So our example is
The Qur’an on Human Embryonic
Development:In the Holy Qur’an, 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), thenWemade the alaqah into a mudghah (chewed substance)...{ _1 (Qur’an, 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,2 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.3
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.
(
1) Please note that what is between these special brackets _..._ in this
book is only a translation of the meaning of the Qur’an. It is not the
Qur’an itself, which is in Arabic.
(2) The Developing Human, Moore and Persaud, 5th ed., p. 8.
(3) Human Development as Described in the Qur’an and Sunnah,
Moore and others, p. 36.
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 Qur’an 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.)
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.
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 stage1 (see figure 4). Also during this stage, the blood in the embryo does not circulate until the end of
the third week.2 Thus, the embryo at this stage is like a clot of blood.
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 is similar in
appearance to a chewed substance. This is because of the somites
at the back of the embryo that “somewhat resemble teethmarks in
a chewed substance.”3 (see figures 5 and 6).
How could Muhammad _ have possibly known all this about
fourteen hundred years ago, when scientists have only recently
discovered this using advanced equipment and powerful
microscopes which did not exist at that time? Hamm and
(1) Human Development as Described in the Qur’an and Sunnah,
Moore and others, pp. 37-38.
(2) The Developing Human, Moore and Persaud, 5th ed., p. 65.
(3) The Developing Human, Moore and Persaud, 5th ed., p. 8.
Figure 5: Photograph of a 28-day-old embryo at the mudghah stage. The embryo at this stage is similar in appearance to 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.
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.
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.1
Professor Emeritus Keith L. Moore 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 Qur’an 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.”2
Consequently, Professor Moore was asked the following question:
“Does this mean that you believe that the Qur’an is the word
of God?” He replied: “I find no difficulty in accepting this.”3
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
(1) The Developing Human, Moore and Persaud, 5th ed., p. 9.
(2) The source of this comment is This is the Truth (videotape). Visit
www.islam-guide.com/truth for a copy of this videotape or to view
the video clips of Professor Keith Moore’s comments online.
(3) This is the Truth (videotape).
new system of classification could be developed using the terms
mentioned in the Qur’an and Sunnah (what Muhammad _ said,
did, or approved of). The proposed system is simple, comprehensive,
and conforms with present embryological knowledge. The
intensive studies of the Qur’an 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 Qur’an 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.”1
(1) This is the Truth (videotape). See footnote no. 2, p. 10.