Fingerprints
بصمة الأصابع
Verse reference
بَلَىٰ قَادِرِينَ عَلَىٰ أَن نُّسَوِّيَ بَنَانَهُالقيامة 4
Interpretive reading
The Quranic verse is sometimes read as pointing to the distinctive nature of the fingertips; this is an interpretive reading that notes fingerprints were not recognized as a unique means of identification until the 19th century.
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Related readings
Stages of Embryo Development
وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ مِن سُلَالَةٍ مِّن طِينٍ * ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَاهُ نُطْفَةً فِي قَرَارٍ مَّكِينٍ * ثُمَّ خَلَقْنَا النُّطْفَةَ عَلَقَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْعَلَقَةَ مُضْغَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْمُضْغَةَ عِظَامًا فَكَسَوْنَا الْعِظَامَ لَحْمًا
The stages: nutfah → ’alaqah (a leech‑like clot that attaches to the uterine wall) → mudghah (a chewed‑like lump) → bones → clothed with flesh. This sequence is sometimes read as corresponding to modern embryology; this is an interpretive reading.
مراحل تكوين الجنينThe Embryo in Three Darknesses
يَخْلُقُكُمْ فِي بُطُونِ أُمَّهَاتِكُمْ خَلْقًا مِّن بَعْدِ خَلْقٍ فِي ظُلُمَاتٍ ثَلَاثٍ
The "three darknesses" in the Quran are sometimes read as the abdominal wall, the uterine wall, and the placenta (chorion). This interpretive reading was recognized through modern embryology.
الجنين في ثلاث ظلماتDetermining fetal sex from semen
أَلَمْ يَكُ نُطْفَةً مِّن مَّنِيٍّ يُمْنَىٰ * ثُمَّ كَانَ عَلَقَةً فَخَلَقَ فَسَوَّىٰ * فَجَعَلَ مِنْهُ الزَّوْجَيْنِ الذَّكَرَ وَالْأُنثَىٰ
Sex is determined by the sperm (carrying X or Y chromosomes), not by the egg; this conclusion is supported by evidence from modern genomics.
تحديد جنس الجنين من المني