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How can the hadith, "If the man's fluid precedes the woman's fluid, the fetus will be male; and if the woman's fluid precedes the man's fluid, the fetus will be female," be reconciled with the hadith, "The man's fluid creates the bones and nerves... and the woman's fluid creates the blood and flesh," in explaining the creation of humans and the determination of their sex?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The second Hadith mentioned in the question is not sound in its chain of transmission or its text, because it contains a problem stating that the flesh of the fetus is from the mother's sperm and its bones are from the father's sperm, whereas the apparent meaning of the texts is that the flesh and bones come from the combination of both sperms. As for the creation of the fetus, its gender (male or female), and its resemblance to its parents, there is evidence for these matters in the Quran and Sunnah. Allah Almighty says: (Let man then consider from what he is created! He is created from a gushing fluid Emerging from between the backbone and the ribs.) [Quran 86:5-7]. As for masculinity, femininity, and resemblance, there is a significant difference of opinion among scholars. Hadiths may mention that "precedence" (al-sabq) and "superiority" (al-uluw) in the water of the man and woman affect the gender and resemblance of the fetus. Some scholars interpret this as the precedence of one of the two waters being the cause of resemblance, and the superiority of one of them being the cause of masculinization or feminization. Others interpret it as precedence being a sign of masculinization or feminization, and superiority being a sign of resemblance.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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