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Shahzad Ahmed, London, UK
‘So blessed be Allah, the Best of creators.’ (23:15)
It is of no surprise that modern embryology is a fairly recent development. Not least, given the fact that the microscope was only discovered towards the end of the 17th century, which subsequently led to significant progress, and of course, the continuous technological advancement thereafter has further developed this field. Although the earliest records of embryology trace back to the works of Hippocrates (460 BC–370 BC), human understanding of prenatal development was a largely non-scientific approach and predominantly ‘based on speculation and mysticism.’[1] Thus, amongst the various theories of prenatal development prior to the 17th century, a dominant view was that of preformation, suggesting that the sperm or the ovum contained a miniature version of a human being that gradually enlarged into a full human, which is completely contrary to what we know of it today.
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Therefore, it is astoundingly remarkable that in 7th century Arabia – at a time of great darkness and ignorance – the Holy Qur’an spoke of human development in the womb, which was not discovered by science till only recently, but in fact, exactly corroborates the precise stages of human embryology outlined in the Holy Qur’an. These embryonic stages have become a subject of great interest and research for Muslims and non-Muslims alike, who have explored the various Qur’anic insights in this regard. For example, it explains the creation of man ‘from a mingled-sperm drop’, which refers to the fertilisation of the sperm cell and the oocyte, the idea that the genetic blueprint for the development of future characteristics and features of the human being are contained within the zygote, the fact that sex is determined at fertilisation, the notion that the embryo develops in distinct stages and referring to the three anatomical layers which protect the embryo.
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Having been shown the verses of the Holy Qur’an on human embryology, Professor Keith L. Moore, a renowned scholar in anatomy, concluded, ‘I was amazed at the scientific accuracy of these statements which were made in the 7th century AD…The agreement I have found between statements in the Koran and saying in the Hadith may help to close the gap between science and religion which has existed for so many years.’
Indeed, these are magnificent and irrefutable proofs of the Holy Qur’an being revealed by an All-Knowing Divine source, for it was impossible for the Holy Prophet (sa) of Islam to have any notion of such a scientific phenomenon.
وَلَقَدۡ خَلَقۡنَا ٱلۡإِنسَٰنَ مِن سُلَٰلَةٖ مِّن طِينٖ * ثُمَّ جَعَلۡنَٰهُ نُطۡفَةٗ فِي قَرَارٖ مَّكِينٖ * ثُمَّ خَلَقۡنَا ٱلنُّطۡفَةَ عَلَقَةٗ فَخَلَقۡنَا ٱلۡعَلَقَةَ مُضۡغَةٗ فَخَلَقۡنَا ٱلۡمُضۡغَةَ عِظَٰمٗا فَكَسَوۡنَا ٱلۡعِظَٰمَ لَحۡمٗا ثُمَّ أَنشَأۡنَٰهُ خَلۡقًا ءَاخَرَ ۚ فَتَبَارَكَ ٱللَّهُ أَحۡسَنُ ٱلۡخَٰلِقِينَ
Verily, We created man from an extract of clay; then We placed him as a drop of sperm in a safe depository; then We fashioned the sperm into a clot; then We fashioned the clot into a shapeless lump; then We fashioned bones out of this shapeless lump; then We clothed the bones with flesh; then We developed it into another creation. So blessed be Allah, the Best of creators.
ENDNOTES
[1] The Review of Religions, September 1988 Edition.
[2] The Holy Qur’an, 76:3.
[3] The Holy Qur’an, 80:20.
[4] The Holy Qur’an, 53:46-47.
[5] The Holy Qur’an, 15:23.
[6] The Holy Qur’an, 39:7.
[7] The Review of Religions, September 1988 Edition.
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