The Qur’an on Human Embryonic Development:

In the Holy Qur’an, God speaks about the stages of man’s
embryonic development:
We created man from an extract of clay.
Then We made him as a drop in a place of
settlement, firmly fixed. Then We made the
drop into an alaqah (leech, suspended thing,
and blood clot), thenWemade the alaqah into
a mudghah (chewed substance)... 1 (Qur’an,
23:12-14)
Literally, the Arabic word alaqah has three meanings:
(1) leech, (2) suspended thing, and (3) blood clot.
In comparing a leech to an embryo in the alaqah stage, we find
similarity between the two,2 as we can see in figure 1. Also, the
embryo at this stage obtains nourishment from the blood of the
mother, similar to the leech, which feeds on the blood of others.3
The second meaning of the word alaqah is “suspended thing.”
This is what we can see in figures 2 and 3, the suspension of the
embryo, during the alaqah stage, in the womb of the mother.
Chapter 1
Some Evidence for the Truth of Islam
A) The Qur’an on Human Embryonic Development
A Brief Illustrated Guide To Understanding Islam
6
(1) Please note that what is between these special brackets ... in this
book is only a translation of the meaning of the Qur’an. It is not the
Qur’an itself, which is in Arabic.
(2) The Developing Human, Moore and Persaud, 5th ed., p. 8.
(3) Human Development as Described in the Qur’an and Sunnah,
Moore and others, p. 36.