Professor Johnson
was appalled when he heard this. He expressed his feeling by simply saying:
No’ no, no! What kind of talk is that?’
We understood
the effect of such statements upon him. We knew he was one of the foremost
scientists in the United States. He knew, of course, that after the discovery
of the microscope in the 16th century, physicians throughout
the 17th century believed that a human beings origin began entirely
in the males semen, specifically in the males sperm.
This picture [not shown - WWW Ed.] was the evidence
used by scientists in the 17th century, and partly in the 18th
century, to support their belief that the human being was created wholly
from the male sperm, but after the discovery of the ovum
was larger than the sperm of the male. In this way they ignored the role
of the man in the 18th century, just as they had ignored that
of the woman in the 17th century. It was not until the middle
of the 19th century when the scientists began to discover that
the human embryonic development took place in several successive stages.
It was for this
reason when Professor Johnson was told that this information has been in
the Qur’an for 1400 years that he stood up and shouted: No, No!’ So we
in turn handed him a copy of the Qur’an and showed him the following verse
which he read in the English translation:
What is
the matter with you, that you are not conscious of Allah's Majesty. Seeing
that it is He that has created you in diverse stages?
(Qur’an 71:13-14).
Then we showed
him this verse:
He creates
you in the wombs of your mother, in stages, one after another, in three
veils of darkness. (Qur’an 39:6).
At this, Professor
Johnson sat down and said: But this could
be explained in three possibilities. The first is that it can be mere coincidence.
So we collected
more than 25 texts and presented them to him. Then we asked him: Is it
possible that these texts are coincidence?’ Moreover, the Glorious Qur’an
has given each of these stages a name: the first being the nutfah,
or the drop of water, the second being the ‘alaqah, a leech-like
substance, the third being the mudghah, or a chewed-like lump, the
fourth being bones, and then the clothing of the bones with flesh. Can
all this be a coincidence? He flatly said: No.’
Then we asked
him: Then what remains?’ He said: The other
possibility is that Muhammad had hold [of a] powerful microscope.
We said: You
know that this sort of minute and specialized knowledge, which has been
contained in the Qur’an, can only be obtained by very powerful microscopes.
And anyone possessing such power microscopes must also posses very high
technology, which must be reflected in his daily living, his house, his
food, his war and peace…etc. And you know that technological advancement
is process of cumulative inheritance, passed in and proved upon from one
generation to the other.’
Professor Johnson
laughed and said: In fact I saw the first
microscope invented in the world. It does not magnify more than 10 times
and does not even show a clear picture.
The Prophet
Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam), never had possession of scientific
equipment or microscopes. The only thing that remains for us to say that
he was a Messenger from Allah. After this, Professor Johnson began to take
interest in the study of scientific signs in the Qur’an, concentrating
in some of his research on the stages of embryonic development. While Dr.
Moore and others discussed the external fetal appearance, Professor Johnson
concentrated his presentation of the Qur’an's detailed descriptions of
the internal as well as external of the fetus.
Professor
Johnson: In summary, the Qur’an describes
not only the development of external from, but emphasizes also the internal
stages, the stages inside the embryo, of its creation and development,
emphasizing major events recognized by contemporary sciences.
For example,
this drawing of the mudghah,
or the chewed-like structure, is one of the things that Professor Johnson
used as evidence. This picture of the mudghah
shows the external appearance of the embryo with its curved structure,
an with visible protuberances and grooves resembling teeth-marks, we notice
the swallows and the grooves, we also notice the curved surface, all which
give the embryo its distinctive features while the embryo at this stage
is only one centimeter in length.
If we were to
make an incision in the embryo and dissect the internal organs, we would
find that most of them are already formed, as it is apparent here. You
can also see from this picture that some of the cells have already formed,
while others are not yet completely formed.
How then would be described
this embryo? What do we say? Could we say it is the complete creation?
Then we are describing the part which is already created, and if we say
it is an incomplete creation, then we describing the part which is not
yet created, the question would be: Is it a complete creation or is it
an incomplete creation? There is no better description of that stage of
embryologenesis than the Qur’anic description which says:
…mudghah
(chewed-like structure) partly formed and partly unformed…
(Qur’an 22:5).
Here is Professor
Marshall Johnson giving the conclusion of his research:
As a scientist,
I can only deal with things which I can specifically see. I can understand
the words that are translated to me from the Qur’an. As I gave the example
before, if I were to transpose myself into that era, knowing what I knew
today in describing things, I could not describe the things which were
described. I see no evidence for the refutation of the concept that this
individual, Muhammad, had to be developing this information from some place.
So I see nothing here in conflict with the concept that divine intervention
was involved in what he was able to write.3
Yes, It is the
Revelation. The only way left to mankind is to follow the example of those
great scientists, acknowledging that Allah has revealed to Muhammad (sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam), a Book from Allah's knowledge. Allah has further promised
that mankind will, over the time, come to discover the signs which prove
that the Qur’an is truly a Book revealed by Allah. Allah, may He be Exalted
and Glorified, said in the Qur’an: