Sample Header Ad - 728x90

Reconciliation between islamic sources in embryonic development

0 votes
1 answer
49 views
Bukhari 2645a says that after 42 nights bones and flesh are created. In 23:14, the Quran says the blood clot and lump of flesh stage are before the bones stage. This would mean that the blood clot and lump of flesh stage are before 42 days. Bukhari 3332 says: “Every one of you is collected in the womb of his mother for the first forty days, and then he becomes a clot for another forty days, and then a piece of flesh for another forty days.” إِنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ يُجْمَعُ فِي بَطْنِ أُمِّهِ أَرْبَعِينَ يَوْمًا، ثُمَّ يَكُونُ عَلَقَةً مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ، ثُمَّ يَكُونُ مُضْغَةً مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ، The translation makes it seem like the piece of flesh stage is between 80 and 120 days, seemingly contradicting the previous conclusion. However, the translation is apparently not entirely literal, as it says ‘40 days’ three times while “أَرْبَعِينَ يَوْمًا،” only appears in the hadith once. Instead, there are the words ‘مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ’. On pages 525-526 in a Quran Dictionary (https://archive.org/details/dictionary-2018/page/526/mode/1up?q=Same&view=theater) one of the meanings of مِثْلَ is “the same as”. ذَلِكَ means “that”. Therefore it would mean “the same as that [period]”. This alternative translation would read: “Every one of you is collected in the womb of his mother for the first forty days, and then he becomes a clot in the same as that [period], and then a piece of flesh in the same as that [period]” As I am not proficient in Arabic, I cannot be certain that this is a valid translation. Is this a valid translation or is there a different explanation for this problem?
Asked by Mikael Noori (1 rep)
Mar 29, 2025, 11:06 PM
Last activity: Jun 22, 2025, 08:30 PM