Hey guys,
Last weekend I was, as usual because of my critical attitude towards the Holy Words, bombarded with the repetitive cliché miracles by my father, so I decided to take my time and line up my arguments against this nonsense.
Below you can read the mail I sent him last night. What do you think?
Are the debunking arguments correct, and do you have more to add?
Greets
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Hello,
http://www.islamicmedicine.org/embryoengtext.htmThis website explains how an embryo develops according to the Quran.
The most important verses are Sura 24, verse 12 to 14
"Verily We created man from a product of wet earth; (12) Then placed him as a drop (of seed) in a safe lodging; (13) Then fashioned We the drop a clot, then fashioned We the clot a little lump, then fashioned We the little lump bones, then clothed the bones with flesh, and then produced it as another creation. So blessed be Allah, the Best of creators! (14)"
The stages are, according to the website:
1) Nutfa: sperm/drop, which starts to grow to an Alaqa from approx day 15 till day 23
2) Alaqa: which translates to formless clot, becomes mudgah from day 24 till day 26
3) Mudgah: this grows till the end of the 6th week (day 42). The heart starts beating from week 5.
4) Bones: in a few days (end of the 6th week) these grow and form a skeleton in the embryo
5) Muscles: after the skeleton is formed, the muscles form around the bones (day 48 and further)
Criticism1) The stages are (vague as they are) in line with modern embryology, except for the last 2 stages. On the website it says that we used to think bones and muscles were formed somewhat simultaneously, but recent microscopic research has shown that the skeleton is formed first, and only after it's formed the muscles grow around it.
"Until very recently, embryologists assumed that the bones and muscles in an embryo developed at the same time. For this reason, for a long time, some people claimed that these verses conflicted with science. Yet, advanced microscopic research conducted by virtue of new technological developments has revealed that the revelation of the Quran is word for word correct. 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 the verses. 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"
However, the author gives NO reference to support last statement. I've searched the internet to find a definitive answer to the question if the skeleton is indeed formed first, but couldn't find any right away. What I did find is that bones and muscles are derived from the same layer, the Mesoderm layer (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesoderm). This COULD indicate that a simultaneous growth is possible, but I can't say for sure.
An assignment for you then: find me scientific proof that the skeleton is formed first, and only after this the muscles grow; and that the growth doesn't happen simultaneously.
2) When you scroll all the way down the first linked page, you'll see references, but those are just the usual references to the same Islamic propaganda: the so called scientist who proved the Quran is scientifically accurate. I have 2 remarks about this.
First, the references date from the 80's and 90's.
Second, all those scientist were at the same conference in Saudi Arabia, they are not independent scientists. Is it crazy to think they were paid by the Saudi's to say the things they said? If you search a bit, you'll find that they didn't convert to Islam. Why not, if they believe the Quran is the word of God?
For example: Keith Moore, so called scientist who claims the Quran is indeed the word of Allah, see
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhJYxI2dlGQMy reaction to this can be summarized in the next video, made by a guy who researched a bit about Dr. Moore, see
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mCaMnCGmAU3) On the website explaining Quranic embryology, the author quotes from Sahih Muslim, which says that after about 42 days the embryo is formed, which more or less is in line with science. However, what the author doesn't quote is the next one from Sahih Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 55, Number 549 (
http://www.quranenglish.com/hadith/Sahih_Bukhari/055.htm):
"Allah's Apostle, the true and truly inspired said, "(as regards your creation), every one of you is collected in the womb of his mother for the first forty days, and then he becomes a clot for an other forty days, and then a piece of flesh for an other forty days."
This contradicts with both Sahih Muslim, the statements in the Quran and science, as the embryo is only formed after three times 40 days.
4) As I said earlier today, the stages mentioned in the Quran were known long before Muhammad dictated them. To compare the stages as described by the Greek centuries before, visit this site:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/15730963/Embryology-Myths-in-the-Koran#People need to learn to research and think. There is nothing unreligious about this, this is just critical thinking.
Greets
Topic: Debunking embryology to my father