"And of all things We have created pairs,

that you may take heed."  

51:49

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This verse was misinterpreted by numerous scholars and translators.  Most scholars have interpreted this verse to mean that God created all things as male and female.  This however is an incorrect understanding of the verse.  

There are quite a few examples of organisms which are exclusively parthenogenetic (one sex). Graham Bell's "The Masterpiece of Nature", has detailed information about the evolution of sexual reproduction.

The list is actually quite long : bacteria, fungi imperfecti, etc.  All members of the Monera Kingdom reproduce asexually only. Yes, the Plantae and Protista Kingdoms do produce both ways, but almost never only asexually. As for the fungi, a certain group, the fungi imperfecti, are classified as such because no forms of sexual reproduction have been observed.

The scholars who inserted the notion of male and female into the interpretation of 51:49 were most probably not aware of the above arrangements in plant reproduction, hence they unknowingly made an erroneous and un-scientific interpretation of God's words.  

Let us read the verse one more time:

"And of everything We have created pairs"

Immediately, we note that there is no mention in the verse of male and female, but of 'pairs'. Moreover, the word 'everything' clearly indicates that God is speaking of everything in the universe and not just species of plants.  So what is this universal arrangement by which everything is created in pairs?

Here we explore the science of Quantum Mechanics. 

When we study Quantum Particle Properties, we find that for every elementary particle in the universes there is a special partner called its anti-particle that has the same mass but the opposite electric charge.  This is what is called Anti-Matter.

Basically, if a particle and its own anti-particle collide, they cancel one another out. They destroy one another and turn into a flash of pure energy which can manifest itself as light. 

For many years this theory remained a theoretical hypothesis, since no anti-matter was ever produced in a lab.  However, very recently, a Swiss-based scientist confirmed that anti-matter has been manufactured in tiny amounts! 

The scientists at the European Particle Physics Laboratory (CERN), on the Franco-Swiss border, have now set up the world's first anti-matter factory, one of them, Professor Frank Close, told the annual science festival in Wales:

"Nine atoms of anti-hydrogen were produced just over a year ago. Now, the new factory will produce them at a rate of more than 2,000 atoms per hour" Close said. 

When matter meets anti-matter, they annihilate each other in a flash. The scientific consensus is that, when the universe was created, matter and anti-matter emerged equally from the Big Bang. 

So once again we witness the Quran's amazing scientific content.  The subject of 51:49 and which the scholars failed to interpret correctly, is in fact yet another very accurate piece of knowledge.  This verse as seen address's the theory of Quantum Particle Properties, and not the type of 'Reproduction System' (male/female) of one species of plants or another. 

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Praise God

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