Science & ISLAM

Quran STUNNING Miracles: What forms in the embryo first, the muscles or the bones?

Disclaimer: The information in this post is from https://www.answering-christianity.com May Allah reward the owner of this website for the great information and proofs he provided.

This post is divided into the following sections:

• 1- The Noble Quran’s Divine Claims.
• 2- The Scientific Proofs.
• 3- Conclusion. (Must read!)

1-  The Noble Quran’s Divine Claims:

The Holy Quran and Islam are filled with scientific statements and notions.  These are statements of Allah Almighty describing how He created things on earth and in the Universe.  What’s most amazing is that all of these scientific statements and notions had been proven to be in perfect agreement with science and our modern-day scientific discoveries.  Allah Almighty made the Noble Quran be Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) Everlasting Divine Miracle and proof for Prophethood.  The Holy Book certainly stood the test of time 1,500 years ago with Its Claims, Prophecies and Miraculous language eloquence, and it does again and again in our day today with Its overwhelming agreement with science and discoveries that were not known to man 1,500 years ago.

Allah Almighty Said: “We will show them Our signs in the Universe and inside their selves, until it will become quite clear to them that it is the truth. Is it not sufficient as regards your Lord that He is a witness over all things?  (The Noble Quran, 41:53)”

With this said, let us now look at the following Noble Verse from the Holy Quran:

[023:012]  Man We did create from a quintessence of clay;[023:013]  Then We placed him as (a drop of) sperm in a place of rest, firmly fixed;[023:014]  Then We made the sperm into a leech-like substance; then of that leech-like substance We made a fetus of a chewed-like substance; 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 God, the best to create!

Arabic (from right to left):

‏23:12 ولقد خلقنا الانسان من سلالة من طين
‏23:13 ثم جعلناه نطفة في قرار مكين
‏23:14 ثم خلقنا النطفة علقة فخلقنا العلقة مضغة فخلقنا المضغة عظاما فكسونا العظام لحما ثم انشاناه خلقا اخر فتبارك الله احسن الخالقين

Allah Almighty Said in the Noble Quran:

1-  Man is created from the purest and the best sperm (سلالة sulalah) that is also drawn with ease (سل ).  The male’s sperm that fertilizes the female’s egg is the best and strongest sperm from among all of the 100s of millions of sperms that were ejected, and it ultimately draws itself from the protective semen liquid to move into the egg. 

Keith_Moor_figure 7

“2.  Sulalah.  Sulalah refers to the selection from the male and female fluids……The Qur’anic term for this selection is sulalah, which means in Arabic “gentle extraction from fluid”.  It is now known that both ovum and sperm are gently extracted from their fluid environments in the process of fertilization.  The ovum is selected from a long stream of follicular fluid, while one sperm out of millions is selected from the seminal fluid.  The first sperm which touches the cell membrane of the ovum enters easily, but immediately afterwards a rapid physical, chemical change occurs in the cell membrane, selecting the sperm only and all other sperm are locked out (Figure 7).” (The Qur’an and Modern Science, Keith L. Moore, Abdul-Majeed A. Zindani, and Mustafa A. Ahmed, Page 27, ISBN 0-9627236-0-6)

The following are the detailed definitions of  سلالة  (Sulaalah) and  سل ( sul or sal ) : 

According to:

1.  Lisan Al-Arab dictionary [1] , Book 6, Page 430-436.

2.  Al-Muheet dictionary [2], Page .

3.  Al-Muajam Al-Waseet dictionary [3], Page 445.

4.  Al-Mawrid dictionary Arabic-English section [4], Page 639.

5.  Arabic-English dictionary the Hans Wehr dictionary [6], Page 419.

سلالة (sulaalah) is a singular of the plurals سلال (sulaal) and/or سلالات (sulaalat).

 سلالة (sulaalah): something that is drawn out or flowing.انتزاع الشئ واخراجه من رفق  drawing something and getting it out with ease.

السليل (al-saleel) and سلسبيل (salsabeel):  الخالص الصافي (al-khaalis al-saafi) the best and the pure.In Prophet Muhammad, Peace be upon him’s, Hadith (Saying):

و في الحديث: “اللهم اسقنا من سليل الجنة”, وهو صافي شرابها, قيل له سليل لأنه سلّ حتى خَلَصْ

O Allah, give us drink from the Paradise’s SALEEL سليل, (lisan al-Arab dictionary explains) and the saleel is a purely extracted drink. And it is called SALEEL because it was SULLA ( سلّ purified) until it became pure and at its best خَلَصْ.

سلالة (sulaalah): an extraction of something from its group.In Ziyad’s Saying:  و في حديث زياد: “بسلالةٍ من ماءٍ ثَغْبٍ” أي ما استخرج من ماء الثغب و سلَّ منه

A SULAALAH سلالة from the water of thaghab, means extracting and flowing water from the water of thaghab.  So it is removing a certain amount of water from a body of water.
سل (sul or sal):  something that is unique and different from its group.It is said:  و قد سُلَّ و أسله الله, فهو مسلول,أي شاذ على غير قياس

And he SULLA سُلَّ and Allah Almighty had ASALLAHU أسله, and then he became MASLOOL مسلول, which means he became SHAATH (شاذ  different, unique) beyond any measuring (QIYAAS قياس).

السلسل (al-salsal):  the pure and clear.السلسل هو الماء العذب الصافي إذا شُرِبَ تسلسل في الحلق

The SALSAL سلسل is the pure and clear water that is when drank, it flows smoothly in the throat. 

So it is not just any water, as the water in the desert was known to lack sanitation and good taste due to the impurities that are mixed with it, but rather, it is the BEST AND CLEAREST OF THE WATER!

 سلالة (sulaalah): descendant, progeny, offspring, race.

سل (sul or sal):  to advance singly or in small groups, and as I mentioned, it is a singular of the plurals sulaal سلال and/or سلالات (sulaalat).This is further proven in Noble Verse 32:8 by Abdullah Yusuf Ali’s translation and other translations:

Noble Verse(s) 32:8

Yusuf Ali:[032:008]  And made his progeny from a quintessence of the nature of a fluid despised:Transliteration:[032:008]  Thumma jaAAala naslahu min sulalatin min ma-in maheenin Arabic (from right to left):‏32:8 ثم جعل نسله من سلالة من ماء مهين

According to:
1.  Al-Mawrid dictionary English-Arabic section [4], Page 751.

Quintessence: جوهر (the pearl of something, or the best of something), خلاصة (a summary of something, or the BEST OF SOMETHING), مثال (a sample, or a leading example).
 
According to www.dictionary.com, quintessence means:
 
1. the pure and concentrated essence of a substance.
2. the most perfect embodiment of something.
3. the pure, highly concentrated essence of a thing.
4. the purest or most typical instance.
5. an extract from anything, containing its rarest virtue, or most subtle and essential constituent in a small quantity; pure or concentrated essence.

Remember again that  سلالة (sulaalah) is a singular of the plurals سلال (sulaal) and/or سلالات (sulaalat).

Notice the Miraculous Beauty of Allah Almighty’s Holy Words:

1-  Man is created and determined from a single flowing سلالة, that is the SPERM. 

2-  Then Allah Almighty Made man a MINGLED NUTFAH (SPERM…نطفة امشاج), which is a mingled, single, stationed and secured SPERM inside the egg (ثم جعلناه نطفة في قرار مكين); m-قرار مكين is the female’s protected and protective BASE (i.e., egg).

3-  Then after that, Allah Almighty Created the NUTFAH into an AALAQA (a sucking clot substance that looks like a leech).

4-  And then the alaqa was Created into a lump (mudgha….مضغة).

5-  Then the lump was Created into bones, and then the bones were covered with flesh, and then Allah Almighty انشاناه خلقا اخر built him into a different creation.

3-  The sperm develops into a leech-like (علقة) substance.

4-  Then the leech-like substance develops into a chewed-like (مضغة) substance.The following are the detailed definitions of  علقة and  مضغة :

Also, according to :   Lisan Al-Arab dictionary [1] , Book 5, Page 993.2.  Al-Muheet dictionary [2], Page 839.3.   Al-Muajam Al-Waseet dictionary [3], Page 622.4.  Al-Mawrid dictionary Arabic-English section [4], Page 775.5.  Al-Mawrid dictionary English-Arabic section [4], Page 520.6.  Arabic-English dictionary the Hans Wehr dictionary [6], Page 634. علقة (aalaqa) means a clot and a leech-like substance.علق (aalaq): نشب فيه  clinged on it or stuck to it.وفي الحديث: فعلقت الاعراب به اي نشبوا وتعلقوا  and in the saying:  ‘the Arabs علقت “aaliqat” to it, means that they became attached to it and adopted it to their culture.’  علق الصيد في حبالته اي نشب  aaliqa علق the game in the net, means that an animal fell in the trap of the net.   والعلوق ما يعلق بالانسان  the ulooq علوق is what clings on the person (from lice or leech or anything else).   والعلق في الثوب ما علق به  the aaliqa علق of the dress is what clinged on it.Leech:  علقة    يستخرِجُ دماً بواسطة علقة  extracts blood using the leech.علق (aalaq): دودة العلق  (doodat al-aalaq) the leech worm.علق (aalaq): to hang, to be suspended, dangle, to stick, CLING, cleave, get caught or stuck,  to be attached, leech, blood clot. عليق (aaleeq): twining and creeping plants or shrubs (of various kinds).علاقة (aalaaqa): bond, relation, affiliation, association, connection.   The fetus when he is a Aalaq علق , he is1-  Clinging inside his mother’s womb.2-  He is sucking blood from the mother’s womb like a leech.3-  He is a blood clot!Aalaq علق means all of these.  Also, back to the Noble Word, LUMP (Mudgha مضغة ), there is a Divine Miracle regarding it.  According to 1. Lisan Al-Arab dictionary [1] , Book 5, Page 411. 2. Al-Muheet dictionary [2], Page 727. 3.Al-Muajam Al-Waseet dictionary [3], Page 875. 4. Al-Mawrid dictionary Arabic-English section [4], Page 1058. 5.Arabic-English dictionary the Hans Wehr dictionary [6], Page 634. مضغ  (madgh):  ما يمضغ كل طعام يمضغ  the chewable food that is chewed.مضغة (mudgha):   اذا صارت العلقه التي خلق منها الانسان لحمه فهي مضغه  when the aalaqa علقه that man is created from becomes flesh, then it is a mudgha مضغه.وفي الحديث:ان خلق احدكم يجمع في بطن امه اربعين يوما نطفه ثم اربعين يوما علقه ثم اربعين يوما مضغه ثم يبعث الله اليه الملك   And in the Hadith (Saying) of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him:  “When one of you was created in his mother’s womb, he as a NUTFAH نطفه for 40 days, then became for 40 days a Aalaqa علقه , then became for 40 days Mudgha مضغه,  then Allah Almighty Sent to him the Angel (of Life to blow Life in him as stated in Noble Verse 32:9):   “But He fashioned him (man) in due proportion, and breathed into him something of His Spirit.  And He gave you (the faculties of) hearing and sight and feeling (and understanding): little thanks do ye give!   (The Noble Quran, 32:9)”   The Prophet’s Hadith is also found in Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 55, Number 549 and Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 77, Number 593.   The Hadiths clearly claim that after the first 120 days of the Fetus formation, Allah Almighty blows from His Spirit into it.    (This article was sent to me by brother Mahir, may Allah Almighty always be pleased with him)Source: http://www.babycentre.co.uk/pregnancy/fetaldevelopment/18weeks/ “Week 18: Your baby is approximately 6 inches/ 14.2 centimeters long from crown to rump and she weighs about 7 ounces/ 190 grams. Her chest moves up and down to mimic breathing but she’s not taking in air, only amniotic fluid“    Wikipedia: Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_fetal_development#development Week 18 (I.e 120 days) The lanugo covers the entire body. Eyebrows, eyelashes, fingernails, and toenails appear. The fetus has increased muscle development. Alveoli (air sacs) are forming in lungs. The nervous system develops enough to control some body functions. The cochlea are now developed, though the myelin sheaths in the neural portion of the auditory system will continue to develop until 18 months after birth. The respiratory system has developed to the point where gas exchange is possible.

5-  Then from the chew-like substance bones (عظام= itham) are created.

6-  Then the muscles (لحم= lahm) wrap around the bones. Notice that Allah Almighty did not say “create”.  The Noble Quran does not indicate which is created first, because both are adjacent to each others as science has proven. 
  However, “D.  The lahm stage.  Although precursor cells (myoblasts, or primitive muscle cells) are present adjacent to developing bone (Figure 16), differentiation into skeletal muscle attachments occur after the ossification process in the shaft and ends of the bones has begun.  A major developmental landmark during the eighth week is the lahm stage, which describes the myogenesis (muscle formation) period, and which marks the development of definitive muscles in the trunk and limbs and the beginning of movement.  The muscles take their position around the bones (“clothing the bones”) and continue the process of straightening and smoothing (taswiyah) which began in the izam stage.  It is now known that the gonads (sex glands) begin to differentiate into testes and ovaries at this time (8th week), and the Qur’an refers to this development as well (See Table 1).
………….
The embryo at 24-25 days in the end of the alaqah stage, and it makes a direct change into the mudghah stage at 26-27 days.  The mudghah stage lasts until the 6th week, and then changes directly into the izam by the beginning of the 7th week, since the skeleton begins its appearance at that time.  The lahm stage follows in the 8th week immediately after the izam stage, since muscle precursor cells begin their development into muscle as soon as the bone is formed and the muscles can become attached.  Thus, the word fa is used in the Qur’an to accurately and strongly indicate that these developments follow on another immediately with no delay.” (The Qur’an and Modern Science, Keith L. Moore, Abdul-Majeed A. Zindani, and Mustafa A. Ahmed, Pages 37-39, 46-47, ISBN 0-9627236-0-6)
  The following video-clip further demonstrate this:

(Click to play video)

2-  The Scientific Proofs:

So scientifically speaking, which develops first, the bones or the muscles (flesh)?  What does Science say?

Important Note:  Izam, below, is really itham (bones).  Urdu-speaking Muslims always wrongly pronounce the “the” as “za” and “wa” as “va”.  This is a deficiency in their tongues, just like the Arabs’ deficiency in pronouncing the “P” as “B”, since Arabic has no P-like letter.  For example, we pronounce Paul as Baul, and Peter as Beter, and Palestine as Balestine.  It is not right to force erroneous pronunciations into other languages, and most importantly for Islam, it is not right to force the erroneous pronunciations of the “za” and “va” into Arabic because it will cause a misreading and misspelling of the Holy Quran.  Non-Arabic speaking folks are getting the wrong education on how to pronounce Arabic alphabets, which is negatively effecting the way they pronounce and even write the Holy Quran in Arabic as we see Dr. Keith Moore badly mispronouncing some of the Arabic below.

To all Muslims of all nationalities:  Remember, it is you who must learn the Noble Quran in Its original form.  DO NOT try to modify It to suit your language or tongue, and to please your people.  That is an intentional alteration to Allah Almighty’s Divine Words!  It is a grave sin and it could also be considered blasphemy according to Allah Almighty, not me, if done intentionally, carelessly and frequently.  So please, pronounce, read and recite the Holy Quran in Its proper original Arabic.

“.  The itham stage.  The subsequent phase of development is referred to as itham which means “bones”, and the fetus does indeed acquire a cartilaginous skeleton of bones after the mudghah stage.  Formation of bone does not begin uniformly throughout the body.  Rather, there is a sequential appearance of bony tissue.  In recent decades, the process of osteogenesis (bone formation) in the human embryo has been reasonably well documented.  Bone development in the limbs commences in the embryonic limb buds from mesenchymal cells.  Primary ossification centers appear in the femur during week 7 (Figure 15) and in the sternum (breast bone) and the maxilla (upper jaw) during weeks 8-9.  The timing of the itham phase has been mentioned in the following hadith :

عن حذيفة رضي الله عنه أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم قال: “إذا مرَّ بالنطفة ثنان و أربعون ليلة بعث الله إليها ملك فصورها و خلق سمعها و بصرها و جلدها و لحمها و عظامها…” (صحيح مسلم: كتاب القدر)“When 42 nights have passed from the time of the nutfah (time of conception), Allah sends an angel to it, who shapes it and makes its ears, eyes, skin, muscles and bones…”  (Sahih Muslim, Kitab Al-Qadar)

In the early part of this phase, the embryo takes on a human appearance (tasweer adami), and the hadith describes this with the word “shapes”.  Before the 42nd day, it is difficult to distinguish the human embryo from the embryos of many animals, but at this time it becomes clearly distinguishable in its appearance.

Accompanying this development is a straightening of the embryo as described by “sawwa”.  During this period, the embryo becomes more erect and acquires a more evenly rounded body.  Some of the generalized cells of the embryo begin to differentiate into various lines and modify into different functional moieties.  This process results in straightening and the formation of organs necessary for viability.  As the Qur’an describes:

الذي خلقك فسواك فعدلك

“Who (God) created you, then (fa) made you even and straight (sawwak) and then (fa) modified you (‘adalak’)”  (Surah Al-Infitar, 82: Ayah 7)

According to Table 1, which compares three ayat on the stages of development, it is apparent that the izam stage corresponds with the straightening stage (taswiyah).  The word of sawwak in the Qur’anic statement indicates the following:

(a)  To straighten the position of the body from a bent position.

(b)  To make uneven things leveled.

The embryo at the 7th week has a bent back thus taking the shape of the letter C during the mudghah stage.  In the itham stage, the bending position is straightened and the surface becomes more even due to the disappearance of prominences and depressions.

D.  The lahm stage.  Although precursor cells (myoblasts, or primitive muscle cells) are present adjacent to developing bone (Figure 16), differentiation into skeletal muscle attachments occur after the ossification process in the shaft and ends of the bones has begun.  A major developmental landmark during the eighth week is the lahm stage, which describes the myogenesis (muscle formation) period, and which marks the development of definitive muscles in the trunk and limbs and the beginning of movement.  The muscles take their position around the bones (“clothing the bones”) and continue the process of straightening and smoothing (taswiyah) which began in the izam stage.  It is now known that the gonads (sex glands) begin to differentiate into testes and ovaries at this time (8th week), and the Qur’an refers to this development as well (See Table 1).

……………….

VII. Timing of the developmental events.  Not only is the sequencing of the embryonic and fetal developments indicated by the order in which they are mentioned in the Qur’an, but also the timing of these events is indicated by the use of the conjunctives fa, which means “then with little delay”, and thumma, which means “then with some delay”.  The occurrences of fa and thumma, both of which are translated as “then”, are as follows:

“We (God) created man from a quintessence of clay.  We then (thumma) placed him as a nutfah (drop) in a place of settlement, firmly fixed, then (thumma) We made the nutfah into an alaaqah (leech-like structure) and then (fa) We changed the alaaqah into a mudghah (chewed-like substance), then (fa) We made out of that mudghah, izam (skeleton, bones), then (fa) we clothed the skeleton with lahm (muscles, flesh), then (thumma) We caused him to grow and come into being and attain the definitive (human) form.  So, blessed be God, the best to create”  (Surah Al-Mu’minoon (23): Ayat 13,14).

The use of thumma indicates that there is a delay between the following events:

1.  Nutfah stage developing into the alaqah (first stage of the shaping (khalq) stage).

2.  Lahm (last stage of the shaping (khalq) stage) until the development of the nash’ah (fetal) period.

During the implantation or harth phase (Noble Verse 2:223 “Your wives are tilth (harth)”) of the nutfah stage, there is a slow rate of development until the alaqah stage.  It takes about a week from the beginning of harth (day 6) for the connection stalk to form (day 14), such that the embryo becomes “attached and hanging”, and it takes about 10 days for the notochord to begin development (day 16) in order for the embryo to take on the appearance of a leech or alaqah.  Thus there is some delay in the formation of the alaqah stage.

The nash’ah or fetal stage can be considered as beginning in the 9th week, but is delayed in the expression of all its characteristics until later.  For example, the period between the beginning of the 9th week and the end of the 11th week is a period of relatively slow growth, and it is not until the 12th week that the rapid growth indicated by “ansha’nahu” begins.  Additionally, the initiation of the development of certain organ systems occurs after the 8th week, or after the lahm stage, but the changes in these organs become more apparent after the 11th week.  Thus, there is a delay until the 12th week for the full expression of nash’ah, and the word thumma accurately indicates this delay.

The word fa indicates that the following stages occur directly after one another:

1.  Alaqah changing to mudghah.

2.  Mudghah changing to izam.

3.  Itham changing to lahm.

The embryo at 24-25 days in the end of the alaqah stage, and it makes a direct change into the mudghah stage at 26-27 days.  The mudghah stage lasts until the 6th week, and then changes directly into the izam by the beginning of the 7th week, since the skeleton begins its appearance at that time.  The lahm stage follows in the 8th week immediately after the izam stage, since muscle precursor cells begin their development into muscle as soon as the bone is formed and the muscles can become attached.  Thus, the word fa is used in the Qur’an to accurately and strongly indicate that these developments follow on another immediately with no delay.” (The Qur’an and Modern Science, Keith L. Moore, Abdul-Majeed A. Zindani, and Mustafa A. Ahmed, Pages 37-39, 46-47, ISBN 0-9627236-0-6)

“2.  Sulalah.  Sulalah refers to the selection from the male and female fluids……The Qur’anic term for this selection is sulalah, which means in Arabic “gentle extraction from fluid”.  It is now known that both ovum and sperm are gently extracted from their fluid environments in the process of fertilization.  The ovum is selected from a long stream of follicular fluid, while one sperm out of millions is selected from the seminal fluid.  The first sperm which touches the cell membrane of the ovum enters easily, but immediately afterwards a rapid physical, chemical change occurs in the cell membrane, selecting the sperm only and all other sperm are locked out (Figure 7).” (The Qur’an and Modern Science, Keith L. Moore, Abdul-Majeed A. Zindani, and Mustafa A. Ahmed, Page 27, ISBN 0-9627236-0-6)

3-  Conclusion:

Again, the Holy Quran and Islam are filled with scientific statements and notions.  These are statements of Allah Almighty describing how He created things on earth and in the Universe.  What’s most amazing is that all of these scientific statements and notions had been proven to be in perfect agreement with science and our modern-day scientific discoveries.  Allah Almighty made the Noble Quran be Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) Everlasting Divine Miracle and proof for Prophethood.  The Holy Book certainly stood the test of time 1,500 years ago with Its Claims, Prophecies and Miraculous language eloquence, and it does again and again in our day today with Its overwhelming agreement with science and discoveries that were not known to man 1,500 years ago.

Allah Almighty Said: “We will show them Our signs in the Universe and inside their selves, until it will become quite clear to them that it is the truth. Is it not sufficient as regards your Lord that He is a witness over all things?  (The Noble Quran, 41:53)”

Indeed, Allah Almighty’s perfect description of the shapes (leech-like and chewed-like substances), and the timings of the different stages and developments that the fetus goes through from conception to birth testify that the Noble Quran is indeed the Divine Truth and Pure and Holy Word of Allah Almighty.

As to the article’s title: “What forms in the embryo first, the muscles or the bones?”, it is clear that during and after the chewed-like (mudghah) stage, both bones and muscles form adjacently.  However, the wrapping of the muscles around the bones happens after the muscle precursor cells begin their development into muscle.  Notice how Allah Almighty referred to the precursors’ development and the wrapping of the muscles around the bones in Noble Verse 23:14 by Saying:

فكسونا العظام لحما

“then we clothed the bones with flesh.”

Why did Allah Almighty specifically chose to say فكسونا (then we clothed)?  It is because the Noble Verse wasn’t speaking about which was created first, the bones or the muscles, but rather, it was speaking about the wrapping of the muscles around the bones happens after the creation of the the bones.

The Holy Quran, again and again, have proven Itself to be the True Divine Holy Book from Allah Almighty.  Indeed, all Praise and Glory are due to Allah Almighty Alone for making the Noble Quran and the Divine Inspirations that He Sent to Prophet Muhammad be the Perfect and Everlasting Miracle, for us humans, out of all of His Divine Miracles!  And may Allah Almighty send His Peace, Mercy and Blessings upon our Beloved and Blessed Prophet, Teacher and Role Model, Muhammad.  Ameen.