The absolute knowledge of the foetus, being a male or female, in the womb of the mother is reserved to Allah Ta'aala alone. Man does not have the power to conclusively deter- mine the sex of the unborn baby.

In these times, however, medical doctors are able to 'predict' the sex of the baby-to-be "by means of X-Ray scan machinery" and this too, only after a specific period of pregnancy elapses and the limbs etc. of the foetus are formed. Nevertheless, this knowledge, which many perceive, does neither contradict the Quranic verse, "Only Allah knows all what the wombs contain."Surah Luqmaan, Verse 34) nor does man become participant (an associate) in Ilme-Ghaib (the hidden knowledge) of Allah Ta'ala. Ghaib refers to that type of knowledge, which is self present not derived through apparent means etc., whereas the doctors can only tell by means of X-Ray scan machinery and other apparatus. The ayah of the Quraan refers to that knowledge which is omni- present and neither derived nor acquired and this is exclusive to Allah Ta'ala.

The second interpretation of the Ayah is that only Allah Ta’ala knows various conditions, specifications and circumstances of the womb - whether the foetus it contains is male or female, normal or abnormal, full-term birth or premature, normal birth or caesarean section, and what the exact day and time of birth shall be and most important what the fate of the child will be -pious or villainous and fortunate or unfortunate. All these aspects are known to Allah Ta'ala when the foetus is still in the mother's womb. On the contrary, present-day doctors and scientists are only able to "predict", and this too, after a specific period of pregnancy elapses, the sex of the baby-to- be.

The third aspect of the Ayah is that it reads "Maa fil Arhaam" and not "Man fil Arhaam". The Arabic word "Man" is used for human beings and "Maa" for inhumans, objects etc. This purports that the foetus is a clot of blood and still has not taken human form therefore it is referred to as "Maa". Even at that stage Allah Ta'ala knows whether it is male or female. On the contrary, at that stage no doctor can tell whether the clot of blood shall be male or female.

Nevertheless, anybody acquiring partial knowledge of the womb after a fixed period of pregnancy elapses does not contradict the Quranic verse, "Only Allah knows all what the wombs contain."

Article taken (with Thanks) from JamiatKZN