Describing the change into another creation 

( in Arabic Nasha'a okhrah )

         At the end of the 8th week of gestation and the  beginning of the 9th week  , a new stage of the developing fetus occurs that is characterized by rapid growth and remarkable changes . Human characteristics starts to appear on the growing fetus and the bones are clothed by muscles and the skin  covers the fetus . By this time all definitive organs have been established and some of them have begun to function.  This phase has been mentioned in the Our'an : chapter 23 (Al-Mu'minun) ; verse 14 :  "Then We cause him to develop into another creation . "   i.e. cause him to grow and come into being and attain the definitive (human) form.

        The meaning of " We cause him to develop into another creation"  in Arabic words of Qura'n  is (ansha 'nahu)  which  is a derivative of the verb nasha'a   that have several meanings , of which : " initiate or begin " , this meaning  describes the initiation or beginning of  functioning of the various organs and systems. The second meaning , "Grow"  , that  indicates the rapid growth and the comprehensive development  undergone by  the various organs and systems during this period. The third meaning , "To rise and increase", this  describes the obvious increase in the fetal size and weight , which begins mainly  during the 12th week.

         Scientifically , the stage of development into another creation corresponds to the fetal period in modern embryology , that starts in the beginning of the 9th week and continues until the end of pregnancy . However , the full expression of all of  the meanings  of  ansha 'nahu   is delayed until the 12th week . The conjunction thumma, or "then," is used by Qura'n  in the verse before  ansha 'nahu   denote that the nash'ah  or development into another creation occurs gradually , somewhat delayed , after the stage of clothing the bones with lahm (muscles). This is in accordance with modern embryology , where the period between the beginning of the 9th week and the end of the 11th week is a period of relatively slow growth, and it is not until the 12th  week that the rapid growth begins , that  Qura'n  refers to as development into another creation. Moreover, the initiation of the development of certain organ systems occurs after the 8th week ( or after the lahm stage),  but the developmental changes in these organs become more apparent after  the 11th week.

The scientific features of the stage of development into another creation are as follows :

1.Development of organs and systems :

        This stage is characterized by the preparation of the various organs and systems to perform their functions . This is meaning understood by the interpreters of the Qura'n of this verse : development of  embryo into a creature capable of speaking, hearing and seeing . The developmental landmark that indicates the beginning of this stage is  ending  of the lahm stage (clothing the bones with flesh or muscles) .

2.Blowing the spirit (soul) into the fetus :

          Despite no definite text that refers to the time of  blowing the spirit into the fetus , statements of  Qura'n and Sunnah indicate that the spirit is acquired during this period.  This indicates that the embryonic life prior to this period  is of a different nature. Muslim scholars have  have considered  the embryo before this stage to be similar to the life of plants, since they are alive but have no soul. The time for the acquisition of a soul has not been determined in embryological studies. Moreover , understanding the nature of the soul is generally beyond the realm of experimental science and is not known up to this time to mankind. As God says in the Qura'n : chapter 17 (Al-Isra) ; verse 85 : "They ask you concerning the Spirit. Say: 'The Spirit is one of the commands of my Lord ; of knowledge it is only a little that is communicated to you (0 men)!” , however , there is a difference between life and soul , despite the vagueness of the knowledge about them , the existence of a soul indicates self-awareness. On the other hand, the sperm and ovum are alive, similar to the vegetative life referred to by the commentators of Qura'n , and without this life they would be unable to participate in fertilization.

3.Modifications of body proportions and acquisition of personal image :

        These processes occur as mentioned in the following verse of Qura'n : chapter 82 (Al-Infitar) ; verses 7 & 8 : "...Who (God) created you , then fashioned  you, then proportioned you.(7) In whatever form  He pleased, He put you together. (8) " , to understand the meaning of these 2 verses , one can say  that in verse 7 ; God created you , then fashioned you (the Arabic word used in Qura'n is sawwak ) that means made you even and straight, and prepared you to perform the functions. Thus , the phase after creation , may be referred to as taswiyah (the gerund form of sawwa , that means "straightening") which begins during the izam stage .The meaning of "then proportioned you " (the Arabic word used in Qura'n is addalak ) that means modify you and in this verse it has the contextual meaning of modifying in form and shape to create a definitive thing . The word fa ( then ) , which precedes the word  addalak (proportioned you) , indicates immediate succession, and therefore the meaning of the verse is "then immediately modified your form ," because addalak  in verse 7 , qualifies the meaning of verse 8.

      During this time, the body proportions change such that by the  end of the gestational period (week 38),  as compared to the 9th week, the head size has become relatively small compared to the body, the facial features have acquired humanlike proportions, i.e. the ears move from the neck to the head and the eyes move toward the front of the face, and the lower limbs have become relatively long compared to the body. Thus , this phase may be referred to as ta'dil (the gerund form of addala, meaning "modifying"). In verse 8 : "In whatever form  He pleased, He put you together." , Qura'n used Arabic word swarah  that means "appearance or image " to indicate  that in this phase the fetus acquires its individual form or the specific features that characterizes him  (the gerund form of sawara, meaning "giving the form or shape "). Therefore, Qura'n  indicates that immediately after the initiation of the process of straightening (taswiyah)  , the modifying into human-like proportion (ta'dil ) occurs , and then the acquisition of the personal image (taswir) occurs . The latter two processes of ta'dil and taswir continue until birth and even afterwards.

4.Sexual characteristics:

     The Qur'an and Sunnah reported that the development of sexual characteristics ( in Arabic tadhkir  for masculinity and ta'nith for femininity) passes in  three steps ; the first step is the genetic determination that occurs during the nutfah stage ,  and the second step is the differentiation of the gonads into testes and ovaries that occurs occurs during the lahm stage . The third step is the differentiation of the external genitalia that occurs during the stage of development into another creation .

     Thus, the differentiation of the external genitalia occurs during the stage of development into another creation ( in Arabic Nasha'a okhrah )  and this  was  indicated by the  hadith narrated by Hudhaifah Ibn Usiad  El-Ghifari  : " When 42 nights have passed over the nutfah ( a drop of mingled fluid ), God sends an angel to it, who shapes it (into human form) and makes its hearing, sight, skin, muscles and bones. Then he says, "O Lord, is it male or female?" and your Lord decides what He wishes and the angel records it .  Then the angel goes out with  this document of destiny of this nutfah in his hand  and does not add to the received orders or subtract from them  " (Sahih Muslim : Book of destiny , in Arabic called  Kitab Al-Qadar).

       It is well-known scientifically that  the external genital organs begin their development  during the 4th week i.e. before the 42nd day. Their  primordia  are the same in both male and female , where the genital tubercle, labioscrotal swellings and urogenital folds do not evolve into distinguishing sexual characteristics until the 9th  week. However, the external genitalia are not clearly distinguishable as male or female until the 12th week . According to these data , it is clear that use of the conjunction "then"  “thumma in Arabic”   indicates  a delay in the occurrence of this sexual differentiation for  a period of time after the development of "ears, eyes, skin, flesh and bones " , and this delay in the sequence of external sexual differentiation  is in accordance with  its order of frequency in  modern embryology .

        In the previous hadith narrated by Hudhaifah , the angel asks for Allah's permission to shape the conceptus into a male or a female once ears, eyes, flesh, bones and skin develop. Then Allah grants him the permission to do so. The most probable explanation to the question of the angel  about  shaping the fetus into  a male or a female,  is about the shaping of the  external genital organs of this fetus, as the fetus at this developmental stage could  have external genital organs that contradict the sex determined by the sex chromosomes .  An evidence supporting this opinion  is that the development of external genital organs of the fetus sometimes occur opposite to the sex determined by the sex chromosomes i.e. the fetus could be a male (XY) according to sex chromosomes but has a female external genital organs , or oppositely the fetus could be a female (XX) according to sex chromosomes but has a male external genital organs . This defective development occurs either due to defective receptors to male hormones in male fetus (XY) which prevents the effects of these hormone and keeps its genitals feminine or due to absence of an inhibitory factor to male hormones in female fetus (XX) which  makes its genitals to appear masculine.

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