The Process of Creation
A Qur'anic Perspective
by
Dr Israr Ahmad
11. The Development of Embryo in Mother’s Womb from Foetus to Its
Crowning With Full Adamic Stature --- A Microscopic View of the Long Process
Life
began on Earth, as has been explained in the earlier sections of the essay,
with a microscopic amoeba consisting of a single cell, i.e. it was initially
unicellular and then it passed through an evolutionary process extending over
millions of years to develop into Homo sapiens. The crowning of one of three
[i.e. Angels, Jinns and Bashar (through infusion of Divine breath i.e. spirit
or rooh)] has already been discussed. Later on, proliferation of
human race took place exactly on the pattern of all living beings, viz. through
copulation and cohabitation of the male and the female. However, unlike the
development and birth of all other living species, a special event or phase
characterizes the human embryo in the mother’s womb: its crowning with spirit
or rooh exactly on the pattern of Adam (pbuh).
Its “rooh” is brought forth from the repository (where it was kept in a
dormant state) and aligned with the living embryo.
The
stages of the development of human embryo starting from the fertilization of
ovum (zygote) to a fully developed baby pointed out in the description
contained in a number of verses of the Qur`an has surprised a good many top
experts of embryology. In particular, mention here must be made of the two
eminent Canadian professors of embryology at the University of Toronto viz. Dr.
Keith L. Moore and Dr. Robert Edwards. While Dr. Keith L. Moore is a leading
expert of the subject and two of his research publications are studied as
textbooks in many medical universities around the world, and the latter is a
world-renowned expert of test-tube baby reproduction. Both of them express
their utter amazement at the scientifically correct Qur`anic description of the
development of human fertilized ovum in the mother’s womb taking the form of a
zygote and then gradually developing into embryo with all limbs and organs. The
Qur`anic description given more than 14 centuries ago is fully corroborated by
scientific researches done very recently after the invention of microscope and
other imaging techniques.
Though
the verses of the Qur`an describing the stages of human foetus’ development are
numerous, the topmost in detail and depth among them are verses 12 to 14 of
Surah Al-Mu`minun. Here the creation of man is initially described as
consisting of four stages, which are differentiated with the word thumma
(“then”) pointing to a next stage of growth and development. The third of these
stages is further divided into four sub-stages by means of the word fa alone.
This means that in three verses, we thrice read the word thumma and
thrice fa. The translation of the verses is worth noting:
“Man
We did create from a quintessence (of clay); then We placed him as (a drop of)
sperm in a place of rest, firmly fixed; 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 of creators.” [23:12-14]
The
first verse out of the above beautiful passage of three verses --- Man We did
create from a quintessence (of clay) --- refers to a major and long phase of
the creative work of Allah (swt). In the earlier sections of this monograph, we have
already discussed and expounded in the Qur`anic perspective the earliest stage
of creation in which the creation of primeval matter out of nothing (ex
nihilo) took place. It is also a process of creation when inorganic matter
becomes or assumes the properties of living matter. Thus, inorganic
constituents of the earth are absorbed into living matter by way of food and
living matter reproduces itself by means of sperm. The next verse --- then We
placed him as (a drop of) sperm in a place of rest, firmly fixed --- refers to
the activity when the sperm is deposited in the ovum and subject to
fertilization rests for a time in security in the mother’s womb. The semen or
fertilized sperm is protected in the mother’s womb like a king in a castle; it
is firmly fixed and gets the protection of the mother’s body, on which it
depends for its own growth until birth. Verse 6 of Surah Zum`r explains
this:
“He
makes you in the womb of your mothers in stages, one after another, in three
veils of darkness.” [39:6]
Then
we are told about the details of the third major phase in the development of
the foetus which itself goes through four sub-phases viz.
i) Then we
made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood;
ii) Then of
that clot, We made a (foetus) lump;
iii) Then We
made out of that lump bones
iv) and clothed
the bones with flesh
The
first change in the fertilized ovum is the conversion into a sort of clot of
thickly congealed blood; the zygote cells grow by segmentation; then the mass
gradually in its growth assumes the shape of a foetus. From the lump develop
bones, flesh, organs and the nervous system. So far human baby’s growth in the
mother’s womb is exactly like that of an animal, but then a further event takes
place which transforms the infant animal into the infant human. This part of
the verse, quite significantly, starts with the word thumma also which,
according to Arabic grammar, refers to a new phase or “turn” after a
considerable gap in a long preceding process. And this is the last major and
momentous change in the (so far) animal-like embryo which turns it into a human
infant with all its capacities and responsibilities. Let us again look at the
translation of this part of the verse: “… then We developed out of it another
creature or brought him into being as another creature.” And the verse ends
with the words: “So blessed be Allah, the Best of creators”.
According
to a great many exegetes, this last phase refers to breathing of Allah’s spirit
into the embryo, as is stated very clearly in verse 29 of Surah Al-Hijr:
“When
I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of My spirit,
fall down in obeisance to him.”
Moreover,
according to verse 44 of Surah Al-Nahl it is the vocation of the Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh) explain the meaning of Qur`an. The verse ends:
“And
We have sent down unto thee the Message; that thou may explain clearly to men
what is sent for them…”
So
instead of thinking on our own (disengaged from divine guidance) and making
conjectures on this point, it is best to look for guidance and wisdom from the
sayings of the Holy Prophet (pbuh). Here an
authentic Hadith contained both in Bukhari and Muslim helps us tremendously. On
the authority of Abu Abdul Rahman Abdullah Ibn Masood who said: The Messenger
of Allah (swt), and he is the truthful and the believed, narrated to us:
“Verily
the creation of each one of you is brought together in his mother’s belly for
forty days in the form of seed, then he is a clot of blood for a like period,
then a morsel or lump of flesh for a like period, then there is sent to him the
angel who blows spirit (rooh) into him…”
[Bukhari, Khalq-e-Adam and his progeny #3085]
It
is this spirit that makes the embryo thoroughly human. Prior to this, the
embryo was a piece of living flesh and hence had an animal existence only. The
union with the soul is the transition from a mere animal existence to a fully
human one. This blowing of spirit or rooh is indeed the crowning of the
living animal embryo that places him – by making him ensouled --- on the high
and dignified station of a human person, a member of Adam’s (pbuh) progeny. Prior to
this super-addition of soul, the embryo or foetus developed and passed through
various stages just like an animal foetus. We can only regret that quite a few
religious scholars (who are totally ignorant of modern scientific knowledge and
in particular of biology) take the last phase to mean infusion or breathing of
life in the foetus. The fact, on the contrary, is that not only the fertilized ovum
developing in the womb but its constituents in the form of spermatozoa (from
male parent) and ovum contributed by the female already have the property of
life. Neither the spermatozoa are dead, nor the ovum coming from the mother is
dead. In particular, the “sperm” of the male parent is not only living, it is
jumping and hitting with force and zest. To sum up: it is the addition of the
spiritual element or rooh into the already living foetus that makes it
truly human or homo cum deo.
to be continued . . . .
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