Related post:
Abstract
Virgin
birth of Jesus is a matter of much debate. What we believe or not is a
matter of faith, and depends on how we read and interpret the scripture(s).
However, scientists have been studying parthenogenesis, the term used to
describe virgin birth. Though virgin birth has been widely observed in nature,
there are very few cases of experimental virgin birth in mammals, and no known
cases yet in the wild. Combining observed phenomenon with emerging studies
in Biophysics, and using analogies of known computing and communication
technology, we can try to comprehend and appreciate the miracle of virgin
birth.
Full
Text
Virgin
birth of Jesus is a matter of much debate. Many Muslims and Christians
believe that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a virgin, that Jesus had no human
father, and was immaculately conceived through the Word of God. Most Christians
believe Jesus was the Son of God, while Muslims believe Jesus is/was a human: a
Prophet and Messenger of God. On the other hand, there are those who do not
believe in virgin birth. All groups base their beliefs on scripture or/and
science. However, even today, even if science proves the possibility, if
someone was to claim virgin birth, only a very few people directly interacting
with the woman may know the truth of the matter, while others may still keep
doubting and debating the truth of the claim and counter-claims.
From
the current scientific knowledge-base, we can explore if there exists any
explanation for these ‘signs’ mentioned in the scriptures:
- Does science have an explanation for virgin birth? The answer is both Yes and No.
- Has virgin birth been observed? Yes, in plants, invertebrates and few vertebrates, both in isolation and in the wild. Mammals are the only exception, where the only observed cases of virgin birth are in the laboratory experiments on rabbits, mice and monkeys.
Drawing
upon available research on Sound, Communication Technology, Analog and Digital
Biology, we can begin to construct a model with the help of the verses of the
Quran.
Quran
Following
are some of the verses providing
insights into how this miracle of virgin birth was brought about:
Sound, Word,
Command
Quran
3:45 informs us that the
angels gave Mary glad tidings of a Word (command) from Allah. Quran 19:17 and 66:12 both use the word
ruh-hinna (Our Spirit) to convey what was breathed into her.
Bashr created from
Water
Quran
25:54 informs us that Allah
has created ‘Bashr’ (commonly taken to mean human or mortal) from water, and then
made lineage and (relationships through) marriage. Quran 3:47 and 19:20 both quote Mary wondering
how can she have a child when she has not been touched by any ‘Bashr’.
Origin of Humans
Quran
4:1 and 7:189 inform us that the first
human couple (male and female) have been created from a single ‘nafs’.
Interestingly, the word ‘nafs’ is in feminine gender. I think ‘nafs’ is
literally feminine, not just grammatically, as discussed in an earlier post: The
First Humans
If
the ‘nafs’ is literally feminine, then we already have a precedence of (i)
non-sexual reproduction, and (ii) male created from a female
Mary’s Virginity
Quran
66 presents Mary as an example of those who believed:
[Quran
66:12 Translation: Literal]
And Maryam, (the) daughter (of) Imran who guarded her chastity, so We breathed
into it of Our Spirit. And she believed (in the) Words (of) her Lord and His
Books, and she was of the devoutly obedient.
Quran
3:33-62 and 19:16-37 relate the details of Mary, Jesus’
conception and birth, and his mission:
Jesus' Lineage
Jesus' Lineage
[Quran
3:33 Translation: Literal] Indeed,
Allah chose Adam and Nuh, and (the) family (of) Ibrahim and (the) family (of)
Imran over the worlds.
Lineage
is generally determined by the father/sperm:
[Quran 33:4 - 33:5 Translation: Literal] ... And not He has made your adopted sons your sons. That (is) your saying by your mouths, but Allah says the truth, and He guides (to) the Way. Call them by their fathers; it (is) more just near Allah. But if not you know their fathers - then (they are) your brothers in [the] religion and your friends. But not is upon you any blame in what you made a mistake in it, but what intended your hearts. And Allah (is) Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
In the case of Jesus, had there been a father of Jesus, then Jesus’ lineage would be from the family of his father, and not of his mother Mary, daughter of Imran. For Jesus to be from the family of Imran, all his chromosomes must have come from his mother.
[Quran 33:4 - 33:5 Translation: Literal] ... And not He has made your adopted sons your sons. That (is) your saying by your mouths, but Allah says the truth, and He guides (to) the Way. Call them by their fathers; it (is) more just near Allah. But if not you know their fathers - then (they are) your brothers in [the] religion and your friends. But not is upon you any blame in what you made a mistake in it, but what intended your hearts. And Allah (is) Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
In the case of Jesus, had there been a father of Jesus, then Jesus’ lineage would be from the family of his father, and not of his mother Mary, daughter of Imran. For Jesus to be from the family of Imran, all his chromosomes must have come from his mother.
Conception of Jesus
[Quran
3:47 Translation: Literal] She
said, "My Lord how is [it] for me a boy, and (has) not touch(ed) me any
man?" He said, "Thus Allah creates what He wills. When He decrees a
matter then only He says to it, "Be," and it becomes.
[Quran
19:19 – 19:22 Translation: Literal] He
said, "Only I am a Messenger (from) your Lord, that I (may) bestow on you
a son pure." … So she conceived and she withdrew with him (to) a place
remote.
Divine Proofs
Jesus was reproduced without a father from his mother's body. If that was too difficult to believe, Allah showed His signs through Jesus by granting him permission to perform the following miracles:
[Quran 3:49 Translation: Literal]And (make him) a Messenger to (the) Children (of) Israel, "Indeed, I [surely] [I] (have) come (to) you with a sign from your Lord that I [I] design for you from [the] clay like the form (of) the bird, then I breath into it and it becomes a bird by (the) permission (of) Allah. And I cure the blind, and the leper, and I give life (to) the dead by (the) permission (of) Allah. And I inform you of what you eat and what you store in your houses. Indeed, in that (is) surely a sign for you, if you are believers.
Divine Challenge
[Quran 3:59 – 3:62 Translation: Literal] Indeed, (the) likeness (of) Isa near Allah (is) like (the) likeness (of) Adam. He created him from dust then He said to him, "Be," and he was. The truth (is) from your Lord, so (do) not be among the doubters. Then whoever argues (with) you concerning it after what came to you of the knowledge then say, "Come, let us call our sons and your sons, and our women and your women, and ourselves and yourselves, then let us pray humbly, and [we] invoke the curse (of) Allah on the liars. Indeed this, surely it (is) the narration - [the] true. And (there is) no god except Allah. And indeed, Allah, surely He (is) the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.
[Quran 3:49 Translation: Literal]And (make him) a Messenger to (the) Children (of) Israel, "Indeed, I [surely] [I] (have) come (to) you with a sign from your Lord that I [I] design for you from [the] clay like the form (of) the bird, then I breath into it and it becomes a bird by (the) permission (of) Allah. And I cure the blind, and the leper, and I give life (to) the dead by (the) permission (of) Allah. And I inform you of what you eat and what you store in your houses. Indeed, in that (is) surely a sign for you, if you are believers.
Divine Challenge
[Quran 3:59 – 3:62 Translation: Literal] Indeed, (the) likeness (of) Isa near Allah (is) like (the) likeness (of) Adam. He created him from dust then He said to him, "Be," and he was. The truth (is) from your Lord, so (do) not be among the doubters. Then whoever argues (with) you concerning it after what came to you of the knowledge then say, "Come, let us call our sons and your sons, and our women and your women, and ourselves and yourselves, then let us pray humbly, and [we] invoke the curse (of) Allah on the liars. Indeed this, surely it (is) the narration - [the] true. And (there is) no god except Allah. And indeed, Allah, surely He (is) the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.
Interestingly,
Quran 18:4 states that ‘And
to warn those who say, ‘Allah has taken a son’ ’ Quran
chapter 18 relates several wondrous events which can be explained
scientifically: People of the Cave ; Water Disappearing
Underground ; Miraculous Subterranean
Escape of the Fish ; Dhu-al-Qarnayn Visited
the Polar Regions
Science
Parthenogenesis
Parthenogenesis
is the technical term for asexual reproduction.
Parthenogenesis /ˌpɑrθənɵˈdʒɛnɨsɨs/ (from the Greek
παρθένος parthenos, "virgin", + γένεσις genesis, "creation"[1])
is a form of asexual reproduction in which growth and
development of embryos occur without fertilization.
In animals,
parthenogenesis means development of an embryo from an unfertilized egg cell and
is a component process of apomixis.
.
Parthenogenesis
occurs naturally in many plants, some invertebrate animal
species (including nematodes, water fleas,
some scorpions, aphids, some bees, some Phasmida and parasitic
wasps) and a few vertebrates (such as some fish,[2] amphibians, reptiles[3][4] and
very rarely birds[5]).
This type of reproduction has been induced artificially in a few species
including fish and amphibians.[6]
Some
species reproduce exclusively by parthenogenesis (such as the Bdelloid
rotifers), while others can switch between sexual reproduction and
parthenogenesis.
In
apomictic parthenogenesis, the offspring are clones of the mother and hence are
usually (except for aphids) female. In the case of aphids, parthenogenetically
produced males and females are clones of their mother except that the males
lack one of the X chromosomes (XO).[22]
When
meiosis is involved, the sex of the offspring will depend on the type of sex
determination system and the type of apomixis.
.
In
many hymenopteran insects such as honeybees, female eggs are produced sexually,
using sperm from a drone father, while the production of further drones (males)
depends on the queen (and occasionally workers) producing unfertilised eggs.
This means that females (workers and queens) are always diploid, while males
(drones) are always haploid, and produced parthenogenetically.
Seven sawfish in Florida have become the
first virgin-born animals ever found in the wild from a sexually reproducing
species.
There
are no known cases of naturally
occurring mammalian parthenogenesis in the wild. Parthenogenetic progeny of
mammals would have two X chromosomes, and would therefore be female.
In
1936, Gregory Goodwin Pincus reported
successfully inducing parthenogenesis in a rabbit.[78] In
April 2004, scientists at Tokyo University of Agriculture used
parthenogenesis successfully to create a
fatherless mouse. Using gene targeting, they were able to manipulate two
imprinted loci H19/IGF2 and DLK1/MEG3 to produce bi-maternal mice at high frequency[79] and
subsequently show that fatherless mice have enhanced longevity.[80]
Induced
parthenogenesis in mice and monkeys often
results in abnormal development. ... As a consequence, research on human
parthenogenesis is focused on the production of embryonic stem cells for use in medical
treatment, not as a reproductive strategy.
On
August 2, 2007, after much independent investigation, it was revealed that
discredited South Korean scientist Hwang
Woo-Suk unknowingly produced the first human embryos resulting from
parthenogenesis… This made Hwang the first, unknowingly, to successfully
perform the process of parthenogenesis to create a human embryon and,
ultimately, a human parthenogenetic stem cell line.
Recent Research in Sound
& Water
Properties
of Sound are already being used effectively in diagnostics and other
procedures. New studies and experiments are revealing the ability of sound to arrange
matter in various patterns and waves.
A
simple and interesting experiment demonstrating how sound can be used at
various frequencies to effect changes:
Water
is the basis of all life forms. Scientists are just beginning to discover the
amazing properties of water. There is emerging research and debate on whether
water has a memory. Proponents believe that water retains memory of everything
it comes in contact with, and this data can be transmitted even through phone
lines. The term used for this area of study is Digital Biology.
However,
these researches are in an elementary stage, and need to develop theoretically
and technologically.
Wirelessly Reprogrammed
Using
our rudimentary knowledge, we can try to comprehend and appreciate the miracle
of virgin birth with the following analogies of known computing and
communication technology:
Word
of God = Sound-based Command
Our
Spirit= Algorithm
Mary’s
Body=A Living Matrix
Appeared
as Bashr to Mary= Data Language Compatibility (Water Memory)
Breathed
= Transmitted Wirelessly
She
Conceived= Parthogenetic Pregnancy
I
speculate that perhaps what is meant by the Word
of God and Our Spirit being breathed into Mary, is that a wireless procedure
was performed through which the sound (Word/Command/Instruction) was
transmitted to Mary, and her body (living matrix) was thus programmed to
reproduce parthenogenetically.
And
Allah knows best!
References
and Links
Parthenogenesis
Female
Sperm
Miraculous
Births – Religion / Mythology
Sound
Water
Other
