Holy Quran: All Things We created are in pairs (زَوْج)
(sūrat l-dhāriyāt)Verse (51:49): وَمِن ڪُلِّ شَىۡءٍ خَلَقۡنَا زَوۡجَيۡنِ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَذَكَّرُونَ
Sahih International: And of all things We created two mates; perhaps you will remember.
(sūrat yā sīn)Verse (36:36): سُبۡحَـٰنَ ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلۡأَزۡوَٲجَ ڪُلَّهَا مِمَّا تُنۢبِتُ ٱلۡأَرۡضُ وَمِنۡ أَنفُسِهِمۡ وَمِمَّا لَا يَعۡلَمُونَ
Sahih International: Exalted is He who created all pairs – from what the earth grows and from themselves and from that which they do not know.
(sūrat fāṭir)Verse (35:11): وَٱللَّهُ خَلَقَكُم مِّن تُرَابٍ۬ ثُمَّ مِن نُّطۡفَةٍ۬ ثُمَّ جَعَلَكُمۡ أَزۡوَٲجً۬اۚ وَمَا تَحۡمِلُ مِنۡ أُنثَىٰ وَلَا تَضَعُ إِلَّا بِعِلۡمِهِۚۦ وَمَا يُعَمَّرُ مِن مُّعَمَّرٍ۬ وَلَا يُنقَصُ مِنۡ عُمُرِهِۦۤ إِلَّا فِى كِتَـٰبٍۚ إِنَّ ذَٲلِكَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ يَسِيرٌ۬
Sahih International: And Allah created you from dust, then from a sperm-drop; then He made you mates. And no female conceives nor does she give birth except with His knowledge. And no aged person is granted [additional] life nor is his lifespan lessened but that it is in a register. Indeed, that for Allah is easy.
Some Oganism Having No Pair:
In nature, many organisms do not rely on pairs for reproduction. These organisms exhibit asexual reproduction, where a single individual produces offspring without the need for a mate. Below are examples and categories of such organisms:
Bacteria and Archaea, Single-Celled Eukaryotes, Fungi and Algae.
Some plants like Runners: Strawberries, Tubers: Potatoes and Bulbs: Tulips, onions.
Some Animals like Aphids, honeybees (worker bees and drones) etc
Pathogens and Parasites.
But Allah says “All things We created are in pairs” is True.
how it could be possible:
Allah Almighty created us in pairs, no doubt. if human find a scientific method that only women without involvement of man can produce children and after a few hundred years remain only women on earth then we cannot say that Allah has not created man in pairs.
Similarly the cell structure and genetic makeup of organisms that reproduce exclusively asexually provide evidence that their ancestors reproduced sexually. that means Allah has created them in pairs but they has not used this method but other, asexually reproduction. Here’s how it happened:
1. Vestigial Sexual Structures
Some asexual organisms retain structures or genes that were once used for sexual reproduction, indicating an evolutionary history of sexual reproduction.
Examples:
Bdelloid Rotifers:
- While they reproduce exclusively via parthenogenesis, their genome contains remnants of genes associated with meiosis, a key process in sexual reproduction.
- These remnants suggest their ancestors reproduced sexually millions of years ago.
- Fungi:
- Asexual fungi like Aspergillus have genes related to sexual reproduction, even though they no longer engage in it.
- These “silent” sexual genes indicate an evolutionary history involving sexual cycles.
2. Genetic Evidence
The genomes of exclusively asexual organisms often display signatures of past sexual reproduction:
- Recombination Hotspots: These are regions in DNA where genetic recombination occurred during sexual reproduction. Even if no recombination is currently happening, these hotspots can remain as traces.
- Meiosis Genes: Genes like spo11 and rad51 (essential for meiosis) may exist as inactive pseudogenes in asexual organisms, suggesting a history of sexual reproduction.
Example:
- Whiptail Lizards:
- Although they reproduce only via parthenogenesis, their genomes display patterns of homologous recombination, a hallmark of past sexual reproduction.
3. Chromosomal Evidence
The structure of chromosomes can hint at a sexual past:
- Diploidy and Polyploidy:
- Many asexual organisms are diploid (two sets of chromosomes) or polyploid (multiple sets), which are common outcomes of sexual reproduction.
- Polyploidy often results from the merging of gametes during sexual reproduction.
- Homologous Chromosomes:
- Organisms that reproduce sexually have homologous chromosome pairs. If an asexual organism has these, it suggests a sexual history.
Example:
- Dandelions (Apomictic Plants):
- Though they reproduce clonally, their seeds and tissues display polyploidy, which strongly indicates a sexual ancestry.
4. Evolutionary Bottlenecks and Genetic Repair Mechanisms
Sexual reproduction introduces genetic diversity, which helps repair DNA damage and prevents the accumulation of harmful mutations (Muller’s Ratchet). In exclusively asexual organisms:
- The absence of recombination leads to a gradual accumulation of mutations.
- Many asexual organisms have developed alternative DNA repair mechanisms (e.g., horizontal gene transfer in bacteria).
- The necessity for such adaptations suggests that their ancestors relied on sexual reproduction for maintaining genetic health.
5. Fossil and Molecular Records
- Fossil evidence and molecular clocks can trace the evolutionary history of organisms back to periods when their close relatives reproduced sexually.
- Comparative genomics allows scientists to compare asexual organisms with their sexually reproducing relatives to identify shared ancestry.
Example:
- Bdelloid Rotifers: Their evolutionary divergence from sexually reproducing relatives dates back millions of years, but their genomic features suggest a shared sexual past.
6. Transitional Species
In some cases, transitional species exhibit both sexual and asexual reproductive modes, providing a “bridge” that hints at the evolutionary shift from sexual to asexual reproduction.
Examples:
- Aphids: These insects switch between sexual and asexual reproduction, offering insights into how a lineage might evolve towards obligate asexuality.
Conclusion
The cell structure, genome, and reproductive mechanisms of asexual organisms often preserve evidence of a sexual past. This supports the idea that many exclusively asexual organisms evolved from sexually reproducing ancestors, adapting over time.
Most living organisms have chromosome pairs
Almost all animals, plants, fungi, and many protists have a diploid chromosome set, meaning their chromosomes come in pairs. Even many species that are now haploid or polyploid likely had chromosome pairs at some point in the past.
Organisms without chromosome pairs:
However, some organisms have never had chromosome pairs, neither today nor in the past. This includes bacteria and archaea, which have only a single circular chromosome rather than pairs. Some might have two chromosomes, but they are still not arranged in pairs like in diploid organisms. Certain viruses, though not technically considered living organisms, also have single-stranded RNA or DNA without pairs.
Percentage estimation
There are approximately 8.7 million known eukaryotic species (animals, plants, fungi, and protists), most of which have or had chromosome pairs. In contrast, the number of known bacterial and archaeal species is estimated to be between 16,000 and 22,000. Taking all species into account, over 99.998% of all existing and past species likely had chromosome pairs at some point in their evolutionary history. This means that fewer than 0.002% of all species have never had chromosome pairs, consisting almost exclusively of bacteria and archaea.
(These 0.002% of species have a single circular chromosome, having circle shape is interesting, could have perhaps arose in the far past with fusion of 2 genes at their edges.)
0.002% of all species have never had chromosome pairs:
The word (زَوْج) used by Allah in the Holy Quran mostly means “pair,” usually referring to a couple, i.e., of opposite sex, but not necessarily always. Sometimes (زَوْج) in Holy Quran is also used to mean pairs “of the same kind,” as in the following verses:
(زَوْج) used in Holy Quran for “same kind” or “similar people or friends“:
(زَوْج) for the kind of group of people those who committed wrong.
(sūrat l-ṣāfāt)Verse (37:22): ٱحۡشُرُواْ ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ وَأَزۡوَٲجَهُمۡ وَمَا كَانُواْ يَعۡبُدُونَ
Sahih International: [The angels will be ordered], “Gather those who committed wrong, their kinds, and what they used to worship
(زَوْج) for group of every noble kind.
(sūrat l-shuʿarā)Verse (26:7): أَوَلَمۡ يَرَوۡاْ إِلَى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ كَمۡ أَنۢبَتۡنَا فِيہَا مِن كُلِّ زَوۡجٍ۬ كَرِيمٍ
Sahih International: Did they not look at the earth – how much We have produced therein from every noble kind?
(sūrat ṣād)Verse (38:58): وَآخَرُ مِنْ شَكْلِهِ أَزْوَاجٌ
Sahih International: And other [punishments] of its type [in various] kinds.
The remaining species without a sexual pair also live in groups or pairs (زَوْج), but pairs or groups of their own kind or living in groups, correlated like friends.