Hello all. Since I have been struggling with changing my own morals to correspond with what Islam teaches, I have decided that to find the real truth, it's probably best for me to look at some of the scientific evidence in Quran (my thinking is that if I believe it's from God, it doesn't really matter what it teaches). So I started with the very popular topic of embryology, more specifically the verse 23:14.
Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood; then of that clot We made a (foetus) lump; then we made out of that lump bones and clothed the bones with flesh; then we developed out of it another creature. So blessed be Allah, the best to create!
Most of the Islamic websites correlate the clot phase (alaqah) to very early in embryological development, and then the lump (mudghah) to the development of somites at around 28 days of development. I agree the early embry looks very much like a clot, and at 28 days looks very much like it has teeth marks.
My question is regarding the Hadiths. There are 2 that seem to say these stages occur later in the pregnancy:
Allah's Apostle, the truthful and truly-inspired, said, "Each one of you collected in the womb of his mother for forty days, and then turns into a clot for an equal period (of forty days) and turns into a piece of flesh for a similar period (of forty days) and then Allah sends an angel and orders him to write four things, i.e., his provision, his age, and whether he will be of the wretched or the blessed (in the Hereafter). Bukhari Volume 8, Book 77, Number 593:
and
Allah's Apostle the true and truly inspired, narrated to us, "The creation of everyone of you starts with the process of collecting the material for his body within forty days and forty nights in the womb of his mother. Then he becomes a clot of thick blood for a similar period (40 days) and then he becomes like a piece of flesh for a similar period. Then an angel is sent to him (by Allah) and the angel is allowed (ordered) to write four things; his livelihood, his (date of) death, his deeds, and whether he will be a wretched one or a blessed one (in the Hereafter) and then the soul is breathed into him
Bukhari Volume 9, Book 93, Number 546:
So do these hadiths mean that the clot phase is really 40-80 days into pregnancy? I am looking in my embryology book, and by 40 days you can see some limb and head development. And by 80 days there is pretty clear develoment of a head, legs, and arm. Or is this interpretation incorrect?
Does anyone have a link to an Islamic response for this. Or more information on the timing of embryological development in the Quran and Hadith.
Thank you.
Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood; then of that clot We made a (foetus) lump; then we made out of that lump bones and clothed the bones with flesh; then we developed out of it another creature. So blessed be Allah, the best to create!
Most of the Islamic websites correlate the clot phase (alaqah) to very early in embryological development, and then the lump (mudghah) to the development of somites at around 28 days of development. I agree the early embry looks very much like a clot, and at 28 days looks very much like it has teeth marks.
My question is regarding the Hadiths. There are 2 that seem to say these stages occur later in the pregnancy:
Allah's Apostle, the truthful and truly-inspired, said, "Each one of you collected in the womb of his mother for forty days, and then turns into a clot for an equal period (of forty days) and turns into a piece of flesh for a similar period (of forty days) and then Allah sends an angel and orders him to write four things, i.e., his provision, his age, and whether he will be of the wretched or the blessed (in the Hereafter). Bukhari Volume 8, Book 77, Number 593:
and
Allah's Apostle the true and truly inspired, narrated to us, "The creation of everyone of you starts with the process of collecting the material for his body within forty days and forty nights in the womb of his mother. Then he becomes a clot of thick blood for a similar period (40 days) and then he becomes like a piece of flesh for a similar period. Then an angel is sent to him (by Allah) and the angel is allowed (ordered) to write four things; his livelihood, his (date of) death, his deeds, and whether he will be a wretched one or a blessed one (in the Hereafter) and then the soul is breathed into him
Bukhari Volume 9, Book 93, Number 546:
So do these hadiths mean that the clot phase is really 40-80 days into pregnancy? I am looking in my embryology book, and by 40 days you can see some limb and head development. And by 80 days there is pretty clear develoment of a head, legs, and arm. Or is this interpretation incorrect?
Does anyone have a link to an Islamic response for this. Or more information on the timing of embryological development in the Quran and Hadith.
Thank you.
