EMBRYOLOGY
MUSLIMS SEEK ANSWERS
A group of Muslim Scholars, under the direction of
an eminent Yemani Scholar, Sheikh Abdul Majid
Azzindani, collected information concerning
embryology1 and other sciences in the Qur'an and
undisputed Hadith2 and translated it into English.
They then followed the Qur'anic advice:
فَاسْأَلُواْ
أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ
“If ye realise this not,
ask of those who possess
the Message.”
[Al-Qur’an 16:43 & 21:7]
*** 1 Embryology is the study of human development before birth.
*** 2 Hadith or Sunnah means the sayings or actions of Prophet Muhammed (pbuh).
All the information from the Qur’an and the
undisputed Hadith concerning embryology so
gathered, after being translated into English and
presented to Prof. (Dr.) Keith Moore, Professor of
Embryology and Chairman of the Department of
Anatomy at the University of Toronto, in Canada.
At present he is one of the highest authorities in the
field of Embryology.
He was asked to give his opinion regarding the
material presented to him. After carefully
examining it, Dr. Moore said that most of the
information concerning embryology mentioned in
the Qur’an and the undisputed Hadith is in perfect
conformity with modern discoveries in the field of
embryology and does not conflict with them in any
way. He added that there were a few verses
however, on whose scientific accuracy he could not
comment. He could not say whether the statements
were true or false, since he was himself unaware of
the information contained therein. There was also
no mention of this information in modern writings
and studies on embryology.
One such verse is:
اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ
رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ 96:1
خَلَقَ الْإِنسَانَ مِنْ عَلَقٍ 96:2
“Proclaim! (or Read!)
In the name of thy Lord
and Cherisher, Who created –
Created man, out of a (mere)
clot of congealed blood.”
[Al-Qur’an 96:1-2]
The Arabic word alaq, besides meaning a congealed
clot of blood, also means something that clings, a
leech-like substance.
Dr. Keith Moore had no knowledge whether an
embryo in the initial stages appears like a leech. To
check this out he studied the initial stage of the
embryo under a very powerful microscope and
compared what he observed with the diagram of a
leech. He was astonished at the striking
resemblance between the two!
In the same manner, he acquired more information
on embryology, that was hitherto not known to him,
from the Qur’an.
Dr. Keith Moore answered about eighty questions
dealing with embryological data mentioned in the
Qur’an and Hadith. Noting that the information
contained in the Qur’an and Hadith was in full
agreement with the latest discoveries in the field of
embryology, Prof. Moore said, “If I was asked these
questions thirty years ago, I would not have been
able to answer half of them for lack of scientific
information”.
In 1981, during the Seventh Medical Conference in
Dammam, Saudi Arabia, Dr. Moore said, “It has
been a great pleasure for me to help clarify
statements in the Qur’an about human development.
It is clear to me that these statements must have
come to Muhammad from God or Allah, 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 or Allah”.2
*** 2 The reference for this statment is the video tape titled ‘This
is the Truth’. For a copy of this video tape contact the Islamic
Research Foundation.
Dr. Keith Moore had earlier authored the book,
‘The Developing Human’. After acquiring new
knowledge from the Qur’an, he wrote, in 1982, the
3rd edition of the same book, ‘The Developing Human’. The book was the recipient of an award for
the best medical book written by a single author.
This book has been translated into several major
languages of the world and is used as a textbook of
embryology in the first year of medical studies.
Dr. Joe Leigh Simpson, Chairman of the Department
of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, at the Baylor College
of Medicine, Houston, U.S.A., proclaims: “...these
Hadiths, sayings of Muhammad (pbuh), could not
have been obtained on the basis of the scientific
knowledge that was available at the time of the
writer (implying in the 7th century). It follows that
not only is there no conflict between genetics and
religion (implying Islam) but in fact religion (Islam)
may guide science by adding revelation to some of the
traditional scientific approaches . . . there exist
statements in the Qur’an shown centuries later to be
valid which support knowledge in the Qur’an having
been derived from God.”
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