The Qur’ān is the holy book or scripture of Islam revealed to the Prophet Muhammad by God through the Archangel Gabriel over a 23-year period from 610 to 632 CE. The language of the Qur’ān is Arabic; its style “is neither prose nor poetry, but a unique fusion of both.”1 The text is divided into 114 surahs or chapters with each chapter consisting of individual ayahs or verses. There are in total 6,348 verses in the Qur’ān.
The Qur’ān describes itself as a “Book of Guidance”2 and addresses its message to all humanity. The Qur’ān deals with many issues and topics such as wisdom, doctrine, worship and law. It provides guiding principles for society, human conduct and commerce. The Qur’ān also contains numerous references to natural phenomena such as astronomy, embryology and geology.
The word “Qur’ān” means “recitation” and the first verse of the Qur’ān to be revealed to the Prophet Muhammad was a command to read:
Read! In the name of your Lord who created: He created man from ‘alaq (clinging form). Read! Your Lord is the Most Bountiful One who taught by [means of] the pen, who taught man what he did not know.
Surah Al-‘Alaq (The Clinging Form) 96:1-5
Alaq (علق ) is a stage in the development of the embryo. The Qur’ān mentions that human development passes through a number of distinct stages.3 These stages are descriptive of the embryo’s external appearance and have been assigned the following names:
And We (God) created man4 from a quintessence (gentle extraction) of clay.
We then placed him as a nuṭfah (drop) in a place of settlement, firmly fixed (i.e. the womb). alaqah (clinging form), and then We changed the clinging form into a mudghah (chewed-like form), then We made out of that chewed-like form, ‘iẓām (skeleton, bones), then We clothed the bones with laḥm (muscles, flesh); then We (ansha’ nahu), caused him to grow and come into being and attain the definitive (human) form. Blessed be God, the Perfect creator.
Then you will surely die .and then, on the Day of Resurrection, you will be raised up again.
Surah Al-Mu’minoon (The Believers) 23: 12-16
Until recently these statements were not fully appreciated, since they referred to details in human development which were scientifically unknown in earlier times. The Qur’ān reminds the reader that it is God who created man and while human life consists of a number of stages, life will one day come to an end. All human beings will then be resurrected and it is on the Day of Resurrection that every individual will account for their lives and be justly rewarded or punished for their deeds.
Figure 1 Timetable of human development during weeks 1 to 4 (day 1 to 28) (Modified from Moore and Persaud (2007)). The Qur’ānic term ʿalaqah may be used to refer to the embryo of between 15 to 26 days.
This paper focuses on the term alaqah, the second stage of human development according to the Qur’ān. The paper begins by defining the meaning of the term alaqah before going on to show how the different meanings of this term could be used to describe an embryo of between 15 to 26 days (Figure 1). Although the term alaqah is discussed in some detail, with particular emphasis on the outer appearance of the embryo and its internal structures, the reader should note that this paper is nevertheless limited in its scope and should not be considered as a complete exposition of the alaqah.
The Qur’ān describes itself as a “Book of Guidance”2 and addresses its message to all humanity. The Qur’ān deals with many issues and topics such as wisdom, doctrine, worship and law. It provides guiding principles for society, human conduct and commerce. The Qur’ān also contains numerous references to natural phenomena such as astronomy, embryology and geology.
The word “Qur’ān” means “recitation” and the first verse of the Qur’ān to be revealed to the Prophet Muhammad was a command to read:
اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ - خَلَقَ الْإِنْسَانَ مِنْ عَلَقٍ - اقْرَأْ وَرَبُّكَ الْأَكْرَمُ - الَّذِي عَلَّمَ بِالْقَلَمِ - عَلَّمَ الْإِنْسَانَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَم
Read! In the name of your Lord who created: He created man from ‘alaq (clinging form). Read! Your Lord is the Most Bountiful One who taught by [means of] the pen, who taught man what he did not know.
Surah Al-‘Alaq (The Clinging Form) 96:1-5
Alaq (علق ) is a stage in the development of the embryo. The Qur’ān mentions that human development passes through a number of distinct stages.3 These stages are descriptive of the embryo’s external appearance and have been assigned the following names:
وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنْسَانَ مِنْ سُلَالَةٍ مِنْ طِينٍ - ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَاهُ نُطْفَةً فِي قَرَارٍ مَكِينٍ - ثُمَّ خَلَقْنَا النُّطْفَةَ عَلَقَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْعَلَقَةَ مُضْغَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْمُضْغَةَ عِظَامًا فَكَسَوْنَا الْعِظَامَ لَحْمًا ثُمَّ أَنْشَأْنَاهُ خَلْقًا آَخَرَ فَتَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ - ثُمَّ إِنَّكُمْ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ لَمَيِّتُونَ - ثُمَّ إِنَّكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ تُبْعَثُونَ
And We (God) created man4 from a quintessence (gentle extraction) of clay.
We then placed him as a nuṭfah (drop) in a place of settlement, firmly fixed (i.e. the womb). alaqah (clinging form), and then We changed the clinging form into a mudghah (chewed-like form), then We made out of that chewed-like form, ‘iẓām (skeleton, bones), then We clothed the bones with laḥm (muscles, flesh); then We (ansha’ nahu), caused him to grow and come into being and attain the definitive (human) form. Blessed be God, the Perfect creator.
Then you will surely die .and then, on the Day of Resurrection, you will be raised up again.
Surah Al-Mu’minoon (The Believers) 23: 12-16
Until recently these statements were not fully appreciated, since they referred to details in human development which were scientifically unknown in earlier times. The Qur’ān reminds the reader that it is God who created man and while human life consists of a number of stages, life will one day come to an end. All human beings will then be resurrected and it is on the Day of Resurrection that every individual will account for their lives and be justly rewarded or punished for their deeds.
Figure 1 Timetable of human development during weeks 1 to 4 (day 1 to 28) (Modified from Moore and Persaud (2007)). The Qur’ānic term ʿalaqah may be used to refer to the embryo of between 15 to 26 days.
This paper focuses on the term alaqah, the second stage of human development according to the Qur’ān. The paper begins by defining the meaning of the term alaqah before going on to show how the different meanings of this term could be used to describe an embryo of between 15 to 26 days (Figure 1). Although the term alaqah is discussed in some detail, with particular emphasis on the outer appearance of the embryo and its internal structures, the reader should note that this paper is nevertheless limited in its scope and should not be considered as a complete exposition of the alaqah.
إرسال تعليق