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﴿ فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴾

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Knowledge of what is in the wombs and the doctors' announcement of the fetus's gender

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Question:
A questioner says: And he took in that which is most complete, that no one knows the time of the Hour, even the midwife, and that it is known that rain will occur, and that it is known what is in the wombs. From this, they say that they are able to verify what is in the wombs, even if it is in the early stages. And they said that they do this for some of the prophets. How do we reconcile this?

Answer:
There is no contradiction between them. No one knows what is in the wombs except Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He. As for the doctors, they do not know by their own knowledge alone, but rather through X-rays. So what they know is not from themselves, but through the X-rays. When the X-rays reveal it, it is like its revelation when its mother gives birth to it; there is no difference in that, because the X-rays revealed it. Without the X-rays, they do not know this, and it is impossible for them to know it ever, without the X-rays. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, knows everything. This is from one aspect.
The second aspect is that they do not know what is in the belly by their own knowledge alone. That is, one might ask: Is this woman carrying a male or a female? No one knows this. But when the X-rays come, the X-rays are a means that reveals what is in the female's belly, just as if she had given birth. Also, the angel, the angel who is a creation of Allah and who comes to the woman's womb to form the fetus, knows. He asks Allah: Is it a male or a female? So Allah, Mighty and Majestic, commands him when he is created to know about this fetus whether it is a male or a female. This is from one aspect, the second aspect.
If they know that it is a male or a female, do they know that it will live and remain, or do they know that it will die soon? They do not know this. They do not know the details of its affair. Do they know that it will be wretched or happy? No one knows this except Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He. Do they know that it will be a believer or a disbeliever? Do they know that it will be rich or poor? Do they know its provision? Do they know when it will die? These are all matters they do not know. This indicates that what is in the wombs, in detail, is not known except by Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He.
Also, they may confirm that it is a male, and it turns out to be a female. The things may fail to reveal the gender of the pregnancy, whether it is a male or a female. It is not as they say or establish as a settled matter without doubt. There is much doubt in it, there is discrepancy, and there is disagreement even among the doctors in this matter.
Source قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 13/9 شرح الأصول الثلاثة / صالح الفوزان — youtube.com (1:05:10)

The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.

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