Creation of Man

Biological Stages of Human Creation

In the previous chapter we have examined the seven chemical stages of human creation in the light of Qur’ān and modern science. These seven stages are inorganic matter, water, clay, adsorbable clay, old physically and chemically altered mud, dried or highly purified clay and extract of purified clay. The holy Qur’ān narrated these chemical stages fourteen centuries ago which modern science has recently known after the research of many centuries. This is really a miraculous quality of the Qur’ān. Now in this chapter we will study the biological stages of human creation.


Biochemistry

Biochemistry is a branch of both chemistry and biology which deals with the study of substances found in living organisms and of the chemical reactions underlying life processes. The prefix ‘bio’ is taken from the Greek word ‘bios’ which means life. The basic purpose of biochemistry is to know the structure and behaviour of biomolecules. These are the carbon containing compounds that make up the various parts of the living cell and carry out the chemical reactions that enable it to grow, maintain and reproduce itself and use and store energy.


A large number of biomolecules are present in the cell. The structure of every biomolecule determines in what chemical reactions it is able to participate and hence what role it plays in the cell’s life processes. The most important classes of biomolecules are nucleic acids, proteins, carbohydrates and liquids.


Nucleic Acids

The responsibility of nucleic acids is to store and transfer genetic information. They are enormous molecules made up of long strands of subunits, called bases, that are arranged in a particular sequence. These are ‘read’ by other components of the cell and used as a guide in making proteins.


Proteins

Proteins are large molecules built up of small subunits called amino acids. Using only 20 different amino acids, a cell constructs thousand of different proteins, each of which has a highly specialized role in the cell. The proteins of greatest interest to biomolecules are the enzymes, which are the ‘worker’ molecules of the cell. These enzymes serve as promoters, or catalysts of chemical reactions.


Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are the basic molecules of the cell. They contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen in approximately equal amounts. Green plants and some bacteria use a process known as photosynthesis to make simple carbohydrates (sugar) from carbon dioxide, water and sunlight. Animals, however, obtain their carbohydrates from foods. Once a cell possesses carbohydrates, it may break them down to yield chemical energy or use them as raw material to produce other biomolecules.


Liquids

Liquids are fatly substances that play different roles in the cell. Some are held in storage for use as high-energy fuel; other serve as essential components of the cell membrane.


Many other types of biomolecules are also present in cells. These compounds perform such diverse duties as transporting energy from one location in the cell to another, harnessing the energy of sunlight to drive chemical reactions, and serving as helper molecules for enzyme action. All these biomolecules, and the cell itself, are in a state of constant change. In fact, a cell cannot maintain its health unless it is continually forming and breaking down proteins, carbohydrates and liquids; repairing damaged nucleic acids and using and storing energy. These active energy-linked processes of change are collectively called metabolism. One major cum of biochemistry is to understand metabolism well enough to predict and control changes that occur in cells. Biochemical studies have yielded such benefits as treatments for many metabolic diseases, antibiotics to combat bacteria and method to boost industrial and agricultural productivity. These advances have been argumented in recent years by the use of genetic engineering techniques.


The Beginning of Embryonic Development

These biochemical processes, catabolism and metabolism form the bases of all biological growth of human organism in its various developmental stages. They keep the system going and generate the requisite material that is consumed in the whole biological process which we now attempt to focus.


Until recently it was not known that the Qur’ān or traditions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW) contained many citations referring to the stages of human development. Any such statements which were known were not clearly understood since they referred to details in human development which were scientifically unknown.


Only with the discovery of the microscope, along with man’s modern knowledge of anatomy, was the science of embryology able to be developed. Ancient views about embryology can be traced to a brief Sanskrit document that describes some aspects of embryology. However these were inaccurate and not detailed. In the fourth century (B.C) Aristotle too studied chick’s embryo and is often called the Father of Embryology. Yet he too held an erroneous idea that the embryo was a nutritive soul with all bodily parts. Similarly in the fifth century (B.C) Hypocrites made some recorded studies of the human embryo but again without great detail. Indeed any detailed research would have been impossible without the advent of the microscope.


Seminal Fluid

Modern science tells us that the beginning of human creation is by the fertilization of a female ovum with the male spermatozoa resulting in the formation of a zygote. While reminding human beings of their humble origin and benevolence and power of their Creator, Allāh the Highest has narrated this process at several places in the Qur’ān. Some of these are:


Was not he a cell from semen which was introduced. (or gushed forth)?[1]


So let man think from what he is created. He is created from a gushing fluid that is issued from between sacrum and symphisis pubis.[2]


Then he made his seed (or progeny) from a despised fluid.[3]


Indeed we created man from a mixed or mingled fluid.[4]


Arabic words like many other languages often carry more than one meaning of a single word. For instance the Arabic word ‘salat’ has 60 meanings. Here the Arabic word ‘nutfa’ is translated as fluid. At another place ‘nutfa’ means ‘cell’ or ‘seminal fluid’.


Anatomical and physiological studies reveal to us that semen is a prerequisite for conception. A male gamete or sperm (spermatozoon) unites with a female gamete or oocyte (ovum) to form a single cell called a zygote. Moreover the seminal passages do indeed lie between the sacrum referred to as sulb in the Qurā’nic verse and the symphisis pubis referred to as tarā’ib. Yet it was only in 1677 that scientists Hamm and Leeiwenhoek first observed human spermatozoa using an early microscope. However they held the mistaken belief that the sperm contained a miniature human being which enlarged when it was deposited in the female genital tract.


The constituents of the fertilized liquid have also been referred to in the Qur’ān. The Arabic word amshāj is used to refer to mixed fluids or mingled fluids. Indeed the spermatic liquid is excreted from four different glands’ the testicles, the seminal vesicles, the prostrate gland and the glands of the urinary tract (Cowper’s gland or Liters glands).


Motility

A further verse of the Qur’ān, indicates how the seminal fluid gushes out and the need for it to be motile.


Let man but think from what he is created. He is created from a drop emitted.[5]


The grammatical analysis of the Arabic verb al-muddafiq means to emit or gush forth


Modern science has now determined that in order for fertilization to occur, the spermatozoa must be mobile and active . It is thought that prostaglandins present in the semen stimulate uterine motility at the time of intercourse assisting in sperm movement. It has now also been ascertained that the female discharge which contains the ovum is expelled into the fallopian tube and must be moving within it for fertilization to occur.


Necessity of Gametes

In 1759 the scientist Spallanzi evinced how both the sperm and ovum were necessary in order for fertilization to take place. However this had already been divinely revealed by Prophet Muhammad (SWA) in a Hadith attributed to him.


When the Prophet (SAW) was asked by a Jewish person, O Muhammad what is man created from? The Prophet (SAW) answered, O Jew he is created from both the fluid of the man and fluid of the women.[6]


During the fertile phase of a woman in her menstrual cycle, the civical maces which is otherwise fairly impervious to sperm, becomes clear and gel-like through a realignment of its molecules and allows the sperm to pass. Enzymes secreted by the linings of the uterus (endometrium) and the oviducts remove glycoproterins from the head of the sperm and capacitate it. Unless they have been capacitated, sperm are unable to fertilize the ova. In addition enzymes secreted by the oviducts loosen the follicular cells surrounding the ovum, thereby exposing its protective membrane to the sperm. It is thus apparent that Arabic Term ‘nutfa’ used in the hadith is a very comprehensive one.


Fertilization

The first phase of fertilization occurs with the passage of the sperm through the female reproductive tract. Once one sperm passes through what is known as the zona pellucida, a reaction takes place (Zona reaction) making it impossible for other sperms to penetrate this membrane. Therefore out of millions of sperms that are released into the uterus, only one will fuse with a female oocyte (mature ovum). So in human, Monospermy is the answer and Polyspermy is impossible because of (SWA) Zona Reaction (b) Vitelline Reaction. This is aptly described in the following verse of Qur’ān:


(God) fashioned man from a small quantity (of sperm).[7]


Nutfa is the Arabic word used here. Although there is no exact equivalent word in English, it is used to denote a small quantity or what is left when something dribbles or trickles down. The small quantity or nutfa is known to refer to sperm since it is mentioned in another Qur’ānic verse:


Was man not a small quantity of sperm which has been poured out?[8]


For further clarification see figures # 4.1 and 4.2


In this context the Qur’ān further states:


(God) made His progeny from the quintessence of lowly fluid[9]


Here the Arabic word of sulālah, quintessence in English, means to extract or emit or something that is part of a whole. This too is in line with modern knowledge as both the ovum and sperm are gently extracted from their environments in the process of fertilization.


The ovum is observed to be extracted in a long stream of follicular fluid and is fertilized by one sperm out of millions which is drawn out from the seminal fluid.


A Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) clarifies this further:
Not from all the fluid is the offspring created.[10]


This theme is continued in a further verse of the Holy Qur’ān and a Hadith of Prophet Muahmmad (SAW):


Allāh knows what every female womb bears and what is penetrating into the womb or decreasing and what is increasing.[11]


No one knows the future of what is decreasing or penetrating into the womb except Allāh.[12]


“Decreasing” in the two references above can be seen to refer to the decrease in germinal materials at the time of fertilization. One sperm out of millions ejaculated into the cervical canal will meet one ova from among the thousands of ova available in the ovaries. The sperm then “penetrates” (as mentioned in the above verse) the zona pellucida of the womb (mature ovum) causing a reaction to take place preventing any other sperm from entering. This reaction is called as Zona Reaction.


It is interesting to note that it has been mentioned that only “Allāh knows” what a woman will bear, a male or female child. In an era of modern technological advancements, when the minutest of things can now be observed, those with little knowledge of embryology would perhaps scorn such an idea of unknown knowledge. This is especially so since sexual determination of the embryo takes place at fertilization when the sperm can be observed through a microscope travelling up the female tract. If an X chromosome bearing sperm fertilizes the ovum then that normally results in a female. If a Y chromosome bearing sperm fertilizes the ovum then that normally results in a male embryo. However the morphological characteristics of the male and female only begin to develop at the seventh week. Prior to this the indifferent gonads (testes and ovaries) are observed to be identical and not distinguishable. Indeed only Allāh knows what a woman bears! This phase of gonadal development is called as indifferent phase.

Process of Cellular Division (Cleavage or Segmentation)

An important Qur’ānic principle of the biological evolution of man is that it began from a single cell. This is clearly stated at several places in the Qur’ān:


O Mankind be careful of your duty to your Lord Who created you from a single cell.[13]


And He is the One Who has produced you from a single cell.[14]


And He created you from one cell.[15]


Your creation and your resurrection are only as the creation and raising from a single cell.[16]


In modern terminology this single cell is called a fertilized ovum or zygote. This single cell works as a complete unit which can develop and evolve into a future person. The concept of a zygote being a compound cell is clearly mentioned in the following verse of Qur’ān.


Indeed We created man from a mixed cell. Then we make him hearing and seeing.[17]


This verse also reflects the beauty of Allāh’s providence, that he created all the potentialities of a fully grown up person with auditory, visual and comprehending faculties.


Once the sperm and oocyte fuse to form the zygote a process of cellular divsion takes place known as “cleavage of the zygote”. Repeated mitotic divisions of the zygote increase the number of cells into two, then four, eight and so on, eventually forming what is known as a balstocyst. (Moore 1993). In this respect the Qur’ān beautifully demonstrated the process of cellular division in the following verses.


O mankind be careful of your duty to your Lord Who created from a single cell and then created another one from it to make it a pair and then from those created multitudes of men & women.[18]


The fact that through mitotic division of the zygote only a few number of cells take part in the formation to the embryo (Azzindani 1982) is aptly described in the following verse:


He created him from a part of “Nutfah” and then immediately programmed him (his future).[19]


Formation of the Embryo

Structure of the Uterus

Through the process of cellular division and cleavage the zygote first forms into small cells called blastomeres, subsequently converting into blastocystes. The blastocyst embeds itself and becomes implanted in the endomentrium of the uterus. It is interesting to note here the structure of the uterus itself.
Keith Moore,[20] in his brief description of the uterus states that the uterus is a thick walled organ consisting of three layers:
  1. a very thin outer serosa or perimetrium;
  2. a thick smooth muscle layer or myometrium;
  3. a thin inner layer or endometrium.

Once again the Qur’ān already eloquently describes these features in the following verse:


He makes you in the wombs of your mothers in stages one after the other in 3 veils of darkness. This is Allāh - Your Lord. For Him is the sovereignty, so no one except Him is worth- worshipping, so why do you turn away?[21]


For further clarification see figure # 4.3


Implantation of the Egg in the Uterus

As mentioned earlier the blastocyst is implanted into the uterus. This is described as a place of rest “qarārim makīn” in the Qur’ān:


And then we placed him in a secure place (womb of mother) in the form of a zygote.[22]


Once implanted the egg increases in size by further cellular division and proliferates its roots in the walls of the uterus. The roots draw nourishment from the uterus as circulation of the maternal blood supply begins. This process has also been likened to the sowing of seeds in the Qur’ān:


Your wives are as a tilth unto you so approach your tilth when or how you will.[23]


Azzindani[24] traces this metaphor to Abu Hayyan (654-754 A.D.) He explained that the coitus is like ploughing, the sperm is similar to the seed, the uterus is like the soil and the child is like the plant.[25]


Formation of Germ Layers

Around three weeks after fertilization, rapid development of the conceptuous begins with the formation of germ layers, called the primitive streak.[26] Additional cells become added to the primitive streak lengthening its form from an egg shape to a pear shape. The Qur’ān calls this stage "‘alaqah" in several places:


Read with the name of your Lord, the one who created man from "Alaqah".[27]


And then we placed him in a secure place (womb of mother) in the form of a zygote and then we fixed him like a hanging nest (in the uterus).[28]


‘Alaqah has been translated as something that clings[29] or something which attaches like a hanging nest to something or a leech or blood sucker. In fact both descriptions are extremely appropriate for a 7-24 day old human embryo. At this stage it does look like a leech, somewhat hanging.


Just as a leech derives blood from the host, the human embryo derives blood from the decidua of the pregnant uterus. Through the process of diffusion maternal blood is obtained through the yolk sac. See figures # 4.4 to 4.8


Development of Somites

Towards the end of the 3rd week proceeding into the 5th week, cubodial bodies appear on the embryonic mesoderm resembling blocks. The term “mudghah” has been used to describe this stage in the Qur’ān:


Then we fashioned him a chewed lump. Then out of chewed lump we made bones and clothed the bones with muscles.[30]


The term mudghah means a chewed lump, and is used to describe the irregular surface of the embryo containing Somites.


The somites number 44 pairs at the end of the 5th week and resemble teeth marks. These teeth marks are the beginning of the vertebrae. See figures 4.9 to 4.11

Development of Human Bones,
Tissues and Body Form

Formation of Bones and Muscles:

The Qur’ānic verse cited earlier continues to describe the formation of bones and muscles. Two different Arabic words are used to describe the word flesh. The first is Mughdah, as explained earlier. The second word is “lahm” meaning intact flesh. Maurice Bucaille explains this distinction stating that the bone structure develops inside the chewed substance called mesencheyma. The bones that are later formed are covered, but this time with “Lahm”, intact flesh.[31] In fact this can also be seen as referring to the muscular system.


The Somites then give rise to most of the axial skeleton, namely the bones of the head, neck and trunk as well as associated musculature.[32]


This entire process is in exact accord with the Qur’ān:
And indeed we created man from elements of dust. Then we put him in a secure place in the form of a cell. Then we made him a being like a hanging nest fixed (in the wall of the uterus). Then we fashioned him a chewed lump. Then out of chewed lump we made bones and clothed bones with muscles. Then gradually out of it, We developed another creation. So blessed is your Lord who is the best of the creators.[33]


Azzindani[34] illustrates how the Qur’ān also describes the mudghah to consist of differentiated and undifferentiated components:


Then out of chewed like substance partly differentiated and partly undifferentiated.[35]


It is indeed true that although the analgae of all organs have formed, their function has yet to appear. The organs are thus partly differentiated and partly undifferentiated.


Embryonic development: Weeks 4-6

By the fourth week the embryo is almost straight. Upper limb buds become recognizable day 26 or 27 and the primordia of the internal ears are also clearly visible. The future lenses of the eyes, called lens placodes are also visible on the sides of the head.[36] From 33-36 days the head plates and the nasal pits are prominent. By 40 days the footplates are formed and some pigment is visible in the retina.[37] In an authentic tradition of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), called a Hadith, matches this sequence of events. It states that the embryo has moved from the hanging stage of “Alaqah” to a more substantial substance of “Mudghah” (somites):


In everyone of you all components of your creator are gathered together by 40 days and in that is “Alaqah” like that, then it is “Mudghah” like that.[38]


Embryonic Development: Weeks 6-8

These rapid developments whereby the embryo begins to take on more human like characteristics are indicated in Surah al-Muminūn. Here once the bones are covered with “Lahm” - intact flesh, the Qur’ān states”


Then gradually out of it We developed another creature. So Beneficent is your Lord who is the best of the Creators.[39]


Azzindani[40] notes how the verb ansha’ translated initially as “developed” carries two meanings’ to initiate and to cause to develop. At 12 weeks the nails of the fetus are growing on the fingers and toes and hair is present on the skin, hence the word initiate is used. Further developments take place gradually in the growth of the body and limbs themselves. The verb “ansha’a” thus has a comprehensive application. In other Hadith of the Holy Prophet (SAW), it is narrated”


When 42 nights have passed over the Nutfah, Allāh sends an Angel to it, who shapes it and makes its ears, eyes, skin, flesh, and bones. Then he says, “Oh Lord is it male or female?” And your Lord decides what he wishes and then the angel records it.[41]


It is interesting to note that the Angels ask Allāh “is it male or female?” Although the gender of the embryo is determined at fertilization the morphological characteristics of the male and female only begin to develop at the 7th week and visible at 9 weeks. The query noted by the Angels matches modern day observations. For further clarification see figures 4.16 to 4.18


Development of the Fetus and Birth

Viability of the Fetus


According to embryological studies if a fetus is born after 26 weeks it can survive given intensive care. At this stage the lungs have developed enough to be capable of breathing air. The nervous system has also developed enough to regulate breathing and control the body temperature.[42] In this regard the Qur’ān states:


His mother bore him with difficulty and then delivered him with pains and duration of pregnancy and weaning him off is (approximately) 30 months.[43]


His separation is at the end of two years.[44]


Mothers shall breast feed their offspring for two whole years, for those who want to complete the breast feeding.[45]


These verses give the total time of pregnancy and weaning as 32 months. Two years is prescribed specifically for breast-feeding. This leaves a remaining six months as the duration given for pregnancy. At face value this would seem in contradiction with the normal term of nine months attributed to pregnancy. However the six months indicated does in fact correspond with the viability of a fetus, since a fetus of 26 weeks can survive if born (Moore and Persuade 1993). Hence the Ayah’s above accurately reflect this fact.


Parturition-Childbirth

The expected delivery date usually occurs around 38 weeks after fertilization takes place. Normally the vagina and cervix of a woman is very small and. unable to allow passage of a 38- week fetus through its canals. However, God being merciful states in the Qur’ān:


Then we made the passage (through the birth canal) easy.[46]


Modern embryological knowledge confirms this. The uterus of a pregnant woman increases in size to accommodate the growing fetus. It increases in height and its walls become thinner. Then uterine contractions release several hormones initiating labor and indeed making the passage smoother and easier.


Miscellaneous aspects of Human Creation

I would like to present here a few more aspects of human creation, some of which are beyond the scope of pure sciences like embryology. Moreover these are presented to draw attention to the providence and benevolence of our Creator. This latter motive is of course, the objective of our treatise and that of the Qur’ān.


Divine Providence & Beautiful Order in Human Creation (Man’s Formation)

We clearly witness innumerable, tangible and intangible evidences of Allāh’s providence at every step of human development. Every stage is a reflection of a beautiful order and management. For different intra-uterine states and functions a clear discipline and duration is maintained. All the requirements of each and every stage are automatically fulfilled. The human body is prepared fully with all its requirements ready to meet the conditions and needs and achieve the objectives of later life. Not only are all these developmental stages nurtured properly but they are also fully protected in the womb of the mother. The Quran describes 4 aspects of human creation:


  1. Creation
  2. Determining measures
  3. Arrangement
  4. Guidance
Praise the name of your Allāh, the highest, Who created and then arranged it in proper order. And He ordained an estimate (of all his potentialities and needs and then guided him.)[47]


Takhlīq (creation) and Tasviah (arrangement)

This has been discussed in detail from the stages of zygote to khalq ākhar a new creation. Every stage has a time-table during which certain developments take place and then it passes on to the next stage. Again refer to Al-Ana’am 6: 98, where in it is stated:


And He is your lord Who creates you from a single cell and lets you stay for a fixed time in a temporary station and then you pass on to the next station (like a trust) and thus Allāh describes His verses for people of understanding.[48]


In this verse, words mustaqar and mastoda are worth pondering. ‘Mustaqar’ means to stay temporarily at one station. ‘mastoda’ means to pass on to the next station. The first step in human creation is the meeting of father’s sperm with the mothers ovum. An amazing phenomenon of the Creator’s system is observed here, that as soon as the ovum is fertilized by the first sperm then the rest of approximately 400 million sperms, present in an average person’s ejaculation, are prevented to meet this ovum by a barrier. This fertilized zygote, after passing through different creative stages, described earlier gets human resemblance at 6-8 weeks of age. Then with the development of muscules, skeletal system and nervous system, the creative state is completed and he is given a shape as Allāh likes. Thus transformation from khalq to tasviah is decided by Allāh, the Highest.


And We cause whom We will to rest in the wombs for an appointed term.[49]


It is also a well-known embryological fact that many embryos abort during the first month of development and that only 30% of zygotes develop into fetuses that survive until birth. As the above verse states, it is not conclusive that all embryos will survive, Instead Allāh the Almighty decides who “will rest in the wombs for a fix term”.


Taqdīr (determining measures)

This tasviah (arrangement) and later tasvīr (personification) and then the appearance of specific feature characteristic and individualities are also determined by the principle of taqdīr by Almighty Allāh. The Qur’ān declares:
It is He Who created all things and ordered them in due proportions.[50]


Allāh has created the essence of a human being in a single cell, which is verified by the science of genetics. Modern research has shown that the characteristics and potentialities of all the human beings are written on the molecules of DNA present in the genes of a father’s sperm and mother’s ovum like a precoded computer programme. These genes determine or estimate the existence, appearance, size, functions, duration of development and its completion etc. Another reference to this system of creation & estimation is hereby mentioned.


From what stuff Allāh has created him? Out of a semen drop! He created him and determined his measure (regarding genes and sex). Then (after structuring, developing and completing it) facilitates for him the passage (of delivery from the mother’s womb). Then causes him to die, next (stows him) into a grave. Then whenever He may wish, He will (resurrecting) raise them up again.[51]


Manifestation of Providence during Pregnancy

While the embryo and fetus are passing through different stages, Allāh’s system of sustenance is fulfilling all its needs. A little reflection only in the following four requirements or arrangements demonstrates the benevolence of such a perfect and all-powerful system of Allāh, that incites thinking of every rational person:
  1. (Taghziah) Nutrition
  2. (Hifazah) Security or protection
  3. (Harakah) Movements
  4. (Takayyuf Hararah) Temperature Control
The development of fetal and placental circulation not only ensures adequate nutrition and supply of oxygen but also helps excretion of fetal wastes. Similarly, the position and covering of the fetus not only protects the fetus well, but also allows its necessary movements. Additionally both of these systems maintain the required temperature for the developing human being.


When the fetus develops to the point that it can live out of the mother’s womb, it is transferred out by the birth process. Now his dietary needs change and the providence of Allāh has rearranged for that in the form of mother’s milk. The whole process of human prenatal development is given in a sequence in the following table.


The gist of the discussion is that the Holy Qur’ān is the supreme source of knowledge which embraces all human and cosmic phenomena. It furnishes us not only a cogent and elaborate explanation of man’s inner propulsions and outer compulsions, but also provides us deep insight into the subtle operations of the universe, broadening both our vision and perspective. The Qur’ān blazed the torch of inductive method, trumpeted so enthusiastically by the present-day scientist, and pulled man out of the mist of abstract speculation into the light of reasoning based on observation and experimentation. In this sense, it possesses a conceptual as well as a practical dimension.


The Qur’ān offers a simple explanation of the creation of man. It gives us a black-and-white presentation, and steers clear of the gray zones which are a distinctive feature of the modern philosophical outlook. Modern philosophy, both secular and materialist, operates in a vacuum of uncertainty and fuzziness. As a result, the present-day philosophers are not only confused in themselves but also tend to confuse others. Instead of providing us with clear-cut explanations of the origin of life, they are stuck up in the grooves of logical hair-splitting and spurious reasoning. The essential mystery of life eludes them and they resemble butter-fingered fielders who drop catch after catch and eventually not only suffer from personal frustration but also lead their entire team to a crushing fiasco. The Holy Qur’ān, through its cut-glass message and its lucid packaging, challenges “the heap of broken images” they have piled up in support of their philosophies and interpretations. The Qur’ānic concept of divine unity makes its message effective and authentic by relating the diversity of phenomena to the unitary soured of creation. It is this belief in the unity and indivisibility of the creator that dispels all doubts and dubious human engagements, and shows the light of hope and optimism to the modern man who is caught in the web of his own specious inventions. The Qur’ānic message is the message of hope in an aura of hopelessness; it is a message of clarity about the creation of man which lies wrapped in the folds of misinterpretation and over-elaboration, stacked up by our “one-story” scholars and intellectuals who flaunt confusion as a virtue and arrogance as a blessing.







1. Qur’ān (al-Qīyāmah) 75:37.
2. Qur’ān (at-Tāriq) 86:5-7.
3. Qur’ān (as-Sijdah) 32:8.
4. Qur’ān (ad-Dahar) 76:2.
5. Qur’ān (at-Tāriq) 86:5-6.
6. Ahmad bin Hambal, al-Musnad, 1:465.
7. Qur’ān (an-Nahal) 16:4.
8. Qur’ān (al-Qiyamah) 75:37.
9. Qur’ān (as-Sajdah) 32:8.
10. Muslim, as-Sahīh, b. of nikāh (2:1063#133).
11. Qur’ān (ar-Ra‘ad) 13:8.
12. Bukhāri, as-Sahīh, b. of tafsīr, (4:1733#4420).
13. Qur’ān (an-Nisā’) 4:1.
14. Qur’ān (al-An‘ām) 6:98.
15. Qur’ān (az-Zumar) 39:6.
16. Qur’ān (Luqmān) 31:28.
17. Qur’ān (ad-Dahar) 76:2.
18. Qur’ān (an-Nisā’) 4:1.
19. Qur’ān (‘Abasa) 80:19.
20. The Developing Human; Moore and Persuad- 5th Edition: p-20
21. Qur’ān (az-Zumar) 39:6.
22. Qur’ān (al-Mominūn) 23:13.
23. Qur’ān (al-Baqarah) 2:223.
24. The Developing Human With Islamic Additions;’Azzindani 1983, p-40a
25. ibid p-40a
26. Moore and Persaud, 1993
27. Qur’ān (al-‘Alaq) 96:1-2.
28. Qur’ān (al-Mominūn) 23:13-14.
29. The Bible, The Qur’ān and Science; Bucaille p-204
30. Qur’ān (al-Mominūn) 23:14.
31. ibid p-205
32. Moore and Persaud, 1993 p-63
33. Qur’ān (al-Mominūn) 23:12-14.
34. ibid p-80a
35. Qur’ān (al-Haj) 22:5.
36. Moore and Persaud, 1993 p-77
37. ibid p-78
38. Muslim, as-Sahīh, b. of qadar (4:2036#1).
39. Qur’ān (al-Mominūn) 23:14.
40. ibid p-94a
41. Muslim, as-Sahīh, b. of qadar (4:2037#3).
42. Moore and Persaud, 1993 p-96
43. Qur’ān (al-Ahqāf) 46:15.
44. Qur’ān (Luqmān) 31:14.
45. Qur’ān (al-Baqarah) 2:233.
46. Qur’ān (‘Abasa) 80:20.
47. Qur’ān (al-A‘lā) 87:1-3.
48. Qur’ān (al-An‘ām) 6:98.
49. Qur’ān (al-Haj) 22:5.
50. Qur’ān (al-Furqān) 25:2.
51. Qur’ān (‘Abasa) 80:18-22.

Copyrights © 2024 Minhaj-ul-Quran International. All rights reserved