Many are shocked to find out that Islam upholds traditional conservative family values. The children are taught to be respectful to Allah (God), to their parents and to elders. When a baby is born the first thing the parents will do is to make the call to prayer in it's ear: God is the Greatest, God is the Greatest, There is No God but Allah There is No God but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of God, Muhammad is the Messenger of God, Come to Prayer Come to Prayer, Come to Salvation Come to Salvation, God is the Greatest, God is the Greatest. What a wonderful thing that the very first words an infant hears is that there is a God-Allah, a Messenger-Muhammad, Prayer and a way to Salvation. This is imprinted on the mind of the infant rather then something that is foolishly and rashly spoken out.
The Creation of a Child According to the Qur’an
In several verses of the Noble Qur’an, Allāh (swt) has mentioned the creation and stages of transformation of the child. It is by observing this miracle that one inevitably desires to thank and revere Him, the best of Creators.
In Surat al-Mu’minūn, verses 12-14, He states:
} وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الإِِنْسَانَ مِنْ سُلاَلَةٍ مِّــنْ طِــينٍ ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَاهُ نُطْفَةً فِي قَرَارٍ مَّكِينٍ ثُمَّ خَلَقْنَا النُّطْفَةَ عَلَقَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْعَلَقَةَ مُضْغَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْمُضْغَةَ عِظَامًا فَكَسَوْنَا الْعِظَامَ لَحْماً ثُمَّ أَنشَأْنَاهُ خَلْقًا آخَرَ فَتَبَارَكَ اللٌّهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ {
“Certainly We created the human being from an extract of clay. Then We made him a drop of (seminal) fluid (lodged) in a secure abode. Then We created the drop of fluid as a clinging mass. Then We created the clinging mass as a fleshy tissue. Then We created the fleshy tissue as bones. Them We clothed the bones with flesh. Then We produced him as (yet) another creature. So blessed is Allāh (swt), the best of creators!”
In the verses above, Allāh (swt) mentions 7 stages of creation:
Stage 1: The human being initially starts off as clay; in other words, the inorganic constituents of the earth are absorbed into living matter by way of food.
Stage 2: Living matter reproduces itself by means of sperm; thus the human is then made into a seed (the seminal fluid), and placed in a firm resting place (the ovum of a mother).
Stage 3: The first change in the fertilised ovum is the conversion into a sort of clot of thickly congealed blood, or clinging mass.
Stage 4: The zygote cells grow by segmentation; then the mass gradually assumes shape in its growth as a foetus (a lump of fleshy tissue).
Stage 5: From this develops bones.
Stage 6: Flesh now grows on the bones, as do organs and a nervous system.
Stage 7: So far the development of an infant human is like that of an animal. However, a major step is now taken and the foetus becomes a complete human. This is the breathing of Allāh (swt)’s spirit into him. (This may not be at a specific time; rather it may be parallel to that of physical growth.)
On the subject of the creation of the foetus, it is narrated from the Prophet (s): “The seed in the womb of the mother (takes) 40 days to become a clot, then after 40 days it becomes a lump of flesh (foetus); when the child is 4 months old, by the command of Allāh (swt), 2 Angels give the foetus a spirit (rūh) and specify the sustenance (Rizq), period of living, deeds (A‘māl), prosperity and adversity of the child.”
It is perhaps for this reason that it has been suggested that especially after the 40th day of intercourse, one should be extra careful when preparing food. The food must be ritually clean and halāl as this will have an impact on the child.
Imām as-Sādiq (as) also described the process of creation as follows: “After the completion of the materials of the body, Allāh (swt) sends two Angels who have the duty of the creation of the child, and by the permission of Allāh (swt), they create the ears and eyes and all the inner and outer organs (limbs) of the body.”
In Imām Husain’s (as) Du’a of ‘Arafāt, he refers to the process of creation and attempts to count the blessings bestowed by Allāh (swt) in the following manner:
“You originated me by Your blessing before I was a thing remembered.
You created me from dust,
then gave me a place in the loins (of my fathers),
secure from the uncertainty of Fate and the vagaries of
the ages and the years.
I remained a traveller from loin to womb in a time
immemorial of past days
and bygone centuries.
In several verses of the Noble Qur’an, Allāh (swt) has mentioned the creation and stages of transformation of the child. It is by observing this miracle that one inevitably desires to thank and revere Him, the best of Creators.
In Surat al-Mu’minūn, verses 12-14, He states:
} وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الإِِنْسَانَ مِنْ سُلاَلَةٍ مِّــنْ طِــينٍ ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَاهُ نُطْفَةً فِي قَرَارٍ مَّكِينٍ ثُمَّ خَلَقْنَا النُّطْفَةَ عَلَقَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْعَلَقَةَ مُضْغَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْمُضْغَةَ عِظَامًا فَكَسَوْنَا الْعِظَامَ لَحْماً ثُمَّ أَنشَأْنَاهُ خَلْقًا آخَرَ فَتَبَارَكَ اللٌّهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ {
“Certainly We created the human being from an extract of clay. Then We made him a drop of (seminal) fluid (lodged) in a secure abode. Then We created the drop of fluid as a clinging mass. Then We created the clinging mass as a fleshy tissue. Then We created the fleshy tissue as bones. Them We clothed the bones with flesh. Then We produced him as (yet) another creature. So blessed is Allāh (swt), the best of creators!”
In the verses above, Allāh (swt) mentions 7 stages of creation:
Stage 1: The human being initially starts off as clay; in other words, the inorganic constituents of the earth are absorbed into living matter by way of food.
Stage 2: Living matter reproduces itself by means of sperm; thus the human is then made into a seed (the seminal fluid), and placed in a firm resting place (the ovum of a mother).
Stage 3: The first change in the fertilised ovum is the conversion into a sort of clot of thickly congealed blood, or clinging mass.
Stage 4: The zygote cells grow by segmentation; then the mass gradually assumes shape in its growth as a foetus (a lump of fleshy tissue).
Stage 5: From this develops bones.
Stage 6: Flesh now grows on the bones, as do organs and a nervous system.
Stage 7: So far the development of an infant human is like that of an animal. However, a major step is now taken and the foetus becomes a complete human. This is the breathing of Allāh (swt)’s spirit into him. (This may not be at a specific time; rather it may be parallel to that of physical growth.)
On the subject of the creation of the foetus, it is narrated from the Prophet (s): “The seed in the womb of the mother (takes) 40 days to become a clot, then after 40 days it becomes a lump of flesh (foetus); when the child is 4 months old, by the command of Allāh (swt), 2 Angels give the foetus a spirit (rūh) and specify the sustenance (Rizq), period of living, deeds (A‘māl), prosperity and adversity of the child.”
It is perhaps for this reason that it has been suggested that especially after the 40th day of intercourse, one should be extra careful when preparing food. The food must be ritually clean and halāl as this will have an impact on the child.
Imām as-Sādiq (as) also described the process of creation as follows: “After the completion of the materials of the body, Allāh (swt) sends two Angels who have the duty of the creation of the child, and by the permission of Allāh (swt), they create the ears and eyes and all the inner and outer organs (limbs) of the body.”
In Imām Husain’s (as) Du’a of ‘Arafāt, he refers to the process of creation and attempts to count the blessings bestowed by Allāh (swt) in the following manner:
“You originated me by Your blessing before I was a thing remembered.
You created me from dust,
then gave me a place in the loins (of my fathers),
secure from the uncertainty of Fate and the vagaries of
the ages and the years.
I remained a traveller from loin to womb in a time
immemorial of past days
and bygone centuries.
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