This article is the documentation of a conference given by Professor G.S.Gornger of embryology George Town University in America, and Representatives of the world wide organization of scientific miracles in the Quran in October 1987 held in Pakistan.

Over history scientists have researched the great science of embryology and you will find in this article a quick overview of it.
The history of embryology is divided mainly into 3 stages:

Stage 1

 The description stage:

-It dates back to 600 B.C and continued up until the beginning of the 19 century.
-This era documents notes about the evolution of the fetus and the explanation of this phenomena.
-Their have been ancient documents found such as:
a-The pharos believed that the placenta had magical powers, as you can see they mixed science with magic and this belief continued up until the ancient Greek era.
b-The ancient Greeks were the first people to combine science and logic together
The writings of Aristotle and Galen dominated the first part of this era.

What was believed at this time:

-It was believed by Aristotle that the fetus totally came from the “period blood” and this concept continued even until after the first microscope was used.
-Also it was believed that the human being was created all at once and it just grew bigger from then after.

What Muslims believed:

-The Muslims refused to believe these facts due to the fact that this was contradictory to what was stated in the holy Quran.
“Was he not a Nutfah (mixed male and female discharge of semen) poured forth?”
Quran: Surah Al-Qiama verse 37

-It is stated in the holy Quran that a human being is created in stages and not all at once.

“He created you (all) from a single person (Adam); then made from him his wife [Eve]. And He has sent down for you of cattle eight pairs (of the sheep, two, male and female; of the goats, two, male and female; of the oxen, two, male and female; and of the camels, two, male and female). He creates you in the wombs of your mothers, creation after creation in three veils of darkness, such is Allah your Lord. His is the kingdom, None has the right to be worshipped but He. How then are you turned away?”
Quran: Surah Al-Zomor verse 6

“What is the matter with you, [that you fear not Allah (His punishment), and] you hope not for reward (from Allah or you believe not in His Oneness).
While He has created you in (different) stages [i.e. first Nutfah, then 'Alaqah and then Mudghah”

Quran: Surah Nouh verse 12, 13
Note: We will explain the different stages mentioned in the Quran in future episodes.

The invention of the microscope:

-This device was invented in the 17th century and it led to two main events in this science:
a-The discovery of male sperm:
-This invention enabled Dutch researcher Anton van Leeuwenhoek to discover the male sperm which led him to believe that the human being was completely created inside the male sperm and started off very small and then grew bigger from then after.
-This concept was adopted by many scientists such as Hartsuiker and the image below is evidence of that. As you can see the microscope wasn’t efficient enough to show all the fine details of the male sperm so imagination had a significant role in what was believed.

Figure 1: This drawing was drawn by Hartsuiker year 1694 which illustrates a human completely created in the male’s sperm.
b-An argument between scientists:
Scientists were divided into two main teams:
1-The team who believed that the human being was completely created in the male’s sperm.
2- The team who believed that the human being was completely created in the female’s egg.

What Muslims believed:

They disagreed with both parties due to the fact that the holy Quran states very clearly that the human being is created both from the contribution of the male and the female.

“O humankind! We have created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honourable of you with Allah is that (believer) who is most pious. Verily, Allah is All-Knowing, All-Aware.”
Quran: Surah Al-Hogorat verse 13

Stage 2

 The experimental science stage:

-This stage starts from the end of the 19th century up until the 1940’s.
-This stage transferred this great science from just taking notes to actually intervening and curing living beings.
Famous Scientists in this era:
Theodore, Wilson, Bovary, Otto.

Stage 3

 Technology and modern equipment:

-This stage starts from the 1940’s and continues until present day.
-In This stage we have reached things which were at one time considered merely just dreams, here a few small examples of this huge development we have reached:

-The magnification and resolving power of microscopes have led to many discoveries.
Which allowed the microscope to find a number of different homes: Biology, palaeontology (the study of fossils), medicine, geology….etc.
An example of microscopic power is shown in the image below:

figure2 : a female egg being fertilized by male sperm

-After the 1950s the DNA helical structure was discovered by James D.Watson and Francis Crick which enabled the emergance of developmental biology wich is the study that correlates the genes and such morphological changes.

-The molecular biology revolution in the middle of the Twentieth Century provided the means to study the role of genes. The key technological advance for the study of gene control of development was the ability to isolate and clone genes. The roles that individual genes play in development could then be assessed directly. Much of the current research in developmental biology involves attempts to understand the cellular and intercellular events that signal the nucleus to express genes or initiate a sequence of gene expression. Among the most powerful techniques in the armament of contemporary biologists is the ability to introduce cloned genes into embryos and assess their effects on development. Another major advance has been the development of techniques to eliminate or "knock out" specific genes and determine the effects on development. These two techniques allow investigators to test directly the roles of specific genes during development.