HUMAN REPRODUCTION

Human reproduction was the centre of Dr. Bucaille's attention in his book "The Bible, The Quran, and Science". The topic has also interested many other writers, since it is related to the creation of man, the most puzzling secret in the universe. Many conferences have been recently held in Egypt and Saudi Arabia concerning the medical references and allusions in Quran and Sunna.
In the Middle Ages and even in more recent times - reproduction was surrounded by all sorts of myths and superstitions. How could it have been otherwise, considering the fact that to understand its complex mechanisms, man first had to possess a knowledge of anatomy, the discovery of the microscope had to be made, and the so-called basic sciences had to be founded which were to nurture physiology, embryology. obstetrics, etc...

The situation is quite different in the Quran, The Book mentions precise mechanisms in many places and describes clearly-defined stages in reproduction, without providing a single statement marred by error or inaccuracy. Every thing in the Quran is explained in simple terms which are easily understandable to man in strict accordance with what was to be discovered much later on.
Human reproduction is referred to in several dozen verses of the Quran, in various contexts. It is explained through statements which deal with one or, more specific points. They must be assembled to give a general idea of the verses as a whole. The commentary, as Dr. Bucaille said, is in this way easier.
Before I attempt an analysis of the Quranic verses on the creation of man, it is important to provide the reader with the basic facts about human reproduction which were completely unknown at the time of Muhammad. The following summary is based on Dr. Bucaille's representation and on Prof. Dr. Blechschmidt's embroyonic callender.

SUMMARY OF HUMAN REPRODUCTION
Human reproduction is affected by a series of processes we share in common with mammals. The starting point is the fertilization of an ovum which has detached itself from the ovary. It takes place in the Fallopian tubes half-way through the menstrual cycle. The fertilizing agent is the male sperm, or more exactly, the spermatozoon, a single fertilizing cell being all that is needed. To ensure fertilization therefore, an infinitely small quantity of spermatic liquid containing a large number of spermatozoons (tens of millions at a time) is required. This liquid is produced by -the testicles and temporarily stored in a system of reservoirs and canals that finally lead into the urinary tract ; other glands are situated along the latter which contribute their own additional secretions to the sperm itself.

The implantation of the fertilized ovum (zygote) by this process takes place at a precise spot in the female reproductive system it descends into the uterus via a Fallopian tube and lodges in the body of the uterus where it soon literally implants itself by insertion into the thickness of the mucosa and of the muscle, once the placenta has been
Formed and with the aid of the latter . if the implantation of the fertilized ovum takes place, for example, in the Fallopian tube instead of in 'the uterus, pregnancy will be interrupted.

As the embryo is formed at first, it has the appearance of a Leech. Once it begins to be observable to the naked eye, it looks like a small mass of flesh at the centre of which the appearance of a human being. It grows there in progressive stages which are very well known today; they lead to the bone structure, the muscles, the nervous system, the circulation, and the viscera, etc...

BLECHSCHMIIJT EMBRYONIC CALLENDER
1st week: Development up to the beginning of implantation. Special stage the one-chambered ovum, ca 1/10 mm.
2nd week: Complete implantation, Special stage the two- chambered ovum, ca 1.2mm
3rd week: Development of embryo by folding of entocyst disc. Special stage the three-chambered ovum in dorsal, ventral, and preventral blastem fluid (ovum with entocyst), ca. 1.6 mm.
4thweek: Appearance of the embryo, with head, neck, and beginning closure of ventral; abdomina wall. Formation of the large organ systems brain spinal cord, and nerves, skeleton, musculature and viscera (heart with atria and ventricles, liver with two lobes). Characteristic development of metamerism up to the formation of (about) the 28th pair of somites.
2ndMonth: Formation of umbilical cord. Skeleton still cartilagenous to a large extent commencing ossification. Early development of almost all definitive organs. First reflex movements of mimic muscles.
3rdMonth: First fetal development. Characteristic large skull and already longish face and slender extremities.
4th-10th: Lunar Months: Late intrauterine development until birth. New born, Ca 34 cm .
These details are valuable to physicians. However they will serve as terms of reference to which the Quranic verses on reproduction are to be compared! On this topic I also refers the reader to "The Developing Human (1983) by Prof. Dr. Keith L.Moore, a reference of Embryology, which includes valuable Islamic addition by Abdulmajeed Azzindani

HUMAN REPRODUCTION IN THE QURAN
Dr. Bucaille, as a physician and a surgeon, observed that in fact there arestliV many translations and commentaries in circulation today which give a completely false idea of the Quranic verses on the subject to the scientist who reads them. The majority of translations describe, for exampie, man's formation from a "bloodclot" or an "adhesion". A statement of this kind is totally unacceptable to sciputists specialized in this field. In the paragranh dealing with the implantation of the ovum in the maternal uterus, we shall see the reason why distinguished Arabists who lack a scientific background have made such blunders in their commentaries. This implies how essential an association between grasping the meaning of the Quranic statements on reproduction.
The Quran sets out by stressing the successive transformations the embryo undergoes before reaching its destination in the maternal uterus. Gad Most High says:
"O Men! What has produced thee from thy Lord Most beneficent? Him who created thee, fashioned thee in due proportion, and gave thee a just bias. In whatever, from He wills does He put thee together."
(82 : 6-8)
Actually, God not only created man, but also fashioned him in due proportions, giving him extraordinary capacities, and the means wherewith he can fulfil his high destiny. God raised man's rank above that of other creatures because He Most High breathed into man His spirit. We recall here the creation of man (Adam) in the foflowing Quranic verse:
"Behold ! thy Lord said to the angeLs:
"I am about to creat man, from sounding clay (changing, foul-smelling black mud). When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him My Spirit, fall Ye down in obeisance unto him".
(15 : 28-29)
Thus God gave man a superioiity over other Creation !
In the beautiful passages of the Quran, God's creative work, as far as man is concerned, is recapitulated, in order to show man's real position in this life, and the certainty of the future on the Day of Judgment
God the Exalted says in the Quran
"What is the matter with you, that ye do not respect & glorify God, Seeing that He has created you in diverse stages? .........................
And God has produced you from the earth growing(gradually). And in the end He will return you into the earth And raise you forth ( again at the Resurrection)?"
(71: 13, 14 & 17, 18)
This passage hints at physical and spiritual stages of man's creation.
In addition to these general verses, the Quran draws our attention to several physical stages concerning human reproduction which might be listed as follows:
1. Fertilization is performed by a very small volume of liquid. (Sperm)
2. The constituents of the fertilizing liquid. {sperm}.
3. The implantation of the fertilized ovum.
4. The evolution of the embryo.

1. FERTILIZATION ON BY A VERY SMALL VOLUME OF LIQUID
The glorious Quran repeats this concept many times using the following expression.

"God created man from a smaal quantity "nutfa" (of sperm).
(16: 4)
In Arabic, 'the word "nutfa" means a small quantity of liquid. Here, it has been translated to "small quantity of sperm
"Was (man) not a small quantity of sperm (mani) which has been poured out?"
(75: 37)
Here the Arabic word "mani" signifies sperm.

Another verse indicates that the small quantity in question is put in a "firmly established lodging (qarar) which, obviously means the genital organs

"When we placed (man) as a small quantity (of
sperm) in a safe Lodging (qarar) firmly established"
(23:713)
This indicates the growth of the fertilized ovum in the uterus where the embryo is protected like a king in his Castle:
it is firmly fixed enjoying the protection of the mother's body on which it depends for its own growth until birth.

To conclude, hundreds of years before the invention of the microscope, the Quran stated very clearly that only a very small quantity (nutfa) of sperm (mani) is needed for the fertilization of the ovule. Prophet Muhammad emphasized this fact through his famous words 'Hadith"

"Not from all the fluid is the offspring created"
2. THE CONSTITUENTS OF THE FERTILIZING LIQUID
The Quran gives different denotations to the liquid causing fertilization;
a) "Sperm". as has been stated in (75 : 37)
b) "A liquid poured out"
"Man was created from a liquid poured out"
(86: 6)
c) "A trivial liquid" (mahin)
"Have We not created you from a trivial liquid ?"
(77: 20)
d) "Mixtures" or "mingled liquids" (amshaj)
"Verily, We created man. from a small quantity of mingled liquids in order to try him So We gave him (the gifts) of Hearing and sight"
(76:2)
Many commentators like Professor Hamidullah and Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Consider these mingled liquids to be the male and female agents since the female ovum has to be fertilized, modern science has recently proved that the spermatic liquid is formed by various secretions of the following glands
a) The testicles the secretion of the male genital gland contains spermatozoon. i.e. elongated cells with a long flagellum ; they are bathed in a sero-fluid liquid.
b) The seminal vesicles: these organs are placed near the prostate gland they also secrete their own liquid but it Does not contain any fertilizing agents.
c) The prostate gland: this secretes a liquid which gives the sperm its creamy texture and characteristic odour.
d) The glands annexed- to the urinary tract : Cooper's or Miry's glands secrete a stringly liquid and Littre's glands give off mucous.
These are the origins of, the "mingled liquids" which the previous Quranic verse may refer to.
However there is, more to be said on this subject. When the Holy Quran talks of a fertilizing liquid composed of different components, it also informs us that man's progeny will be maintained by something which may be extracted from this liquid! Let us contemplate the following Quranic sign:
"God began the creation of man with (nothing more
Than) mud (clay) and made his progency from a quintessence( Sulala) of a trivial liquid"
(32: 7-8)
Man is asked to contemplate his own humble beginning. His material body (apart from life is a peace of earth, which is another term for primeval matter. Then comes life and the reproduction of life. We are still looking at the purely physical aspect. Consider the Arabic word, translated here by the word 'Quintessence" "Sulala" which signifies "something which is extracted, the issue of something else, the best part of a thing" in whatever way it is translated, it refers to a part of a whole
From medical point of view, the Fertilization of the ovum and reproduction are produced by a sperm that is very elongated its dimensions are measured in 'ten thousandths of a millimeter! It is estimated that in one cubic centimeter of sperm there are 25 million spermatozoon with, under normal conditions ,an ejaculation of several cubic centimeters
Each ejaculation contains several tens of millions of spermatozoons. Only one single cell, among these millions produced by a man will, actually penetrate the ovum whereas a large number of them is left behind and never completes the journey
It is therefore an infinitesimally small part of a liquid whose composition is highly complex which actually fertilizes the ovum.
Consequently, it is difficult not to be struck by the accuracy of the Quran and by its agreement with the scientific knowledge we possess today.
3. THE IMPLANTATION OF THE ZYGOTE IN THE FEMALE GENITAL ORGANS
Once the ovum has been fertilized in the Fallopian tube it descends to lodge inside the uterus; this is called the "implantation of the zygote". In the Quran. the lodging of the fertilized ovum is called the womb as shown in the following verse in which God Most High says:
"And We cause whom We will to rest in the wombs for an appointed term"
The expression "whom We Will" means male or female fair or ugly, good or rebellious, etc. involving countless mysteries of genetics and heredity.
The expression "to rest in the wombs" includes the implantation of the zygote in the uterus (womb). This process is the result of the development of villosities, veritable elongations of the ovum, which like roots in the soil, draw nourishment from the thickness of the uterus necessary to the zygote's growth. These formations make it literally cling to the uterus.
The act of clinging is described five different 'times in the Quran
"Read !, in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher Who
created, - Created man, out of something which clings(alaq)
(96: 1-2)
"Something which clings" is the new translation of the Arabic word "alaq". It is the original meaning, of the word

A meaning derived from it, blood clot, often figures in the translation; it is a mistake against which one should guard. Man has never passed through the stage of being "a blood clot" The same is true for another translation of this term, "adhesion" which is equally inappropriate. The original sense of "something which clings" corresponds exactly to today's firmly established reality. Also the word "alaq" means in Arabic a Leech
This concept is recalled in four verses which describe successive transformations from the small quantity of sperm till the end of pregnancy.
- "We have fashioned you from something which clings (alaq)'
(22: 5)
- "We have fashioned the .small quantity (of sperm into something which clings (alaq)."
(23: 14)
- "God fashioned you from a small quantity (of sperm), from something which cling? (alaq)."
(40: 67)
- "Was (man) not a small quantity of sperm which has been poured out After that lie was something which clings (alaq) then God fashioned him in due proportion."
(75: 37-38)
The organ which harbours the pregnancy is qualified in the Quran by a word which, as we have seen, is still used in Arabic to signify the uterus. In some suras (Quranic chapters), it is called a "lodging firmly established" or a "place of rent firmly fixed" as in the following verses
"Have We not created you from a trivial fluid,
which We placed in a place of rest firmly fixed."
"Then we placed him as a small quantity of sperm) in a lodging firmly established."
(23: 13)
Actually the silent growth in the mother's womb, and the protection and sustenance which the growing life receives from the life of the mother, are themselves wonders of creation Another verse which requires extremely delicate interpretation is the following:
"(God) fashions you inside the wombs of your mothers in stages, one after another (formation after; formation), in three veils of darkness."
(39:6)
Modern interpreters of the Quran see in this verse
Three anatomical layers that protect the infant gestation: the abdominal wall, the uterus itself, and The surroundings of the foetus (Placenta, embryonic membranes, amniotic fluid). The interpretation is not disputable from an anatomical point of view. Abdullah Yusuf All in his translation of the Quran gave similar interpretation for the three veils of darkness, yet he adds that we might understand "three" in a cumulative rather than a numerical sense because "three" is the least order of plurality ! Note here also the three chambered ovum in the third week of the previous Blechschmidt embroynic callender.
4.EVOLUTION OF THE EMBRYO INSIDE THE UTERUS
The Quranic description of certain stages in the development of the embryo corresponds exactly to what we know today about it, and the Quran does not contain a single statement that is open to the criticism of modern science.
After "the thing which clings' like the leech-called alaq (an expression which is well founded, as we have seen) the Quran informs us that the embryo passes through the stage of "chewed flesh", then osseous tissues appear and are clad in flesh:
'We! fashioned the thing when- clings (alaqa) into a chewed Lump of flesh and we fashioned the chewed flesh into bones and We clothed the bone with intact flesh."
(23: 14)
"Chewed flesh" is the translation of the word 'mudga'; whereas intact flesh is the translation of the word "lahm". This distinction needs to be stressed. The embryo is initially a small mass. At a certain stage in its development, it looks to the naked eye like chewed flesh The bone structure develops inside this mass in what is called the mesenchyma. The bones that are formed are covered in muscles to which the word lahm applies. Let us now contemplate the meaning of the Arabic word "mukhallaq" which signifies "shaped in proportion" as used in the following Quranic sign:
"We fashioned into something which clings into a chewed lump of flesh in proportion and out of proportion."
(22: 5)
Referring to Blechschmidt's embryonic callender given before, we can observe the development through a lump of flesh in proportion and out of proportion
The Quran also describes the appearance of the senses and the viscerae
"And He (God) fashion him in due proportion, and Breathed into him something of His spirit. And He gave you (the faculties) hearing, sight and viscerae.
(32: 9)
"Viscerae" is the translation of the word "Afeida" which is translated by other commentators as "feeling or understanding" note here that hearing is mentioned before sight. Moreover this stage is that of distinctive Man, into whom God's spirit is breathed . Thus man rises higher than animals, but little thanks does he give to God, the Creator