The Qur’an contains remarkable insights into human development that align with modern scientific discoveries. Long before the invention of microscopes, ancient civilizations held incorrect theories about embryology. It wasn’t until recent advancements in medical science that we fully understood the intricate stages of human development. However, the Qur’an precisely described these stages over 1,400 years ago, demonstrating its extraordinary depth of knowledge.
Seeing as the microscope was only invented in the 17th century, human embryology is naturally a recent development. In the past, people had different theories as to how a baby is created. For example, Europeans and Greeks thought that the baby was a manifestation of menstrual blood. The idea that there were significant stages to the development of an embryo was not discovered until much later. When the electron microscope was developed, along with our feasibility with ultrasound, humans have now learned many minute details that nobody knew before.
The Qur’an says:
Quran 23:12-14وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا ٱلْإِنسَٰنَ مِن سُلَٰلَةٍۢ مِّن طِينٍۢ ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَٰهُ نُطْفَةًۭ فِى قَرَارٍۢ مَّكِينٍۢ ثُمَّ خَلَقْنَا ٱلنُّطْفَةَ عَلَقَةًۭ فَخَلَقْنَا ٱلْعَلَقَةَ مُضْغَةًۭ فَخَلَقْنَا ٱلْمُضْغَةَ عِظَٰمًۭا فَكَسَوْنَا ٱلْعِظَٰمَ لَحْمًۭا ثُمَّ أَنشَأْنَٰهُ خَلْقًا ءَاخَرَ ۚ فَتَبَارَكَ ٱللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ ٱلْخَٰلِقِينَ And certainly did We create man from an extract of clay. Then We placed him as a sperm-drop in a firm lodging. Then We made the sperm-drop into a clinging clot, and We made the clot into a lump [of flesh], and We made [from] the lump, bones, and We covered the bones with flesh; then We developed him into another creation. So blessed is Allah, the best of creators.
In the modern day, we now have access to Artificial Reproductive Tech, IVF, frozen embryos, stem cell cloning, the list goes on. But we've only recently been able to fully understand human embryology; conversely, the Qur'an's detailed, accurate explanation from 1400 years ago trumped any human of past eras.
Let's organise the verse of the Qur'an that we've just cited.
- A "nutfah amshaj" literally means a drop that is mixed, which denotes the stage in which fertilization and implantation occur.
- Takhleeq refers to the stage that spans from the third until the sixth week, where major developments within the embryo occur. This is where you see evidence of what the Qur'an refers to as "alaqah", which means a leech-like substance.
- Skeletons and muscles, as correctly described by the Qur'an, also develop in this stage.
- Nash'ah, or growth, is what defines the fetal stage of development, where the shaping and modelling occurs; hence naturally, you'll notice that the baby's facial features become familiar and defined enough to look human!
Notice that the Qur'an's explanation was unparalleled to other theories at the time, and its sequence of events was perfect. Again, this was 1400 years ago - microscopes or any technology of the current regard weren't even thought of back then.