CLASSIFICATION OF FRUIT INTO 2 GROUPS
Quran 13 3
“and of all fruits, He made in them pairs,”
وَمِن كُلِّ ٱلثَّمَرَٲتِ جَعَلَ فِيہَا زَوۡجَيۡنِ ٱثۡنَيۡنِۖ – الرعد3 ، 13:
1-The verse above is often used by the enemies of Islam to prove the Quran is scientifically inaccurate.They translate the above verse as there are male and female fruit.This as we know does not occur in nature.
2-We respond by saying that Allah SWT informs us that the theme in nature is that He creates in pairs/opposites.eg male and female in humans, animals plants etc. He also created inanimate entities in pairs/opposites eg protons and electrons.
In the context of the above verse the arabic word “zawjain” should not be used to imply there are male and female fruits but rather fruits occur in pairs/opposites
A fruit by definition is a reproductive structure of an angiosperm (flowering plant) that develops from the ovary and accessory tissue, which surrounds and protects the seed. Fruits are important in seed dispersal.
3-We could divide fruit into 2 groups .These groups can be considered to be opposites of each other
ie. FERTILIZED fruits and PATHENOCARPIC fruits.
The differentiating factor is based on whether the fruit develops from fertilization or not. Fertilized fruit develop from fertilization and have seeds while pathenocarpic fruit do not develop from fertilization and have no seeds. An example of a fertilized fruit is a mango while a banana is an example of a pathenocarpic fruit.While the majority of fruits is fertilized fruits,the understanding of fruits being created in pairs is best explained in this manner.The explanation of fruits being in pairs as fertilized fruits vs pathenocarpic fruits is the most favoured one.
4-Another manner in which the verse above could be interpreted is that the 2 groups are TRUE fruits and ACCESSORY fruits.
This classification is based on whether the fruit develops from the ovary or the ovary and other parts of the flower.True fruit develop from the ovary while accessory fruit develop from the ovary as well as other parts of the flower.An example of a true fruit is a mango while an apple is an example of an accessory fruit. Fruits created in pairs could thus possibly be understood to be true fruit vs accessory fruit.
5-Fruits develop from angiosperms ie.flowering plants.The verse above could also refer to the plant/flower the fruit came from (we know that there are male and female parts of a flower)-unlikely explanation of the quranic verse
6-Some scholars interpret the verse as fruits having opposites qualities ie.sweet or bitter,big or small,ripe or unripe etc-unlikely explanation of the quranic verse
7-The explanation in points no.5and 6 is less favoured.The explanation in point no.3 is considered to be the best, then that of point no. 4
Allah SWT and His prophet SAW know best