Responses to Christians. IIN - 2
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐱 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐬𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐀 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐡
(1) Introduction
The relationship between Islamic revelation and modern scientific discovery has generated considerable discussion, particularly concerning whether the Qur’an and the Prophetic Sunnah contain descriptions of natural phenomena that were unknown to humanity at the time of revelation.
The concept of scientific precedence in the Islamic sources should not, however, be reduced to the claim that Muslims merely search for modern scientific discoveries and then attempt to locate an equivalent statement in the Qur’an or Sunnah. A more significant possibility is that revelation may contain indications of natural realities that human beings only come to understand scientifically at a much later stage.
One particularly noteworthy example concerns the role of the woman in determining the sex of the offspring. A Prophetic hadith states:
> “If the water of the man prevails over the water of the woman, the child is male, by the permission of Allah; and if the water of the woman prevails over the water of the man, the child is female, by the permission of Allah.”
This statement is significant because it explicitly attributes a role to the reproductive contribution of the woman. The wording does not portray the female contribution as biologically passive in relation to the sex of the offspring. Instead, it presents the reproductive contributions of the man and woman in terms of *ʿulūw* (“predominance”) and, in other narrations, *sabaq* (“precedence”).
The central argument of this article is that this Prophetic description is worthy of reconsideration in light of the development of modern genetics. Scientific understanding initially placed substantial emphasis upon the Y chromosome as the determining factor in male development. Subsequent discoveries, however, demonstrated that sex determination and sexual differentiation involve a considerably more complex network of genes, including genes located on the X chromosome and on autosomal chromosomes.
This development provides an important context for examining the Prophetic statement and the possibility that its reference to the reproductive contribution of the woman may have a biological significance that was not scientifically understood at the time.
(2) The Prophetic Hadith and the Concepts of Precedence and Predominance
The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, stated:
> “If the water of the man prevails over the water of the woman, the child is male, by the permission of Allah; and if the water of the woman prevails over the water of the man, the child is female, by the permission of Allah.”
The wording of this hadith deserves careful consideration. The statement does not merely mention the male reproductive contribution and assign to it an exclusive role in determining the sex of the offspring. Rather, it explicitly refers to the reproductive contribution of the woman and describes a relationship between the two.
The concepts of *ʿulūw* (“being higher” or “predominating”) and *sabaq* (“preceding” or “being ahead”), as they occur in the relevant narrations, are particularly significant for this discussion. The language indicates an interaction in which one reproductive contribution is described as prevailing or preceding in relation to the other.
This provides the basis for asking whether the hadith may be understood as indicating that both the male and female reproductive contributions possess biological characteristics relevant to the eventual sex of the offspring.
(3) The Qur’anic Concept of Genetic Determination
The Qur’an also draws attention to the role of the *nutfah* (“reproductive fluid” or “seminal drop”) in human creation and determination.
Allah says:
> “From a drop He created him and determined him.”
> **[Qur’an 80:19]**
Allah also says:
> “Indeed, We created man from a mixed drop.”
> **[Qur’an 76:2]**
The expression “a mixed drop” (*nutfatin amshāj*) is particularly relevant because human reproduction involves the union of reproductive contributions from both parents.
Allah further says:
> “In whatever form He willed, He assembled you.”
> **[Qur’an 82:8]**
These verses establish, at the level of the Qur’anic description, that human development involves divine determination operating through the reproductive process. They do not constitute a modern genetic textbook, nor should modern terminology simply be imposed upon them. Nevertheless, they provide a theological framework within which the biological information carried through reproductive material can be considered.
The Qur’an therefore establishes the broader principle that human formation involves both creation and determination by Allah, while the Sunnah provides further detail concerning the reproductive contributions of the man and woman.
(4) The Traditional Scientific Understanding of Sex Determination
The development of modern genetics initially produced a relatively straightforward model of sex determination.
Under the conventional chromosomal model, human females typically possess two X chromosomes (XX), whereas human males typically possess one X and one Y chromosome (XY). Because the ovum normally contributes an X chromosome while sperm may contribute either an X or a Y chromosome, the male contribution was therefore traditionally regarded as decisive in determining chromosomal sex.
According to this simplified model, an X-bearing sperm fertilising an X-bearing ovum would produce an XX embryo, while a Y-bearing sperm fertilising an X-bearing ovum would produce an XY embryo.
Consequently, it became common to state that the man determines the sex of the offspring, whereas the woman merely contributes the X chromosome.
This model represented an important stage in the development of genetics, but subsequent research demonstrated that it was incomplete.
(5) The Discovery of SRY and the Transition from a Chromosomal to a Genetic Model
One of the major developments in the understanding of sex determination was the discovery of the **SRY gene**.
SRY, or the **sex-determining region of the Y chromosome**, plays a central role in initiating the pathway associated with testicular development and typical male sexual differentiation.
This discovery significantly refined the earlier chromosomal model. It demonstrated that the Y chromosome does not function simply as an undifferentiated determinant of maleness. Rather, a particular gene located on the Y chromosome plays a crucial role in initiating a complex developmental pathway.
More importantly, genetic research subsequently demonstrated that SRY is not necessarily restricted to the Y chromosome in every individual.
In rare cases, the SRY gene can become translocated to another chromosome, including the X chromosome, during abnormal recombination associated with paternal meiosis. Consequently, an individual with an XX chromosomal complement may, in rare circumstances, develop male characteristics when a functional SRY gene is present.
This phenomenon was scientifically significant because it demonstrated that the relationship between chromosomes and sexual development is more complex than the simple formula:
**XX = female; XY = male.**
The discovery of SRY therefore shifted scientific attention from the chromosomal level towards the genetic mechanisms underlying sexual development.
(6) The Discovery of Additional Genes Involved in Sexual Development
Scientific research subsequently identified additional genes involved in sex determination and sexual differentiation.
Among these is **DAX1 (NR0B1)**, located on the X chromosome. Research into DAX1 and other genetic factors contributed to the growing recognition that sexual development is regulated by a network of interacting genes rather than by the Y chromosome alone.
Other genes and regulatory pathways subsequently identified as relevant to sexual development include **SOX9, NR5A1, WT1, WNT4, RSPO1 and FOXL2**, among others.
The significance of these discoveries is that the biological development of male and female characteristics depends upon a complex genetic system. The Y chromosome and SRY remain important components of the typical male developmental pathway, but they do not constitute the entirety of the biological mechanism.
This development is particularly relevant when reconsidering the Prophetic statement concerning the reproductive contributions of the man and woman.
(7) The Scientific Shift: The Y Chromosome Is Not the Entire Explanation
For a considerable period, scientific explanations of male sex determination placed dominant emphasis upon the Y chromosome. The identification of SRY further strengthened the importance of the Y chromosome, because SRY normally resides on it and plays a major role in initiating male development.
However, subsequent research demonstrated that the biological system is considerably more complicated.
The scientific article entitled **“Is the Y Chromosome All That Is Required for Sex Determination?”** directly addresses this issue. Its authors explain that sex determination, and particularly male sex determination, was historically correlated with the presence of the Y chromosome, but that subsequent research demonstrated that this explanation represents only part of the truth.
The article further reports that numerous genes influence sex determination and can contribute to sex reversal from male to female or female to male developmental pathways. Importantly, these genes are located not only on the Y chromosome but also on autosomal chromosomes and the X chromosome.
The article concludes that genetic sex determination is a complex process that cannot be explained merely by the presence of the Y chromosome.
This scientific development is highly relevant to the subject under examination because it demonstrates that the biological process cannot accurately be reduced to the proposition that the male alone determines the sex of the offspring.
( 8 ) Reconsidering the Role of the Woman
The historical development of genetics therefore changes the context in which the Prophetic statement can be considered.
Under a simplistic interpretation of the older chromosomal model, the man was regarded as the sole determinant of the sex of the offspring because sperm may carry either an X or a Y chromosome, whereas the ovum normally carries an X chromosome.
Modern genetics has demonstrated, however, that the biological development of sex involves numerous genetic factors and regulatory pathways, including factors associated with the X chromosome and autosomal chromosomes.
This does not mean that the ovum ordinarily determines whether an individual will be chromosomally XX or XY. In the conventional human reproductive process, the sperm's X or Y chromosome remains decisive for chromosomal sex.
Rather, the important point is that **chromosomal sex and the complete biological process of sexual determination and differentiation are not identical concepts**.
The female reproductive contribution is therefore not biologically irrelevant. The maternal genome contains genes that participate in the molecular pathways governing sexual development, just as the paternal genome does.
This is the point at which the Prophetic wording becomes particularly noteworthy. The hadith refers to the reproductive contribution of both the man and woman and describes their relative precedence or predominance.
(9) The Proposed Genetic Interpretation of “Precedence” and “Predominance”
The interpretation proposed here goes beyond the basic observation that both parents contribute genetic material. It asks whether the Prophetic concepts of *sabaq* (“precedence”) and *ʿulūw* (“predominance”) could point towards an interaction between paternal and maternal genetic factors involved in sexual development.
On this interpretation, the reproductive contribution of the man contains genetic factors associated with male development, while the reproductive contribution of the woman contains genetic factors associated with female developmental pathways. These factors do not operate independently but participate in a complex regulatory system during embryonic development.
The proposed hypothesis is that the Prophetic description of one reproductive contribution “prevailing” over the other may correspond, at a general conceptual level, to the interaction and relative expression of genetic pathways derived from both parents.
It is important, however, to distinguish this proposed interpretation from an established scientific mechanism.
Modern genetics has **not established that sex is determined by simply counting “male genes” and “female genes” and determining which group is numerically greater**. Nor has it established that a greater number of maternal genes necessarily overrides paternal genes or vice versa.
Therefore, the specific mechanism proposed here should be regarded as a **scientific hypothesis requiring investigation**, rather than as an established conclusion of contemporary genetics.
The central observation remains that both parents contribute genetic information to the developing human being and that the molecular mechanisms underlying sexual development involve multiple interacting genes.
(10) The Proposed Hypothesis
The hypothesis proposed in this article can therefore be expressed more precisely as follows:
**The Prophetic description of the reproductive contribution of the man and woman as respectively preceding or prevailing over one another may indicate, at a general biological level, an interaction between paternal and maternal genetic determinants involved in the sexual development of the offspring.**
Under this hypothesis, the reproductive contribution of the woman should not be viewed as biologically passive. Rather, maternal genetic factors may participate in pathways that influence the developmental outcome.
The discovery of genes located on the X chromosome and autosomal chromosomes that participate in sexual development makes this question scientifically meaningful.
The hypothesis does not require the abandonment of the established role of SRY or the Y chromosome. Instead, it proposes that the complete biological picture involves a broader interaction of genetic determinants.
Such an interpretation is more consistent with the contemporary understanding of sex determination than the older notion that the Y chromosome alone constitutes the complete mechanism.
(11) A Scientific Development Consistent with the Direction of the Prophetic Statement
The scientific article *“Is the Y Chromosome All That Is Required for Sex Determination?”* provides an important example of this change in scientific understanding.
Its conclusion is that the traditional association between male sex determination and the Y chromosome represents only part of the biological reality. Multiple genes influence sex determination, and these genes may occur on the Y chromosome, the X chromosome and autosomal chromosomes.
This is significant because the scientific understanding has moved from an overly simple chromosomal model towards a more complex genetic model.
The Prophetic hadith, centuries before the emergence of modern genetics, did not describe the male reproductive contribution as the only relevant contribution. Instead, it referred explicitly to the reproductive contributions of both the man and woman and described one as prevailing over the other in association with the sex of the offspring.
The correspondence is therefore worthy of serious investigation.
The claim should not be that modern science has already confirmed every detail of the proposed interpretation. Rather, the claim is that scientific developments have progressively revealed a biological complexity that makes the hadith's explicit recognition of the female reproductive contribution scientifically significant.
(12) The Historical Development of the Proposed Interpretation
This interpretation was not developed merely in response to recent scientific publications.
The possibility that the woman has a biological role in determining the sex of the offspring was proposed and discussed with academic colleagues years before the recent developments described above. This included private academic discussions and a scientific discussion held at the Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University.
The academics identified in connection with these discussions are:
**Professor Megahed AbuElmagd**
**Professor Mustafa Abdel-Moneim**
**Professor Hosni Hemdan**
**Professor Mohamed El-Haggar**
These individuals may, if appropriate and with their consent, provide independent testimony concerning the existence and timing of those discussions.
The significance of recording this history is not to present personal testimony as scientific evidence. Rather, it establishes the chronology of the hypothesis independently of later scientific developments.
The scientific evidence must ultimately be assessed on its own merits.
(13) From Chromosomal Sex to the Complexity of Sexual Differentiation
The development of modern biology therefore reveals an important conceptual distinction.
Chromosomal sex refers primarily to the chromosomal constitution established at fertilisation, most commonly XX or XY. Sexual differentiation, however, involves subsequent developmental processes governed by a network of genes and molecular signals.
The discovery of SRY demonstrated that a particular gene plays a central role in initiating typical male development. The discovery of SRY translocation demonstrated that its biological function cannot always be considered inseparable from the Y chromosome itself. Subsequent identification of other genes demonstrated that sexual differentiation depends upon an extensive regulatory network.
Consequently, contemporary biology provides a more sophisticated understanding than the earlier assumption that the Y chromosome alone determines every aspect of whether an individual develops as male or female.
This distinction is essential to any academically responsible comparison with the Prophetic hadith.
(14) What the Hadith Does and Does Not Claim
The hadith should not be presented as though it uses modern genetic terminology. It does not mention chromosomes, DNA, genes, SRY, DAX1 or molecular signalling pathways.
Its terminology belongs to the language of seventh-century Arabia and refers to the reproductive fluids of the man and woman.
Nevertheless, the hadith explicitly attributes a role to the reproductive contribution of the woman and describes an interaction between the contributions of the two parents.
The scientific question is therefore whether this description corresponds to a biological reality that later scientific investigation has progressively uncovered.
The modern evidence establishes that the biological development of sex involves multiple genetic factors contributed through the genomes of both parents. It does not yet establish the precise molecular mechanism that would translate the Prophetic concepts of “precedence” and “predominance” into a specific genetic process.
This distinction strengthens rather than weakens the academic presentation, because it prevents an interpretive hypothesis from being confused with an experimentally established mechanism.
(15) The Broader Significance for the Study of Scientific Precedence in the Sunnah
This case illustrates an important methodological point concerning the study of scientific indications in Islamic revelation.
Scientific precedence should not be assessed merely by asking whether a text contains a modern scientific term. The more relevant question is whether the underlying proposition expressed by the text corresponds to a reality that was inaccessible to the knowledge of the period in which the text was revealed.
In the present case, the relevant proposition is that the reproductive contribution of the woman has a role in relation to the sex of the offspring.
For much of the modern scientific period, popular explanations placed the decisive role in the male contribution because sperm determine whether the resulting zygote is typically XX or XY. Modern molecular genetics has subsequently shown that sexual development is governed by a much more complex network involving numerous genes, including genes located on the X chromosome and autosomal chromosomes.
Accordingly, the hadith merits examination not because it can simply be converted into a modern genetics textbook, but because its explicit inclusion of the woman's reproductive contribution raises a biological question that later scientific research has shown to be considerably more complex than earlier simplified models suggested.
(16) Conclusion
The Prophetic statement concerning the reproductive contributions of the man and woman presents a significant subject for interdisciplinary investigation involving Islamic studies, the history of science, genetics and the philosophy of science.
The hadith explicitly states that the reproductive contribution of the man and the reproductive contribution of the woman may each be described in terms of precedence or predominance and associates this with the sex of the offspring. This is particularly noteworthy because earlier simplified scientific explanations tended to regard the male contribution as the decisive factor in determining sex.
The discovery of the SRY gene refined the scientific understanding of the role of the Y chromosome by demonstrating that a specific gene, rather than the chromosome as an undifferentiated entity, plays a central role in initiating typical male development. Subsequent discoveries further demonstrated that sexual determination and differentiation involve numerous genes and regulatory pathways located on the Y chromosome, X chromosome and autosomal chromosomes.
These developments demonstrate that sex determination and sexual differentiation constitute a complex biological process that cannot be adequately reduced to the presence or absence of the Y chromosome alone.
The scientific significance of the Prophetic statement therefore lies in its explicit recognition of the reproductive contribution of the woman. The hadith does not portray the female contribution as irrelevant to the resulting sex of the offspring. Rather, it describes an interaction between the reproductive contributions of both parents.
The further proposal advanced in this article is that the concepts of *sabaq* (“precedence”) and *ʿulūw* (“predominance”) may provide a conceptual indication of interaction between paternal and maternal genetic factors involved in sexual development. This remains a hypothesis rather than an established scientific mechanism. In particular, contemporary genetics does not establish a simple numerical competition between “male genes” and “female genes”; consequently, such a mechanism should not presently be presented as scientifically proven.
Nevertheless, the progressive development of genetics—from a relatively simple chromosomal model towards recognition of a complex network of genetic determinants—makes the Prophetic statement an important subject for further scientific investigation.
The Qur’an itself directs attention to the reproductive origins and determination of the human being:
> “From a drop He created him and determined him.”
> **[Qur’an 80:19]**
and:
> “Indeed, We created man from a mixed drop.”
> **[Qur’an 76:2]**
The Islamic position is ultimately that Allah is the Creator and Determiner of the human being. Scientific investigation does not replace this theological principle; rather, it investigates the biological processes through which Allah brings about creation.
If future research were to identify a specific molecular mechanism corresponding more closely to the Prophetic concepts of precedence and predominance between paternal and maternal reproductive contributions, this could provide additional evidence supporting the proposed interpretation. Until then, the academically responsible position is to distinguish clearly between the established scientific evidence, the wording of the Prophetic hadith, and the hypothesis proposed here.
The enduring significance of the argument is therefore not that Muslims should force every new scientific discovery into the Qur’an and Sunnah. Rather, it is that revelation may contain statements whose full implications become increasingly intelligible as human knowledge develops. The Prophetic statement concerning the reproductive contributions of the man and woman is one such case that deserves continued examination rather than premature dismissal.
(17) Primary Scientific Reference
Nicolosi, A., et al. **“Is the Y Chromosome All That Is Required for Sex Determination?”** *Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics*. Available through the National Library of Medicine:
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