The Miracle of Embryology in the Qur’an and Sunnah
Dr./ Hanafi Madbouly
Professor of Virology at Beni Suef University, member of the International Authority for the Qur’an and Sunnah, and Chairman of the Medical Committee at the International Center for Scientific Miracles for Research and Training.
introduction:
Allah Almighty makes it clear that the human offspring are created from dust. Allah Almighty says in Surat Al-Hajj:
“O people, if you are in doubt about the Resurrection, then indeed We created you from dust...
(Qur’an: 22: 5)
, as was the case with Adam, peace be upon him, and how could it not be? Indeed, humans are descendants of Adam. Allah Almighty says in Surah Al-Mu’minun: “
And We created man from a descendant of clay”
(Qur’an: 23: 12).
It is surprising that the first verses revealed to the heart of the beloved Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, indicate the knowledge of anatomy and embryos:
“Recite, in the name of your Lord who created, created man from a clinging clot.”
(Qur’an: 1-2: 96)
. The Sunnah of the Prophet also explains the creation of the fetus extensively, which confused embryologists when they learned of these texts.
Scientific guidance:
Creation of the sperm: Allah Almighty explains that the creation of offspring in the wombs begins with the sperm: “
From what substance did He create them? He created them from a sperm-drop, and ordained their development.”
(Qur’an: 80: 18-19)
. The predestined sperm-drop, meaning the chosen one, includes the man’s sperm, the woman’s egg, and the gametes, that is, the mixture between the sperm’s chromosomes and the egg’s chromosomes. Allah Almighty says:
(Indeed, We created man from a drop of mixed fluids that We may try him; and We made him hearing and seeing.”
(Qur’an: 76: 2)
Figure (1) shows a man’s sperm around a woman’s egg for fertilization and the formation of gametes.
Sperm gametes consist of the mixing and fusion of male gametes with female gametes, which carry the genes that give hereditary characteristics. 100,000 genes were discovered that determine the features of this fetus. This verse contains the mercy of Allah that brings joy to people, as Allah Almighty explains that the creation is from the gametes, which opens the way for the creation of the fetus, whether through intercourse or fertilization outside the womb as in (test-tube baby) or in vitro fertilization. The verse referred to genetics from the Almighty’s saying (and We made him hearing and seeing), which indicates that the Holy Qur’an is a book of knowledge and guidance for all people.
The face of the miracle: It is noted in this verse that the sperm is single and the gametes are plural, and this is evidence that there is mixing and merging in the gametes (the chromosomes and the genes that are on them) from the man’s sperm and the woman’s egg, and this is what the word gamete means, i.e. a mixture.
The stage of creation (stages) and the afterlife :
Allah Almighty says:
“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…”
(Qur’an: 23: 14)
Allah Almighty says: “
And He created you in phases”
(Qur’an: 71: 14)
The creation of the human embryo goes through three basic stages, the first of which begins with the sperm, the gamete, and its end is the alaqah (clot) (We made the sperm-drop into a clinging clot), and it continues until 21 days from fertilization. The second is the stage of creation (and We made the clot into a lump [of flesh], and We made [from] the lump, bones, and We covered the bones with flesh;) which is the stage of phases (from day 22 to day 42), and it was mentioned in Surat Nuh:
“And He created you into phases.”
(Qur’an: 71: 14)
, and its most important characteristic is the rapid creation of the embryo, so the letter (fa) was used as a conjunction to connect and move between the phases of this stage, in which all the internal organs of the fetus are created. The third stage is the afterlife creation; Allah Almighty says: “then We developed him into another creation…” (Surat Al-Mu'minun) It is separated from the stage of creation by the conjunction (then), which indicates order with relaxation, and it begins from the eighth week until birth, during which the organs grow and complete their development. Every stage has a beginning and an end, but the phase does not have a specific beginning or end due to the small time difference between the phases with the change in form and character.
Figure (2) shows the stages of embryo creation
Studies indicate that the creation of the fetus phases begins with the leech, passes through the embryo and bones, and ends with the bones being covered with flesh , and the most important characteristic of it is the rapid multiplication of cells. Allah Almighty described these phases as “takhliq” (the creation process), which is an accurate scientific description that expresses the nature of the internal processes and the external appearance of the fetus as it moves from an undistinguished appearance to a distinct human appearance in the seventh week as a result of the expansion of the skeleton and then the building of muscles, because the embryonic processes take place very quickly.
The aspect of the miracle: The verses indicate specific stages, beginning and end, and nouns expressing the form and the most important changes, and conjunctions suitable for the time differences in the transition between stages (then) or between phases the conjuction (fa). The science of human embryology did not appear until the late twentieth century, He used the word creation in the stage of phases ,and the conjunction (fa), which indicates the order with the follow-up to connect and move between the phases of this stage, as in Surah Al-Mu’minun (and We made the clot into a lump [of flesh], and We made [from] the lump, bones, and We covered the bones with flesh). These descriptions mentioned in the Holy Qur’an in their scientific terms are clear indications of the truthfulness of the message and the truthfulness of the Messenger, and that the Holy Qur’an is a book of knowledge and guidance, and this can only be a revelation from the All-Knowing, the All-Aware.
Photography in the womb : (It is He who forms you in the wombs however He wills. There is no deity except Him, the Exalted in Might, the Wise.)
(Qur’an: 3: 6)
Linguistic meanings and interpretation: Imam Al-Shawkani said the origin of the derivation of the form is from turning it to such and such if it tilts it, so the form is inclined to likeness and form. Imam Al-Qurtubi said: Allah Almighty told us about His depiction of human beings in the wombs of mothers. The image tends to resemble a likeness and appearance, and it includes a response to the Christians of Najran, and that Jesus is one of those formed because he was created in the womb and is not a god.
Scientific guidance: Allah created Adam, peace be upon him, as a complete creation in his image, and created his cells carrying 46 chromosomes, except for the sex cells that produce sperm , which contain (22 chromosomes + the Y chromosome that determines the sex of the male fetus) and its percentage is 50%, and other cells contain (22 chromosomes + the X chromosome that determines the sex of the female the fetus) and its percentage is 50%. When Allah created Eve from Adam’s rib, the genetic characteristics were transferred from Adam to Eve on 22 pairs of chromosomes, and the sex cells that produce the eggs moved with her to form the female, and their percentage in Eve became 100%, and these sex cells are the ones that produce the eggs later, when Adam married Eve, the gametes, from which the forming is done, are produced, it carries 46 chromosomes (22 + (X + 22) + Y) to produce males whose cells contain (44 + XY ), or ( 22 + ( X +22) + X) to produce females whose cells contain (44 + XX). This is how Almighty Allah has made an offspring from Adam on earth, the offspring is a copy or a continuation of Adam. If Adam died without the creation of Eve from him, and without procreation, there would have been no succession of Adam on earth. But Allah wanted it to be in this way, generation after generation, and the validity of this understanding is indicated by the saying of Allah:
(Who perfected everything which He created and began the creation of man from clay. Then He made his posterity out of the extract of a humble fluid. Then He proportioned him and breathed into him from His [created] soul and made for you hearing and vision and hearts [i.e., intellect]; little are you grateful.
(Qur’an: 32: 9)
So Adam, peace be upon him, was made of clay, and He made from him his offspring in humble fluid, which is the sperm, and He made for you the hearing, the sight and hearts, which has become evidence of the formation from the gametes. The form has requisites for forming, which are: Musawwar (The Bestower of forms): Allah Almighty said about Himself that He is the Musawwar, and a mean for formation: which is an enzyme that Allah has placed in the DNA of offspring and it is called RNA polymerase. It is the one that takes pictures of the carrier of the code (mRNA) from the non-coding strand, and the thing of which a picture is to be taken (original): is Adam, peace be upon him. The material on which the form is taken (film): is the carrier of the genetic code (mRNA).
The image of the offspring will be identical to the image of Adam, peace be upon him, for males, and the image of Eve, peace be upon her, for females. And Allah Almighty says: (It is He who forms you in the wombs however He wills.
(Qur’an: 3: 6)
(Surah Al Imran), meaning He forms you from the gametes mixture gathered from the male and the female.
The first embryonic formation of the children of Adam was in the womb of Eve. And fetal forming of offspring, generation after generation, in the mothers’ wombs. The fetus in the womb is an image (statue) executed from the DNA in the gamete, which carries the genetic codes which form the image. The gamete chromosomes (23 pairs), and each pair of chromosomes is two strands of DNA, one wrapped around the other in a helical manner, one of which is a coding strand and the second one that wraps it is the noncoding strand. The forming from the gametes is made from the non-coding strand to give the bearer of a code that is identical to the coding strand. Thus, the characteristics of the human race do not disappear, which preserves the succession of the human race on earth. The first strand is the original and is symbolized by ( 5___3 ) and the second strand is its opposite, symbolized by ( 3___5 ). If a defect occurs in the imaging of the non-coding strand, it is rare and occurs at a rate of 1:100 million in copies of the offspring, which leads to a simple mutation in the offspring, and this mutation has been calculated by scientists. It occurs at a rate of once every 50 thousand years, if it happens. Therefore, Allah Almighty, in His wisdom and knowledge, made the formation from the second strand so that no defect would occur in the origin, and He placed in the nucleus in which the chromosomes are located enzymes that correct any defect in the formation of the proteins that give hereditary characteristics, and these enzymes are called Proofreading enzymes .
the mRNA carrier in the womb , which was formed using the polymerase enzyme
What is surprising in this forming issue is that the genes on the Y chromosome are transmitted as they are, such that the son becomes a resemblance to his father, and the same is true for the female, so the daughter resembles her mother with slight differences. Indeed, how great is the process of creation and forming! Allah Almighty says
“This is the creation of Allah. So show Me what those other than Him have created. Rather, the wrongdoers are in clear error.”
(Qur’an: 31: 11)
Aspects of scientific miracle:
Embryologists or molecular biologists did not become aware of this precise information about creation and forming in the womb until 30-50 years ago, and Allah Almighty explained it in detail 1445 years ago in the Holy Qur’an , and also explained it in the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad, as in his saying, peace and blessings be upon him:
(If the sperm settles in the womb, Allah brings all the lineages between it and Adam (). And in the hadith, the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said (People are the sons of Adam, and Adam was created from dust (). The word ‘Sawara’ indicates the accuracy of the term by tilting the image to a shape and form. Formation is not done from the sperm of the male only, nor from the female egg only, but from the gametes mixture after it becomes attached to the wall of the uterus, transforming into an embryo. Allah Almighty concludes the verse with the will and method that are only His, the Almighty, and that the differentiation and separation between human beings depends on the genes that are on the DNA, and all of this is by His will. “
He creates what He wills. And Allah has power over all things.”
(Qur’an: 5: 17)
Surah Our last supplication is that praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
Dr. Hanafi Madbouly – Professor of Virology at Beni Suef University, and Chairman of the Medical Committee at the International Center for Scientific Miracles for Research, Training and Translation
