THE ‘ALAQ’ CLINING TO THE UTERUS

1. BASED ON THE WORKS OF HARUN YAHYA WWW.HARUNYAHAY.COM INCLUDING: WWW.ISLAM-GUIDE.COM and others
PREPARED BY fereidoun.dejahang@ntlworld.com
Dr F.Dejahang, BSc CEng, BSc (Hons) Construction Mgmt, MSc, MCIOB, .MCMI, PhD

2. The Holy
Qur'an is the
Word of Allah

3. Recite: In the name of your
Lord Who created man
from alaq. Recite: And
your Lord is the Most
Generous. (Qur'an, 96:1-3)

4. THE ‘ALAQ’
CLININGTO
THE UTERUS
• THE ‘ALAQ’ CLININGTOTHE
UTERUS-In the first phase of
its development, the baby in
the mother's womb is in the
form of a zygote, which clings
to the uterus in order to take
nourishment from the
mother's blood.

5. Zygote

6. Zygote -looks like a piece of flesh
This formation, which has been
discovered by modern embryology, was
miraculously stated in the Holy Qur'an 14
centuries ago with the word "alaq,"
which means "a thing that clings to some
place" and is used to describe leeches
that cling to a body to suck blood.

7. THE ‘ALAQ’
CLININGTO
THE UTERUS
• If we continue to examine
the facts announced to us in
the Holy Qur'an, about the
formation of human beings,
we again encounter some
very important scientific
truth.

8. THE ‘ALAQ’
CLININGTOTHE
UTERUS
• When the sperm of the
male unites with the
ovum of the female,
the essence of the baby
to be born is formed.

9. This can only be seen with
the aid of a microscope.
This single cell, known as a "zygote" in
biology, will instantly begin reproducing by
dividing, and eventually become a "piece of
flesh," called an embryo.

10.  The embryo does not spend its
developmental period in a void.
 It clings to the uterus, with something
like roots that is firmly fixed to the earth
by its tendrils.
 Through this bond, the embryo can
obtain the substances essential to its
development from the mother's body.85

11.  Here, an important miracle of
the Holy Qur'an is revealed.
 While referring to the embryo
developing in the mother's
womb, Mighty Allah uses the
word "alaq“ (ٍ‫ق‬َ‫ل‬َ‫)ع‬ in the Holy
Qur'an:

12. ‫اقرأٍباسمٍربكٍالذيٍخلق‬
ٍَ‫ق‬َ‫ل‬َ‫خ‬ٍ‫ي‬ِ‫ذ‬َّ‫ٍَال‬‫ك‬ِ‫ب‬َ‫ر‬ٍِ‫م‬ ْ‫اس‬ِ‫ب‬ٍْ‫أ‬َ‫ر‬ْ‫اق‬
{ٍ‫اقرأ‬}ٍ‫أوجدٍالقراءةٍمبتدئا‬{ٍ‫باسمٍربكٍالذيٍخلق‬}‫الخالئق‬.
Sahih International
Recite in the name of your Lord who created .
Shakir
Read in the name of your LordWho created.
ٍ‫بخوانٍبهٍنامٍپروردگارتٍکه‬(‫جهانٍرا‬)،‫آفرید‬
‫بسمٍهللاٍالرحمنٍالرحيم‬

13. ٍ‫خلقٍاإلنسانٍمنٍعلق‬
ٍ‫ق‬َ‫ل‬َ‫ع‬ٍ ْ‫ن‬ِ‫م‬ٍَ‫ان‬ َ‫نس‬ِ ْ‫ٍاإل‬َ‫ق‬َ‫ل‬َ‫خ‬
{ٍ‫خلقٍاإلنسان‬}ٍ‫الجنس‬{ٍ‫منٍعلق‬}ٍ‫جمعٍعلقةٍوهيٍالقطعة‬
‫اليسيرةٍمنٍالدمٍالغليظ‬.
Sahih International
Created man from a clinging substance.
Shakir
He created man from a clot.
‫ٍایٍخلقٍکرد‬‫ه‬‫همانٍکسٍکهٍانسانٍراٍازٍخونٍبست‬!

14. ٍ‫اقرأٍوربكٍاألكرم‬
ٍُ‫م‬َ‫ر‬ْ‫ك‬َ ْ‫ٍَاأل‬‫ك‬ُّ‫ب‬َ‫ر‬َ‫و‬ٍْ‫أ‬َ‫ر‬ْ‫اق‬
{ٍ‫اقرأ‬}ٍ‫تأكيدٍلألول‬{ٍ‫وربكٍاألكرم‬}‫الذيٍالٍيوازيهٍكريم،ٍحال‬
‫منٍالضميرٍاقرأ‬.
Sahih International
Recite, and your Lord is the most Generous -
Shakir
Read and your Lord is Most Honorable
ٍ‫بخوانٍکهٍپروردگارت‬(‫ازٍهمه‬)،‫بزرگوارترٍاست‬

15.  Recite, bring recitation into existence, beginning
with: In the Name of your Lord Who created, all
creatures;
 created man (al-insān: the generic) from a clinging
substance ). (‘alaq is the plural of ‘alaqa, which is a
clinging substance ).
 Recite: (reiterating the first one) and your Lord is
the Most Generous, having no counterpart in terms
of His generosity (wa-rabbuka’l-akram is a
circumstantial qualifier referring to the subject [of
the verb] iqra’, ‘recite’),

16. The word is literally used to describe leeches
that cling to a body to suck blood.
The meaning of the word ٍ‫ق‬َ‫ل‬َ‫ع‬ "alaq" in
Arabic is "a thing that clings to some place."

17.  The use of such a specific word
for the embryo developing in the
mother's womb, proves once
again that the Holy Qur'an is the
Word of Allah, the Lord of all the
Worlds.

18.  Another important item of information
provided in the verses of the Holy Qur'an
is the developmental stages of a human
being in the mother's womb.
 It is stated in these verses that in the
mother's womb, the bones develop
first, and then the muscles form which
wrap around them.

20. Sahih International
And certainly didWe create man from an extract of
clay.
Shakir
And certainlyWe created man of an extract of clay,
Farsi
ٍ‫لٍآفریدیم؛‬ِ‫گ‬ٍ‫ٍایٍاز‬‫ه‬‫وٍماٍانسانٍراٍازٍعصار‬

21. Surat Al-Mu'minūn (The Believers) - ‫سورة‬
‫المؤمنون‬

22. Sahih International
ThenWe placed him as a sperm-drop in a firm lodging.
Shakir
ThenWe made him a small seed in a firm resting-place,
Farsi
ٍ‫ٍایٍدرٍقرارگاهٍمطمئن‬‫ه‬‫سپسٍاوٍراٍنطف‬=[ٍ‫م‬‫رح‬]ٍ‫قرار‬
ٍ‫دادیم؛‬
Surat Al-Mu'minūn (The Believers) -
‫المؤمنون‬ ‫سورة‬

23. Literally, the Arabic word
alaqah has three
meanings:
(1) leech
(2) suspended thing
(3) blood clot.

26. blood clot

27. 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.

30. [We] then formed the drop into a
clot and formed the clot into a lump
and formed the lump into bones
and clothed the bones in flesh; and
then brought him into being as
another creature. Blessed be Allah,
the Best of Creators! (Qur'an, 23:14)

31. Surat Al-Mu'minūn (The Believers) - ‫سورة‬
‫المؤمنون‬

32. Sahih International
ThenWe made the sperm-drop into a clinging clot, andWe
made the clot into a lump [of flesh], andWe made [from] the
lump, bones, andWe covered the bones with flesh; thenWe
developed him into another creation. So blessed is Allah , the
best of creators.
Shakir
ThenWe made the seed a clot, then We made the clot a lump
of flesh, then We made (in) the lump of flesh bones, then We
clothed the bones with flesh, then We caused it to grow into
another creation, so blessed be Allah, the best of the creators.
23:14
Surat Al-Mu'minūn (The Believers) -
‫المؤمنون‬ ‫سورة‬

33. Farsi
ٍ‫سپسٍنطفهٍراٍبصورتٍعلقه‬=[ٍ‫خون‬
ٍ‫ه‬‫بست‬]ٍ‫،ٍوٍعلقهٍراٍبصورتٍمضغه‬=[‫چيزی‬
ٍ‫ه‬‫شبيهٍگوشتٍجویدهٍشد‬]ٍ‫،ٍوٍمضغهٍرا‬
ٍ‫بصورتٍاستخوانهاییٍدرآوردیم؛ٍوٍبر‬
‫استخوانهاٍگوشتٍپوشاندیم؛ٍسپسٍآنٍر‬ٍ‫ا‬
ٍ‫ٍایٍدادیم؛ٍپسٍبزرگٍاست‬‫ه‬‫آفرینشٍتاز‬
‫خداییٍکهٍبهترینٍآفرینندگانٍاست‬!
Surat Al-Mu'minūn (The Believers) - ‫سورة‬
‫المؤمنون‬
23:14

34. • Embryology is the
branch of science that
studies the
development of the
embryo in the
mother's womb.

35. Until very recently,
embryologists assumed
that the bones and muscles
in an embryo developed at
the same time.

36. Yet, advanced microscopic
research conducted by virtue of
new technological
developments has revealed that
the revelation of the Qur'an is
word for word correct.

37. These observations at the
microscopic level showed
that the development inside
the mother's womb takes
place in just the way it is
described in Holy Qur’an.

38. First, the cartilage tissue of the
embryo ossifies.
Then, muscular cells that are
selected from amongst the tissue
around the bones come together
and wrap around the bones.

39. This event is described
in a scientific
publication titled
Developing Human in
the following words:

40. … [T]he shape of the skeleton
determines the general
appearance of the embryo in the
bones stage during the 7th week;
muscles do not develop at the
same time but their
development follows soon after.

41. The muscles take their positions
around the bones throughout the
body and therefore clothe the bones.
Thus, the muscles take their well
known forms and structures…The
stage of clothing with muscle occurs
during the 8th week…86

42. The bones of the
baby completing its
development in the
mother's womb are
clothed with flesh
during one
particular stage
exactly as stated in
the Qur’an.

43. In short, developmental
stages of man, as described
in the Holy Qur'an, are in
perfect harmony with the
findings of modern
embryology.

46. Many stages of a baby's
development in the mother's
womb are related in the Qur'an.
As described in Surat al-
Muminun 14, the cartilage of the
embryo in the mother's womb
ossifies first.

47. Then these bones are covered
with muscle cells.
Allah describes this development
with the verse: "… [We then]
formed the lump into bones and
clothed the bones in flesh."

48. Three Dark
Stages of the
Baby in the
Womb
As Allah
revealed to us
1400 years ago
in Holy Qur’ an
In the Holy
Qur'an, it is
related that man
is created
through a three-
stage process in
the mother's
womb.
Three Dark Stages

49. ... He creates you stage by
stage in your mothers' wombs
in threefold darkness.That is
Allah, your Lord. Sovereignty is
His.There is no god but Him.
So what has made you deviate?
(Qur'an, 39:6)

51. Sahih International
He created you from one soul.Then He made from it its mate, and
He produced for you from the grazing livestock eight mates. He
creates you in the wombs of your mothers, creation after creation,
within three darknesses.That is Allah , your Lord; to Him belongs
dominion.There is no deity except Him, so how are you averted?
Shakir
He has created you from a single being, then made its mate of the
same (kind), and He has made for you eight of the cattle in pairs.
He creates you in the wombs of your mothers-- a creation after a
creation-- in triple darkness; that is Allah your Lord, His is the
kingdom; there is no god but He; whence are you then turned
away?

52. ٍ‫اوٍشماٍراٍازٍیکٍنفسٍآفرید،ٍوٍهمسرشٍراٍاز‬
(‫ل‬ِ‫گ‬ٍ‫باقيمانده‬)ٍ‫اوٍخلقٍکرد؛ٍوٍبرایٍشما‬
ٍ‫هشتٍزوجٍازٍچهارپایانٍایجادٍکرد؛ٍاوٍشماٍراٍدر‬
‫شکمٍمادرانتانٍآفرینشیٍبعدٍازٍآفرینشٍدی‬ٍ،‫گر‬
‫ٍبخشد‬‫ی‬‫درٍميانٍتاریکيهایٍسهٍگانه،ٍم‬!‫این‬
ٍ‫استٍخداوند،ٍپروردگارٍشماٍکهٍحکومت‬(ٍ‫عالم‬
‫هستی‬)ٍ‫ازٍآنٍاوست؛ٍهيچٍمعبودیٍجزٍاو‬
ٍ‫نيست؛ٍپسٍچگونهٍازٍراهٍحقٍمنحرف‬
‫ٍشوید؟‬‫ی‬‫م‬!

53.  He created you from a single soul, namely, Adam, then made
from it its mate, Eve; and He sent down for you of the cattle,
[of] camels, cows, small cattle, sheep and goats, eight kinds,
of each kind a male and a female — as He makes clear in
sūrat al-An‘ām [Q. 6:143f.]. He creates you in your mothers’
wombs, creation after creation, that is to say, as a sperm-
drop, then a blood clot, then a foetus, in a threefold
darkness, that is, the darkness of the belly, that of the womb
and that of the placenta.That is God, your Lord.To Him
belongs [all] sovereignty.There is no god except Him.Why
then are you being turned away?, from worshipping Him to
worshipping [things] other than Him?

54. The expression "fee thulumatin
thalathin," translated into
English as "a threefold
darkness," indicates three dark
regions involved during the
development of the embryo.
These are:

55. The darkness
of the
abdomen
The darkness
of the womb
The darkness
of the
placenta

56. As we have seen, modern biology has
revealed that the embryological
development of the baby takes place in
the manner revealed in the verse, in
three dark regions.
Moreover, advances in the science of
embryology show that these regions
consist of three layers each.

57. The lateral abdominal wall
comprises three layers:
the external oblique, the
internal oblique, and
transverses abdominis
muscles.87

58. Similarly, the wall of the
womb also consists of
three layers: the
epimetrium, the
myometrium and the
endometrium.88

59. Similarly again, the placenta
surrounding the embryo also
consists of three layers:
the amnion (the internal
membrane around the fetus),
the chorion (the middle amnion
layer) and the decidua (outer
amnion layer.)89

60. It is also pointed out in
this verse that a human
being is created in the
mother's womb in
three distinct stages.

61. Modern biology has also
revealed that the baby's
embryological
development takes place
in three distinct regions in
the mother's womb.

62. Today, in all the embryology textbooks
studied in departments of medicine, this
subject is taken as an element of basic
knowledge.
For instance, in Basic Human Embryology,
a fundamental reference text in the field
of embryology, this fact is stated as
follows:

63. These phases refer to the different developmental
stages of a baby. In brief, the main characteristics of
these developmental stages are as follows:
The life in the uterus has three stages: pre-embryonic;
first two and a half weeks, embryonic; until the end of
the eight week, and fetal; from the eight week to
labor.90

64. Pre-embryonic Stage
In this first phase, the zygote grows by
division, and when it becomes a cell
cluster, it buries itself in the wall of the
uterus.
While they continue growing, the cells
organize themselves in three layers.

65. Embryonic Stage
The second phase lasts for five and
a half weeks, during which the
baby is referred to as an "embryo."
During this stage, the basic organs
and systems of the body start to
appear from the cell layers.

66. Foetal Stage
From this stage onward, the embryo is called a "foetus."
This phase begins at the eighth week of gestation, and
lasts until the moment of birth.
The distinctive characteristic of this stage is that the
foetus looks much like a human being, with its face,
hands and feet.
Although it is only 3 cm long initially, all of its organs have
become apparent.
This phase lasts for about 30 weeks, and development
continues until the week of delivery.

67. Information on the development in the
mother's womb became available only
after observations with modern
devices.
Yet, just like many other scientific facts,
in a miraculous way, Allah draws our
attention to these items of information
in the verses of the Qur'an.

68. Detailed and accurate information
was given in the Holy Qur'an at a
time when people had scarce
information on medical matters is
clear evidence that
The Holy Qur'an is theWord of
Allah.

70. In Surat az-Zumar 6, it is pointed out
that man is created in the mother's
womb in three distinct regions.
Modern embryology has revealed that
the baby's embryological
development takes place in three
distinct regions in the mother's womb.

71.  85. Keith L. Moore, et al., Human Development as Described in the
Qur'an and Sunnah (Makkah: Commission on Scientific Signs of the
Qur'an and Sunnah, 1992), 36.
86. Keith L. Moore, Developing Human, 3rd ed. (W. B. Saunders
Company: 1982), 364a.
87. http://anatomy.med.unsw.edu.au/cbl/embryo/Notes/git4.htm;
and www.yoursurgery.com/ProcedureDetails.cfm?BR=1&Proc=74.
88. http://virtual.yosemite.cc.ca.us/uyeshiros/AP50/Repro.htm.
89. Kazi, 130 Evident Miracles in the Qur'an, 84.
90.Williams P., Basic Human Embryology, 3rd ed., 1984, 64.
Dr F.Dejahang
BSc CEng, BSc (Hons)Construction Mgmt, MSc, MCIOB, PhD