How Do We Understand the Quranic Statement That Allah Created Everything in Pairs When Some Species Appear to Have Only One Sex or More than Two?

Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel

Question

How do we understand the Quranic statement that Allah created everything in pairs when some species appear to have only one sex or more than two?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

I hope you are in good health and faith. Thank you for your question.

Allah Most High said, “And We have created everything in pairs of two; That haply you may remember the One.” [Quran, 51:49]

Allah knows the pairing in every creature, even what we consider single, such as asexual plants, animals, bacteria, and viruses, but they are complemented by other things we are unaware of. We should never limit the facts about all creatures to our own limited understanding.

Al-Azwaj (in pairs)

“Glory be to the One Who created all ˹things in˺ pairs—˹be it˺ what the earth produces, their genders, or what they do not know!” [Quran, 36:36], and “And We have created everything in pairs of two” [Quran, 51:49]

This is a reminder that all things are composed of substance and attribute, matter and form; that nothing exists devoid of a composition that proves it is made, and thus that it must have a Maker.

The verse also indicates that Allah alone is the Unique One (al-Fard), without composition or counterpart.

And His saying, “We created pairs,” clarifies that everything in the world is a pair — either because it has an opposite, something similar, or some kind of internal composition. Indeed, nothing is completely free from being composed in some way.

Summary

The summary is, the mention of “pairs” here therefore points to the fact that even a thing that has no opposite or equal is still not simple; it is composed of substance and attribute, and these two are themselves a “pair.”

[Qurtubi, al-Jami‘ Li Ahkam al-Quran; Asfahani, Mufradat al-Quran]

I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. In sha Allah, you will receive guidance and direction.

Related

• From Revelation to Preservation -Sh.Abdur Rahim Reasat (Course) 
• Quranic Studies Curriculum
•  Preservation and Practice of the Qur’an- Mufti Taha …
• Preservation of the Qur’an: The History of the Qur’anic Text (Muhammad Mustafa al-Azami
• The History of Qur’anic Text (PDF)
• From Revelation to Preservation -Sh.Abdur Rahim Reasat (Course) 
• Quranic Studies Curriculum

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I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْأَزْوَاجَ كُلَّهَا مِمَّا تُنبِتُ الْأَرْضُ وَمِنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ وَمِمَّا لَا يَعْلَمُونَ 

والأزواج : الأنواع والأصناف ، فكل زوج صنف ; لأنه مختلف في الألوان والطعوم والأشكال والصغر والكبر ، فاختلافها هو ازدواجها . وقال قتادة : يعني الذكر والأنثى . ” مما تنبت الأرض ” يعني من النبات ; لأنه أصناف . ” ومن أنفسهم ” يعني وخلق منهم أولادا أزواجا ذكورا وإناثا . ” ومما لا يعلمون ” أي من أصناف خلقه في البر والبحر والسماء والأرض . ثم يجوز أن يكون ما يخلقه لا يعلمه البشر وتعلمه الملائكة ، ويجوز ألا يعلمه مخلوق ، ووجه الاستدلال في هذه الآية أنه إذا انفرد بالخلق فلا ينبغي أن يشرك به
(36)تفسير القرطبي

وقوله: ﴿سُبْحانَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْأَزْواجَ﴾ [يس : 36] ، ﴿وَمِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقْنا زَوْجَيْنِ﴾ [الذاريات : 49] ، فتنبيه أنّ الأشياء كلّها مركّبة من جوهر وعرض، ومادّة وصورة، وأن لا شيء يتعرّى من تركيب يقتضي كونه مصنوعا، وأنه لا بدّ له من صانع تنبيها أنه تعالى هو الفرد، وقوله: ﴿خَلَقْنا زَوْجَيْنِ﴾ [الذاريات : 49] ، فبيّن أنّ كلّ ما في العالم زوج من حيث إنّ له ضدّا، أو مثلا ما، أو تركيبا مّا، بل لا ينفكّ بوجه من تركيب، وإنما ذكر هاهنا زوجين تنبيها أنّ الشيء- وإن لم يكن له ضدّ، ولا مثل- فإنه لا ينفكّ من تركيب جوهر وعرض، وذلك زوجان

مفردات ألفاظ القرآن — الراغب الأصفهاني (٥٠٢ هـ)

Mawlana Ilyas Patel has received a traditional education in various countries. He started his schooling in the UK and completed his hifz of the Quran in India. After that, he joined an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied secular and Aalimiyya sciences. Later, he traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, and other Middle Eastern countries to further his education. Mawlana has served as an Imam in the Republic of Ireland for several years and taught the Quran and other Islamic sciences to both children and adults. He also worked as a teacher and librarian at a local Islamic seminary in the UK for 12 years. Presently, he lives in the UK with his wife and is interested in books and gardening.