From: The Journal of the Islamic Medical Association,
Vol. 18, Jan-June 1986, pp. 15-16
A Scientist’s Interpretation of References
to
Embryology in the Quran
Keith L. Moore, PhD., F.I.A.C.
The Department of Anatomy,
Statements referring to human reproduction and development are
scattered throughout the Quran.
It is only recently that the scientific meanings of some of
these verses have been appreciated fully.
The long delay in interpreting these correctly resulted mainly
from inaccurate translations
and commentaries and from a lack of awareness of scientific
knowledge.
Interest in explanations of the verses of the Quran is not
new.
People used to ask the prophet Muhammad all sort of questions
about the meaning of verses
referring to human reproduction. The Apostle’s answers from
the basis of the Hadith literature.
The translations of the verses from the Quran which are
interpreted in this paper were provided by
Sheik Abdul Majid Zendani,
a professor of Islamic Studies in
“He makes you in the wombs of your mothers in stages,
one
after another, in three veils of darkness.”
This statement is from Sura 39:6
We do not know when it was realized that human beings underwent
development in the uterus (womb),
but the first known illustration of a fetus in the uterus
was drawn by Leonardo da Vinci in the 15th
century.
In the 2nd century A.D., Galen described the placenta
and fetal membranes in his book
“On The Formation of the Foetus.”
Consequently, doctors in the 7th century A.D. likely
knew that the human embryo developed in the uterus.
It is unlikely that they knew that it developed in stages, even
though Aristotle had described
the stages of development of the chick embryo in the 4th
century B.C. The realization that
the human embryo develops in stages was not discussed and
illustrated until the 15th century.
After the microscope was discovered in the 17th
century by Leeuwenhoek
descriptions were made of the early stages if the
chick embryos.
The staging of human embryos was not described until the 20th
century:
Streeter (1941) developed the first system of staging which has
now been replace
by a more accurate system proposed by O’Rahilly
(1972)
“The three veils of darkness”
may refer to:
1- The anterior abdominal wall;
2- The uterine wall; and
3- The amniochorionic
membrane.
Although there are other interpretations of this statement,
the one presented here seems the most logical from an
embryological point of view.
“Then We placed him as a drop in a place of
rest”
This statement is from Sura 23:13.
The drop of nutfah has been
interpreted as the sperm or spermatozoon,
but a more meaningful interpretation would be the zygote
which divides
to form a blastocyst which is
implanted in the uterus (“a place of rest”).
This interpretation is supported by another verse in the Quran
which states that
“A human being is created from a mixed drop.”
The zygote forms by the union of a mixture of the sperm and the
ovum (“The mixed drop”)
“Then We made the drop into a leech-like
structure.”
This statement is from Sura
23:14.
The word “alagah” refers to a leech or
bloodsucker.
This is an appropriate description of the human embryo from days
7-24
when it clings to the endometrium
of the uterus, in the same way that a leech clings to the skin.
Just as the leech derives blood from the host,
the human embryo derives blood from the deciduas or pregnant
endometrium.
It is remarkable how much the embryo of 23-24 days resembles a
leech.
As there were no microscopes or lenses available in the 7th
century,
doctors would not have known that the human
embryo had this leech-like appearance.
In the early part of the fourth week, the embryo is just visible
to the unaided eye
because it is smaller than a kernel of
wheat.
“Then of that leech-like structure, We made
a chewed lump.”
This statement is also from Sura
23:14.
The Arabic work “mudghah” means
“chewed substance or chewed lump.”
Toward the end of the fourth week, the human embryo looks
somewhat like a chewed lump of flesh.
The chewed appearance results from the somites
which resemble teeth marks.
The somites represent the beginnings
or primordial of the vertebrae.
“Then we made out of the chewed lump, bones and clothed the bones in
flesh.”
This continuation of Sura 23:14
indicate that out of the chewed lump stage, bones and muscles form.
This is in accordance with embryological development.
First the bones form as cartilage models and then the muscles
(flesh) develop around them from the somatic mesoderm.
“Then we developed out of it another creature.”
This next part of Sura 23:14 implies that the bones and muscles result in the formation
of another creature.
This may refer to the Human-like embryo that forms by the end of
the eighth week.
At this stage it has distinctive human characteristics and
possesses
the primordial of all the internal and external organs and
parts.
After the eighth week the human embryo is called a fetus.
This may be the new creature to which the verse refers.
“And he gave you hearing and sight and feeling and understanding.”
This part of Sura 32:9 indicates that
the special senses of hearing, seeing, and feeling develop in this order, which
is true.
The primordial of the internal ears appear before the beginning
of the eyes,
and the brain (the site of understanding) differentiates
last.
“Then out of a piece of chewed flesh, partly
formed and partly unformed.”
This part of Sura 22:5 seems to
indicate that the embryo is composed of both differentiated and
undifferentiated tissues.
For example, when the cartilage bones are differentiated,
the embryonic connective tissue or mesenchyme
around them is undifferentiated.
It later differentiates into the muscles and ligaments attaché
to the bones.
“And we cause whom We will to rest in the
wombs for an appointed term.”
This next part of Sura 22:5 seems to
imply that
God determines which embryos will remain in the uterus until
full term.
It is known that many embryos abort during the first month of
development
and that only about 30% of zygotes that
form, develop into fetuses that survive until birth.
This verse has also been interpreted to mean that
God determines whether the embryo will develop into a boy or
girl.
The interpretation of the verses in the Quran referring to human
development
would not have been possible in the 7th
century A.D., or even a hundred years ago.
We can interpret them now because the science of modern
Embryology affords us new understanding.
Undoubtedly there are other verses in the Quran related to human
development
that will be understood in the future as our
knowledge increases.
Email: QuranFarsi@yahoo.com
Read-Quran@Quran-Farsi.net