Thereafter...

Thereafter, We made him as mixed drops of the male and female fluids and lodged him in a safe lodging (womb of the mother). Then We made the mixed drops into a clot (a piece of thick coagulated blood). Then We made the clot into a little lump of flesh. Then We made out of that little lump of flesh bones. Then We clothed the bones with flesh. And then We brought it forth as another creation.

So blessed be Allah, the best of creators." (23:12-14) A careful comparison of this verse with the actual details of embryological development will reveal no contradictions. The creation of life, the earth, and the universe is also described in a way that parallels modern scientific theory: "Do not those who disbelieve know that the heavens and the earth were joined together as one united piece, then We parted them? And We have made from water every living thing. Will they then not believe?

And We have placed on the earth firm mountains, lest it should shake with them, and We placed therein broad highways for them to pass through that they may be guided, and We have made the heaven a roof, safe, and well-guarded. Yet they turn away from its signs.

And He it is Who has created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon, each in an orbit floating" (21:30-33) Human beings are asked to ponder the creation of the universe and consider their role therein: Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day there are indeed signs for men of understanding - those who remember Allah always, standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and think deeply about the creation of the heavens and the earth, saying, "O Lord!

You have not created all this without purpose! Glory be to You! Give us salvation from the torment of the fire." (3:190) Are you more difficult to create or the heavens above?

(79:27) Many of the chapters are named after cosmological objects such as "The Star"[^1] and "The Sun",[^2] the latter of which begins: By the sun and its brightness, and by the moon as it follows it, and by the day as it shows up in the sun's brightness, and by the night as it conceals it, and by the heavens and Him who built it, and by the earth and Him who spread it....

Although the people of the Prophet's time knew nothing about the lifetimes or mechanisms of the sun and stars, the Qur'an refers to the fact that stars exist for a fixed period of time: And the sun runs on its fixed course for a term appointed.