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| I think it means that it is suspended from the umbilical cord, and why is it not miraculous? For all they knew in Arabia at that time, or any part of the world for that matter, babies could have rested snugly inside a mothers intestines. :P No reason for them to accept what is a well known fact NOW, but wasn't at their time. People didn't always believe the world to be round... |
the Greeks knew quite a lot about embryology, I don't know how sufficient their knowledge on suspension of teh embryo was..
Ok, that's a fair interpretation, but there is no guarantee it's the right one. Personally, I think the verse refers to the suspension of the embryo in the amniotic fluid or some other fluid, which is not that hard to find out, even for the preislamic Arabs.
Anyway, this is xet another vague verse taht can be interpret in an way the interpretor wants.
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| (5) The Developing Human, Moore and Persaud, 5th ed., p. 65. it says in the footnotes. |
Yes, I saw the reference.
I believe the author of the site may have misunderstood Mr Moore. It's true that an embryo does not have its own blood circulation, but I highly doubt that there is no blood circulation (blood replacing is a better word) in an embryo until the third week. think about it, how else could the embryo and its cells grow and develop if it weren't for (changing, circulating) blood? What's the point in keeping the same blood in an embryo for three weeks?
So the embryo does not resebmle a blood clot in any way. I realized I forgot to mention the main quality of a blood clot is gelled, hardened blood, which is not present in an embryo.
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| How else would you describe that shape to people with no knowledge of anything outside their immediate environment? Allah gave examples to make what was said more tangible, comparing it to familiar things. |
I would certainly not describe it as "chewed substance". first, because it is not like a chewed substance and secondly because at this moment I can't think of anything more vague than a chewed substance.
If anything, Allah could have done better.
And, "Allah gave examples to make what was said more tangible, comparing it to familiar things." is an excuse all religions use.