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Ali Sina

Muslims choose a few verses from the Quran and reinterpret them to correlate with the modern science and then ask, “how could Muhammad in the 7th century have known all these things”.  

This is called petitio principii. In other words the premises are as false as the conclusion.  

Here is one such claim:  

ONLY FEMALE BEES PRODUCE HONEY

"And Your lord inspired the bee, to build your dwellings in hills, on trees, and in (human’s) habitations. Then, to eat of all the produce and follow the ways of your Lord made easy. There comes forth from their bodies a drink of varying colour, wherein is healing for men: Verily, in this is a sign for those who give thought."(The Quran, 16:68-69)

The imperative "build" above is the translation of the Arabic word "attakhithi", which is the feminine form (Arabic grammar unlike English, differentiates between the sexes). The feminine form is used when all of those it refers to are female, whereas the masculine is used when a group consists of at least 1 male.

Therefore the Quran is in fact saying "build, you female bees.."

A swarm of bees , which collect honey and build the hive, are female only.

Thus, the phrasing of this command is in agreement with the scientific fact that male bees do not partake in the construction of the hive.

Microscopes were not invented until 1610, when Galileo invented one of the first microscopes almost a thousand years after Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). It is only Allah, the Creator of all things, who revealed such details over 1,423 years ago. This one word of the Quran is sufficient to prove that Quran is from non other than Allah!  (source)

 


The belief that worker bees are female existed at least from a time dating back to Aristotle and perhaps much before him.  

Describing the various theories about the bees prevalent in his time, Aristotle wrote: “Others, again, assert that these insects copulate, and that the drones are male and the bees female.” [History of Animals Book 5 Ch. 21]
Aristotle observed that the brood of drones appears even when there is no ruler bee in the hive. This is an accurate observation. As we know today, unfertilized female workers can lay eggs in the absence of a queen, but the eggs develop into drones. Aristotle gave a fairly accurate description of the bees with only few mistakes like confusing the gender of the Queen and calling it King.  

Aristotle lived in 350 BC or 1000 years before Muhammad. Therefore, the concept of bees being female was not an invention of Muhammad. In fact the word bee in Arabic

What Muhammad said about bees? 

16.068
And thy Lord taught the Bee to build its cells in hills, on trees, and in (men's) habitations;”

That is all the information there is in the Quran about the bees. There is nothing ground breaking in what we see in this verse. This is something that not only people, but also the bears and the birds know. So Muhammad states something obvious known to everyone including animals. What is the miracle in this verse? The “miracle” as Muslims claim is that Muhammad refers to bees in female gender.

The word bee in Arabic is nahla. This word was not invented by Muhammad. This is an Arabic word used by everyone who speaks Arabic. The word is feminine. In Arabic some words are feminine some are masculine. The fact that Muhammad uses an Arabic word that happens to be feminine is no indication that he was the first who discovered bees are female. In fact not all bees are female.  

The gender of the worker bees was already known to everyone at least for 1000 years before Muhammad. All Arabs used the same word even before Muhammad. Why Muhammad should be called a miracle-maker and they who taught Muhammad the word should be called "ignorant", as Muhammad disparagingly referred to all those who lived before him?

 

More Miracles in the Quran

 

 

 

 

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