The Quran on Human Embryonic Development

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The Quran on Human Embryonic Development


In the Holy Quran, God speaks about the stages of man’s embryonic
development:

“We created man from an extract of clay.  Then We made him as a drop
in a place of settlement, firmly fixed.  Then We made the drop into an
alaqah(leech, suspended thing, and blood clot), then We made the
alaqah into amudghah (chewed substance)…” (Quran 23:12-14)


Literally, the Arabic word alaqah has three meanings: (1) leech, (2)
suspended thing, and (3) blood clot.

In comparing a leech to an embryo in the alaqah stage, we find
similarity between the two[1]  as we can see in figure 1.  Also, the
embryo at this stage obtains nourishment from the blood of the mother,
similar to the leech, which feeds on the blood of others.[2]



http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/images/The_Quran_on_Human_Embryonic_Development_001.jpg



Figure 1: Drawings illustrating the similarities in appearance between
a leech and a human embryo at the alaqah stage. (Leech drawing from
Human Development as Described in the Quran and Sunnah, Moore and
others, p. 37, modified from Integrated Principles of Zoology, Hickman
and others.  Embryo drawing from The Developing Human, Moore and
Persaud, 5th ed., p. 73.)



The second meaning of the word alaqah is “suspended thing.”  This is
what we can see in figures 2 and 3, the suspension of the embryo,
during the alaqah stage, in the womb of the mother.



http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/images/The_Quran_on_Human_Embryonic_Development_002.jpg



Figure 2: We can see in this diagram the suspension of an embryo
during the alaqah stage in the womb (uterus) of the mother. (The
Developing Human, Moore and Persaud, 5th ed., p. 66.)



http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/images/The_Quran_on_Human_Embryonic_Development_003.jpg



Figure 3: In this photomicrograph, we can see the suspension of an
embryo (marked B) during the alaqah stage (about 15 days old) in the
womb of the mother.  The actual size of the embryo is about 0.6 mm.
(The Developing Human, Moore, 3rd ed., p. 66, from Histology, Leeson
and Leeson.)



The third meaning of the word alaqah is “blood clot.”  We find that
the external appearance of the embryo and its sacs during the alaqah
stage is similar to that of a blood clot.  This is due to the presence
of relatively large amounts of blood present in the embryo during this
stage[3]  (see figure 4).  Also during this stage, the blood in the
embryo does not circulate until the end of the third week.[4]  Thus,
the embryo at this stage is like a clot of blood.



http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/images/The_Quran_on_Human_Embryonic_Development_004.jpg



Figure 4: Diagram of the primitive cardiovascular system in an embryo
during the alaqah stage.  The external appearance of the embryo and
its sacs is similar to that of a blood clot, due to the presence of
relatively large amounts of blood present in the embryo. (The
Developing Human, Moore, 5th ed., p. 65.)



So the three meanings of the word alaqah correspond accurately to the
descriptions of the embryo at the alaqah stage.

The next stage mentioned in the verse is the mudghah stage.  The
Arabic word mudghah means “chewed substance.”  If one were to take a
piece of gum and chew it in his or her mouth and then compare it with
an embryo at the mudghah stage, we would conclude that the embryo at
the mudghah stage acquires the appearance of a chewed substance.  This
is because of the somites at the back of the embryo that “somewhat
resemble teethmarks in a chewed substance.”[5] (see figures 5 and 6).



http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/images/The_Quran_on_Human_Embryonic_Development_005.jpg



Figure 5: Photograph of an embryo at the mudghah stage (28 days old).
The embryo at this stage acquires the appearance of a chewed
substance, because the somites at the back of the embryo somewhat
resemble teeth marks in a chewed substance.  The actual size of the
embryo is 4 mm. (The Developing Human, Moore and Persaud, 5th ed., p.
82, from Professor Hideo Nishimura, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.)



http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/images/The_Quran_on_Human_Embryonic_Development_006.jpg



Figure 6: When comparing the appearance of an embryo at the mudghah
stage with a piece of gum that has been chewed, we find similarity
between the two.

A)        Drawing of an embryo at the mudghah stage.  We can see here
the somites at the back of the embryo that look like teeth marks. (The
Developing Human, Moore and Persaud, 5th ed., p. 79.)

B)        Photograph of a piece of gum that has been chewed.



How could Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him,
have possibly known all this 1400 years ago, when scientists have only
recently discovered this using advanced equipment and powerful
microscopes which did not exist at that time?  Hamm and Leeuwenhoek
were the first scientists to observe human sperm cells (spermatozoa)
using an improved microscope in 1677 (more than 1000 years after
Muhammad).  They mistakenly thought that the sperm cell contained a
miniature preformed human being that grew when it was deposited in the
female genital tract.[6]

Professor Emeritus Keith L. Moore[7]  is one of the world’s most
prominent scientists in the fields of anatomy and embryology and is
the author of the book entitled The Developing Human, which has been
translated into eight languages.  This book is a scientific reference
work and was chosen by a special committee in the United States as the
best book authored by one person.  Dr. Keith Moore is Professor
Emeritus of Anatomy and Cell Biology at the University of Toronto,
Toronto, Canada.  There, he was Associate Dean of Basic Sciences at
the Faculty of Medicine and for 8 years was the Chairman of the
Department of Anatomy.  In 1984, he received the most distinguished
award presented in the field of anatomy in Canada, the J.C.B. Grant
Award from the Canadian Association of Anatomists.  He has directed
many international associations, such as the Canadian and American
Association of Anatomists and the Council of the Union of Biological
Sciences.

In 1981, during the Seventh Medical Conference in Dammam, Saudi
Arabia, Professor Moore said: “It has been a great pleasure for me to
help clarify statements in the Quran about human development.  It is
clear to me that these statements must have come to Muhammad from God,
because almost all of this knowledge was not discovered until many
centuries later.  This proves to me that Muhammad must have been a
messenger of God.”[8] (To view the RealPlayer video of this comment
click here).

Consequently, Professor Moore was asked the following question: “Does
this mean that you believe that the Quran is the word of God?”  He
replied: “I find no difficulty in accepting this.”[9]

During one conference, Professor Moore stated: “....Because the
staging of human embryos is complex, owing to the continuous process
of change during development, it is proposed that a new system of
classification could be developed using the terms mentioned in the
Quran and Sunnah (what Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be
upon him, said, did, or approved of).  The proposed system is simple,
comprehensive, and conforms with present embryological knowledge.  The
intensive studies of the Quran and hadeeth (reliably transmitted
reports by the Prophet Muhammad’s companions of what he said, did, or
approved of) in the last four years have revealed a system for
classifying human embryos that is amazing since it was recorded in the
seventh century A.D.  Although Aristotle, the founder of the science
of embryology, realized that chick embryos developed in stages from
his studies of hen’s eggs in the fourth century B.C., he did not give
any details about these stages.  As far as it is known from the
history of embryology, little was known about the staging and
classification of human embryos until the twentieth century.  For this
reason, the descriptions of the human embryo in the Quran cannot be
based on scientific knowledge in the seventh century.  The only
reasonable conclusion is: these descriptions were revealed to Muhammad
from God.  He could not have known such details because he was an
illiterate man with absolutely no scientific training.”[10] (View the
RealPlayer video of this comment).


Footnotes:
[1] The Developing Human, Moore and Persaud, 5th ed., p. 8.

[2] Human Development as Described in the Quran and Sunnah, Moore and
others, p. 36.

[3] Human Development as Described in the Quran and Sunnah, Moore and
others, pp. 37-38.

[4] The Developing Human, Moore and Persaud, 5th ed., p. 65.

[5] The Developing Human, Moore and Persaud, 5th ed., p. 8.

[6] The Developing Human, Moore and Persaud, 5th ed., p. 9.

[7] Note: The occupations of all the scientists mentioned in this web
site were last updated in 1997.

[8] The reference for this saying is This is the Truth (videotape).
For a copy of this videotape, please visit www.islam-guide.com/truth.htm

[9] This is the Truth (videotape).

[10] This is the Truth (videotape).  For a copy, see footnote no. 9.

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http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/216/