In this article I'm going to focus on two clear mistakes the Quran makes when it tries to explain aspects of biology.
(I) Origin of semen in man:
86:5 to 86:7 - So let man see from what he is created! He is created from a water gushing forth, Proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs.
The Quran claims that the semen originates from between the backbone (sulb) and the ribs (tara'ib). While most translators of the Quran translate sulb as "backbone", some translators translate it as "loins". Whether the word actually means loins or backbone, both are inescapable errors.
Anatomically, loins (also known as lumbus) refers to areas on both sides of the backbone between the lower ribs and the thigh bone. If we view anatomically there is absolutely no way seminal vesicles (which is where semen actually originates) can come between the loins and the ribs. The only other way loins could make sense here is if it is considered to be the "sexual areas" of the man which is vague and has no precise location. Anyhow, even if we take loins to be the sexual areas of man, saying that semen originates between the loins and the ribs is inexplicable - what are ribs even doing here? They are completely out of the picture.
Islamic apologists desperately try to defend this clear error mainly in two different ways:
1). By drawing a line between the bottom of the tailbone (coccyx) through the seminal vesicles they use deceptive drawings of the human body to claim that this line catches the bottom of the ribs. As weird as this explanation looks, an accurate check of the anatomy of human body reveals that a line drawn between the bottom of the tailbone through the seminal vesicles will not even come close to catching the ribs - as the following depiction clearly shows:
Imagine a straight line from the bottom of the tailbone to the top of the seminal vesicles and extend it. The ribs are not even in the picture! And hence the argument of semen originating from between backbone and ribs fails even if we consider the bottom-most tip of the tailbone.
2). By claiming that not only is "sulb" male sexual areas but also claiming that "tara'ib" means female sexual areas. Virtually every decent translator of the Quran has translated tara'ib as ribs. And so does every single dictionary of classical arabic there is. The Islamic apolgists cleverly pick out a part of the sentence in Lane's Lexicon (a dictionary of classical arabic) to make this laughable claim.
Quoted from Lane's Lexicon (page 301): "... most of the authors on strange words affirm decidedly that it (tara’ib) is peculiar to women." Now despite the fact that the very same Lane's Lexicon clearly refers to tara'ib as ribs (whether it is peculiar to man or woman) the apologists hide this fact to pretend that this somehow means the "sexual areas of women" by taking out that one portion where it says this word is often used particular to women and hiding the rest.
The result? A complete fail. All of the futile attempts at explaining away and whitewashing this clear error are simply destroyed.
(2) Origin of milk in cattle:
16:66 - And verily! In the cattle, there is a lesson for you. We give you to drink of that which is in their bellies, from between excretions and blood, pure milk; palatable to the drinkers.
Milk is produced from mammary glands (which are part of the "udder" in cattle - the equivalent of the breasts in humans). Neither are milk in the cattle at any point of time situated in their bellies, nor are they coming from between excretions/intestines and blood. A clear and indefensible error.
Although there are more poor biological explanations and errors in the Quran, I have just focused on two of these errors as they are easily and clearly proven and hence indefensible.
(I) Origin of semen in man:
86:5 to 86:7 - So let man see from what he is created! He is created from a water gushing forth, Proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs.
The Quran claims that the semen originates from between the backbone (sulb) and the ribs (tara'ib). While most translators of the Quran translate sulb as "backbone", some translators translate it as "loins". Whether the word actually means loins or backbone, both are inescapable errors.
Anatomically, loins (also known as lumbus) refers to areas on both sides of the backbone between the lower ribs and the thigh bone. If we view anatomically there is absolutely no way seminal vesicles (which is where semen actually originates) can come between the loins and the ribs. The only other way loins could make sense here is if it is considered to be the "sexual areas" of the man which is vague and has no precise location. Anyhow, even if we take loins to be the sexual areas of man, saying that semen originates between the loins and the ribs is inexplicable - what are ribs even doing here? They are completely out of the picture.
Islamic apologists desperately try to defend this clear error mainly in two different ways:
1). By drawing a line between the bottom of the tailbone (coccyx) through the seminal vesicles they use deceptive drawings of the human body to claim that this line catches the bottom of the ribs. As weird as this explanation looks, an accurate check of the anatomy of human body reveals that a line drawn between the bottom of the tailbone through the seminal vesicles will not even come close to catching the ribs - as the following depiction clearly shows:
Imagine a straight line from the bottom of the tailbone to the top of the seminal vesicles and extend it. The ribs are not even in the picture! And hence the argument of semen originating from between backbone and ribs fails even if we consider the bottom-most tip of the tailbone.
2). By claiming that not only is "sulb" male sexual areas but also claiming that "tara'ib" means female sexual areas. Virtually every decent translator of the Quran has translated tara'ib as ribs. And so does every single dictionary of classical arabic there is. The Islamic apolgists cleverly pick out a part of the sentence in Lane's Lexicon (a dictionary of classical arabic) to make this laughable claim.
Quoted from Lane's Lexicon (page 301): "... most of the authors on strange words affirm decidedly that it (tara’ib) is peculiar to women." Now despite the fact that the very same Lane's Lexicon clearly refers to tara'ib as ribs (whether it is peculiar to man or woman) the apologists hide this fact to pretend that this somehow means the "sexual areas of women" by taking out that one portion where it says this word is often used particular to women and hiding the rest.
The result? A complete fail. All of the futile attempts at explaining away and whitewashing this clear error are simply destroyed.
(2) Origin of milk in cattle:
16:66 - And verily! In the cattle, there is a lesson for you. We give you to drink of that which is in their bellies, from between excretions and blood, pure milk; palatable to the drinkers.
Milk is produced from mammary glands (which are part of the "udder" in cattle - the equivalent of the breasts in humans). Neither are milk in the cattle at any point of time situated in their bellies, nor are they coming from between excretions/intestines and blood. A clear and indefensible error.
Although there are more poor biological explanations and errors in the Quran, I have just focused on two of these errors as they are easily and clearly proven and hence indefensible.