The Qur'an and Modern Science

The Creation of Man

On the subject of human reproduction a multitude of statements in the Qur'ān constituted a challenge to embryologists seeking a logical explanation. It was only after the birth of the basic sciences which contribute to our knowledge of biology, especially after the invention of the microscope, that man was able to understand those statements. It was impossible for anyone living in the early seventh century to have expressed such ideas. There is nothing to indicate that men in the Middle East or Arabia knew anything more about this subject at that time than men in Europe or anywhere else.

Today there are many Muslims with a thorough knowledge of the Qur'ān and of the natural sciences who clearly recognize the comparisons between its verses on reproduction and scientific information on the same subject. I will always remember the comment of an eighteen-year old Muslim brought up in Saudi Arabia when replying to a question about reproduction as described in the Qur'ān. He pointed to the Qur'ān and said, "But this Book provides us with all the essential information on the subject. When I was in school, they used the Qur'ān to explain to me how children were born; your books on sex education are a bit late on the scene!"

It is regarding this point in particular that a comparison is indeed appropriate. In as much as the beliefs current at the time of the Qur'ān were full of superstitions and myths, we are amazed at the degree of concordance between the Qur'ān and modern data. In fact, the contents of the Qur'ān are entirely free of any reference to the mistaken ideas that were prevalent at that time.

Let us now isolate from all of these verses precise ideas concerning the complexity of the fertilizing liquid and the fact that an infinitely small quantity is required to ensure fertilization, its "quintessence" (if I may so translate the Arabic word "sulālah").

The implantation of the fertilized egg in the female genital organ is perfectly described in several verses by the word " 'alaqah" or " 'aIaq," which is also the title of the sūrah in which it appears:

(خَلَقَ الْإِنْسَانَ مِنْ عَلَقٍ)

"[Your Lord] created man from a clinging substance." ( Sūrah al-'Alaq, 96:2 )

I do not think there is any reasonable translation of the word 'alaq other than to use its original sense.

The evolution of the embryo inside the maternal uterus is only briefly described, but the description is accurate because the simple words referring to it correspond exactly to fundamental stages in its growth:

(ثُمَّ خَلَقْنَا النُّطْفَةَ عَلَقَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْعَلَقَةَ مُضْغَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْمُضْغَةَ عِظَامًا فَكَسَوْنَا الْعِظَامَ لَحْمًا ثُمَّ أَنْشَأْنَاهُ خَلْقًا آخَرَ ۚ فَتَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ)

"Then We made the sperm-drop into a clinging clot, and We made the clot into a chewed lump of flesh, and We made [from] the lump bones, and We covered the bones with intact flesh; then We brought him forth as another creation. So blessed is God, the best of creators." ( Sūrah al-Mu'minūn, 23:14 )

The term "chewed lump of flesh" (mudhghah) corresponds exactly to the appearance of the embryo at a certain stage in its development. It is known that the bones develop inside this mass and that they are then covered with muscle. This is what is meant by the term " intact flesh" (Iahm).

The embryo passes through a stage where some of its parts are in proportion and others out of proportion in what is later to become the individual. Perhaps this is the meaning given in the following
verse:

(فَإِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ مِنْ تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ ثُمَّ مِنْ عَلَقَةٍ ثُمَّ مِنْ مُضْغَةٍ مُخَلَّقَةٍ وَغَيْرِ مُخَلَّقَةٍ)

"We created you from dust, then from a sperm-drop, then from a clinging clot, then from a lump of flesh, formed and unformed." (Sūrah al-Hajj, 22:5 )

Next, we have a reference to the appearance of the senses:

(وَجَعَلَ لَكُمُ السَّمْعَ وَالْأَبْصَارَ وَالْأَفْئِدَة)

"And [God] made for you hearing and vision and hearts [i.e., understanding]." ( Sūrah As-Sajdah, 32:9 )

Nothinh here contradicts today's data, and furthermore, none of the mistaken ideas of former times have crept into the Qur'ān.