What is Islam's teaching on reproduction?

by Matt Slick

Islam's teaching on reproduction reflects an inaccurate understanding of the facts influenced by 7th-century beliefs. Since Muhammad was not inspired, his teachings reveal those mistakes. Let's take a look at some of the things taught by him regarding how a person is physically formed.

Where is sperm formed?

  • Surah 86:5-7, "Now let man but think from what he is created! 6 He is created from a drop emitted 7 Proceeding from between the backbone and the ribs."

We see an obvious problem here. The man's seed proceeds from between his backbone and his ribs. This is the area of the chest. Sometimes Muslims will say that the drop emitted is in reference to the testicles which are in the lower abdominal area during the formation of the fetus. However, notice that the text says "a drop emitted". A drop is a small liquid portion. This is obviously something that only happens during sexual intercourse and cannot refer to a fetus in the womb.  Muhammad got it wrong.

Pregnancy, clot, morsel of flesh

Pregnancy was described by Muhammad in an interesting way.


As you can see from the Quran, the order of formation in the womb is a leech-like clot that forms and becomes a morsel of flesh. Now, some Muslims will say that man was first created out of dust(Adam) and then through the act of sexual intercourse sperm is the beginning pregnancy. But it is in this pregnancy that a clot becomes a morsel of flesh.  Let's look further at what Muhammad taught.

40 Day Periods, clot, piece of flesh

The Hadith is a compilation of the deeds and sayings of Muhammad. Within that record, Muhammad taught that human development occurs in stages of 40 days each.


So, according to Muhammad, the stages of human development in the womb are as follows:

  1. Collected in the womb for 40 days (0 - 6 weeks, 1.5 months)
  2. Then becomes a clot for 40 days (80 days total, 6 - 12 weeks, 1.5 - 3 months)
  3. Then becomes flesh for 40 days (120 days total, 12 - 18 weeks, 3 - 5 monthsHuman embryo at six weeks)
  4. Then the soul is breathed into the body

Muhammad got it wrong.  From 40 - 80 days (apprx. 6 to 12 weeks), the embryo is not a clot.  A clot is mass of blood, a coagulated liquid, a nondescript mass.1 At 12 weeks the fetus is 2.5 inches long, has feet, a face, fingernails, and can suck its thumb.2  Is that a clot?  Obviously not.  Again, Muhammad was wrong.

Who will the child look like?

What the child will look like is explained by Muhammad in the Hadith. Note, that there is a male discharge and also a female discharge.  I don't know what the female discharge is supposed to be during sexual intercourse as is portrayed by Muhammad.

  • "...As for the resemblance of the child to its parents: If a man has sexual intercourse with his wife and gets discharge first, the child will resemble the father, and if the woman gets discharge first, the child will resemble her."  (Hadith, Volume 4, Book 55, Number 546: Narrated Anas).

It's a bit difficult to interpret with the female discharges supposed to be. But we know that genetics is what causes a child to look like the parents, sometimes more like the father than the mother. It is not determined by who has a discharge first. Yet again, Muhammad got it wrong.


A man's semen is produced from the chest area which is between the backbone in the ribs (Surah 86:5-7). During sexual intercourse, it is mingled with the discharge of a woman and whoever discharges his first is who the baby will resemble. During the embryonic development, the fetus goes through different stages where it is collected for 40 days and then for 40 more days is a clot. 

It doesn't take much to realize that Islam is not inspired and Muhammad failed to get the facts right about human development. He was not inspired.

  • 1. http://beta.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clot
  • 2. http://www.baby2see.com/development/week12.html

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