Signs & Science: The First Humans

Man from Woman or Woman from Man?

Abrahamic religions trace the ancestry of humans to Adam, whom they believe to be the first created human, whereas scientists theorise that the lineage can be traced back to a single female ancestor.

From my reading of the verses in the Quran on the origin of humans, I think both came together! The first human couple (male and female) was made [asexual reproduction: mitosis / deuterotoky parthenogenesis ??] from the original single human ‘nafs’, and then, from them, the human progeny [sexual reproduction].

The Original Human Nafs (grammatically feminine gender)

هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُم مِّن نَّفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ وَجَعَلَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا لِيَسْكُنَ إِلَيْهَا ۖ فَلَمَّا تَغَشَّاهَا حَمَلَتْ حَمْلًا خَفِيفًا فَمَرَّتْ بِهِ ۖ فَلَمَّا أَثْقَلَت دَّعَوَا اللَّهَ رَبَّهُمَا لَئِنْ آتَيْتَنَا صَالِحًا لَّنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الشَّاكِرِينَ

*[Al-Qur’an 7:189, Translator: Sahih International] It is He who created you from one soul and created from it its mate that he might dwell in security with her. And when he covers her, she carries a light burden and continues therein. And when it becomes heavy, they both invoke Allah , their Lord, "If You should give us a good [child], we will surely be among the grateful.”

*[Al-Qur’an 4:1, Translator: Sahih International] O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah , through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer.

*[Al-Qur’an 6:98, Translator: Sahih International] And it is He who produced you from one soul and [gave you] a place of dwelling and of storage. We have detailed the signs for a people who understand.

The First Human Sperm (grammatically masculine gender)

[Al-Qur’an 75:36-40] Does human think that he will be left neglected? Had he not been a sperm from semen emitted? Then he was a clinging clot, and [Allah] created [his form] and proportioned [him] And made of him two mates, the male and the female. Is not that [Creator] Able to give life to the dead?

Popular Belief

Traditionally most Muslims believe that Adam was the first human being to be created and that, as per the Christian belief, Eve was created from Adam. However, neither of these two beliefs are based upon any verse of the Qur’an. The Qur’an does speak of the creation of Adam, but it does not state that Adam was the first human. Rather, it states in 3:59 that the creation of Adam is like the creation of Jesus. We know that Jesus was not the first human being, but understand that his creation was not through the natural process of procreation.

Grammatical Reasoning

7:189, 4:1 and 75:39 speak of creating male and female humans from the original ‘nafs’ / ‘sperm’.

The word ‘nafs’ always appears as feminine gender in the Quran, whereas the arabic word for sperm is treated as masculine gender.

If Al-Qur’an 7:189 is translated literally, using the grammatically feminine gender associated with the Arabic word ‘nafs’, without prejudice to either of the above-stated popular beliefs, the translation appears to be:

*[Al-Qur’an 7:189] He, the One, who created you from a single soul and made, from her, her mate that he might live with her, and when he covers her, she carries a burden light and continues with it, but when she grows heavy, they both invoke Allah, their Lord, if You give us a righteous child, surely we will be among the grateful.

However, all the translations of verse 7:189 that I’ve seen use the ‘it’ instead of ‘her’ when translating the word 7:189:8 (min'hā) even though ('hā) is actually a third person feminine pronoun. Also note that in 7:189:10 one of the two newly-made ‘nafs’ is being referred to with a masculine pronoun and the other with the feminine pronoun: ‘he might live with her’. Should the assumption, that the arabic grammar rule for the word ‘nafs’ is to be always treated as feminine noun, be correct, then the consistency should have been maintained throughout the verse. Maybe the pronouns are not according to any grammatical rule, but rather because of the physical nature of the primary nafs and the couple made from it (7:189 word by word syntax and morphology of each Arabic word below).

Considering verses 75:36-40, which speaks of the human sperm, the verse is in masculine gender.

[Al-Qur’an 75:36-40] Does human think that he will be left neglected? Had he not been a sperm from semen emitted? Then he was a clinging clot, and [Allah] created [his form] and proportioned [him] And made of him two mates, the male and the female. Is not that [Creator] Able to give life to the dead?

Is the above verse referring to the process of creation of the first human: the ‘nafsin wāḥidatin’?

If 7:189, 4:1 and 75:39 are all referring to the creation of the first ‘nafs’ from the first ‘sperm’, it follows that perhaps the first human ‘nafs', from which were created the first human couple, should neither be considered male nor female.

However, as we believe that there is no contradiction in the Quran (4:82), I am inclined to think that 75:36-40 are not referring to the same event i.e. the creation of the first human, but rather it is referring to either of the following three events:

the sperm of the evolutionary process which led to the formation of the first human

the first human mating

it is stating the lowly origin of each human, and the ‘made of him two mates, the male and the female’ is referring to the determining role of the sperm in the sex of the child.

Logical Reasoning & Cross Referencing

*[Al-Qur’an 7:189-190, Translator: Sahih International] It is He who created you from one soul and created from it its mate that he might dwell in security with her. And when he covers her, she carries a light burden and continues therein. And when it becomes heavy, they both invoke Allah , their Lord, "If You should give us a good [child], we will surely be among the grateful.” But when He gives them a good [child], they ascribe partners to Him concerning that which He has given them. Exalted is Allah above what they associate with Him.

The verse 7:189 cannot be about Adam and Eve as the verse immediately following it is in continuation of the previous verse, and it speaks of the parents ascribing partners to God. Adam and Eve couldn’t have ascribed partners to God.

[Al-Qur’an 3:59, Translator: Sahih International] Indeed, the example of Jesus to Allah is like that of Adam. He created Him from dust; then He said to him, "Be," and he was.

The likeness of Adam is that of Isa (3:59): we know that Jesus was not the first human being, but understand that his creation was not through the natural process of human procreation.

[Al-Qur’an 2:30-31, Translator: Sahih International] And [mention, O Muhammad], when your Lord said to the angels, "Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority." They said, "Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood, while we declare Your praise and sanctify You?" Allah said, "Indeed, I know that which you do not know.” And He taught Adam the names - all of them. Then He showed them to the angels and said, "Inform Me of the names of these, if you are truthful.”

Grammatical detail:

(2:30:9) khalīfatan = a vicegerent, a successive authority

(2:31:12) hāulāi = (of) these (people)

Adam was taught and asked the names of all hāulāi (2:31:12), [people?] [hāulāi is a pronoun used to refer to people and not things], to whom Adam was being sent as khalifa (2:30).

*[Al-Qur’an 32:7-9, Translator: Sahih International] Who perfected everything which He created and began the creation of man from clay. Then He made his posterity out of the extract of a liquid disdained. Then He proportioned him and breathed into him from His [created] soul and made for you hearing and vision and hearts; little are you grateful.

Perhaps 32:7-8 are referring to the humans pre-dating Adam, as per 7:189 and 76:1, where as 32:9 is referring to the creation of Adam as per 15:28-29.

[Al-Qur’an 76:1, Translator: Sahih International] Has there [not] come upon man a period of time when he was not a thing [even] mentioned?

[Al-Qur’an 76:1, Translator: Pickthal] Hath there come upon man (ever) any period of time in which he was a thing unremembered?

*[Al-Qur’an 15:28,29, Translator: Sahih International] And [mention, O Muhammad], when your Lord said to the angels, "I will create a human being out of clay from an altered black mud. And when I have proportioned him and breathed into him of My [created] soul, then fall down to him in prostration.”

[Al-Qur’an 49:13, Translator: Sahih International] O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.

*Important Note: The verses with translations containing the word ‘soul’ are marked with asterisk (*) to point to an important differentiation which is lost in the translations: verses 4:1, 6:98 and 7:189 contain the word ‘nafsin’ which is translated as ‘soul’ whereas verses 15:29 and 32:9 contain the word ‘rūḥī’ which which is also translated as ‘soul’.

Scientific Research and Discovery

Mitochondrial Eve

According to a 1987 research:

‘…, the geneticists concluded that every person on Earth right now can trace his or her lineage back to a single common female ancestor who lived around 200,000 years ago. Because one entire branch of human lineage is of African origin and the other contains African lineage as well, the study's authors concluded Africa is the place where this woman lived. The scientists named this common female ancestor Mitochondrial Eve.

… mtDNA is matrilineal -- only the mother's side survives from generation to generation. A mother who gives birth only to sons will see her mtDNA lineage lost. Examination of mtDNA so far has yielded only rare and unusual cases where paternal mtDNA survives and is passed onto the child.’

Human Fossils

Of course, much more research needs to be done before scientists can agree upon our common ancestry. Fossils of Lucy and Ardi have been discovered and dated, which predate Mitochondrial Eve: Lucy lived 3.2 million years ago, while Ardi lived a million years before Lucy (see references below).

Modes of Reproduction in Plant and Animal Kingdom

‘Reproduction (or procreation) is the biological process by which new "offspring" individual organisms are produced from their "parents". Reproduction is a fundamental feature of all known life; each individual organism exists as the result of reproduction. The known methods of reproduction are broadly grouped into two main types: sexual and asexual.

In asexual reproduction, an individual can reproduce without involvement with another individual of that species. The division of a bacterial cell into two daughter cells is an example of asexual reproduction. Asexual reproduction is not, however, limited to single-celled organisms. Most plants have the ability to reproduce asexually and the ant species Mycocepurus smithii is thought to reproduce entirely by asexual means.

Sexual reproduction typically requires the involvement of two individuals or gametes, one each from opposite type of sex. The propagation of organisms can also occur through cloning.’

Asexual Reproduction

‘Asexual reproduction is the process by which an organism creates a genetically similar or identical copy of itself without a contribution of genetic material from another individual. Bacteria divide asexually via binary fission; viruses take control of host cells to produce more viruses; Hydras (invertebrates of the order Hydroidea) and yeasts are able to reproduce by budding. These organisms often do not possess different sexes, and they are capable of "splitting" themselves into two or more individuals. On the other hand, some of these species that are capable of reproducing asexually, like hydra, yeast (See Mating of yeasts) and jellyfish, may also reproduce sexually. For instance, most plants are capable of vegetative reproduction—reproduction without seeds or spores—but can also reproduce sexually. Likewise, bacteria may exchange genetic information by conjugation. Other ways of asexual reproduction include parthenogenesis, fragmentation and spore formation that involves only mitosis. Parthenogenesis (from the Greek παρθένος parthenos, "virgin", + γένεσις genesis, "creation") is the growth and development of embryo or seed without fertilization by a male. Parthenogenesis occurs naturally in some species, including lower plants (where it is called apomixis), invertebrates (e.g. water fleas, aphids, some bees and parasitic wasps), and vertebrates (e.g. some reptiles,[1] fish, and, very rarely, birds[2] and sharks[3]). It is sometimes also used to describe reproduction modes in hermaphroditic species which can self-fertilize.’

Arabic Syntax and Morphology

Translation	Arabic word	Syntax and morphology
(7:189:1) huwa He	هُوَ	PRON – 3rd person masculine singular personal pronou ضمير منفصل
(7:189:2) alladhī (is) the One Who	الَّذِي	REL – masculine singular relative pronou اسم موصول
(7:189:3) khalaqakum created you	خَلَقَكُم	V – 3rd person masculine singular perfect verb PRON – 2nd person masculine plural object pronou فعل ماض والكاف ضمير متصل في محل نصب مفعول به
(7:189:4) min from	مِّن	P – prepositio حرف جر
(7:189:5) nafsin a soul,	نَّفْسٍ	N – genitive feminine singular indefinite nou اسم مجرور
(7:189:6) wāḥidatin single	وَاحِدَةٍ	ADJ – genitive feminine indefinite adjectiv صفة مجرورة
(7:189:7) wajaʿala and made	وَجَعَلَ	CONJ – prefixed conjunction wa (and) V – 3rd person masculine singular perfect ver الواو عاطفة فعل ماض
(7:189:8) min'hā from it her	مِنْهَا	P – preposition PRON – 3rd person feminine singular object pronou جار ومجرور
(7:189:9) zawjahā her ~~its~~ mate	زَوْجَهَا	N – accusative masculine noun PRON – 3rd person feminine singular possessive pronou اسم منصوب و«ها» ضمير متصل في محل جر بالاضافة
(7:189:10) liyaskuna that he might live	لِيَسْكُنَ	PRP – prefixed particle of purpose *lām* V – 3rd person masculine singular imperfect verb, subjunctive moo اللام لام التعليل فعل مضارع منصوب
(7:189:11) ilayhā with her.	إِلَيْهَا	P – preposition PRON – 3rd person feminine singular object pronou جار ومجرور
(7:189:12) falammā And when	فَلَمَّا	REM – prefixed resumption particle T – time adver الفاء استئنافية ظرف زمان
(7:189:13) taghashāhā he covers her,	تَغَشَّاهَا	V – 3rd person masculine singular (form V) imperfect verb PRON – 3rd person feminine singular object pronou فعل مضارع و«ها» ضمير متصل في محل نصب مفعول به
(7:189:14) ḥamalat she carries	حَمَلَتْ	V – 3rd person feminine singular perfect ver فعل ماض
(7:189:15) ḥamlan a burden	حَمْلًا	N – accusative masculine indefinite nou اسم منصوب
(7:189:16) khafīfan light	خَفِيفًا	ADJ – accusative masculine singular indefinite adjectiv صفة منصوبة
(7:189:17) famarrat and continues	فَمَرَّتْ	CONJ – prefixed conjunction fa (and) V – 3rd person feminine singular perfect ver الفاء عاطفة فعل ماض
(7:189:18) bihi with it.	بِهِ	P – prefixed preposition bi PRON – 3rd person masculine singular personal pronou جار ومجرور
(7:189:19) falammā But when	فَلَمَّا	REM – prefixed resumption particle T – time adver الفاء استئنافية ظرف زمان
(7:189:20) athqalat she grows heavy,	أَثْقَلَت	V – 3rd person feminine singular (form IV) perfect ver فعل ماض
(7:189:21) daʿawā they both invoke	دَّعَوَا	V – 3rd person masculine dual perfect verb PRON – subject pronou فعل ماض والألف ضمير متصل في محل رفع فاعل
(7:189:22) l-laha Allah,	اللَّهَ	PN – accusative proper noun → Alla لفظ الجلالة منصوب
(7:189:23) rabbahumā their Lord,	رَبَّهُمَا	N – accusative masculine noun PRON – 3rd person dual possessive pronou اسم منصوب والهاء ضمير متصل في محل جر بالاضافة
(7:189:24) la-in "If	لَئِنْ	EMPH – emphatic prefix lām COND – conditional particl اللام لام التوكيد حرف شرط
(7:189:25) ātaytanā You give us	آتَيْتَنَا	V – 2nd person masculine singular (form IV) perfect verb PRON – subject pronoun PRON – 1st person plural object pronou فعل ماض والتاء ضمير متصل في محل رفع فاعل و«نا» ضمير متصل في محل نصب مفعول به
(7:189:26) ṣāliḥan a righteous (child),	صَالِحًا	N – accusative masculine indefinite active participl اسم منصوب
(7:189:27) lanakūnanna surely we will be	لَّنَكُونَنَّ	EMPH – emphatic prefix lām V – 1st person plural imperfect verb EMPH – emphatic suffix nū اللام لام التوكيد فعل مضارع والنون للتوكيد
(7:189:28) mina among	مِنَ	P – prepositio حرف جر
(7:189:29) l-shākirīna the thankful."	الشَّاكِرِينَ	N – genitive masculine plural active participl اسم مجرور