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Summary


This paper addressed the accusation that the embryological development described in the Qur'an, has been plagiarised from the writings of ancient Greek physicians, such as Galen.


We reviewed the main embryological ideas found in the writings of the ancient Indians, Hippocrates, Aristotle, Galen, and Jewish scriptures, and compared these to the embryological development stated in the verses of the Qur'an.


It was found that there was no similarity between these ancient writings and text of the Qur'an. The Qur'anic ideas on embryology were completely different in terms of style, content and accuracy.


Hence, the charge that the Prophet and Messenger Muhammad (Salla Allah Ta'alah 'Alaihi Wa Salam) plagiarised the writings of the ancients was shown to be an utterly false and baseless accusation.


Introduction
This paper will examine the claim that the embryological development described in the Qur'an has been plagiarised from the writings of ancient Greek physicians, such as Galen. Hence, we will review what was known about embryology by the ancient Indians, Hippocrates, Aristotle, Galen, as well as the embryology found in Jewish scriptures. Then we will outline all the verses in the Qur'an, and some Hadith literature, regarding embryology and human development. In doing so it should be very obvious if there are any similarities or indeed outright plagiarism of Greek ideas which were prevalent at the time.


It should be emphasised that translators of the Qur'an usually translate according to their own understanding of the Arabic and choose words which they think best convey the meaning. Therefore, it is all the more important to refer back to classic Arabic dictionaries such as Lisan AI-'Arab, Taj AI-'Aroos Min jawahir AI-Qamoos, and Al-Qamoos Al-Muhit. This approach will enable us to eliminate any criticism of the Arabic translations and help us to understand in what sense the word was originally used. Another interesting aspect of Arabic is that it is a material language, in the sense that words are based and derived from everyday material things, which are easy to identify. So the Qur'anic descriptions of embryology use a simple yet comprehensive language.


1. Indian Antiquity

Ancient Indian ideas about embryology are to found in the Bhagavad Gita (2 BC) which describes structures such as the amniotic membrane. And the Susruta-samhita (2-3 AD), which says that the embryo is formed of a mixture of semen and blood (this idea was also held by the Greeks, as we shall see later), both of which originate from chyle (digested fats). The differentiation into the various parts of the body, arms and head occurs in the third month. In the fourth there follows the distinct development of thorax, abdomen and heart. Hair, nails, sinews and veins develop in the sixth month; and in the seventh month the embryo develops other things that may be necessary for it. In the eighth month a drawing of the vital force (ojas) to and from mother and embryo, which explains why the foetus is not yet viable. The hard parts body are derived from the father, the soft from the mother. Nourishment is carried on through vessels, which lead chyle from the mother


The factors required for the production of the foetus were thought to be

•the father's semen
•the mother's blood (sonita) or more specifically menstrual blood (artava)
•the atman, or subtle body (consisting of fire, earth, air and water in the proper proportions)
•the manas or mind, united to a particular embryo by reason of its karma.
The idea of the blood being menstrual blood is interesting as it closely resembles Aristotelian doctrine. The clotting of milk into cheese analogy used by Aristotle for the formation of the embryo occurs also in Indian embryology. The Susruta-samhita compares the creamy layers (santanika) formed in milk, to semen and blood, which through chemical changes caused by heat, produce seven different layers of skin (kala). This concept occurs again in a Sutra on embryology written in Sanskrit, "Development, 0 Ananda," Buddha is made to say, "is comparable to a vessel of milk, like as this ferments and forms a kind of kefir or cheese." (A history of Embryology, J. Needham pp 25-27, Cambridge, 2nd edition 1959).


2. Hippocratic Embryology

Hippocrates (460 - 377 BC) was a Greek physician and founder of the Hippocratic school of medicine. The Hippocratic collection of some 60 or so medical works is ascribed to various authors and was probably not written by Hippocrates. The embryological knowledge of Hippocrates is set out in three books, the treatise on Regimen, the work on The Seed the book on The Nature of the Child (Hippocratic Writings, Penguin Classics, 1983).


In the treatise on Regimen section 9 discusses the formation of the embryo. The description is based on the fundamental physiological idea at the time, that is the two main constituents of all natural bodies are fire and water. Both of these in turn consist of heat, dryness and moisture in differing proportions.


"Whatever may be the sex which chance gives to the embryo, it is set in motion, being humid, by fire, and thus it extracts its nourishment from the food and breath introduced into the mother. First of all this attraction is the same throughout because the body is porous but by the motion and the fire it dries up and solidifies as it solidifies, a dense outer crust is formed, and then the fire inside cannot any more draw in sufficient nourishment and does not expel the air because of the density of the surrounding surface. It therefore consumes the interior humidity. In this way parts naturally solid being up to a point hard and dry are not consumed to feed the fire but fortify and condense themselves the more the humidity disappears-these are called bones and nerves. The fire burns up the mixed humidity and forwards development towards the natural disposition of the body in this manner; through the solid and dry parts it cannot make permanent channels but it can do so through the soft wet parts, for these are all nourishment to it. There is also in these parts a certain dryness, which the fire does not consume, and they become compacted one to another. Therefore the most interior fire, being closed round on all sides, becomes the most abundant and makes the most canals for itself (for that was the wettest part) and this is called the belly. Issuing out from thence, and finding no nourishment outside, it makes the air pipes and those for conducting and distributing food. As for the enclosed fire, it makes three circulations in the body and what were the most humid parts become the venae cavae. In the intermediate part the remainder of the water contracts and hardens forming the flesh."


Further in section 26 of the same treatise;


"Everything in the embryo is formed simultaneously. All the limbs separate themselves at the same time and so grow, none comes before or after other, but those, which are naturally bigger appear before the smaller, without being formed earlier. Not all embryos form themselves in an equal time but some earlier and some later according to whether they meet with fire and food, some have everything visible in 40 days, others in 2 months, 3, or 4. They also become visible at variable times and show themselves to the light having the blend (of fire and water) which they always will have."


In the treatise on The Seed sections 5-7.


"When a woman has intercourse, if she is not going to conceive, then it is her practice to expel the sperm produced by both partners whenever she wishes to do so. If however she is going to conceive, the sperm is not expelled, but retained by the womb. For when the womb has received the sperm closes up and retains it, because the moisture causes the womb orifice to contract. Then both what is provided by the man and what is provided by the woman is mixed together. if the woman is experienced in matters of childbirth, and takes when the sperm is retained, she will know the precise day, which she has conceived.


Now here is a further point. What the woman emits is sometimes stronger, and sometimes weaker; and this applies also to what the man emits. In fact both partners alike contain both male and female sperm (the male being stronger than the female must of course originate from a stronger sperm Here is a further point: if (a) both partners produce a strong sperm, then a male is the result, whereas if (b) they produce a weak form, then a female is the result. But if (c) one part produces one kind of sperm, and the other another, then the resultant sex is determined by whichever sperm prevails in quantity.


For suppose that the weaker sperm is much greater in quantity than the stronger sperm then the stronger is overwhelmed and, being mixed with the weak results in a female. If on the contrary the strong sperm is greater in quantity than the weak, and the weak is overwhelmed then it results in a male."


In Section 8 sperm is said to come from the whole body of each parent, weak coming from the weak parts, and strong from the strong parts.


In the treatise on The Nature of the Child (section 14, p.326) it is stated that the embryo is nourished by maternal blood, which flows to the foetus and coagulates, forming the embryonic flesh. Section 15 describes the umbilical as the means by which foetal respiration is carried on.


Section 17 describes the development of the embryo.


As the flesh grows it is formed into distinct members by breath. Each thing in it goes to its similar - the dense to dense, the rare to the rare, and the fluid to the fluid. Each settles in its appropriate place, corresponding to the part from which it came and to which it is akin. I mean that those parts which came from a dense part in the parent body are themselves dense, while those from a fluid part are fluid, and with all the other parts: they all obey the same formula in the process of growth. The bones grow hard as a result of coagulating action of heat; moreover they send out branches like a tree. Both the internal and external parts of the body now become more distinctly articulated. The head begins to project from the shoulders, and the upper and lower arms from the sides. The legs separate from each other, and the sinews spring up around the joints. The mouth opens up. The nose and ears project from the flesh and become perforated, while the eyes are filled with a clear fluid1. The sex of genitals becomes plain. The entrails too are formed into distinct parts. Moreover, the upper portions of the body now respire through the mouth and nostrils, with the result the belly is inflated and the intestines, inflated from above, cut off respiration through the umbilicus and put an end to it. A passage outside is formed from the belly and intestine through the anus, and another one through the bladder.


18. Sections 18 continues that the period of articulation (the period in which the limbs are differentiated)is forty-two days for the female and for a boy thirty days.


By now the foetus is formed. This stage is reached, for the female foetus, in forty-two days at maximum, and for the male, in thirty days at maximum. This is the period for articulation in most cases, take or give a little. And the lochial discharge too after birth is usually completed within forty-two days if the child is a girl. At least this is the longest period, which completes it, but it would still be safe even if it took only twenty-five days. If the child is a boy, the discharge takes thirty days - again the longest period, but there is no danger even if it takes only twenty days. During the latter part of the period the amount which flows is very small. In young women, the discharge takes a smaller number of days; more, when women are older. It is the women who are having their first child who suffer the most pain during the birth and during the subsequent discharge, and those who have had fewer children suffer more than those who have had a greater number."


Section 22 -27 compares the animal embryo with plant seeds, and concludes that from beginning to end the process of growth in plants and in humans is exactly the same.


In Section 30 there is an important passage in which the author discusses the phenomena of birth. and its relation to food.


It concludes, those, which have least food for the foetus, come quickest to birth and vice versa.


1. This has also been translated as "'The ears are opened, and the eyes, which are filled with a clear liquid." and compared to the Hadith of the Prophet Mohammad (Salla Allah Ta'alah 'Alaihi Wa Salam), 'I worship Him Who made my face and formed it, and opened my hearing and eyesight'".


However, the translation is in Hippocratic Writings, Penguin Classics, 1983 reads "The nose and ears project from the flesh and become perforated, while the eyes are filled with a clear fluid" .is clearly referring to embryo development, and is totally different to the Hadith of the Prophet (Salla Allah Ta'alah 'Alaihi Wa Salam). However, the Hadith is talking about something completely different, i.e. acknowledging the bounties of the creator, whist Hippocrates is referring to embryo development..


This example demonstrated the biased and subjective interpretation used by some individuals.


3. Aristotle and embryology

Aristotle (384 - 322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and scientist who wrote over 400 books on many different branches of learning. His main embryological compendium was that entitled On the Generation of Animals. Aristotle dissected and examined many different types of animal embryos, mammalian and cold blooded. It is also possible that he dissected an aborted human embryo (Ogle, W. Aristotle on the Parts of Animals, Kegan Paul, London, 1882).


A central part of Aristotle's ideas on embryology was the concept of the menstrual blood coagulating to form the embryo. He regarded menstrual blood as a kind of semen, which required the male semen to initiate development of the embryo by spontaneous generation


"The foregoing discussion will have made it clear that the female, though it does not contribute any semen to generation, yet contributes something, viz., the substance constituting the menstrual fluid (or the corresponding substance in bloodless animals). But the same is apparent if we consider the matter generally, from the theoretical standpoint. Thus: there must be that which generates, and that out of which it generates ; and even if these two be united in one, at any rate they must differ in kind, and in that the essence of each of them is distinct. In those animals in which these two faculties are separate, the body - that is to say the physical nature- of the active partner and of the passive must be different. Thus, if the male is the active partner, the one which originates the movement, and the female qua female is the passive one, surely what the female contributes to the semen of the male will be not semen but material. And this is in fact what we find happening; for the natural substance of the menstrual fluid is to be classed as "prime matter." (Aristotle (English trans. A. L. Peck, Heinemann, 1942 edition, Generation of Animals, p.111, 729a).


Aristotle had opened hen's eggs at different stages and describes the order of formation of the embryo:


"How, then, are the other parts formed? Either they are all formed simultaneously - heart, lung, liver, eye, and the rest of them - or successively, as we read in the poems ascribed to Orpheus, where he says that the process by which an animal is formed resembles the knitting of a net. As for simultaneous formation of the parts, our senses tell us plainly that this does not happen: some of the parts are clearly to be seen present in the embryo while others are not. And our failure to see them is not because they are too small; this is certain, because although the lung is larger in size than the heart it makes its appearance later in the original process of formation" (Generation of Animals, p.147, 734a).


Aristotle continues to describes embryonic development by comparing it with the action of rennet and yeast


"The action of the semen of the male in" setting" the female's secretion in the uterus is similar to that rennet upon milk. Rennet is milk which contains vital heat, as semen does, and this integrates the homogeneous substance and makes it "set." As nature of milk and the menstrual fluid is one and the same, the action of the semen upon the substance of the menstrual fluid is the same as that of rennet upon milk. Thus when the " setting " is effected, i.e., when the bulky portion " sets," the fluid portion comes off; and as the earthy portion solidifies membranes form all round its outer surface.


Once the fetation has " set," it behaves like seeds sown in the ground. The first principle (of growth) is present in the seeds themselves too, and as soon as this, which at first was present potentially, has become distinct, a shoot and a root are thrown under it, the root being the channel by which nourishment is obtained, for of course the plant needs material for growth. So too in the fetation, in a way all the parts are present potentially, but the first principle has made the most headway, and on that account the first to become distinct in actuality is the heart" (Generation of Animals, p.191, 739b).


Later on, he also says:


"The reason for this is on a par with the reason why yeast grows. Yeast, like these, is tall in bulk to start with and gets larger : this growth is due to its more solid portion turning fluid, and the fluid turning in to puenma. This is the handiwork of the soul-heat. In the case of animals, of the heat of the humour blend with it in the case of the yeast. Eggs thus grow of necessity on account of this use (i.e., they contain a yeast-like residue), but also they grow for the sake of what is better, since it is possible for them to obtain all their growth in uterus owing to the prolific habit of these animals." (Generation of Animals, p.305, 755a).


Aristotle describes embryonic growth;


"Beginning at the heart, the blood-vessels extend all over the body. They may be compared to the skeleton models which are traced out on the walls of buildings, since the parts are situated around the blood vessels, because they are formed out of them.


The formation of the uniform parts is effected by the agency of cooling and heat; some things are " set" and solidified by the cold and some by the hot. I have spoken previously elsewhere of the difference between these, and I have stated what sort of things are dissoluble by fluid and by fire, and what sorts are not dissoluble by fluid and cannot be melted by fire. Resuming then: As the nourishment oozes through the blood-vessels and the passages in the several parts (just as water does when it stands in unbaked earthenware), flesh, or its counterpart, is formed: it is the cold which sets " the flesh, and that is why fire dissolves it. As the nourishment wells up, the excessively earthy stuff in it, which contains but little and heat, becomes cooled while the fluid is evaporating together with the hot substance, and is formed into parts that are hard and earthy in appearance, e.g., nails, horns, hoofs and bills; hence, these Nails etc. can be softened, but not one of them can be melted, by fire; though some, e.g., eggshell, can be melted by fluids.


The sinews and bones are formed, as the fluidity solidifies, by the agency of the internal heat; hence bones (like earthenware) cannot be dissolved by fire they have been baked as it were in an oven by the heat present at their formation. This heat, however, to produce flesh or bone, does not work on some casual material in some casual place at some casual time ; material, place and time must be those ordained by Nature: that which is potentially will not be brought into being by a motive agent which lacks the appropriate actuality; so, equally, that which possesses the actuality will not produce the article out of any casual material. No more could a carpenter produce a chest out of anything but wood; and, equally, without the carpenter no chest will be produced out of the wood.


The heat resides in the seminal residue, and the movement and the activity which it possesses are in amount and character correctly proportioned to suit each several part. If they are at all deficient or excessive, to that extent they cause the forming product to be inferior or deformed. The same is true that things that are set " by heat elsewhere than in the uterus ; e.g., things which we boil to make them pleasant for food, or for any other practical purpose.


The only difference is that in this case the correct proportion of heat to suit the movement is supplied by us, whereas in the other, it is supplied by the nature of the generating parent. With those animals that are formed spontaneously the cause responsible 'is the movement and heat of the climatic conditions. Heat and cooling (which is deprivation of heat) are both employed by Nature. Each has the faculty, rounded in necessity, of making one thing into this in another thing into that; but in the case of the forming of the embryo it is for a purpose that their power of heating and cooling is exerted and that each of the parts is formed, flesh being made soft as flesh. As heating and cooling make it such, partly owing to necessity, partly for a purpose, - sinew solid and elastic, and brittle. Skin is formed as the flesh skin. just as scum or "mother" forms on boiled liquids. Its formation is due not merely to its being on the outside, but also to the fact that glutinous substance remains on the surface because it cannot evaporate. In blooded animals the glutinous substance is more fatty than in bloodless ones, in which is dry, and on this account the outer parts of the latter are testaceous or crustaceous. In those blooded animal whose nature is not excessively earthy, the fat collects under the protective covering, the skin, seems to indicate that the skin is formed out this sort of glutinous substance, since of course cheese is to some extent glutinous. We are to say, then, as already stated, that all these things are formed partly as a result of necessity, partly also not necessity but for a purpose."


Concurrent growth and differentiation, the former being temporally sequent to the latter, he thus describes :


"Now the upper portion of the body is the first to be marked off in the course of the embryo's formation; the lower portion receives its growth as time goes on (This applies to the blooded animals). In the early stages the parts are all traced out in outline; later they get their various colours and softnesses and hardnesses, for all the world as if a painter were at work on them, the painter being Nature. Painters, as we know, first of all sketch in the figure of the animal in outline, and after that go on to apply the colours.


As the source of the sensations is in the heart, the heart is the first part of the whole animal to be formed; and, on account of the heat of the heart, and to provide a corrective to it, the cold causes the brain to "set," where the blood-vessels terminate above. That is why the regions around the head begin to form immediately after the heart and are than the other parts, the brain being large from the outset" (Generation of Animals, pp.219-225, 743a-743b).


Aristotle also held the belief that males are generated on the left-hand side of the womb, and females on the right hand side (Generation of Animals, 717b).


4. Galen and embryology

Galen (129-199 AD) was a physician and scholar, whose ideas dominated medicine until the Renaissance. Galen's theory of embryology is to be found in his On the Natural Faculties, and On the Formation of the Foetus, which deals more with the anatomical aspects.


Galen regarded the living being as owing all its characteristics to an indwelling physis or natural entity with whose "faculties" or powers it was the province of physiology to deal. The living organism was thought to have a kind of artistic creative power, which acts on the things around it by means of the faculties, by the aid of which each part attracts to itself what is useful and good for it, and repels what is not. These faculties, such as the "peptic faculty" in the stomach and the "sphygmic faculty" in the heart, are regarded by Galen as the causes of the specific functions or activity of the part in question.


Galen divides the effects of the faculties into three, genesis, growth and nutrition, and means by the first what we mean by embryogeny.


"Genesis is not a simple activity of Nature, but is compounded of alteration and of shaping. That is to say, in order that bone, nerve, veins and all other tissues may come into existence, the underlying substance from which the animal springs must be altered; and in order that the substance so altered may acquire its appropriate shape and position, its cavities, outgrowths, and attachments, and so forth, it has to undergo a shaping or formative process. One would be justified in calling this substance which undergoes alteration the material of an animal, just as wood is the material of a ship and wax of an image."


Galen then goes on to treat embryogeny in more detail. Galen did not think that menstrual blood played a role in procreation, but concluded that female semen forms the allantoois and the coagulation of male and female semen in the uterus results in the formation of the chorion. He spoke about four stages of development. And he also divided the body into two classes, partes spermaticae and partes sanguineae, a classification which remained in use for several hundred years.


"The seed having been cast into the womb or into the earth - for there is no difference [he says] then after a certain definite period a great number of parts become constituted in the substance which is being generated; these differ as regards moisture, dryness, coldness and warmth, and in all the other qualities which naturally derive therefrom [such as hardness, softness, viscosity, friability, lightness, heaviness, density, rarity, smoothness, roughness, thickness and thinness]. Now nature constructs bone, cartilage, nerve, membrane, ligament, vein and so forth at the first stage of the animal's genesis, employing at this task a faculty which is, in general terms, generative and alterative, and, in more detail, warming, chilling, drying and moistening, or such as spring from the blending of these, for example, the bone-producing, nerve-producing and cartilage-producing, faculties (since for the sake of clearness these terms must be used as well).


Now the peculiar flesh of the liver is of a certain specific kind, also that of the spleen, that of the kidneys and that of the lungs, and that of the heart, so also the proper substance of the brain, stomach, oesophagus, intestines and uterus is a sensible element, of similar parts all through, simple and uncompounded.


... Thus the special alterative faculties in each animal are of the same number as the elementary parts, and further, the activities must necessarily correspond each to one of the special parts, just as each part has its special use. As for the actual substance of the coats of the stomach, intestine and uterus, each of these has been rendered what it is by a special alterative faculty of Nature; while the bringing of these together, the combination therewith of the structures that are inserted into them, etc., have all been determined by a faculty which we call the shaping or formative faculty; this faculty we also state to be artistic-nay, the best and highest art-doing everything for some purpose, so that there is nothing ineffective or superfluous, or capable of being better disposed."


Galen shared many common views with the Hippocratic writers so the book on the formation of the embryo first gives a historical account of the views these writers. Then it goes on to describe the anatomy of allantois, amnios, placenta and membranes.


"I return again to what was postponed from the beginning. This (embryo) draws to itself through the vessels descending to the uterus blood and pneuma, each to its own particular cavity; and, as was said earlier also, along with its own particular cavity ; and as was said earlier also, along with the pneuma that comes through the arteries, it draws in a blood that is finer and warmer than the blood in the veins.


From these it creates tile warmest of the inner organs; and that other thick blood produces for it the form of the liver. And accordingly the many veins that pass through the chorion proceed to (the liver); but the arteries (proceed) to the other organ, the warmer one, which because of a superabundance of heat like a flame does not stop moving but constantly expands and contracts by turns. The veins and arteries that carry matter to these inner organs are as it were their roots; and those that carry (the matter) out to the whole foetus are analogous to trunks that split into many branches. And they too have their generation in the hollowing out of the substance of the semen.


The third of the ruling parts, from which all the nerves grow. has its generation from the semen itself and from it alone. For in the mixing with the female semen many of the bubbles burst, and the pneuma from them passed inside and deep down, in the desire to preserve itself- it was not a kind of vapour but was a self-moving source of the animal and likewise the surrounding fluid of its own accord formed within the semen a cavity filled with pneuma. Then to prevent its being readily emptied out, (the puenma) makes for itself a tightly sealed chamber, pushing back to the outer circumference all that was thicker and harder in the semen's moist substance surrounding it; and this, when heated and dried, would in time be alone


The power that moulds the animal performs this work at the start; but it is not yet visible at the start because of its small size; when it can first be seen, these are the largest and they lie in order, close to each other and touching, the part that is going to become the source of the nerves, the one that we call the brain being assigned to a higher post; and below it the heart and liver touching each other. As time goes on the three sources mentioned stand further apart and send their offshoots this way and that to the entire body of the animal that is fitted to them, the brain sending out the spinal medulla, a kind of trunk, as it were, the heart the greatest artery, which Aristotle calls the aorta, and the liver the vena cava. And also in the early stages, simultaneously with the generation of these parts, the spine appears around the spinal medulla, hardened in just the way that we described a little earlier; and around the brain, enclosing it on all sides, the cranium appears; and the thorax around the heart, like some spacious yet tightly sealed chamber. At the time of birth this would be not a chamber only, but the first and principal organ of respiration. These parts, then, come into being at some later time.


But let us take the account back again to the first conformation of the animal, and in order to make our account orderly and clear, let us divide the creation of the foetus overall into four periods of time. The first is that in which as is seen both in abortions and in dissection, the form of the semen prevails. At this time, Hippocrates too, the all marvellous, does not yet call the conformation of the animal a foetus; as we heard just now in the case of semen voided in the sixth day, he still calls it semen. But when it has been filled with blood, and heart, brain and liver are still unarticulated and unshaped yet have by now a certain solidarity and considerable size, this is the second period; the substance of the foetus has the form of flesh and no longer the form of semen. Accordingly you would find that Hippocrates too no longer calls such a form semen but, as was said, foetus. The third period follows on this, when, as was said, it is possible to see the three ruling parts clearly and a kind of outline, a silhouette, as it were, of all the other parts. You will see the conformation of the three ruling parts more clearly, that of the parts of the stomach more dimly, and much more still, that of the limbs. Later on they form "twigs", as Hippocrates expressed it, indicating by the term their similarity to branches.


The fourth and final period is at the stage when all the parts in the limbs have been differentiated; and at this part Hippocrates the marvellous no longer calls the foetus an embryo only, but already a child, too when he says that it jerks and moves as an animal now fully formed."


Galen further goes on to describe the embryo as a plant


"But for the present I need not speak of the foetus as an animal, for as a plant it got all its generation and formation from the semen, and right from the start it indicated, as plants do, that the beginning of its motion and formation was two-fold. The downward and underground growth of roots in plants corresponds in the foetus to the growth of the arteries and veins of the chorion to the uterus; and the ascending stalk in plants corresponds to the out growths from the three ruling parts in embryos. Again, just as plants have a two-fold growth from seeds, sending stalk and branches upward as far as the outer most shoots and dividing the root-growth downward, so also the embryos have much-divided outgrowths consisting in arteries and veins that extend as stalks to the whole foetus and as roots to the uterus." (Corpus Medicorum Graecorum: Galeni de Semine: Galen: On Semen (Greek text with English trans. Phillip de Lacy, Akademic Verlag, 1992) section I:9:1-10, pp. 91-95)


Galen taught that the embryo transformed from possessing the life of a plant to that of an animal, and the umbilicus was made the root in the analogy with a plant. The embryo formed firstly, from menstrual blood, and secondly, from blood brought by the umbilical cord, and the way the blood it turns into the embryo is made clearer as follows: "If you cut open the vein of an animal and let the blood flow out into moderately hot water, the formation of a coagulum very like the substance of the liver will be seen to take place." And in effect this viscus, according to Galen, is formed before the heart.


The blood of the embryo was thought to pass from the heart to the lungs and not vice versa. Respiration was thought to occur via the umbilical cord embryo and waste excreted into the allantois. Male foetuses were believed to form quicker than female ones because of the male germs superior heat and dryness. Galen also held the Aristotelian concept which associated male conception with the right side and the female with the left of the womb and intra-uterine movements were said to be felt sooner in the case of the male than in that of the female. Dry foods eaten by the mother, were proposed to lead to a more rapid development of the foetus than other kinds.


5. Embryology in the Jewish scriptures

The Talmud is one of the most important works of Jewish religious literature, which grew up between the second and sixth centuries A..D. The Talmud contains several references to embryology. The embryo is referred to as peri habbetten (fruit of the body), It grew through various definite stages:

•(1)golem (formless, rolled-up thing), 0-1.5 months.
•(2)shefir meruqqam (embroidered foetus), ~
•(3)'ubbar (something carried), 1.5-4 months.
•(4)walad (child), 4-7 months.
•(5)walad shel qayama (viable child), 7-9 months.
•(6)ben she-kallu khadashaw (child whose months have been completed)
The ideas of the Talmudic writers on the life led by the embryo in utero are well represented by the remark, "It floateth like a nutshell on the waters and moveth hither and thither at every touch".


Rabbi Simlal lectured: "the babe in its mother's womb is like a rolled-up scroll, with folded arms lying closely pressed together, its elbows resting on its hips, its heels against its buttocks, its head between its knees. Its mouth is closed, its navel open. It eats its mother's food and sips its mother's drink but it doth not excrete for fear of hurting."


It was thought, moreover, that the bones and tendons, the nails, the marrow in the head and the white of the eye, were derived from the father, "who sows the white," but the skin, flesh, blood, hair, and the dark part of the eye from the mother, "who sows the red." This is evidently in direct descent from Aristotle through Galen, and may be compared with the following passage from the latter writer's Commentary on Hippocrates:


"We teach that some parts of the body are formed from the semen and the flesh alone from blood. But because the amount of semen which is injected into the uterus is small, growth and increment must come for the most part from the blood."


It is possible that the Jews of Alexandria were reading Aristotle in the third century B.C., and incorporating him into the Wisdom Literature, so those of the third century A.D. were reading Galen and incorporating him into the Talmud. God, was thought to contribute the life, the soul, the expression of the face, and the functions of the different parts.


6. Essential Islamic Terminology

Allah: The name of the One and Only God, the Creator, who is perfect in all characteristics, worthy of worship and who has sent His messengers to mankind.


The Qur'an: This is the word of Allah revealed to Prophet and Messenger Muhammad (Salla Allah Ta'alah 'Alaihi Wa Salam) precisely transmitted to us by groups of people from other groups where agreement on falsehood is impossible. It is the miraculous word of Allah and when read, it is considered a form of worship.


The Prophet and Messenger Muhammad (Salla Allah Ta'alah 'Alaihi Wa Salam): The last and final Prophet and Messenger born 570 A.D. in Mecca, Allah bestowed him with Prophethood at the age of 40 years.


Al-Hadith: The tradition of the Prophet and Messenger Muhammad (Salla Allah Ta'alah 'Alaihi Wa Salam) which consists of his sayings, his practice and acknowledgements.

Meanings of Qur'an and Hadith:


The interpretation of the Qur'an and Hadith has been based on meanings derived from the reference sources included in the references section. The meanings of the important Arabic words have been referenced throughout. The capital letters in the references indicate the sections of the list of references. The number immediately preceding the letter indicates the position of the references within each section. This is followed by page numbers or volume number followed by page numbers as the case may be.


7. Embryo development in the Qur'an

Embryo development in the Qur'an is divided in three main areas. These are as follows:

•Nutfah: This refers to the beginning of embryonic development and covers the period from the mixing of male and female secretions to the implantation of the zygote into the uterus. During this phase the unicellular zygote continues to divide and assumes a more complex shape.
•Khalaqna or Takhliq: This is the second phase of embryonic development, or period of organogenesis. It begins with the third week and ends with the eighth week of pregnancy. It involves further cell division and differentiation into human organs and systems. It is divided into several sub stages ‘Alaqa, Mudgah, Izam and Lahm. Each of these terms describes the embryo in a precise and comprehensive manner
•Ansha'na or Nash'ah: This is the third and final phase of foetal development. Rapid cell division, differentiation, and growth leads to the formation of a definite human shape,
7.1 The beginning of development

This is subdivided as follow:



i). Nutfah (The drop)

Al-Nutfah in Arabic means a drop or a small part of fluid and Nutfah in general describes a stage where the beginnings of a human being are found in this fluid (Ref: 6A, 12/6; 17/118; 19/120: 13A, 3/436: 15A, 17/116: 1C, 2/121: 7B, 3/116: 4D, 9/235-6: 5D, 6/258: 4A, 30/234: 7A, 4/336: 10A, 13/9: 12A, 4/288). Its real meaning can only be deduced from the text of Qur'an; evidently it is a comprehensive term and includes male and female gametes and part of their natural environments of fluid. It also includes zygote, morula and blastocyst till implantation in the uterus. This is illustrated by the following citation:

أَلَمْ يَكُ نُطْفَةً مِنْ مَنِيٍّ يُمْنَى

"was he not a drop or part of germinal fluid (Mani) emitted or programmed" (Surah Al- Qiyama, Ayah 37)



Here "Mani" means male or female germinal fluid (Ref: 1D, 5/276: 5D, 10/348:2D, 6/2497).



The Prophet's Hadith confirms the fact that the offspring is created from part of the germinal fluids:



"Not from all the fluid is the offspring created" (Sahih. Muslim: Kitab Al-Nekah, Bab Al-Azl)



It is also known that not all parts of the ejaculate are equally potent in the fertilisation process. "In the first portion of the ejaculate are the spermatozoa, epididymal fluids, and the secretions from the Cowper and prostate gland fluids. In the last portions of the ejaculate are the secretions of the seminal vesicles. Most spermatozoa appear in the first part of the ejaculate, which is made primarily of prostatic secretions. Thus spermatozoa in the initial portion of the ejaculate have better motility and survival than those in the later portions, which are chiefly vesicular in origin".



ii) Al Maa-ad-Dafiq (Gushing, self emitting fluid)

فَلْيَنظُرْ الإِنسَانُ مِمَّ خُلِقَ (5). خُلِقَ مِنْ مَاءٍ دَافِقٍ (الطارق: 6).



"Let man think from what he is created. He is created from Al Maa-ad Dafiq." (Surah, At-Tariq,86:5-6)



Linguistically, Al Maa-ad-Dafiq refers to a gushing, or self emitting fluid, or to a drop that is emitted out. In other words, it refers to a discharge that is self emitting, hence motile by itself. The use of microscope has shown that not only sperms, but the ovum also shows motility. The mature sperm is a free swimming actively motile germ cell consisting of a head and a tail. The tail provides motility to the sperm, and helps its transportation to the site of fertilisation.



Fimbrae are finger like projections which are part of the infandibulum, the funnel shaped end of the fallopian tube. The cilia, or the tiny microscopic whips on the fimbrae at the same time help the movement of the ovary to the infundibulum. Unless the sperm and ovum both exhibit movement, fertilisation cannot take place. The Qur'an term "Al Maa-ad-Dafiq" thus encompassed the gushing, the self emitting as well as the motile phenomena of this sub-stage.



iii) Sulalah Min Ma'a (Gentle extraction)



"Sulalah" in Arabic means gentle extraction from fluid (Ref: 1D, 3/56-60: 2S, 5/1730: 4D, 11/338: 5D, 7/377). Its meaning in the context used in Qur'an is clear from the following:

ثُمَّ جَعَلَ نَسْلَهُ مِنْ سُلاَلَةٍ مِنْ مَاءٍ مَهِينٍ (السجدة: 8).

"Then He made his progeny gently extracted "Sulalah Min Ma'a" from lowly fluid". (Surah As-Sajdah, Ayah 8)



The fluid refers to both male and female germinal fluids containing gametes and it is now a known scientific fact that both ovum and sperm are gently extracted from their environments.



The ovum is extracted in a long stream of follicular fluid. Similarly one sperm out of millions is drawn out from the seminal fluid.



Further, it is now common knowledge to embryologists that usually only one sperm and one ovum are involved in the normal process of fertilisation. This fact was stated by Prophet Mohammad in the Hadith below:



"Not from all the fluid is the offspring created". (Sahih Muslim, Kitab Al-Nekah, Bab Al-Azl)



iv) Al-Nutfah Al-Amhsaj

In Arabic Amshaj means mixture and Al-Nutfah AI-Amshaj means a mixture of male and female germinal fluids or cells (Ref: 1A, 29/126-7: 2A, 2/195: 6A, 19/121: 7A, 6/418: 8A, 8/393; 9A, 2/454: 4D, 2/367). All Islamic scholars unanimously agree on deriving this meaning from the above expression. This is evidently clear from the following quotation:

إِنَّا خَلَقْنَا الإِنسَانَ مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ أَمْشَاجٍ نَبْتَلِيهِ فَجَعَلْنَاهُ سَمِيعًا بَصِيرًا (الإنسان: 2).

"Verily We created Man from mixture of germinal drop" (Surah Ad-Dahr, Ayah 2)



The interpretation of this Ayah to mean mixing of male and female gametes to form the Zygote. Al-Nutfah Al-Amhsaj is a peculiar combination of Nutfah, which is a noun referring to a single drop and AI-Amshaj an adjective, which is used in plural form. The grammatical rules of the language permit singular nouns or pronouns to be described by a singular adjective. Al-Amhsaj is a plural adjective used with the singular noun Al-Nutfah. After mixture of the male and female gametes, the Zygote still remains "Nutfah" and in this context the word "Al-Nutfah Al-Amhsaj" will mean a combination of many things mixed in a single drop (Nutfah) i.e., the maternal and paternal chromosomes with their genetic material and other contents of the Cell. "Amshaj" is a plural adjective capable of agreeing with the concept of Nutfah being a multi-faceted single entity.



v) Quarar Makeen (A place of settlement firmly fixed)

ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَاهُ نُطْفَةً فِي قَرَارٍ مَكِينٍ (المؤمنون: 13).

"Then We placed him a drop (Nutfah) in a place of settlement firmly fixed", (Surah Al-Mu 'minun, Ayah 13)



The mother's womb or uterus, which is firmly fixed in the body, for settlement of the conceptus is referred to in the Qur'an as "Quarar Makeen". There is no proper English equivalent to this expression which could give a complete concept as implied by "Quarar Makeen". This expression means settling of the conceptus in the womb and refers to the ideal situation of the latter in the mother's body for formation and growth of a new being. This phrase is comprehensive in its meanings and covers all the known facts and those which are likely to be added later because "Quarar" is comprehensive enough to cover any additional information regarding the uterus and "Makeen" could cover any future knowledge about the relationship of the uterus to the body :



vi) Three veils of darkness

خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ نَفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ ثُمَّ جَعَلَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَأَنْزَلَ لَكُمْ مِنْ الأَنْعَامِ ثَمَانِيَةَ أَزْوَاجٍ يَخْلُقُكُمْ فِي بُطُونِ أُمَّهَاتِكُمْ خَلْقًا مِنْ بَعْدِ خَلْقٍ فِي ظُلُمَاتٍ ثَلاَثٍ ذَلِكُمُ اللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ فَأَنَّى تُصْرَفُونَ (الزمر: 6).

"He created you in the wombs of your mothers from one stage to another and all along three veils of darkness surrounded you". (Surah Al-Zumar, Ayah 6)



It is known that the embryo develops within three covers which have been expressed by the Qur'an as "Three veils of darkness". These are taken to mean the following:



•a) The abdominal wall,
•b) Uterine Wall,
•c) The placenta with its choriono-amniotic membranes.


vii) Results of fertilization

مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ خَلَقَهُ فَقَدَّرَهُ (عبس: 19).

"He created (Khalaqah) him from "Nutfah" and immediately laid down the plan or programme (Qadarah) of its (future development)". (Surah 'Abasa, Ayah 19)



a. Creation

Khalaqah in Arabic this means creation of a new being (Ref: 1D, 2/214: 2D, 4/1470: 3D, 157: 4D, 10/87) and aptly explains fusion of male and female gametes to form the Zygote. "this Cell marks the beginning of each of us as a unique individual". Crossing over of chromosomes by relocating segments of maternal and paternal chromosomes, serves to shuffle the genes.



b. Programming (planning)

Qadarah in Arabic means "planned or programmed" and when preceded by the conjunction "FA" indicates a rapidly occurring process. In the ayah given below, "Faqadarah" is interpreted to mean that immediately upon formation of the Zygote, the future programming of the new individual is laid down. This is the result of union of male and female pronuclei, which had already undergone shuffle of genes in the process of "cross over" of chromosomes.



c Sex determination

The information about sex determination is beautifully narrated in the Qur'an:

وَأَنَّهُ خَلَقَ الزَّوْجَيْنِ الذَّكَرَ وَالأُنْثَى (45). مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ إِذَا تُمْنَى (النجم: 46).

"And He created the two sexes male and female from a drop when ejaculated or planned (Nutfah Idha Tumna) ". (Surah An-Najm, Ayah 45, 46)



"Tumna" in Arabic means "ejaculated" or "planned". "Nutfah Idha Tumna" refers to the sperm when the meaning "ejaculation" is applied and can refer to the formation of the Zygote after the union of the sperm and the ovum, when it is taken to mean "planning" (Ref: 1A, 27/44: 2A, 4/32: 3A, 8/83: 5A, 7/117: 13A, 5/116: 19A, 7/711)



Although participation of an X and Y chromosome bearing sperms determines the sex, the new individual cannot be formed without the ovum. Here the second meaning of "Tumna" (planned or programmed) can be applied. What we know today with regards to sex determination bears out what was revealed in the Qur'an in the 7th century.



viii) The conceptus a part of a drop

مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ خَلَقَهُ فَقَدَّرَهُ (عبس: 19).

"He created him from (a part of) Nutfah". (Surah 'Abasa, Ayah 19)



In spite of the fact that the Nutfah Al-Amhsaj (fertilised ovum) is a small thing, yet the embryo does not develop from all its components. The inner cell mass contains the cells which later contribute to the formation of the embryonic area from which the embryo actually develops. Only a small portion of cells, derived by repeated division of the Zygote, take part in the formation of the actual embryo, Ayah 19 of Surah 'Abasa accommodates this fact:

مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ خَلَقَهُ فَقَدَّرَهُ (عبس: 19).

"He created him from a part of a drop (Min Nutfah) and then immediately programmed him (his future)". (Surah 'Abasa, Ayah 19)



"Min Nutfah" implies that only a small number of the total cells produced by Nutfah shall take part in formation of the embryo.



When Nutfah enlarges, part of it becomes embryonic and the greater part becomes nutritive and protective in function. These groups of cells are derived from a single "Nutfah".



This meaning is reinforced by the Hadith:


"Not from all the fluid is the offspring created and if Allah willed to create a thing, nothing can make Him powerless". (Muslim: Kitab Al-Nikah, Bab Al-Azl)



ix) Nuftah Al-Ghayb Al-Ghaydh (the key of an embryo's future)



From germinal fluids to implanation

اللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَحْمِلُ كُلُّ أُنثَى وَمَا تَغِيضُ الأَرْحَامُ وَمَا تَزْدَادُ وَكُلُّ شَيْءٍ عِنْدَهُ بِمِقْدَارٍ (الرعد: 8).

"Allah knows what every female womb bears and what is penetrating into the womb or decreasing and what is increasing (Al-Ghaydh) ". (Surah Ar-Ra 'ad, Ayah 8)



And Allah's messenger (Prophet Mohammad, Allah bless him and give him peace) said:



None knows the future of what is decreasing or penetrating into the wombs except Allah". (Sahih Al- Bukhari: Kitab Al- Tafsir)



The above Surah and Hadith can be taken to consider the period of early embryogenesis from insemination to early implantation of the fertilised ovum. The key word in both the Ayah and Hadith is "Ghaydhwhich could mean:



(1) Passing through or penetration of fluid into depth, like water going into the depth of the earth (1D, 4/405: 2D, 7/202: 3D, 368: 4D, 7/405: 5D, 5/64).



(2) Decrease in amount (Ref: 1D, 4/405: 2S, 7/202: 3D, 368: 4D, 7/405: 5D, 5/64).



The above Ayah and Hadith refer to something which is passing through the female generative system, which is decreasing and or increasing in size and it is something whose future at this stage is known to no one except "Allah". This "something" evidently is a reference to the male and female generative materials and later to the zygote.



When different meanings of the key word, "Al-Ghaydh" are applied to the Ayah and Hadith above, these evidently point to the development processes taking place up to the stage of early implantation.



It is scientifically proven that of millions of sperms in the seminal fluid usually only one takes part in the process of fertilisation of the ovum, and only one ovum, out of hundreds of thousands, is extracted from the ovary. So "Al-Ghaydh" will mean a decrease in the amount of the Germinal materials used in fertilisation.



When "Al-Ghaydh" is taken to mean "passing through", it will cover the period of the journey the ovum takes to reach the uterus and during this period the ovum will be penetrated by the sperm to form the zygote.



It is clear from the above that the word "Al-Ghaydh" had been very aptly and correctly selected and we shall not be far from being correct to say that the "Al-Ghaydh" stage of development will cover from insemination to early implantation.



The above Hadith says that only "Allah" knows about the future of the conceptus in the stage of "Al-Ghaydh". It is quite evident that at an early stage of development like this, there is no way of knowing about the future of the conceptus. But scientifically, we know that soon after the zygote is formed, the future and identity of the new being has been determined and this is known to Allah only.



There are several steps in determining the identity of a new individual. At the time of ejaculation several million spermatozoa are deposited in the vagina, adjacent to the uterine cervix. This fluid contains several hundred million spermatozoa, most of which are capable of uniting with an ovum to initiate a new life. The total volume of semen is reduced by the passage of some of the spermatozoa into the cervical canal in the direction of a potential ovum. This is the first step after insemination in determining the nature of the future embryo. The female's counterpart in deciding the future embryo's nature occurs when from among the thousands of ova available in the ovaries, only one is passed into the oviduct. This is the second step of the several hundred spermatozoa reaching the ovum only one will penetrate the female gamete's cytoplasmic membrane and this is a third step in deciding the nature of the future person and it too is covered by the stage of Ghaydh. As a result of fertilisation the dominant and recessive genes possessed by the parental chromosomes establish the new individual's genetic potential.



Through all of these reproductive and development events the future expression of inherited potential is largely decided and though they themselves are generally not directly observable, their effects will become evident to all, later in life. The Hadith says that the key to the embryo's future is decided, at Ghaydh.



According to the Hadith, the keys of the unknown are five which no one knows but Allah, and one of these unknowns is the future of the stage of "Al-Ghaydh".



"The keys of the unknown are five, no one knows them but Allah; no one knows what is in the future except Allah, and no one knows the future of what in the wombs are decreasing or what penetrating into them, except Allah". (Sahib AI-Bukhari: Kitab Al- Taf'ir)



From the above ayah it is understood that the relationship of the conceptus with the uterus is in two stages: Al-Ghaydh and Izdiad Al-Rahem, the preamble of the above Hadith tells us that the key to the future of the conceptus is decided at Al-Ghaydh and that no one but Allah knows it. The stage of Al-Ghaydh can be taken to include "Al-Harth" or implantation.



x) Al-Harth (implantation)



It is stated in the Qur'an:

نِسَاؤُكُمْ حَرْثٌ لَكُمْ فَأْتُوا حَرْثَكُمْ أَنَّى شِئْتُمْ وَقَدِّمُوا ِلأَنفُسِكُمْ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّكُمْ مُلاَقُوهُ وَبَشِّرْ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ (البقرة: 223).

"Your wives are as a tilth unto you; so approach your tilth when or how you will". (Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayah 223)



In the above Ayah is a description which is borne out by present day knowledge of the passage of Nutfah. Its entrance in the mother's genital tract during coitus is similar to the process of ploughing and planting.



The entry of the sperms into the uterus is similar to the planting of seeds in the land. The entry of the sperm into the ovum also carries meanings similar to ploughing and planting. And finally the implantation of the fertilised ovum (Nutfah-Amshaj) is also similar to the planting of a seed.



Harth is one word which had conveyed to Islamic scholars centuries ago the meaning and wisdom they had understood (4D, 2/134: 5D, 1/614: 1A, 2/231: 2A, 1/91: 7A, 1/335: 19A, 1/124). These meanings have also been confirmed by modern science in minute detail which the ancient scholars could not understand



7.2 The second phase of embryo development



This is subdivided as follows



i) The 'Alaqah stage

ثُمَّ خَلَقْنَا النُّطْفَةَ عَلَقَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْعَلَقَةَ مُضْغَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْمُضْغَةَ عِظَامًا فَكَسَوْنَا الْعِظَامَ لَحْمًا ثُمَّ أَنشَأْنَاهُ خَلْقًا آخَرَ فَتَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ (المؤمنون: 14).

"Then (thumm) We made the drop into an 'Alaqah". (Surah Al-Mu 'minun, Ayah 14)