and the traveler, and your servants. God does not love the arrogant showoff." (4:36).

4/3: Muhammad never asked for wages/fees or rewards from any mortals for his call to monotheism; God will reward him in the Hereafter; anyone who desires to show gratitude to Muhammad should be charitable and kind towards one's family, kin, and relatives as per the following verse: "...Say, "I ask of you no wage for it, except affection among the near of kin."..." (42:23).

Fourthly: all of the above should be within obedience to the Almighty Dominant Lord God:

 The above point do NOT mean that one would disobey the Almighty Lord God to please one's parents, family, kin, and relatives.

1- This fact is mentioned in the context of the Quranic Ten Commandments: "...And when you speak, be fair, even if it concerns a close relative..." (6:152).

2- Real, monotheistic believers should be truthful and adhere to justice while bearing witness or testifying about anything in order to gratify and please their Lord God, regardless of the interests of one's parents, family, kin, and relatives: "O you who believe! Stand firmly for justice, as witnesses to God, even if against yourselves, or your parents, or your relatives. Whether one is rich or poor, God takes care of both. So do not follow your desires, lest you swerve. If you deviate, or turn away - then God is Aware of what you do." (4:135).

3- Eventually, one's parents, family, kin, and relatives of wombs will never avail one on the Day of Resurrection; one will flee from them and the sinners will wish in vain to be spared from Hell even if this means that their families replace them inside Hell; thus, no one will benefit anyone on the Last Day: "When the Horn is blown, no relations between them will exist on that Day, and they will not ask after one another." (23:101); "But when the Scream comes to pass. The Day when a person will flee from his brother. And his mother and his father. And his consort and his children. Every one of them, on that Day, will have enough to preoccupy him." (80:33-37); "No friend will care about his friend. They will be shown each other. The criminal wishes he would be redeemed from the torment of that Day by his children. And his spouse, and his brother. And his family that sheltered him. And everyone on earth, in order to save him." (70:10-14); "No burdened soul can carry the burden of another. Even if one weighted down calls for help with its burden, nothing can be lifted from it, even if they were close relatives..." (35:18).