In the Holy Quran, God speaks about the stages of man’s
embryonic development:
We created man from an extract of clay. Then We
made him as a drop in a place of settlement, firmly
fixed. Then We made the drop into an alaqah (leech,
suspended thing, and blood clot), then We made the
alaqah into a mudghah (chewed substance)... 1
(Quran, 23:12-14)
Literally, the Arabic word alaqah has three meanings: (1)
leech, (2) suspended thing, and (3) blood clot.
In comparing a leech to an embryo in the alaqah stage, we
find similarity between the two2 as we can see in figure 1.
Also, the embryo at this stage obtains nourishment from the
blood of the mother, similar to the leech, which feeds on the
blood of others. 3

Figure 1: Drawings illustrating the similarities in
appearance between a leech and a human embryo
at the alaqah stage. (Leech drawing from Human
Development as Described in the Quran and Sunnah ,
Moore and others, p. 37, modified from Integrated
Principles of Zoology , Hickman and others.
Embryo drawing from The Developing Human ,
Moore and Persaud, 5th ed., p. 73.)

The second meaning of the word alaqah is “suspended
thing.” This is what we can see in figures 2 and 3, the
suspension of the embryo, during the alaqah stage, in the
womb of the mother.
Figure 2: We can see in
this diagram the
suspension of an
embryo during the
alaqah stage in the
womb (uterus) of the
mother. (The
Developing Human ,
Moore and Persaud,
5th ed., p. 66.) (Click
on the image to
enlarge it.)
Figure 3: In this
photomicrograph, we
can see the suspension
of an embryo (marked
B) during the alaqah
stage (about 15 days
old) in the womb of
the mother. The
actual size of the
embryo is about 0.6
mm. (The Developing
Human , Moore, 3rd
ed., p. 66, from
Histology , Leeson and
Leeson.)
The third meaning of the word alaqah is “blood clot.” We
find that the external appearance of the embryo and its sacs
during the alaqah stage is similar to that of a blood clot. This
is due to the presence of relatively large amounts of blood
present in the embryo during this stage 4 (see figure 4). Also
during this stage, the blood in the embryo does not circulate
until the end of the third week. 5 Thus, the embryo at this
stage is like a clot of blood.
Figure 4: Diagram of
the primitive
cardiovascular system
in an embryo during
the alaqah stage. The
external appearance
of the embryo and its
sacs is similar to that
of a blood clot, due to
the presence of
relatively large
amounts of blood
present in the
embryo. (The
Developing Human ,
Moore, 5th ed., p.
65.) (Click on the
image to enlarge it.)
So the three meanings of the word alaqah correspond
accurately to the descriptions of the embryo at the alaqah
stage.

The next stage mentioned in the verse is the mudghah
stage. The Arabic word mudghah means “chewed substance.”
If one were to take a piece of gum and chew it in his or her
mouth and then compare it with an embryo at the mudghah
stage, we would conclude that the embryo at the mudghah
stage acquires the appearance of a chewed substance. This is
because of the somites at the back of the embryo that
“somewhat resemble teethmarks in a chewed substance.” 6
(see figures 5 and 6).
Figure 5: Photograph of
an embryo at the
mudghah stage (28
days old). The embryo
at this stage acquires
the appearance of a
chewed substance,
because the somites at
the back of the embryo
somewhat resemble
teeth marks in a
chewed substance.
The actual size of the
embryo is 4 mm. (The
Developing Human ,
Moore and Persaud,
5th ed., p. 82, from
Professor Hideo
Nishimura, Kyoto
University, Kyoto,
Japan.)
Figure 6: When
comparing the
appearance of an
embryo at the
mudghah stage with a
piece of gum that has
been chewed, we find
similarity between the
two.
A) Drawing of an
embryo at the
mudghah stage. We
can see here the
somites at the back of
the embryo that look
like teeth marks. (The
Developing Human ,
Moore and Persaud,
5th ed., p. 79.)
B) Photograph of a
piece of gum that has
been chewed.
(Click on the image to
enlarge it.)

How could Muhammad have possibly known all this
1400 years ago, when scientists have only recently discovered
this using advanced equipment and powerful microscopes
which did not exist at that time? Hamm and Leeuwenhoek
were the first scientists to observe human sperm cells
(spermatozoa) using an improved microscope in 1677 (more
than 1000 years after Muhammad ). They mistakenly
thought that the sperm cell contained a miniature preformed
human being that grew when it was deposited in the female
genital tract. 7
Professor Emeritus Keith L. Moore8 is one of the world’s
most prominent scientists in the fields of anatomy and
embryology and is the author of the book entitled The
Developing Human , which has been translated into eight
languages. This book is a scientific reference work and was
chosen by a special committee in the United States as the best
book authored by one person. Dr. Keith Moore is Professor
Emeritus of Anatomy and Cell Biology at the University of
Toronto, Toronto, Canada. There, he was Associate Dean of
Basic Sciences at the Faculty of Medicine and for 8 years was
the Chairman of the Department of Anatomy. In 1984, he
received the most distinguished award presented in the field
of anatomy in Canada, the J.C.B. Grant Award from the
Canadian Association of Anatomists. He has directed many
international associations, such as the Canadian and
American Association of Anatomists and the Council of the
Union of Biological Sciences.
In 1981, during the Seventh Medical Conference in
Dammam, Saudi Arabia, Professor Moore said: “It has been a
great pleasure for me to help clarify statements in the Quran
about human development. It is clear to me that these
statements must have come to Muhammad from God, because
almost all of this knowledge was not discovered until many
centuries later. This proves to me that Muhammad must have
been a messenger of God.” 9 (To view the RealPlayer video of
this comment click here ).
Consequently, Professor Moore was asked the following
question: “Does this mean that you believe that the Quran is
the word of God?” He replied: “I find no difficulty in
accepting this.” 10
During one conference, Professor Moore stated:
“....Because the staging of human embryos is complex, owing
to the continuous process of change during development, it is
proposed that a new system of classification could be
developed using the terms mentioned in the Quran and
Sunnah (what Muhammad said, did, or approved of). The
proposed system is simple, comprehensive, and conforms with
present embryological knowledge. The intensive studies of
the Quran and hadeeth (reliably transmitted reports by the
Prophet Muhammad’s companions of what he said, did, or
approved of) in the last four years have revealed a system for
classifying human embryos that is amazing since it was
recorded in the seventh century A.D. Although Aristotle, the
founder of the science of embryology, realized that chick
embryos developed in stages from his studies of hen’s eggs in
the fourth century B.C., he did not give any details about
these stages. As far as it is known from the history of
embryology, little was known about the staging and
classification of human embryos until the twentieth century.
For this reason, the descriptions of the human embryo in the
Quran cannot be based on scientific knowledge in the seventh
century. The only reasonable conclusion is: these descriptions
were revealed to Muhammad from God. He could not have
known such details because he was an illiterate man with
absolutely no scientific training.” 11 (View the RealPlayer
video of this comment ).



source: http://www.islam-guide.com/ch1-1-a.htm