quran and science

TG12345 wrote: Where did I say that the tafsirs state that 9 months is the usual gestation period?This is what I wrote:"According to the Quran's author, weaning and gestation last 30 months, and weaning lasts 2 years. That would mean that gestation lasts 6 months. We know that a baby is in its mothers' womb usually for 9 months."I did not even mention the tafsirs in this statement. I should correct this, though. A baby is in the mother's womb usually for 40 weeks, which would be 9.5 lunar months or 9.3 solar months. This is not from tafsirs, but from the source below:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GestationNow that we have clarified this, I would appreciate it if you could please share where you got the information from that the minimum time of of gestation is 6 months. Is this from the verses in the Quran themselves, or from the tafsirs?Shukran wa Allahma3k.

Quranexplorer wrote: Shukran TG, Okay, so here we have a scenario: Based on the Quranic verses it only conveys 6 months gestation period without any qualifying adjectives. Now you have exercised your personal choice and attached a qualifying adjective "usually" to interpret these verses. I don't see any problem with that and I think the same way someone else can use their personal choice to attach qualifying adjectives like"minimum", "maximum" or maybe "exactly" (a woman who actually gave birth to a baby could argue for that exact figure) as the case maybe. Basically there are more than one option one could choose from. So I would appreciate if you could please explain why you specifically chose "usually" as your option here to interpret your version?

Quranexplorer wrote: I will go with the option "minimum" as the qualifying adjective (here's a reference) and I have some other reason which maybe I can share once you explain your choice.

﴿وَفِصَالُهُ فِى عَامَيْنِ﴾

(And his weaning is in two years.) (31:14) and

﴿وَالْوَلِدَتُ يُرْضِعْنَ أَوْلَـدَهُنَّ حَوْلَيْنِ كَامِلَيْنِ لِمَنْ أَرَادَ أَن يُتِمَّ الرَّضَاعَةَ﴾

(The mothers suckle their children two complete years -- for those who desire to complete the term of suckling. ) (2:233) This is a strong and valid conclusion, and it was approved by `Uthman and a number of the Companions. Muhammad bin Ishaq bin Yasar narrated from Ba`jah bin `Abdullah Al-Juhani that a man from his tribe (Juhaynah) married a woman from Juhaynah. She delivered a baby after six months. So her husband went to `Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, and told him about that. Thus, `Uthman summoned her. When she was getting dressed, her sister started crying. She asked her: "Why do you cry By Allah, no one has ever approached me (for sexual relations) of Allah's creation except him (my husband). So let Allah decree (for me) as He wills.'' When she was brought before `Uthman, he commanded that she be stoned to death (for adultery). `Ali heard of this, came to `Uthman, and said: "What are you doing'' He (`Uthman) said: "She delivered after six months! Can this ever happen'' `Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "Don't you read the Qur'an'' He said: "Yes, of course!'' He (`Ali) then said: `Haven't you heard Allah's saying,

﴿وَحَمْلُهُ وَفِصَـلُهُ ثَلاَثُونَ شَهْراً﴾

(and his gestation and weaning is thirty months), and;

﴿حَوْلَيْنِ كَامِلَيْنِ﴾

( two complete years) (2:233) (Subtracting the two numbers) we are only left with six months.'' `Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "By Allah, I did not see that! Bring the woman back.'' But they found that she had already been killed. Ba`jah continued: "By Allah, no two crows and no two eggs are more similar than that child turned out to be to his father! When his father saw that he said, `By Allah! This is my son without any doubt.' Later on, Allah afflicted him with a skin abscess in his face (because of his false accusation to his wife). It kept eating him up until he died.'' Ibn Abi Hatim related from his father that Farwah bin Abi Al-Maghra' told them that `Ali bin Mushir narrated to them from Dawud bin Abi Hind, who narrated from `Ikrimah that Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "When a woman delivers after nine months, the baby will only need twenty-one months of suckling. When she delivers after seven months, the baby will need twenty-three months of suckling. When she delivers after six months, the baby will need two full years of suckling, because Allah says,

﴿وَحَمْلُهُ وَفِصَـلُهُ ثَلاَثُونَ شَهْراً حَتَّى إِذَا بَلَغَ أَشُدَّهُ﴾

(and his gestation and weaning is thirty months, till when he attains full strength).'' meaning, he becomes strong, youthful, and attains full ability.

Another legal point also is derived from this verse and verse 14 of Surah Luqman and verse 233 of Al-Baqarah, which was pointed out by Hadrat `Ali and Hadrat Ibn 'Abbas in a law case and made Hadrat `Uthman change his decision. The story goes that during the caliphate of Hadrat `Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) a person married a woman from the Juhainah tribe, and just six months after the marriage she gave birth to a healthy and sound child. The man took the case before Hadrat `Uthman, who declared the woman to be an adultress and ordered that she be stoned to death. On hearing this Hadrat `Ali immediately came to Hadrat `Uthman and asked: What sort of a decision have you given ? He replied: She has given birth to a sound child six months after marriage. Is it not a clear .proof of her being an adultress? Hadrat `Ali did not agree, and recited the three above mentioned verses in their sequence. In Surah Al-Baqarah Allah says: 'The mothers shall suckle their children for two whole in years, if the fathers desire the suckling to be completed." In Surah Luqman it is said: "And his weaning took two years," and in Surah AI-Ahqaf: "And his bearing and his weaning took thirty months." Now, if two years of suckling are taken away from 30 months, six months of bearing remain. This shows that the minimum period of pregnancy in which a sound child can be born is six months. Therefore, the woman who has given birth to a child six months after the marriage cannot be declared an adulteress . On hearing this reasoning of Hadrat 'Ali, Hadrat 'Uthman admitted that he had not considered that thing at all. Then he recalled the woman and changed his decision. According to another tradition, Ibn 'Abbas also supported the reasoning of Hadrat 'Ali and then Hadrat 'Uthman changed his decision. (Ibn Jarir, Ahkam al-Qur an by al-Jassas Ibn Kathir).

The following legal injunctions are derived from the three verses when they are read together: The woman who gives birth to a sound and complete child in less than six months after marriage (i.e. in a proper delivery and not abortion) will be declared an adulteress and her child's lineage from her husband will not be established.

(2) The woman who delivers a sound and complete child six months or more after marriage, cannot be accused of adultery only on the basis of the child birth, nor can her husband have the right to slander her, nor can he refuse to acknowledge fatherhood of the child; the child will certainly be recognized as his, and the woman will not be punished.

(3) The maximum period for fosterage is two years. If a woman has suckled a child after this age, she will not be regarded as his foster mother, nor will the injunctions pertaining to fosterage (An-Nisa: 23) be applicable to her. In this regard, Imam Abu Hanifah has out of caution proposed the period of two and a half years instead of two years so that there remains no chance of error in a delicate matter like the prohibition of the foster relations. (For explanation, see E N. 23 of Surah Luqman).

Here, it would be useful to know that according to the latest medical research a child needs at least 28 weeks to remain in the mother's womb to be developed and delivered as a living baby. This period amounts to a little more than 6 months. The Islamic law has allowed a concession of about half a month, because a woman's being declared an adulteress and a child's being deprived of lineage is a grave matter, and its gravity demands that maximum period be allowed to save both the mother and the child from its legal consequences. Furthermore, no physician and no judge, not even the pregnant woman herself and the man impregnating her, can know as to when exactly did the conception take place. This thing also demands that a few more days be allowed in determining the minimum Legal period of pregnancy. 

http://englishtafsir.com/Quran/46/index.html#sdfootnote19sym

TG12345 wrote: Salaam Alaikum, QuranExplorer.I didn't say there is nothing wrong with the Quranic statement that 30 months is the gestation + weaning period, assuming that the minimum gestation period is allegedly 6 months. I will comment more on that later in the discussion, inshAllah.Right now I am asking you where does the Quran states that the minimum gestation period is 6 months. I don't see that in the verse.Are you making the assumption that 6 months is the minimum period of gestation based on what you read in the tafsirs? If so, can you please share which ones? Thanks so much.

Quranexplorer wrote: Whether you agree or not, you fail to conclusively prove the subject Quranic verses wrong as the 6 months gestation period is a fact and a reality. The boy's case I earlier quoted and many more stand testimony to this fact. Now the only point of discussion remaining is the personal choice how you want to interpret these verses. You have made your choice and I have made mine. I can explain mine once you explain your choice. Wassalam

Breastfeeding is the normal way of providing young infants with the nutrients they need for healthy growth and development. Virtually all mothers can breastfeed, provided they have accurate information, and the support of their family, the health care system and society at large.

Colostrum, the yellowish, sticky breast milk produced at the end of pregnancy, is recommended by WHO as the perfect food for the newborn, and feeding should be initiated within the first hour after birth.

Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended up to 6 months of age, with continued breastfeeding along with appropriate complementary foods up to two years of age or beyond.

http://www.who.int/topics/breastfeeding/en/

Key facts

• Every infant and child has the right to good nutrition according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• Undernutrition is associated with 45% of child deaths.
• Globally in 2012, 162 million children under 5 were estimated to be stunted and 51 million have low weight-for-height, mostly as a consequence of poor feeding and repeated infections; 44 million were overweight or obese.
• About 38% of infants 0 to 6 months old are exclusively breastfed.
• Few children receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods; in many countries only a third of breastfed infants 6�23 months of age meet the criteria of dietary diversity and feeding frequency that are appropriate for their age.
• About 800 000 children's lives could be saved every year among children under 5, if all children 0�23 months were optimally breastfed.

Health effects

Priscilla Colletto stated in Beyond Toddlerhood: The Breastfeeding Relationship Continues, "The adverse health effects of weaning a child before or during toddlerhood are well documented for Third World countries such as Guinea-Bissau, where children who were no longer breastfed at ages 12�35 months had a 3.5 times higher mortality rate than did their peers who continued to breastfeed."^[171] Dr. Laurence Grummer-Strawn, widely known in the breastfeeding research and advocacy communities,^[172] observed that breastfeeding is protective against diarrheal diseases and other infections and that breastfed children aged 12 to 36 months in Indonesia have much greater mid-arm circumference than children who have been weaned at an early age. He also noted that the incidence of malnourishment in breastfed Indonesian children is 3�5% less common than generally encountered in early-weened children. In one study, artificially fed infants had 2 to 3 times as many episodes of significant illnesses (defined as "otitis media, lower respiratory disease, significant vomiting or diarrhea, and any illness requiring hospital admission").^[151] In traditional human societies, the lack of nutrients missing in breast milk such as iron, zinc, and vitamin b12 was supplemented through premastication and feeding of meat to the child.^[173][174]