The Quran on Semen Production

"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:" S. 86:5-7

Here we find that Man is made from a 'gushing fluid' that issues from the

adult father during the 'now' of the reproductive act, from a specific physical

place 'between the loins and the ribs.' (other translations have backbone instead

of loins)

Since the verse is speaking of the moment of adult reproduction it can't be talking

about the time of embryonic development. Moreover, since 'sulb' is being used in

conjunction with 'gushing fluid', which can only be physical; and 'tara'ib' which

is another physical word for chest or thorax or ribs, it can't be euphemistic.

Therefore, we are left with the very real problem that the semen is coming from

the back or kidney area and not the testicles.

Dr. Bucaille, as a physician recognizes this problem only too well, so he wiggles

and squirms (as he accuses the Christian commentators of doing) and finally after

quoting the verse as we have seen it translated above says, 'This would seem more

to be an interpretation than a translation. It is hardly comprehensible'. This is

the second time he has called the Qur'an obscure or hardly comprehensible when

there was a problem.

Therefore, let us look at the translations which I have been consulting. Those

made by Muslims are:

Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Egyptian, 1946 with a preface from 1938
'He is created from a drop emittedproceeding from between

the backbone and the ribs.'

Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall, English, 1977 (translation probably 1940)
'He is created from a gushing fluid that issued from between the loins and ribs.'

Muhammad Zafrulla Khan, Pakistani, 1971
'He is created from a fluid poured forth,

which issues forth from between the loins and the breastbones.'

Muhammad Hamidullah, French, 1981 (10th Edition, completely revised)
'Il a t cr d'une gicle d'eau sortie d'entre lombes et ctes.'
He was created from a spurt of water coming out between the loins and ribs.

Made by a non-Muslim: D. Masson, French 1967
'Il a t cr d'une goutte d'eau rpandue sortie d'entre les lombes et les ctes.'
He was created from a drop of spread out water coming out between the loins and the ribs.

That these five translations are exactly equal is perfectly obvious to every

reader even if he does not know French or the original Arabic.

Dr. Bucaille's Translation

What would Dr. Bucaille like to suggest? He writes, 'Two verses in the Qur'an

deal with sexual relations themselves... When translations and explanatory

commentaries are consulted however, one is struck by the divergences between

them. I have pondered for a long time on the translation of such verses (In

plain English that means there is 'an improbability or a contradiction, prudishly

called a "difficulty"' <sic>), and am indebted to Doctor A. K.

Giraud, Former Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, Beirut, for the following:

"(Man was fashioned from a liquid poured out. It issued (as a result) of

the conjunction of the sexual area of the man and the sexual area of the woman."

'The sexual area of the man is indicated in the text of the Qur'an by the word

sulb (singular). The sexual areas of the woman are designated in the Qur'an

by the word tara'ib (plural).

'This is the translation which appears to be most satisfactory.'

When compared, however, with the five translations quoted above, it is clear that

Dr. Bucaille's suggestion is not a translation, nor even a paraphrase. It is an

'explanation' and 'interpretation' which rests on the following basic assumptions:

a. That the word 'sulb' can stand for the male sexual area. Though no examples

of such a usage from the 1st century of Islam have been given.

b. That the phrase '(as a result) of the conjunction' can be found in the two Arabic

words 'min bain' which literally mean 'from between'.

c. That the word 'tara'ib' can mean 'the sexual areas of the woman'.

This last word occurs exactly one time in the Qur'an and you cannot establish

a meaning with one usage. The dictionaries of Wehr, Abdel-Nour, and Kasimirski

mention (a)the chest, (b)the upper part of the chest between the breasts and the

clavicles, and (c)the ribs, and Abdel-Nour includes (d)the euphemistic extension

to the breasts. It can also include the neck up to the chin and speak poetically

of the area for a woman's necklace.

No dictionary includes the female genital area, and Dr. Bucaille has given no

examples from literature to support his idea. He seems to be fulfilling his own

complaint against others. He is trying "to camouflage (his problems) with dialectical

acrobatics" (Campbell, The Qur'an

and the Bible in the Light of History and Science [Middle East Resources 1992, ISBN 1-881085-00-7], pp. 182-184.

The latter part of this verse, i.e. "emanating from a place between the

(lower) back and the (lower) ribs", has generally been taken to imply

the part of the abdomen that lies between these points. In Figure 1,

this part has been roughly marked by the red triangle ABC. This implication,

obviously, has led the Muslims to believe that the sperm itself or its basic

ingredients are made within the (roughly) marked area. I, being a novice in

the related fields, asked a few of my doctor friends about the making of

the male sperm and the supply of its ingredients to the ultimate place of

its making. In response, among a few other things, I was told that although

the male sperm is formed in the testes, yet the blood supply which, obviously,

is integral to the making of the sperm comes from between the ribs and the back.

I was also told by one of my doctor friends that the cells that form the sperm

originate from between the ribs and the back. If this is true, then the

words of the Qur'an are not scientifically incorrect, as the words "emanating

from a place between the (lower) back and the (lower) ribs", do not necessarily

imply "emanating in its final shape" only, but can also cover "initial

emanation".

(Source: http://www.understanding-islam.com/qq.htm; bold emphasis ours)

At 'Understanding Islam', we present the explanation of Islam in the light

only of the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet Mohammed (peace and

blessings of Allah be upon him). (Source:

http://www.understanding-islam.com; bold emphasis ours)

<He is created from a water gushing forth.>

meaning, the sexual fluid that comes out bursting forth from the man AND

THE WOMAN. Thus, the child is produced FROM BOTH OF THEM by the

permission of Allah. Due to this Allah says,

<Proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs.>

meaning, the backbone (or loins) of the man and the ribs OF THE WOMAN, which

is referring to her chest. Shabib bin Bishr reported from 'Ikrimah, who

narrated from Ibn 'Abbas that he said,

<Proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs.>

"The backbone of the man and the ribs of the woman. It (the fluid) is

yellow and fine in texture. Th child will not be born except FROM BOTH

OF THEM (i.e., THEIR SEXUAL FLUIDS)."

(Ibid., p. 439; bold and capital emphasis ours)

According to Ibn Kathir, the first Muslims understood S. 86:5-7 to be referring

"As for the resemblance of the child to its parents; if a man has sexual

intercourse with his wife and gets a discharge first, the child will resemble

the father, and if the woman gets her discharge first, the child

will resemble her."

Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Number 546

"Narrated Zainab bint Um Salama: Um Sulaim 'O Allah's Apostle! Verily

Allah is not shy of (telling you) the truth. Is it essential for a woman to

take a bath after she had a wet dream (nocturnal sexual discharges)?'

He said, 'Yes, if she notices discharge. On that Um Salama laughed and said,

'Does a woman get a (nocturnal sexual) discharge?' He said, 'How then does

(her) son resemble her (his mother)?'"

Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 73, Number 113

While I was standing beside the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) one

of the rabbis of the Jews came and said: Peace be upon you, O Muhammad. I pushed

him back with a push that he was going to fall. Upon this he said: Why do you push

me? I said: Why don't you say: O Messenger of Allah? The Jew said: We call him by

the name by which he was named by his family. The Messenger of Allah (may peace

be upon him) said: My name is Muhammad with which I was named by my family. The

Jew said: I have come to ask you (something). The Messenger of Allah (may peace

be upon him) said: Should that thing be of any benefit to you, if I tell you that?

He (the Jew) said: I will lend my ears to it. The Messenger of Allah (may peace

be upon him) drew a line with the help of the stick that he had with him and

then said: Ask (whatever you like). Thereupon the Jew said: Where would the

human beings be on the Day when the earth would change into another earth and

the heavens too (would change into other heavens)? The Messenger of Allah (may

peace be upon him) said: They would be in darkness beside the Bridge. He (the Jew)

again said: Who amongst people would be the first to cross (this bridge)? He said:

They would be the poor amongst the refugees. The Jew said: What would constitute

their breakfast when they would enter Paradise? He (the Holy Prophet) replied:

A caul of the fish-liver. He (the Jew) said. What would be their food after this?

He (the Holy Prophet) said: A bullock which was fed in the different quarters of

Paradise would be slaughtered for them. He (the Jew) said: What would be their

drink? He (the Holy Prophet) said: They would be given drink from the fountain

which is named "Salsabil". He (the Jew) said: I have come to ask you about

a thing which no one amongst the people on the earth knows except an apostle or

one or two men besides him. He (the Holy Prophet) said: Would it benefit you

if I tell you that? He (the Jew) said: I would lend ears to that. He then said:

I have come to ask you about the child. He (the Holy Prophet) said: The

reproductive substance of man is white and that of woman yellow, and when they

have sexual intercourse and the male's substance prevails upon the female's

substance, it is the male child that is created by Allah's Decree, and when

the substance of the female prevails upon the substance contributed by the male,

a female child is formed by the Decree of Allah. The Jew said: What you have

said is true; verily you are an Apostle. He then returned and went away.

The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: He asked me about such

and such things of which I have had no knowledge till Allah gave me that.

Sahih Muslim, Book 003, Number 0614

"In the verses listed above nutfah is used when describing the

fluid which gushes out during sexual intercourse and clearly this can only

refer to semen. However, Prof. Moore is keen to translate nutfah in

sura 76:2 as "mingled fluid" [3] and explains that this Arabic term refers

to the male and female fluids which contain the gametes (male sperm and

female egg). While it is true that the ancient Greeks would not have been

able to see individual sperm or eggs, these only being visible through the

microscope, the Qur'an emphatically does not mention sperm or eggs;

it simply says nutfah. This can reasonably be translated semen, or at

a push, germinal fluid - which was a term used as early as Hippocrates [4]

who spoke of male and female reproductive fluids (but obviously could not

have been aware of the cells contained in the fluids). If Moore wishes to

translate nutfah as germinal fluid, he inadvertently reinforces that

the Qur'an is borrowing this term from the Greeks."

Another Hadith says "If a male's fluid prevails upon the female's

substance, the child will be a male by Allah's decree, and when the

substance of the female prevails upon the substance contributed by the male,

a female child is formed"[25]. Surely this is not referring to dominant

and recessive genes at all, as certain Muslims have claimed [26], but is

simply repeating the incorrect belief of Hippocrates that both men and women

produce both male and female sperm. The sex of the resulting child is

determined by which sperm overwhelms the other in strength or quantity:

"...both partners alike contain both male and female sperm

(the male being stronger than the female must originate from a stronger

sperm). Here is a further point: if (a) both partners produce a stronger

sperm then a male is the result, whereas if (b) they produce a weak form,

then a female is the result. But if (c) one partner produces one kind of

sperm, and the other another then the resultant sex is determined by

whichever sperm prevails in quantity. For suppose that the weak sperm is

much greater in quantity than the stronger sperm: then the stronger sperm

is overwhelmed and, being mixed with weak, results in a female. If on the

contrary the strong sperm is greater in quantity than the weak, and the

weak is overwhelmed, it results in a male" [27].

Earlier in the Hadith, Muhammed says that the reproductive substance of

men is white and that of women is yellow

. This sounds very much like the

content, white and yellow, that is found inside developing chick-eggs,

and which Aristotle was known to dissect [28]." (Source:

Embryology in the Qur'an; bold emphasis ours)

As far as the first question is concerned, it is obvious that the Qur'an,

as any decent and sober literature would do, has only avoided direct

reference (in words) to the male sexual organ. Through the words that it

has used, the Qur'an has made a complete euphemistic reference to the point

of emanation of the sperm, while successfully avoiding naming it. Naming

it would definitely have negatively affected the literary value of the

Qur'an. As far as the objection that the euphemistic style of the Qur'an,

in this case, has negatively affected the clarity of the message and has

resulted in confusion regarding the implication of the verse is concerned,

in my opinion, it seems quite out of place. The mere fact that the previous

verse had referred to 'the fluid gushing forth' (semen), which is followed

by the words 'which emanates from...', brings to mind the source of the

'gushing forth' of the fluid, without much difficulty. Furthermore, one should

not forget that even if the male sperm was actually formed within the two

stipulated points, the mention of this source of formation of the male sperm

had absolutely no pertinence with the message of the Qur'an and the information

would have been of absolutely no relevance to the Arabs of old - the direct

addressees of the Qur'an. The mere realization of the point that the Qur'an

does not refer to any such information, even if it is true, that has no

relevance to its basic message, guides one to the simple physical (non-scientific

and uncomplicated) interpretation of the verse under consideration.

(bold emphasis ours)

We breathed into her from Our Spirit, and We made her and her son a Sign for

all people. S. 21:91

And Mary the daughter of 'Imran, who guarded her SEXUAL ORGAN (Arabic-farjahaa)

and We breathed INTO IT of Our spirit; and she testified to the truth of

the words of her Lord and of His revelations, and was one of the devout

(servants). S. 66:12

"The language of this verse (author- Luke 1:35) is clearly circumspect.

It implies no sexual union or divine generation of any kind. Furthermore,

while Luke's description agrees both in form and spirit with the Qur'anic

idea of the conception of Christ, the language of the Qur'an IS FAR MORE

GRAPHIC AND OPEN TO INTERPRETATION." (Christian-Muslim Encounters,

ed. Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad & Wadi Z. Haddad [University Press of Florida, 1995], p. 67)

"...Then of Mary He (author-allegedly God) continues: 'And she who guarded well

[lit. fortified] her chastity [lit. GENERATIVE ORGAN], and thus We breathed

INTO HER of our spirit, and We made her and her son a sign [or miracle,

'Aya] for all beings' (S. 21:90-91) ...

"In the second instance the Qur'an speaks of Mary as a righteous woman who

lived in strict chastity and obedience to God: 'And Mary daughter of 'Imran

who guarded well her GENERATIVE ORGAN farjaha, and thus We

breathed INTO HER of our spirit' (S. 66:12). THE BOLD AND GRAPHIC

STATEMENT APPEARS TO HAVE SHOCKED TRADITIONISTS AND COMMENTATORS, so that most

of them tried to cover it up with different and FARFETCHED significations

or glossed over it with out comment...

"Ibn Kathir interprets the phrase 'guarded well her generative organ' to mean:

'safeguarded and protected it. Guarding well ihsan signifies chastity

and high birth.' He comments on the phrase, 'and thus We breathed into it of

our spirit' thus 'that is, through the angel Gabriel. This is because God sent

him to her, and he took for her the form of a man of good stature (S. 19:17).

God commanded him to breathe INTO THE BREAST OF HER CHEMISE. HIS BREATH

WENT DOWN AND PENETRATED HER GENERATIVE ORGAN, AND THUS CAUSED HER TO CONCEIVE

JESUS..." (Ibid.)

"Abu Ja'far al-Tusi, the jurist doctor of the Shi'i community, as well as his

well known disciple al-Tabarsi, read the words, 'We breathed INTO IT'

literally

. Al-Tusi says: 'It has been held that Gabriel BREATHED INTO

MARY'S GENERATIVE ORGAN then God created Christ in it'..."

(Ibid., p. 68)

<And Maryam, the daughter of 'Imran who guarded her chastity (PRIVATE PART).>

meaning who protected and purified her honor, by being chaste and free of immorality,

<And We breathed INTO IT (PRIVATE PART) through Our Ruh,>

meaning, through the angel Jibril. Allah sent the angel Jibril to Maryam,

and he came to her in the shape of a man in every respect. Allah commanded

him TO BLOW into a gap of her garment and that breath went into her womb

THROUGH HER PRIVATE PART; this is how 'Isa was conceived. This is why

Allah said here,

<And We breathed INTO IT through Our Ruh, and she testified to>

the truth of her Lords Kalimat, and His Kutub,> meaning His decree and

His legislation. (Tafsir Ibn Kathir - Abridged, Volume 10, Surat At-Tagabun

to the end of the Qur'an, pp. 75-76; bold and capital emphasis ours)

"Allah, the Exalted, informs about Maryam that when Jibril had spoken to her

about what Allah said, she accepted the decree of Allah. Many scholars of

the predecessors (Salaf) have mentioned that at this point the angel (who

was Jibril) blew into the opening of her garment that she was wearing. Then

the breath descended until it entered INTO HER VAGINA and she conceived by

the leave of Allah." (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Abridged, Volume 6, Surat Al-Isra',

Verse 39 To the end of Surat Al-Mu'minun, first edition July 2000, p. 244;

bold and capital emphasis ours)

Ibn Kathir provides additional evidence that farj refers to the female organ. In his

<... as Allah has ordained for you.>

this refers to Al-Farj (THE VAGINA), as Ibn Abbas, Mujahid and

other scholars have stated. Therefore, anal sex is prohibited, as we will further

emphasize afterwards, Allah willing ...

Ibn Jurayj (one of the reporters of the Hadith) said that Allah's

Messengers said ...

((From the front or from behind, as long as it occurs IN THE FARJ (VAGINA).)) ...

Abu Bakr bin Ziyad Naysaburi reported that Ismail bin Ruh said that he asked

Malik bin Anas, "What do you say about having sex with women in the anus?" He

said, "You are not an Arab? Does sex occur but in the place of pregnancy? Do it

only IN THE FARJ (VAGINA)." (Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Abridged), Volume 1,

Parts 1 and 2 (Surat Al-Fatihah to Verse 252 of Surat Al-Baqarah), first edition

January 2000, pp. 618, 619, 622; bold and capital emphasis ours)

"... As for the description of Mary as allati ahsanat farjaha, idiomatically

denoting 'one who guarded her chastity' (lit., 'HER PRIVATE PARTS')..."

(Asad, The Message of the Qur'an [Dar Al-Andalus Limited, 3 Library Ramp,

Gibraltar, rpt. 1993], p. 500, f. 87; bold and capital emphasis ours)

Narrated Basrah:
A man from the Ansar called Basrah said: I married a virgin woman in her

veil. When I entered upon her, I found her pregnant. (I mentioned this to

the Prophet). The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: She will get the dower,

for you made her VAGINA (farj) lawful for you. The child

will be your slave. When she has begotten (a child), flog her (according

to the version of al-Hasan).

The version of Ibn AbusSari has: You people, flog her, or said:

inflict hard punishment on him. (Sunan of Abu Dawud, Book 11,

Number 2126)

"Whoever reads verse 91 of Sura al-Anbiya' 21 carefully could be

embarrassed. It is scandalous how Muhammad and his spirit of revelation lift

Mary up as the most important of all women, and at the same time tear away

her veil of chastity. Her self-protection is not described in a euphemism,

but is calculated brutally, as in a business deal:

And she guraded her vagina [farj] so we breathed into her of our spirit.

(Sura al-Anbiya' 21:91)

This revelation is not an honour, but an exposition. Maybe it was customary

among Bedouins to speak contemptuously and carelessly about women. But this

only shows the rule of Arabic men and their contempt for women. If the best

of women is spoken about like this, what about others! The men are never

written about like this. They remain covered, holier-than-thou and self-righteous."

(Abd al-Masih, Who Is The Spirit From Allah In Islam? [Light of Life,

P.O. Box 13, A-9503, VILLACH AUSTRIA], pp. 46-47)

"The second problem is caused by the Arabic language. In Arabic, Allah does

not say: so we breathed into her of our spirit, but

into him.

Who is it, into whom the spirit was breathed? The embryo 'Isa?

That is difficult to accept, for then 'Isa would have existed in Mary's womb

already before the spirit was breathed into her. That would mean that Allah

created 'Isa beforehand or that he existed before he was conceived. Both

options are out of the question for Islamic scholars.

Who is it then, into whom the Spirit from Allah was breathed? IT IS ALMOST

UNSPEAKABLE, but the last expression in the previous sentence, which is

masculine in Arabic, IS THE EXPRESSION FOR MARY'S GENITALS.^[43]

The literal meaning of Allah's statement in Arabic is then, so we

breathed into her vagina [farj] of our spirit. This turns

the stomachs of some of our readers.

Rudi Paret, the best translator of the Qur'an into German, confirms the

meaning of this phrase in a footnote. This seems not only to us, but also to

many Islamic scholars to be a blasphemy. Ibn Mas'ud went so far as to

suggest that the Qur'anic text should be changed to read so we breathed

into her [Mary] of our spirit. It is comforting to see that there are

Muslims who prefer the possibility of a fallible Qur'an to a blasphemy like

this.

Other commentators explain the expression into him as Mary's heart

or body, which are masculine in Arabic, but not mentioned in the text. These

are nothing but attempts to cover up the problem, but the problem itself

remains. The assumption that it was an unclean spirit that spoke through

Muhammad is obvious. It is almost impossible to imagine that Muslims claim

that Jibril himself did this. Here the false statement of an unclean spirit

stands against the noble Holy Spirit."

(Ibid., pp. 53-54; capital emphasis ours)

43. According to al-Nasafi: "in her vagina" (Madarik al-Tanzil, vol. 4, p. 272). (Ibid., p. 53)

"Surely for the godfearing awaits a place of security, gardens and vineyards,

and maidens of SWELLING BREASTS (kawa'ib), like of age, and

a cup overflowing." S. 78:33 Arberry (see also Dawood, Rodwell)

<And vineyards, and Kawa'ib Atrab,> meaning, wide-eyed maidens

WITH FULLY DEVELOPED BREASTS. Ibn 'Abbas, Mujahid and others have said,

<Kawa'ib> "This means ROUND BREASTS. They meant by this THAT

THE BREASTS OF THESE GIRLS WILL BE FULLY ROUNDED AND NOT SAGGING, because

they will be virgins, equal in age..." (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Abridged, Volume 10,

pp. 333-334; bold and capital emphasis ours)

"The kawa`ib are the buxom girls (nawahid) whose breasts have become FULL

(taka``abat) and ROUND (tafallakat)." (bold and capital emphasis ours)

We do not know with certainty that there will be such a restriction on women

even if the reverse would hardly be mentionable to a decent woman. A woman in

the traditional world would and does consider it a horrible thing to say to her

that "You can have all the men you want"! The Qur'an would never use inappropriate

language. However, the Qur'an does mention that for the inhabitants of Paradise

- male and female - {There wait on them immortal youths} (56:17),

{There serve them youths of everlasting youth, whom, when you see them,

you would take for scattered pearls} (76:19). If this does not make a believing

woman happy then, as Imam al-Shafi`i said to the one WHO IS NOT MOVED BY EROTIC

POETRY, "You have no feelings." As for the believing men, as one of the Awliya

said, some of them will need GHUSL just FOR HEARING THE VERSE {Same-age

young-bosomed girls} (78:33). As for us hard-hearted analphabets we may read it

and read it without effect. (Haddad, Sex with slaves and women's rights;

source; capital and underline emphasis ours)

"In Paradise ... every person would have two wives (so beautiful) that the

marrow of their shanks would glimmer beneath the flesh and there would be

none without a wife in Paradise."

"The believer will be given such and such strength in Paradise for sexual

intercourse. It was questioned: O prophet of Allah! Can he do that? He said:

'He will be given the strength of one hundred persons.'" (Bk. IV, chp. XLII,

Hadith no. 24; transmitted by Tirmizi who classified this Hadith as sound)

"In an attempt to appeal to the Western reader of Christian background,

some translators of the Quran have wrongly interpreted its clear references

to the sexual pleasure of paradise in a symbolic fashion. For example,

in his commentary on the verse, And for them therein (in paradise) are wives

who are Mutahharatun (pure) (Soorah al-Baqarah 2:25), the Quranic

translator Abdullah Yusef Ali states the following: Then there is

companionship. If sex is suggested, its physical associations are at once

negatived by the addition of the word Mutahharatun pure and holy.

The Arabic is in the intensive form, and must be translated by two

adjectives denoting purity in the highest degree. The companionship is that

of souls and applies to both sexes in the physical world of men and women.

(A. Yusef Ali, The Holy Quran, (Trans.), (Brentwood, Maryland: Amana Corp., 1983) p.22. ft n. 44). There are many Quranic verses and Prophetic

traditions which address the physical aspects of men and women in paradise.

Hence, it can not be accurately claimed that the companionship is that of

souls and not that of beings possessing both souls and bodies. The term

Mutahharatun actually only confirms that bodies in paradise will be

free of the defects and decay of bodies in this life as the wine, honey, and

milk of paradise will not sour or intoxicate. Mutahharatun

(purified) from filth and waste matter. His student Mujaahid said,

(Purified) from menses, feces, urine, phlegm, spittle, mucus and childbirth.

(See Muhammad Alee as-Saaboonees, Mukhtasar Tafseer Ibn Katheer, (Beirut: Daar al-Quraan al-Kareem, 7th ed., 1981), vol. 1, p. 44). Based

on his mistaken interpretation, Yusef Ali was obliged to mistranslate all the

obvious references to the physical pleasures of paradise. For example,

in Soorah an-Naba (78) he translates verse 33 (wa kawaaiba atraaban)

as companions of Equal Age, (The Holy Quran, (Trans.), p. 1676). Atraaban

does mean of the same age according to Ibn Abbaas (Mukhtasar Tafseer

Ibn Katheer, vol 3., pp 434 and 593), however Kawaaiba does not mean

companion. Kawaaib is the plural of Kaaib which means a girl whose breasts

are beginning to swell or one WHO HAS PROMINENT BREASTS (E. W. Lane,

Arabic English Lexicon, vol. 2, p. 2616). Kawaaib means BUXOM GIRLS

(J. Milton Cowan, ed., A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, (Beirut: Libraire Du Liban, 1980), p. 831). Ibn Katheer quoted both Ibn Abbaas and Mujaahid as

saying, Kawaaib means Nawaahid. He then went on to explain, They (Ibn Abbaas

and Mujaahid) meant that their (women of paradises) breast are prominent and

not sagging because they are virgins (see also Soorah al-Waaqiah 56:35-37

(Mukhtasar Tafeer Ibn Katheer, vol. 3, p. 593). Thus, the verse actually

refers to the women of paradies as HIGH BREASTED females all having the same

age). This view of Yusef Ali has been refuted at length by Mujlisul-Ulama

of South Africa's book, A Discussion of the Errors of Yusuf Ali, (Transvaal,

Rep. South Africa: Young Mens Muslims Association, n.d.) pp. 16-26, 44-50."

(Ibn Taymeeyahs ESSAY ON THE JINN (DEMONS), Abridged,

Annotated and Translated by Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips [Published by International

Islamic Publishing House, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 1998], pp. 28-30, fn. 2;

bold and capital emphasis ours)

Abu Dawud At-Tayalisi recorded that Anas said that the Messenger of Allah said,

<In Paradise, the believer will be given such and such strength for women.>

Anas said, "I asked, 'O Allah's Messenger! Will one be able to do that? He said,

<He will be given the strength OF A HUNDRED (MEN)>

At-Tirmidhi also recorded it and said, "Sahih Gharib." Abu Al-Qasim At-Tabarani

recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah was asked, "O Allah's

Messenger! Will we have sexual intercourse with our wives in Paradise?" He said,

<The man will be able to have sexual intercourse WITH A HUNDRED VIRGINS>

IN ONE DAY.>

Al-Hafiz Abu 'Abdullah Al-Maqisi said, "In my view, the Hadith meets

the criteria of the Sahih, and Allah knows best." (Tafsir Ibn Kathir -

Abridged, Volume 9, Surat Al-Jathiyah to the end of Surat Al-Munafiqun, pp. 429-430;

bold and capital emphasis ours)