Fiha & Fihi (21:91 & 66:12)

In Arabic, every word is either masculine or feminine. The suffix “ ha” ( ها) is used for feminine nouns, while the suffix “ hu” ( ه) is used for masculine nouns. Depending on the context, these suffixes can be understood as “her,” “him,” or “it.”

By categorizing words as masculine and feminine, more specificity can be applied to speech, but this also sometimes leads to confusion. The following verse is an example of this.

16:66 And in the livestock there is a lesson for you: we provide you with a drink from their bellies. From the midst of digested food and blood, you get pure milk, delicious for the drinkers.

وَإِنَّ لَكُمْ فِى ٱلْأَنْعَـٰمِ لَعِبْرَةً نُّسْقِيكُم مِّمَّا فِى بُطُونِهِۦ مِنۢ بَيْنِ فَرْثٍ وَدَمٍ لَّبَنًا خَالِصًا سَآئِغًا لِّلشَّـٰرِبِينَ

The cows that provide milk obviously are female, yet the category “livestock” “ l-anʿāmi” ( ٱلْأَنْعَـٰمِ) is masculine. So because of this, the term for “its bellies” “ buṭūnihi” ( بُطُونِهِۦ) uses the masculine suffix “ hi” ( هِ) rather than the feminine suffix.

Another example concerns Jesus’ immaculate conception, where the two verses parallel each other with one minor difference.