THE 360 JOINTS (1.

0)
one of MANY deep facts in ISLAM
Structure :

Introduction

Islam and science

Debunking Daoism claims

Logical thoughts

Conclusion
Introduction :
Islam the most unique religion of all times, it encourages thinking and
understanding "Iman" (which is often translated to "belief" in English). A
unique feature about the Quran is that while it spells out an ethical code, a
moral path, a political system, a social norm, an economic order and a legal
philosophy, it also presents in the life of Prophet Mohammad the practical
exposition of an ideal model it postulates. In addition, Islam is the only
religion that gives the real huge value to god (Allah) describing it as the
omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent, God in Quran is completely abstract
and beyond human knowledge, “he is not like anything” (verse 42:11), it often
looks more similar to an intelligent abstract force governing everything than
the person-like figure in Judaism and Christianity.
Islam and science :
Islam encourages any fruitful and positive source of wisdom what we call in
Arabic ( ‫) باب حكمة‬, Islam placed a high value on education, and as the faith
spread among diverse peoples, education became an important channel
through which to create a universal and cohesive social order. In a few words
Islam encourages the pursuit of science.
Indeed, By the middle of the 9th century, knowledge was divided into three
categories: the Islamic sciences, the philosophical and natural sciences (Greek
knowledge), and the literary arts. Early Muslim education emphasized
practical studies, such as the application of technological expertise to the
development of irrigation systems, architectural innovations, textiles, iron and
steel products, earthenware, and leather products; the manufacture of paper
and gunpowder; the advancement of commerce; and the maintenance of a
merchant marine. After the 11th century, however, denominational interests
dominated higher learning, and the Islamic sciences achieved preeminence.
Islamic scientific achievements encompassed a wide range of subject areas,
especially astronomy, mathematics, and medicine. Other subjects of scientific
inquiry included alchemy and chemistry, botany and agronomy, geography
and cartography, ophthalmology, pharmacology, physics, and zoology.
In fact, most Muslim inventions shaped the modern world: Surgery, Algebra,
Flying machine, Optics, University, Hospitals, Coffee... and the list goes on.
As mentioned before, in a few words Islam encourages the pursuit of science.

The Rise of Science in Islam and the West : https://bit.ly/39IcoPw

Science and Islam: A History : https://bit.ly/3EX4iks

The History and Achievements of the Islamic Golden Age: https://bit.ly/3uw1lmc

The House of Wisdom: How the Arabs Transformed Western Civilization: https://bit.ly/3CVrVbg
Daoism claims
. The issues with Daoism claims:
1. MISLEADING, NON RATIONAL, NON CAREFUL FAULTS IN THE
UNDERSTANDING OF DAOISM CLAIMS ABOUT JOINTS:

Before jumping to conclusions, it's a must to check all details broadly and also we
must have an extended vision of the sources so we can minimize the possibility to
end up getting incorrect results. Unfortunately, that's your biggest fault in this
discussion.. let’s find out why?

The most important source to look up, with a mass collection of studies,
manuscripts, references, updates to match the recent developments.. and further
more backed by Chinese scholars, is:
“ Sources of Chinese Tradition: From Earliest Times to 1600 “
This book is a MASS collection of seminal primary readings on the social,
intellectual, and religious traditions of China, Sources of Chinese Tradition. It is a
completely revised and expanded edition of this classic sourcebook, compiled by
noted China scholars “Wm. Theodore de Bary” and “Irene Bloom”. Updated to
reflect recent scholarly developments, with extensive material on popular
thought and religion, social roles, and women's education, this edition features
new translations of more than half the works from the first edition, as well as
many new selections from (1571–1045 B.C.E.) and continuing through the end of
the Ming dynasty (C.E. 1644).
 1.1 – The meaning of 360/365/366 JOINTS in ancient Chinese
Philosophy:
Wang Bing: “ ‘365 joints’ does not refer to the bone
joints; these are the [365] locations where the spirit qi
leaves and enters [the body].” 1

“ Huang Di asked: “I have heard, there are 365 qi holes to

correspond to one year. I do not know their locations yet.
I should like to hear about them comprehensively.” 2

“ Cheng Shide et al./139: “Ling shu 01 states: 節之交, 三百六

十五會, ‘Where the sections join each other, these are 365
meeting places.’ Also: ‘The so-called joints are the
locations where the spirit qi leaves and enters during
its travels.’ That is, 節 refers to the transportation
points.” 3

“ Altogether these are 365 holes; it is from [these

locations] that the needles are set in motion “ 4

“ Qi Bo: “The 365 holes of the meeting points of

the tertiary network [vessels],41 they, too, cor-
respond to one year “ 5

1
Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wen : Chapter 62: Discourse on Regulating the Conduits – page: 102
2
Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wen : Chapter 58: Discourse on Qi Holes – page: 47
3
Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wen : Chapter 9: Discourse on the Six Terms [of a Year] and on Phenomena [Associated with
the Condition] of the Depots – page: 164
4
Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wen : Chapter 58: Discourse on Qi Holes - page: 852
5
Huang Di Nei Jing Su Wen : Chapter 58: Discourse on Qi Holes - page: 853
We can clearly abstract and conclude that the word “ joints “
mentioned in ancient Chinese philosophy does not refer to joint as a
bone joints, a complex structures made up of bone, muscles, synovium,
cartilage, and ligaments that are designed to bear weight and move the
body but it refers to some sort of unknown holes/locations where the
“spirit of Qi” leaves and enters. ( This conclusion contradicts your whole
piece of document )
In Other sources, we can find that the word “joints” refers to acupoints
NOT JOINTS (any of the supposed energy points on the body where
acupuncture needles are inserted or manual pressure is applied) in the
Yin and Yang concept.
“The day is diveded by 12 hours. and we have 12
energy points. In the year there are 365 days. human
beings have 365 joints [acupoints]”6

“all holes open up and when the big gateway opens

up, all the joints open up' and when the qi of
Cheonjin (天眞, Heavenly essence) descends, the
unholy god becomes holy.”

“and the joints are where the spirit qi moves in

and out. What is called a joint does not simply
refer to blood, flesh, muscles, or bones. In
addition, spirit qi is healthy qi and where spirit
qi flows and has inward-outward movement are
places in which meridians flow and infuse. The

6
Mirror of Eastern Medicine
well point, brook point, stream point, river point,
and sea point are the fundamental acupoints”

“The number of acupoints in the entire body is 365.

Among them 30 points are not recommended for
moxibustion and 79 points should not be needled”

“The 360 acupoints in the entire body are

controlled by the 66 acupoints in the hands and
feet, which are again governed by the 8 acupoints.
Therefore, they are collectively called the eight
acupoints of the eight extra meridians”
miniature based on the concept of yin and yang
 1.2- CONTRADICTIONS:
There are many different versions in the Daoism and ancient Chinese
philosophy books about the “joints” number some are claiming 365 joints (1)
the same book that you used as a reference to 360 joints is stating a different
number 365 in a different page (2), other versions are claiming 366 joints (3),
and again other versions are claiming 360 joints (4)
(1) “Sources of Chinese Tradition: From Earliest Times to 1600” page 276
(2) “9 Geoffrey Lloyd & Nathan Sivin, The Way and The Word: Science and Medicine in
Early China and Greece, (Yale University Press, 2002)” page -221-
(3) “The Body and Its Image in Classical Chinese Aesthetics” page 585
(4) “A History of Medicine: Primitive and ancient medicine” page 95

This is a big contradiction that requires clarification, especially when we find

more than one version in the same book, or when we find the same book same
page giving a different version in other sources (same exact book). The blame
goes to the poor translation and errors made while translating to English and
French:

“ Heaven has yin and yang; people have man and wife. The
year has 365 days; the body has 360 joints (Huang Di
neijing ling shu 71.2, 446, cf. Wong Ming 1987, 336–338
(French). There is no good English translation of this
text “ 7

7
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy : https://stanford.io/3ar1u14
 1.3- The real “ joints “ number mentioned in the ancient Chinese
philosophy :
By checking the most important sources:
Sources of Chinese Tradition: From Earliest Times to 1600 , Huang Di Nei Jing Su
Wen , Huang Di Nei Jing Ling Shu (The Ancient Classic on Needle Therapy The
complete Chinese text with an annotated English translation) , Mirror of Eastern
Medicine ( UNESCO Heritage ) ( ALL THOSE BOOKS ARE MENTIONING 365 JUST
AS THE DAYS OF THE YEAR NOT 360 )
(All of books mentioned above are reviewed or compiled by Chinese or Korean
scholars)
Plus, The huge criticism due to the editing of many texts and the deliberate
rearrangement and restatement of it.
“ In the following article I would like to demonstrate the methods and
results of redaction criticism in the context of studying a particularly
difficult textual problem that has important implications for our under
standing of the early history of Taoism. This problem is the often
debated relationship between two essays in the Kuan Tzu ff-p, "Nei-yeh"
("Inward Training") and "Hsin-shu, hsia" ("Techniques of the Mind" II). By
applying the methodology of redaction criticism, I hope to demonstrate
that the latter is a deliberate rearrangement and restatement of the
8
former, not vice versa, as some have argued.7 “

Also, Knowing that there is no good accurate translations in many versions and
texts.
Adding this to the fact that ancient Chinese linked the joints number to the days
of the year.
We can conclude that the real number mentioned of joints is 365 NOT 360. ( as it
mentioned in the MOST important sources )

8
REDACTION CRITICISM AND THE EARLY HISTORY OF TAOISM : https://www.jstor.org/stable/23351487

Redaction criticism is the study of the theological perspective of a biblical text evident in its collection, arrangement, editing and modification of sources. * A
redactor's editorial activity is easiest to discern when we have several parallel versions of the same story, as we do in the four gospels
 2. CLAIMS BACKED BY ILLUSION

That’s another major issue regarding Daoism and ancient Chinese philosophy
claims about “joints” number, starting with the first version (365 joints) they
made this claim thinking that our joints number is somehow linked to the
days of the year, the second version (366 joints) this claim was made thinking
that the 366 days of the year are the joints of the universe. All versions are not
made through scientific methods nor logical methods whatsoever but just
illusion which is likened joints number with celestial positions or days or
some sort of power called Qi or sky...
We clearly noticed that all those claims are not backed or made using
scientific methods, but just non related things such days, stars, universe and
illusion..

Briefly, illusion is the source of all those claims, that’s a good reason why
we’ve found contradictions and many versions and claims, differently from
Muhammed peace be upon him who was clearly exact in his claims.
All that fiction and illusion mixed with some medicine lead to a huge
criticism9 and attack to old Chinese science, linking days with joints, knees
and shoulders with mountains, eyes and ears with moon and sun, orifices and
vessels with plains and valleys of the universe, round head with the universe
appearance and the list of illusion goes on…

9
5 The Fundamental Issues of the Chinese Sciences: https://bit.ly/3zTjU4E
 3. LOGICAL THOUGHTS :
. The irony here is the immense unscientific non sense claims that were
widespread all around the globe, ancient Ireland claimed that joints number is
865 joints10 other versions of the same book claiming to be 365 joints11, moving
to ancient Indians they claimed that humans have 210 joints12, other versions
claiming it to be 200 joints13, add all those to the Chinese and Korean claims, We
end up getting a lot and a lot of claims from ancient nations and philosophies.

. Did everything that the Prophet heard was so easily transmitted in his Quran or
Sunnah ?
The answer is NO, in that era Arabs and the nations nearby used to believe in
many non-sense thoughts that are defined nowadays to be unscientific, non-
correct and even stupid thoughts. As a tiny example:
‫ الميثولوجيا وه عبارة عما كانوا يزعمون‬،‫ األطباء فقد كانوا ف أول األمر من الكهنة‬،‫الكهانة والعرافة‬
‫وقوعه بي الكواكب أو ه اآللهة عندهم من الحروب أو الزواج أو نحو ذلك من حوادث ر‬
‫ وكان‬،‫البش‬
‫ كذلك كانوا‬،‫ وأن رشب دماء الملوك يشف من الخبل‬،‫اعتقادهم أن تقليد نهيق الحمي يمنع انتشار الوباء‬
‫ وأن رشب دم‬،‫الر ْوع عن المرأة‬
َّ ‫ وأن رشب الماء الحار يذهب‬،‫يعتقدون أن المجروح إذا رشب ماء مات‬
‫ وأن عظام الميت رتيئ من الجنون‬،‫السادة يشف من داء الكلب‬
So If it was that easy for the Prophet to copy and transmit thoughts to his Quran
and sunnah it would have transmitted at least a few of some stupid thoughts
which NEVER happened.
In such situation, Under all those circumstances It’s obvious that the Prophet has
no possibility to copy. In fact, It would be catastrophic in case he decided to do so
(copying or taking thoughts from others).

10
A smaller social history of ancient Ireland page -299-
11
A smaller social history of ancient Ireland (older version) page -299-
12
Antiquities of India: An Account of the History and Culture of Ancient Hindustan page -222-
13
Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures page -166-
Before moving to the conclusion, I will answer the question left in your document
“ is that number, correct? Does it go along with current day science? “
As a quick non detailed answer YES it’s correct, a normal, healthy adult human
being that has no disease that could affect his anatomy has 360 joints it may vary
overtime (Which is normal, same with bones, tissues, organs..almost whole body).
This number could be different in other individuals due to diseases, age.. All this
doesn’t deny that human beings have 360 joints.
Moving to explain some facts about the statements in Quran and Sunnah and
Arabic in general.
‫لن يفلح قوم ولوا‬:" ‫النن عليه السلم‬ ‫قول ر‬: ‫ مثل‬،‫المعلوم عند الفقهاء أن األحكام إنما تبن عىل الغالب‬
‫ وقد ذكر القرآن مثاال عىل‬،‫ هل هذا يعن أن أي امرأة أخذت الحكم سوف تفشل ؟ قطعا ال‬،" ‫أمرهم امرأة‬
َّ َ
‫إنما معن الحديث أن ف الغالب قلما تنجح المرأة ف إدارة أمور‬. ‫ الملكة القوية الحازمة‬،‫ملكة سبأ‬: ‫هذا‬
‫ والتقلبات النفسية الن تحدث شهريا بسبب الهرمونات أو‬،‫الناس بسبب عاطفتها الزائدة مقارنة بالرجل‬
‫ إنما هذا للغالب‬،‫ هو عدد المفاصل‬360 ‫النن عليه السلم أن‬‫يخي ر‬ ‫الخ وبالتال فعندما ر‬..‫عند الحمل‬
‫السائد العام ليس للنادر أو للشاذ أو للقليل‬

With that being said, We can confirm that the hadith is perfectly correct, and so
the fact that human beings have 360 joints.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6971295/

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-57513-w

https://study.com/academy/answer/how-many-joints-are-there-in-the-human-body.html

http://calamar.univ-ag.fr/uag/staps/cours/anat/new/intro.htm

https://www.mplsortho.com/faq/#how-many-joints
Conclusion

Considering all information, sources, conclusions, facts, abstracts,

logical thoughts and references mentioned before.. without any doubt
we can conclude that The prophet was inevitably exact, opposite from
the numerous versions and claims of other nations and philosophies
that were all wrong.
Which lead us to Think deeply about Islam and how likely is to be the
real faith to follow, especially when such conclusions are repeated and
found in other subjects in Islam like the correct embryology stages
mentioned in Quran, The role of Mountains on earth and some
interesting facts about it, The Sky Protecting the earth, The iron
appearance, Sun Moving in Orbit, Expansion of the Universe.. and a lot
of other subjects ( that I wished I had a chance to discuss with you ). Let
alone the beauty of Islam, especially in giving the god his real immense
value as a god, in the ethics as well The prophet said “ I was sent to
uphold and complement ethical values “ «‫ »إنما بعثت ألتمم مكارم األخلق‬,
and other fascinating things, like the fact that Quran is the only Holy
book to not be edited or changed ( oldest manuscript is Between c. 568
and 645 more than ~1400 years ago14 ) The fact that Islam is the
fastest-growing religion in the world15 …
I really wish and Hope to call you brother in faith in future hahahh

14
Birmingham Quran manuscript
15
The Changing Global Religious Landscape : https://www.pewforum.org/2017/04/05/the-changing-global-
religious-landscape/#global-population-projections-2015-to-2060