List of expeditions of Muhammad and Embryology in the Quran: Difference between pages

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The concept of '''Embryology in the Quran''' claims that a scientifically accurate account of embryological development is available in the [[Qur'an|Quran]]. [[Apologists]], Sheikhs, and the larger Muslim community regard the mention of embryological stages in the Quran to be a [[Islam and Science|scientific miracle]] of Islam and evidence of claims to its divine origin. However, critics claim the [[Ayat|verses]] to be scientifically inaccurate and influenced by Greek theories which had been available at the time.

The apologetic interpretations of these verses began in earnest when books were published by non-Muslim medical experts Dr. [[Bucailleism|Maurice Bucaille]]<ref>Bucaille, M., ''La Bible, le Coran et la Science : Les Écritures Saintes examinées à la lumière des connaissances modernes'', Paris:Seghers, 1976, (ISBN 978-2221501535)</ref> and later by Dr. [[Dr. Keith Moore|Keith Moore]]<ref>Keith L. Moore and Abdul-Majeed A. Zindani, ''The Developing Human With Islamic Additions'', 3rd ed. Philadelphia: Saunders with Jeddah:Dar al-Qiblah for Islamic Literature, 1983</ref><ref>Later, Dr. Moore wrote a similarly popularised article for an Islamic journal: <br>Dr. Moore, K., ''A Scientist's Interpretation of References to Embryology in the Qur'an'', Journal of the Islamic Medical Association, 1986, vol.18(Jan-June):15-17</ref> (in a special edition of his book that was subtitled, "[[Dr. Keith Moore|With Islamic Additions]]", alongside his co-author Abdul Majeed al-Zindani, a [[Wahhabism|Wahhabi]] cleric). However, some critics believe Moore was only paying lip service to his hosts and investors, as he worked with the Embryology Committee of King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah.<ref>Keith L. Moore and Abdul-Majeed A. Zindani, ''The Developing Human With Islamic Additions'', 3rd ed., Philadelphia: Saunders with Jeddah:Dar al-Qiblah for Islamic Literature, 1983, page viii insert c.</ref> Moore's praise of Islamic claims have been repeated in talks by Dr. [[Zakir Naik]], [[Harun Yahya]], and other apologists. Critics, like Dr. P.Z. Myers, believe the Quranic verses that mention embryology are incomparable and unacceptable to scientific standards.<ref>Dr. P.Z. Myers ''[https://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2011/11/23/islamic-embryology-overblown-b Islamic embryology: overblown balderdash]'', Pharyngula blog - Scienceblogs.com, 2011, accessed 4 Jan 2019</ref>

Many have written about the remarkable similarities between Quranic embryology and that taught by [[w:Galen|Galen of Pergamon]]. Galen was a highly influential Greek physician (b. 130 CE), whose works were studied in Syria and Egypt during Muhammad's time<ref>Marshall Clagett, “Greek Science in Antiquity”, pp.180-181, New York: Abelard-Schuman, 1955; Dover, 2001</ref>. Some of the most obvious links with Galen (and also with the Talmud) are in statements about the nutfah (نُطْفَةً) stage of embryology in the Quran, and even more so in the hadith. The article [[Greek and Jewish Ideas about Reproduction in the Quran and Hadith|Greek and Jewish Ideas about Reproduction in the Quran and Hadith]] discusses this further. [[History of Embryology|Striking similarities]] exist between the other Quranic embryo stages and Galen too. However, while interesting and very probable, these influences cannot be proven for the Quran, and it is in any case unnecessary when examining the accuracy of the Quranic descriptions. This article will concentrate solely on apologetic claims made by Islamic [[Dawah|du'aah]] regarding the accuracy of Qur'anic embryology vis-a-vis modern embryology, and on criticisms concerning the validity of these claims.

==Quranic terminology==

The Quran is written in Classical/Quranic [[Arabic]]. As such, not all terms are easily translatable from Modern Standard Arabic.<ref>"Phonetic and Phonological Aspects of Arabic Emphatics and Gutturals". University of Wisconsin–Madison.

 

Bin-Muqbil, Musaed (2006). </ref> For clarification purposes:

 

#Nutfah (نُطْفَةً) - drop of semen<ref name="LLnutfah">نُطْفَةً nutfah - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000288.pdf Lane's Lexicon] Suppliment, page 3034</ref>

#Alaqah (عَلَقَةً) - leech and certain creatures that cling and suck blood, or blood, thick blood or clotted blood<ref name="LLalaqah">عَلَقَةً alaqah - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume5/00000419.pdf Lane's Lexicon] Volume 5, page 2134</ref>

#Mudghah (مُضْغَةً) - bite-sized morsel of flesh<ref name="LLmudghah">مُضْغَةً mudghah - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000275.pdf Lane's Lexicon] Suppliment, page 3021</ref>

#'Itham (عِظَٰمًا) - bones, especially of the limbs<ref name="LLitham">عِظَٰمًا 'itham - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume5/00000372.pdf Lane's Lexicon] Volume 5, page 2087</ref>

#Kasawa(كَسَوَ) - clothed<ref name="LLkasawa">كَسَوَ kasawa - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000254.pdf Lane's Lexicon] Suppliment, page 3000</ref>

#Lahm (لَحْمًا) - flesh<ref name="LLlahm">لَحْمًا lahm - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000262.pdf Lane's Lexicon] Suppliment, page 3008 and [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000263.pdf page 3009]</ref>

 

==Relevant quotations==

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|23|12|14}}|

 

 

 

Verily We created man from a product of wet earth [sulalatin min teenin سُلَٰلَةٍ مِّن طِينٍ]; Then placed him as a drop (of seed) [nutfatan نُطْفَةً] in a safe lodging [qararin makeenin قَرَارٍ مَّكِينٍ]; Then fashioned We the drop a clot ['alaqatan عَلَقَةً], then fashioned We the clot a little lump [mudghatan مُضْغَةً], then fashioned We the little lump bones ['ithaman عِظَٰمًا], then clothed [kasawna كَسَوْنَا] the bones with flesh [lahman لَحْمًا], and then produced it as another creation. So blessed be Allah, the Best of creators!

 

{{Quote|{{Quran|22|5}}|

 

 

O mankind! if ye are in doubt concerning the Resurrection, then lo! We have created you from dust [turabin تُرَابٍ], then from a drop of seed [nutfatin نُّطْفَةٍ], then from a clot [alaqatin عَلَقَةٍ], then from a little lump of flesh [mudghatin مُّضْغَةٍ] shapely and shapeless [mukhallaqatin waghayri mukhallaqatin مُّخَلَّقَةٍ وَغَيْرِ مُخَلَّقَةٍ], that We may make (it) clear for you. And We cause what We will to remain in the wombs for an appointed time, and afterward We bring you forth as infants, then (give you growth) that ye attain your full strength. And among you there is he who dieth (young), and among you there is he who is brought back to the most abject time of life, so that, after knowledge, he knoweth naught. And thou (Muhammad) seest the earth barren, but when We send down water thereon, it doth thrill and swell and put forth every lovely kind (of growth).}}

 

{{Quote|{{Quran|40|67}}|

 

He it is Who created you from dust [turabin تُرَابٍ], then from a drop (of seed) [nutfatin نُّطْفَةٍ] then from a clot [alaqatin عَلَقَةٍ], then bringeth you forth as a child, then (ordaineth) that ye attain full strength and afterward that ye become old men - though some among you die before - and that ye reach an appointed term, that haply ye may understand.}}

 

==Scientific criticism of Quranic embryology==

[[File:Empirical Cycle.svg.png|thumb|250x250px|Empirical cycle - A.D. de Groot]]

Embryology in the Quran is often criticised from a modern scientific perspective. More details including references are given throughout this article, but the main criticisms are as follows:

 

#A number of verses<ref>{{Quran|23|13}}, {{Quran-range|70|20|22}}, {{Quran-range|80|18|19}} See discussion in the Nutfah Stage section.</ref> collectively demonstrate a belief that the earliest, nutfah stage of development is made of semen, perhaps mixed with a female fluid, which is placed in the womb for a known term, and where it undergoes various stages of development (as also taught by Galen and in the Jewish Talmud). See [[Greek and Jewish Ideas about Reproduction in the Quran and Hadith|this article]] for the most comprehensive explanation and evidence. Furthermore, there is no sign that the author of the Quran was aware of the female egg (ovum).<p>In reality, a single sperm cell penetrates and fuses with the female ovum. This fertilised egg, called a zygote, is then pushed down the fallopian tube for a few days. On the way, cell division begins, and this multi-celled cluster, now called a blastocyst, implants in the uterus (womb).<ref>{{cite web| url=https://crh.ucsf.edu/fertility/conception | title=Conception: How it Works | publisher=University of California San Francisco - Center for Reproductive Health | accessdate=27 January 2019}}</ref></p>

#The embryo is then said to be congealed blood. <ref>{{Quran|23|14}}, {{Quran|22|5}}, {{Quran|40|67}} See discussion in the 'Alaqah Stage section.</ref> All the classical [[Tafsir|tafsirs]] (exegetical commentaries) understood the meaning of 'alaqah to be blood or congealed blood, and clotted blood is a definition of the word in classical Arabic dictionaries. Regardless of alternative meanings for this Arabic word, it does not make sense to interpret a word whose main definitions include an explicit biological meaning (clotted blood) in a description of a biological process (embryology); certainly, from the point of divine authorship of the Qur'an, such imprecise meaning would throw into doubt the Qur'an's claim to be "clear." The choice of word now causes a well justified suspicion of inaccuracy, and for centuries misled people into thinking that the embryo is at one stage congealed blood (an actual embryo is at no point blood or a clot of blood<ref>{{cite web| url=https://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/index.php/Timeline_human_development | title=Timeline human development | publisher=University of New South Wales | author=Dr Mark Hill| accessdate=27 January 2019}}</ref>). Similarly, again from the divine authorship and clarity perspective, for the same reason it would not make sense to use this word while intending blood clot as a mere visual analogy.

#The Quran claims that bones are formed before being clothed with flesh.<ref>{{Quran|23|14}} See discussion in the Bones and Clothing with Flesh Stages section.</ref> In fact cartilage models of the bones start to form at the same time as and in parallel with surrounding muscles, and this cartilage is literally replaced with bone.<ref>See discussion and scientific references in the sub-sections to the Bones and Clothing with Flesh Stages section.</ref>

 

The author of the Quran described a sequence of stages, which when examined without the false definitions and arbitrary assumptions made by apologists, clearly has no resemblance to the actual development process of a child in the womb, according to critics. Someone with a modern, scientific knowledge of embryology can instead marvel at the exquisite complexity that results from a process of co-ordinated cell differentiation and signaling, encoded in our genetic instruction set by millions of years of evolution, and devoid of any apparent divine design.

 

===Original Creation from Dust / Clay / Mud===

 

Confusion is sometimes caused by statements about dust (tubarin تُرَابٍ), mud (hamain حَمَإٍ), clay (teenin طِينٍ), or sounding clay (salsalin صَلْصَٰلٍ) in the Quranic embryology verses quoted above. Clarification is provided in other verses that this refers to the creation of Adam only, and that the subsequent statements about various stages relate to the development of humans since then.<ref>{{Quote-text|{{Quran-range|32|7|8}}|Who made all things good which He created, and He began the creation of man from clay [teenin طِينٍ]; Then He made his seed from a draught of despised fluid;}}

 

The word translated “seed” in Pickthall’s translation is nasl, which means progeny (i.e. descendants).

نسل nasl - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume8/00000286.pdf Lane’s Lexicon] Suppliment, page 3032</ref><ref>Lo! the likeness of Jesus with Allah is as the likeness of Adam. He created him of dust [turabin تُرَابٍ], then He said unto him: Be! and he is.<br>{{Quran|3|59}}</ref><ref>We created man from sounding clay [salsalin صَلْصَٰلٍ], from mud [hamain حَمَإٍ] molded into shape;<br>{{Quran|15|26}}</ref> This was also the opinion of classical scholars such as ibn Kathir.

 

Verses like these refer to Adam specifically, that [[Creation of Humans from Clay|man was made ''from'' clay]] (min مِّنْ means 'from' or 'of'), and that clay was a building material which was moulded and shaped, and not a catalytic compound as some apologetics claim in an attempt to link the Quran with one theory about the origin of all life on Earth.

 

While again not strictly related to embryology, another claim on some Islamic websites is that clay and humans have similar compositions. The Chambers Dictionary of Science and Technology defines clay as, "a fine textured, sedimentary, or residual deposit. It consists of hydrated silicates of aluminum mixed with various impurities". The essential elements in clay are thus silicon, aluminum, hydrogen and oxygen. Silicon and Aluminum have extremely limited, if any, roles to play in the maintenance of life.<ref>Fenchel, Tom 2003. The origin and Early Evolution of Life. Oxford University Press. Page 27.</ref> Other human-required elements (such as nitrogen, sodium etc) are only found in trace amounts in clay and can be regarded as contaminants. There is no similarity between the compositions of clay and humans.

 

===The Nutfah (Semen) Stage===

 

The first stage of Quranic embryology is the nutfah stage. Translations typically use words like "sperm-drop", while apologetics tend to interpret it as the fertilised egg in the early stages of cell division (zygote, blastocyst). The word nutfah<ref name="LLnutfah" /> literally meant a small amount of liquid, and was a euphemism for semen. The Lisan al Arab dictionary of classical Arabic gives the following definitions:

 

{{Quote-text|1=نُّطْفَة in Lisan al Arab|2=A little water; a little water remaining in a waterskin; a little water remaining in a bucket; pure water, a little or a lot; the water of the man; semen is called nutfah for its small amount<ref>

[http://www.baheth.info/all.jsp?term=%D9%86%D8%B7%D9%81 Lisan al Arab]</ref>}}

 

An example of nutfah usage can be found in a pre-Islamic poem where it is used to mean “the small quantity of wine that remained in a wineskin”.<ref>Irfan Shahid, “Byzantium and the Arabs in the sixth century. Volume 2, Part 2”, p.145, Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks, 2009</ref>

 

Verses 80:18-19, and 77:20-22 together with 23:13 strongly imply that it is semen that is stored in the womb and developed into the embryo, as confirmed in the hadiths and previously believed by the [[Greek and Jewish Ideas about Reproduction in the Quran and Hadith|Jews and Greeks]].

 

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|80|18|19}}|From what thing [shayinشَىْءٍ] doth He create him? From a drop of seed [nutfatin نُّطْفَةٍ]. He createth him and proportioneth him}}

 

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|77|20|22}}|Did We not create you from a base fluid [ma-in maheenin مَّآءٍ مَّهِينٍ]? Which We laid up [jaAAalnahu جَعَلْنَٰهُ] in a safe abode [qararin makeenin قَرَارٍ مَّكِينٍ], For a period (of gestation), determined (according to need)?}}

 

{{Quote|{{Quran|23|13}}|Then placed him [jaAAalnahu جَعَلْنَٰهُ] as a drop (of seed) [nutfatan نُطْفَةً] in a safe lodging [qararin makeenin قَرَارٍ مَّكِينٍ];}}

 

As can be seen in the above quotes, verses 77:20-21 closely parallel 23:13. Both say "We placed it (jaAAalnahu) in a safe abode (qararin makeen)", and one uses the word nutfah while the other uses the words maa' maheenin ('water distained'). Maa' was another common euphemism for semen. The 'hu' ending to jaAAalnahu in both verses can mean him or it, and probably means the former in 23:13 ('We placed him'). However, in 77:21 it must mean the latter ('We placed it') in reference to the liquid because the previous verse uses the 2nd person "you" and then mentions the liquid.

 

Another criticism is that the Quran makes no mention of the female egg (ovum). It is merely an assumption by apologists that 'nutfatun amshajin' (amshajin means mixed<ref>أَمْشَاج Amshajan  - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume7/00000245.pdf] Volume 7 Page 2717</ref>) in verse 76:2<ref>Verily We created Man from a drop of mingled sperm [nutfatin amshajin نُّطْفَةٍ أَمْشَاجٍ], in order to try him: So We gave him (the gifts), of Hearing and Sight.<br>{{Quran|76|2}}</ref> includes the female gamete (ovum), and in any case the sperm cell is not swimming in male semen at the time of fertilization (see the [[Embryology_in_the_Quran#Mingled_male_and_female_fluids|Mingled male and female fluids]] section below).

 

The term ‘nutfatun amshaajin’ in verse 76:2 could alternatively refer to the sperm-menstrual blood union of Aristotle and the ancient Indian embryologists, or the two semens hypothesis of Hippocrates and Galen, or even the readily observed mingling of semen and vaginal discharge during sexual intercourse. In other words, the fact the Quran does not explicitly state that ‘nutfatun amshaajin’ contains the ovum, together with the existence of other possible explanations, means that it is illogical to assume the former and not the latter.  

 

Some critics argue that in fact, the Quran displays an understanding that is contrary to the role of the ovum in procreation, for verse 2:223 states that wives are tilth. This suggests they are like the earth, which simply provides nutrients and receives the seed from the male.<ref>Your women are a tilth for you (to cultivate) go to your tilth as ye will, and send (good deeds) before you for your souls, and fear Allah, and know that ye will (one day) meet Him. Give glad tidings to believers, (O Muhammad).<br>{{Quran|2|223}}</ref>

 

===The 'Alaqah Stage===

 

The consensus in the tafsirs for the embryology verses was that 'alaqah meant blood. In numerous tafsirs it is variously described as blood (al dam الدم), congealed blood (al dam al jamid الدم الجامد), or simply, red 'alaqah ('alaqah hamra علقة حمراء). Nevertheless, in modern times some apologists, especially those who know that this contradicts the biological reality, have tried to reinterpret the word using some of the other dictionary definitions for 'alaqah or 'alaq. Each of these alternatives is problematic from a scientific perspective, as indeed is the mere fact that 'alaqah has clotted blood<ref name="LLalaqah" /> as one of its main meanings.

 

====Clinging Thing====

One claim is that 'alaqah is used in the sense of a clinging thing in the Quran. However, the embryo does not cease to be attached to the uterine wall when the musculo-skeletal system begins to develop around the 5^th week. Yet the Quranic stages appear to describe a transition between a succession of states. It would in any case be self-evident from aborted fetuses that at some stage the embryo becomes attached to something.

 

 

Also flawed is a related claim, that 'alaqah is used here in its meaning of a suspended, or hanging thing, because the early embryo is floating in amniotic fluid, and is attached via a connecting stalk to the uterine wall in which it is buried. The problem is that not all embryos hang downwards below their connecting stalk. Rather it depends where in the uterus implantation occurs. The uterus lies fairly horizontal at this time, so depending on the side of the uterus implantation occurs, the early embryo can also be above its stalk, as this diagram<ref>[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.babycenter.com/fetal-development-twins-images-4-weeks|2=2013-06-01}} Fraternal twins in the womb -- 4 weeks] -  BabyCenter Medical Advisory Board, June 1, 2013</ref> of twins at 4 weeks demonstrates :

Various studies of placentas and ultrasound scans have found that between 26% and 53% of implantations occur on the anterior (frontal) wall of the uterus (like the lower twin in the diagram).<ref>Benirschke, K. & Kaufmann, B. 2000. Pathology of the Human Placenta. 4th Edition. Springer-Verlag, New York. Page 399 - 400</ref> Clearly apologists should expect better of the Quran's author than to say that as early embryos, humans are "hanging things" when such a description is untrue for a significant percentage of the population, not even a general rule.

 

 

 

 

 

Water (maa') is used here as a euphemism for semen, just as we sometimes find in the Quran and hadiths (see above).</ref> From the perspective of seeing the Qur'an as a divine text illuminating the knowledge of mankind, the usage of the 'alaqah must be seen as a failure to "clearly" convey the actual knowledge the author allegedly possessed.  

===='Alaqah in pre-Islamic poetry====

Zuhayr ibn Abi Sulma, one of the greatest pre-Islamic poets, used 'alaq in the context of pregnancy, showing that such usage, regardless of its intended meaning, pre-dates the Qur'an. His poem Mu'allaqa has a line describing how al 'alaq discharged from his she-camels as they were having miscarriages on a long journey.<ref>In Arabic, the relevant line of Zuhayr's poem regarding a journey to see his patron, Harim ibn Sinan, reads:<BR>

<BR>It appears on p.245 of volume 1 of the anthology by Muhammad Ibn 'Abd Rabbih (d. 328/940), [https://waqfeya.net/book.php?bid=1120 al-ʿIqd al-Farīd] (The Unique Necklace), 9 vols, eds. Mufid Muhammad Qumayha et al, Beirut, 1983.

<BR>The English translation of this volume by Boullata is very non-literal, glossing the last words as "productive wombs": Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih, The Unique Necklace: Al-ʿIqd al-Farīd, trans. by Issa J. Boullata, Great Books of Islamic Civilization, 3 vols, first edition, Reading, UK: Garnet, 2006, p.200

 

 

 

The word mudghah meant a bite sized morsel of meat suitable for chewing<ref name="LLmudghah" />. Islamic websites frequently claim, without citing any evidence, that it means a piece of meat that has actually been chewed, or even that has teeth marks on it. Readers of such websites are invited to admire the supposed similarities between an image of the somites of an embryo next to a piece of chewing gum with a row or two of teeth marks from a single bite. The problems with this argument include:

 

 

Verse 22:5<ref name="22-5">O People, if you should be in doubt about the Resurrection, then [consider that] indeed, We created you from dust, then from a sperm-drop, then from a clinging clot, and then from a lump of flesh, formed and unformed - that We may show you. And We settle in the wombs whom We will for a specified term, then We bring you out as a child, and then [We develop you] that you may reach your [time of] maturity. And among you is he who is taken in [early] death, and among you is he who is returned to the most decrepit [old] age so that he knows, after [once having] knowledge, nothing. And you see the earth barren, but when We send down upon it rain, it quivers and swells and grows [something] of every beautiful kind<br>{{Quran|22|5}}</ref> mentions that the mudghah is formed and without form. Given that this stage appears before the 'itham (bones) stage, such a 'clarification' gives no additional information whatsoever. Such vagueness of description is typical of premodern understanding of biology and embryology.

 

===The Bones and Clothing with Flesh Stages===

 

 

 

 

Another area of mesoderm (lateral plate mesoderm) proliferates especially quickly in certain positions to form the limb buds. There, mesenchyme cells condense into distinct masses within the limb buds. These mesenchyme cells differentiate into chondrocytes, which secrete the cartilage matrix and are embedded in it. Thus cartilage models of the future limb bones gradually form ([[w:Chondrogenesis|chondrification]]). Once the cartilage models have formed and while they are still growing, the cartilage is literally replaced with actual bone by osteoblasts ([[w:Endochondral_ossification|ossification]]) working outwards from centres of the cartilage models. Osteoclasts remove the remnants of the mineralized cartilage. Ossification also starts in the axial skeleton some time after it has begun in the limbs, except for the upper and lower jaw, which start to ossify slightly earlier.

 

 

====The Timing of These Processes====

 

 

A very detailed account of musculo-skeletal development in the human limb by clinical-geneticist Robert Jan Galjaard covers this subject.<ref>Galjaard, R.J.H. [http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/10474/030924_Galjaard,%20Robert-Jan%20Harmen.pdf Mapping Studies of Congenital Limb Anomalies]. Ablasserdam: Haveka, B.V., 2003, page 16 [http://www.webcitation.org/6lFwBQq9z webcitation archive link]</ref> It details that muscle precursor cells migrate from the somites into the limb buds (ca. day 26). This is well before the condensing core of mesenchyme has started to chondrify into cartilage bone models in the upper part of the upper limb (ca. day 37), followed by the lower part (ca. day 41). The myoblasts have grouped into distinct dorsal and ventral masses by that stage (they do so in the upper limb by day 36 and the start of chondrification according to Sivakumar et. al<ref>Sivakumar, B. et. al. ''Congenital Hand Differences'' in Farhadieh, R. et. al. (ed.) Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery: Approaches and Techniques, Chichester: Wiley, 2015, p.660 [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=tCq9BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA660#v=onepage&q&f=false Google books preview]</ref>). The upper limbs later start to ossify (ca. day 54). Chondrification of mesenchyme, the grouping of myogenic masses, and ossification all occur in a proximal-distal order (upper to lower part of each limb). The digits of the hands only start to chondrify ca. day 51.

 

 

A detailed account by Walker and Miranda confirms that after day 35, the premuscle regions of the limb containing myoblasts and fibroblasts become distinct, by day 45 the myoblasts have started to fuse together to form the first myotubes (which continues for some weeks, forming the muscle fibres), and by day 50 the dorsal and ventral masses have been compartmentalized into the major anatomical muscles.<ref>Walker, U. A., and Miranda, A. F. ''Muscle Metabolism in the Fetus and Neonate'' in Cowett, R. M. (ed.) Principles of Perinatal-Neonatal Metabolism, 2nd Edition, Volume 1, New York: Springer, 1998, pp.642-643 [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=eoy-BwAAQBAJ&pg=PA642#v=onepage&q&f=false Google Books preview][BR /]"The first multinucleated myotubes in limbs have been observed at day 45. By day 50, all bone rudiments have formed and the major anatomical muscles are compartmentalized into their definitive anatomical muscles by segregation from two premuscle masses that are located ventrally and dorsally from the prospective bone structures."</ref>

 

In the 10th edition (2016) of the Developing Human, Keith Moore says that ossification of the long bones begins in the 8th week, starting with the upper limbs, followed by the lower limbs and pelvis<ref>Keith L. Moore, Ph..D., FIAC, FRSM T.V.N. Persaud, M.D., Ph.D., D.Sc., FRCPath W.B., The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology, 10th Edition, Philadelphia: Elseiver, 2016, p. p.349 [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=pmKGBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA349#v=onepage&q&f=false Google Books preview]</ref> (which concurs with Galjaard cited above).

 

With axial musculo-skeletal development, Walker and Miranda explain that myotomes have migrated (these form axial muscle) and sclerotomes have started to condense into mesenchyme (which will form cartilage) in the 5th week.<ref>Ibid.</ref> According to Rugh, Building blocks are present for 40 pairs of muscles, which are located from the base of the skull to the bottom of the spinal column by day 28<ref>Conception to Birth Roberts Rugh, Ph.D., Landrum B. Shettles, Ph.D., M.D. Harper & Row, (New York), 1971, p.35</ref> (these are the myotomes of the somites). Muscles appear in the pelvis day 31<ref>ibid. p.43</ref>. Movement of the muscles is being controlled by the nervous system by the 6th week <ref>ibid. p.34</ref>. All of the muscle blocks have appeared by day 36 after conception<ref>ibid. p.46</ref>. 

 

 

====Problems With The Quranic Description====

 

The prefix fa before kasawna (we clothed) means "and then", indicating an uninterrupted sequence.<ref>فَ fa - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000105.pdf Lane's Lexicon] Volume 6, page 2322</ref> Further emphasising this, each stage is mentioned twice ("''nutfah''...''nutfah''...''alaqah'''...''alaqah''...''lump'', then we made the ''lump'' ''bones'', then we clothed the ''bones'' with flesh"). The whole verse conveys a sequential process.

 

Firstly, it is clear from the above sections that actual bone formation (ossification) begins long after the process of muscle formation has begun to develop around its precursors. Since the myoblasts have already migrated and aggregated into distinct masses, nor can their subsequent fusing into myotubes and muscle fibres be described as "clothing" the bones (which in any case ossify and continue to grow in parallel with muscle development). Therefore, there is no scientific basis for the Quranic claim of a stage in which bone is later clothed with flesh after its own formation.

 

It is sometimes claimed that the Quran was only referring to precursor cartilage models of the bones and not bone itself. However, this does not explain why the author of the Quran mentioned not cartilage (ghudhroof)<ref name="LLghudtroof">غضروف ghudhroof, alternatively spelt غرضوف ghurdoof - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume6/00000032.pdf Lane's Lexicon] Volume 6, page 2248</ref>) but only bone ('itham)<ref name="LLitham"></ref>, which literally replaces the cartilage and starts to form well after muscle building blocks are in place.

 

 

 

 

<BR>Transliteration: ''waonthur ila himarika walinajAAalaka ayatan lilnnasi waonthur ila alAAithami kayfa nunshizuha thumma naksooha lahman''<nowiki>}}</nowiki><br>{{Quran|2|259}}</ref> The main embryology passages such as verse 22:5 suggest that embryological development has similarities with resurrection.<ref name="22-5" />

 

After the bones were clothed with flesh, the Quran finally says that Allah "produced it as another creation".<ref><nowiki>Then fashioned We the drop a clot, then fashioned We the clot a little lump, then fashioned We the little lump bones, then clothed the bones with flesh, and then produced it as another creation. So blessed be Allah, the Best of creators!}}</nowiki><br>{{Quran|23|14}}</ref> Some apologists identify this with the fetal period of pregnancy, which begins at week nine.

 

===Related claims===

 

Aside from the various stages described in the main Quranic embryology verses, some apologists claim to have found additional examples of miraculous knowledge relating to this topic.

 

Some claim that verses 35:11 and 53:45-46 indicate that gender is determined at the nutfah stage, and specifically by sperm cells (which contain either an x or y chromosome to go with the x chromosome of the female ovum).

 

{{Quote|{{Quran|35|11}}|Allah created you from dust [tubarin تُرَابٍ], then from a little fluid [nutfatin نُّطْفَةٍ], then He made you pairs [azwajan أَزْوَٰجًا](the male and female). No female beareth or bringeth forth save with His knowledge. And no-one groweth old who groweth old, nor is aught lessened of his life, but it is recorded in a Book, Lo! that is easy for Allah.}}

 

{{Quote|{{Quran-range|53|45|46}}|And that He createth the two spouses, the male and the female [alzzawjayni alththakara waalontha ٱلزَّوْجَيْنِ ٱلذَّكَرَ وَٱلْأُنثَىٰ], From a drop (of seed) when it is poured forth [nutfatin itha tumna نُّطْفَةٍ إِذَا تُمْنَىٰ];}}

 

However, verses 75:37-39 use the same language about gender, but after the 'alaqah stage. 75:39 uses the exact same phrase as in 53:45, "وَأَنَّهُۥ خَلَقَ ٱلزَّوْجَيْنِ ٱلذَّكَرَ وَٱلْأُنثَىٰ" "wa innahu khalaqa alzzawjayni aldhdhakara waaluntha" ("verily he created the two spouses, the male and the female"}, which is also similar to the word used in 35:11, azwajan (male / female pair).

 

 

 

 

 

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "At every womb Allah appoints an angel who says, 'O Lord! A drop of semen, O Lord! A clot. O Lord! A little lump of flesh." Then if Allah wishes (to complete) its creation, the angel asks, (O Lord!) Will it be a male or female, a wretched or a blessed, and how much will his provision be? And what will his age be?' So all that is written while the child is still in the mother's womb."<br>{{Bukhari|1|6|315}}</ref>

 

Furthermore, not everyone is simply a male with XY sex chromosomes, or a female with XX sex chromosomes. A small minority are called [[w:intersex|intersex]] due to certain types of genetic or phenotypic sex variations, including:<ref>[https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/001669.htm Medline plus - Intersex]</ref>

 

 

 

*True Gonadal intersex (formerly called True Hermaphroditism). Such people have both male and female gonads (ovaries and testes), and may have ambiguous external genitalia.

 

*Other genetic configurations include XXX, and XXY (1 in 1000 people)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.isna.org/faq/frequency |title=How common is intersex? &#124; Intersex Society of North America |publisher=Isna.org |accessdate=10 October 2016}}</ref>. These people have no discrepancy between their gonads and external genitalia, but there may be problems with sex hormone levels, and overall sexual development.

 

According to Leonard Sax, when the term intersex is "restricted to those conditions in which chromosomal sex is inconsistent with phenotypic sex, or in which the phenotype is not classifiable as either male or female", around 0.018% of the population are intersex. This definition excludes Klinefelter syndrome and many other variations.<ref>Sax, L., ''How common is intersex? a response to Anne Fausto-Sterling'' Journal of Sex Research, volume 39, issue 3, pp.174–178 (2002) doi 10.1080/00224490209552139 pmid 12476264</ref> There is no mention of these conditions in any conceivable interpretation of the Qur'an.

 

====Sperm within Semen====

 

Others claim that verses 75:37<ref>Was he not a drop of fluid which gushed forth?<br>{{Quran|75|37}}</ref> and 32:7-8<ref>Who made all things good which He created, and He began the creation of man from clay; Then He made his seed from a draught of despised fluid;<br>{{Quran-range|32|7|8}}</ref> hint at sperm within the semen. These claims are discussed in the context of very similar verses at the end of the article [http://wikiislam.net/wiki/Greek_and_Jewish_Ideas_about_Reproduction_in_the_Quran_and_Hadith#Other_apologetic_claims Greek and Jewish Ideas about Reproduction in the Quran and Hadith]

 

====Mingled male and female fluids====

{{Quran|76|2}} states that "Verily We created Man from a drop of mingled sperm [nutfatin amshajin نُّطْفَةٍ أَمْشَاجٍ], in order to try him: So We gave him (the gifts), of Hearing and Sight." Some claim that this is a reference to male semen and follicular fluid. There are two problems with this claim:

 

1) By the time a sperm cell reaches a woman's fallopian tube where fertilisation occurs, it is no longer swimming in male semen, but has instead swam through cervical mucus, then binded to epithelium of the uterine tube where it undergoes capacitation and detaches again, then through a combination of muscular movements of the tube and some swimming movements makes its way up the tube.<ref>[https://clinicalgate.com/transport-of-gametes-and-fertilization/ Clinicalgate.com - Transport of gametes and fertilization]</ref>; and

 

2) Follicular fluid is part of the developmental environment of the female ovum (oocyte, egg cell) before the egg is released from the egg follicle. While some fluid is released at the same time into the fallopian tube, the ovum is pushed along the fallopian tube by fallopian cilia (microscopic hairs) and is bathed in another type of tubal fluid secretion.<ref>[https://britannica.com/science/ovulation Britannica.com - Ovulation]</ref>

 

 

====Fetus is in Three Layers of darkness====

 

Some apologetics claim that Quran 39:6 accurately describes 3 dark layers around the fetus.<ref>He created you from one soul. Then He made from it its mate, and He produced for you from the grazing livestock eight mates. He creates you in the wombs of your mothers, creation after creation, within three darknesses. That is Allah, your Lord; to Him belongs dominion. There is no deity except Him, so how are you averted?<br>{{Quran|39|6}}</ref> A common apologetic interpretation is that the "three darknesses" are the abdominal wall, the uterine wall, and the amniotic sac.

 

The word butun (بطن)<ref>بطن butun - [[http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume1/00000257.pdf Lane's Lexicon] Volume 1, page 220</ref> means belly/abdomen/midriff, though some translators like to use the more specific word "womb". Tafsirs interpreted the "three darknesses" as the placenta, womb (uterus) and belly. There are in fact many more layers in the human body such as the endometrium, myometrium, perimetrium, peritoneum, besides the cervix uteri, corpus uteri, abdomen (with walls), and placenta (with layers).

 

 

Another claim is that the Qur'an correctly states that the minimum period for gestation of a viable baby is 6 months. This claim is based on two Quranic verses, the first of which states that a child is weaned for two years (24 lunar months), and the other that the bearing and weaning of a child lasts for 30 lunar months.<ref>And We have enjoined upon man concerning his parents. His mother beareth him in weakness upon weakness, and his weaning is in two years. Give thanks unto Me and unto thy parents. Unto Me is the journeying.<br>{{Quran|31|14}}</ref><ref>And We have commended unto man kindness toward parents. His mother beareth him with reluctance, and bringeth him forth with reluctance, and the bearing of him and the weaning of him is thirty months, till, when he attaineth full strength and reacheth forty years, he saith: My Lord! Arouse me that I may give thanks for the favour wherewith Thou hast favoured me and my parents, and that I may do right acceptable unto Thee. And be gracious unto me In the matter of my seed. Lo! I have turned unto Thee repentant, and lo! I am of those who surrender (unto Thee).<br>{{Quran|46|15}}</ref> Yusuf Ali makes this claim in the notes of his translation for verse 46:15, presumably having noticed that the two verses in combination do not equate to a 9 month pregnancy.

Six lunar months equates to 22 weeks. The claim that this is the minimum period for fetal viability is unsupported by modern medical science. It has changed, at least in recent history, and was never 22 weeks or 6 lunar months prior to the era of modern medicine, being likely to have been at least 30 weeks. Now, it has shrunk to only 19 weeks in countries with advanced pediatric medicine.<ref>"A fetus is defined as being viable if it has the ability to 'potentially able to live outside the mother's womb [that is, can survive], albeit with artificial help.' In the fifties viability was reached about 30 weeks after conception. Modern medical technology changed that to 25 weeks in the seventies. Now viability continues to be pushed further and further back in the pregnancy and is now as early as 19 weeks.  

21 and 22 week premature babies are now supported routinely, and have a good chance of survival. By 24 weeks after conception, premature babies have a 40% chance of reaching adulthood without any major complications. By 28 weeks, the chance is 90%. By 29 weeks, survival is almost definite. (Note: These percentages are from reports written during the late 1980s. Current survival rates are most likely much higher.)"<br>[http://web.archive.org/web/20050205142039/http://www.abortioninfo.net/facts/development4.shtml Fetal Development/Viability] - Abortioninfo</ref> The minimum period of fetal viability in many less-developed countries would still be around 30 weeks.

====The End of Cell Differentiation====

Some proponents of Quranic embryology state that the mudghah stage, which is described in one verse as "partly formed and partly unformed" or "shaped and shapeless", refers to the incomplete cell differentiation observed in this stage.<ref name="22-5" />

However, cell differentiation occurs throughout the embryonic stage, and even into the fetal period, for example as discussed above regarding bone and muscle development.

==See also==