Amal Al-Sibai

Saudi Gazette

 

The human body and all of its intricate functions running perfectly every second of our lives is a miracle in itself and is testimony to the infinite greatness of our Creator.



The human heart beats without fail 60 to 100 beats per minute. They eye blinks an average of 10 times per minute to moisturize they eye and protect it from irritants. Each day the kidneys filter 50 gallons of blood.



These are mere examples of the amazing workings of the human body that go on without any conscious awareness or effort on our part.



Years back in one of my college courses at De Anza in California, I met a Muslim student in my class majoring in “Tawheed; monotheism.”



Recognizing the puzzled look on my face – after all, I doubted tawheed was being taught at De Anza College in California – he explained, “I am actually majoring in human biology. Every cell, tissue, and organ is a lesson in tawheed that points to the oneness of Allah and that He alone could have created the human body.”



I carried the words of this insightful student with me wherever I went. Whether I was in awe at the flawless circulatory system of the human body, or the beauty of the Pacific Ocean, or the splendor of the Rocky Mountains, I humbly uttered, ‘Glory be to Allah.’



Islam is not a religion that clashes with science; rather it encourages scientific exploration and discovery. The Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him foretold facts about the human body that were way ahead of his time but proven right centuries later.



Aisha Bint Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with her, narrated that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Everyone has been created with three hundred and sixty joints. Whoever mentions Allah’s greatness (says Allahu Akbar), praises Allah, extols Allah, and seeks forgiveness from Allah and removes stones from the path of people, enjoins what is good and forbids evil to the amount of those three hundred and sixty joints, he walks on the Day of Judgment having distanced himself from Hellfire.”



It is remarkable that the Prophet accurately mentioned the number of the body’s joints so precisely, at a time when the determination of such measurements of human anatomy would not have been possible, unless revealed to him by God.



According to a 2010 report by a team of orthopaedic surgeons at Minneapolis Orthopaedics Clinic, there are 206 bones, 360 joints, and 640 muscles in the adult human body.  



The hadeeth reminds Muslims to be grateful to Allah for each one of these joints, offer charitable acts, and express gratitude for these great blessings. A defect in only one joint in the body can cause discomfort and pain.



On other occasions, the Prophet Muhammad, peace beupon him, spoke of mysteries of the human body that were not fully understood until recent advances in medical technology. A Canadian scientist confirmed the truth and correctness of this Hadith:



As recorded in Imam Muslim’s book, Hudhayfa narrated that the Prophet said, “The sperm-and-ovum drop falls into the uterus [and remains] for forty nights, after which the angel in charge of fashioning it descends upon it and says, ‘Lord, male or female?’ Then Allah makes it male or female.”



Dr. Keith L. Moore, a professor and researcher of human anatomy and embryology at the University of Toronto was intrigued by the sayings of the Prophet, peace beupon him, and the verses in the Holy Qur’an on embryology. He conducted several studies to test the validity of these scientific claims.



He studied the initial stages of the embryo under a powerful microscope in his laboratory with constant supervision. In the early stages of development, the gonads of the embryo are identical, whether it will become a boy or girl. Dr. Moore found that a crucial chromosomal event, which determines whether the embryo will be male or female, occurs in the second half of the sixth week of gestation, the exact same timeframe the Prophet had mentioned: after 40 days.



Dr. Moore had no hesitation in accepting that the Prophet’s words were true and that the Qur’an was a divine revelation from God. He studied this verse in the Holy Qur’an:



“He makes you in the wombs of your mothers in stages, one after another, in three veils of darkness.” (Qur’an 36:6)



The scientific discussion that the human embryo develops in stages was not made until the 15th century. And only after the microscope was discovered in the 17th century did scientists begin to describe the embryonic stages.

“The three veils of darkness refer to: (1) the anterior abdominal wall; (2) the uterine wall; and (3) the amniotic sac,” wrote Dr. Moore in his article in The Journal of the Islamic Medical Association.



In a speech to Muslim students at the University of Illinois in Chicago, Dr. Moore said, “I was raised in a Christian family and I was taught to respect all religions. I do believe that Muhammad was a Messenger of God just as Jesus was a Messenger; each bringing Messages from God. With my scientific discoveries and knowledge, maybe it is now my mission to tell people around the world that what is recorded in the Qur’an regarding embryology is accurate. I have not converted to Islam but some of my colleagues did. We are all worshipping One and the same God and I like to think that if we can work together we will have a much happier world.”