A) The Quran on Human Embryonic Development: |
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In the Holy Quran, God speaks about the stages of
man’s embryonic development:
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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 a mudghah (chewed substance)... 
1 (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 two2 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
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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.)
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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.
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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.)
(Click on the image to enlarge it.)
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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.)
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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
stage4 (see figure 4). Also during
this stage, the blood in the embryo does not circulate until the end of the
third week.5 Thus, the embryo at
this stage is like a clot of blood.
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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.) (Click on the image to enlarge
it.)
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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.”6 (see figures 5 and 6).
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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.)
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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. (Click on the image to enlarge it.) |
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How could Muhammad 
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.7
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.7
Professor Emeritus Keith L. Moore8 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.”9 (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.”10
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 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.”11 (View the RealPlayer video of this comment ).
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.”11 (View the RealPlayer video of this comment ). _____________________________
Footnotes:
(1) Please note that what is
between these special brackets ... in this web site is only a translation of the meaning of the Quran.
It is not the Quran itself, which is in Arabic. 
... in this web site is only a translation of the meaning of the Quran.
It is not the Quran itself, which is in Arabic.
(2) The Developing Human,
Moore and Persaud, 5th ed., p. 8.
(3) Human Development as
Described in the Quran and Sunnah, Moore and others, p. 36.
(4) Human Development as
Described in the Quran and Sunnah, Moore and others, pp. 37-38.
(5) The Developing Human,
Moore and Persaud, 5th ed., p. 65.
(6) The Developing Human,
Moore and Persaud, 5th ed., p. 8.
(7) The Developing Human,
Moore and Persaud, 5th ed., p. 9.
(8) Note: The occupations of all
the scientists mentioned in this web site were last updated in 1997.
(9) The reference for this
saying is This is the Truth (videotape). For a copy of this videotape,
please visit this page.
(10) This is the Truth
(videotape).
(11) This is the Truth
(videotape). For a copy, see footnote no. 9.
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