Qur'an and Embryology

History is a witness to persecutions of scientists by the medieval Church and the consequent branding of all religions to be anti-science. This is however not the case with Islam. For Islam is that religion which emphasises on the need to acquire knowledge form the 'Cradle to the grave'. The Prophet of Islam considered the ink of an scholar more precious than the blood of a martyr. he did not discriminate between men and women in this regard and said, "Acquisition of knowledge if compulsory for every believing man and every believing woman. Although the number of literate people in the whole of Arabia at the dawn of Islam could be counted on the fingers of one's hands, the succeeding decades witnessed an enormous upsurge in sceintific development and learning. so much so that the Muslim intellectuals and scientists surpassed even the ancient Romans and Greeks. Modern science owes everything to the knowledge that they obtained from the Muslims.Moreover, Jabin bin Hayyan the father of Chemistry as he is known, was from among one of the students of Imam Sadiq(a.s.), the 5th generation of Holy prophet(s.a.w.s.).But how is it possible for a person brought up in a nomad environment of the 7th century Arabia, to mention things unheard of at that time. Some understood by the world only when science entered its infancy. It was not for nothing that the Prophet (s.a.) said: "I am the city of Knowledge."His message was supposed to last till the day of the judgement. His teachings had to stand the test of time and hence in addition to the above words: "I am the city of Knowledge."He said, "And Ali is its gate."So, this discussion is followed by an extract from the saying of lmam Ja'far as-Sadiq (a.s.) the great-grandson of Ali ibne Abi Talib (a.s.). The saying is famous as Hadith-e-Mufazzal and the part that we have quoted is regarding the development of the human embryo. When we read the words of Imam, we find them in absolute consonance with the Qur'an. Moreover they are in the language of a common man easily understood by all.Scientific Accuracy of Qur'an Amazes University of Toronto ProfessorDr. Keith Moore of the University of Toronto was amazed to find that many modern discoveries in the field of embryology must have been known to the author of the Qur'an, for these facts are either hinted at or stated explicitly in the Qur'an. This is particularly significant because the Qur'an claims to be the verbatim word of God. How could these continue......................