“Among men there are some who wrangle about Allah without knowledge and follow every rebellious devil, although it is decreed about him that he shall lead into error whosoever takes him for a friend, and will direct him to the torment of the Fire. O men! If you have any doubt concerning Resurrection, then know that it is surely We Who created you from dust, then from a drop of sperm, then from a clot of blood, then from a little lump of flesh, some of it shapely and other shapeless.”
(Al-Qur’ān – 22:3-5)
The issue under debate was not whether God actually existed or not. The real issue of contention was: what are the rights of God against His creatures, what is the extent of God’s authority, and what is the attitude that one should adopt to His directives and commands? The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) sought to persuade people to accept that there is no God except the One True God, and the Hereafter is bound to come to pass. It was on these matters that people questioned the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him). The debate ultimately led to the question of what lies in God’s power and what lies beyond it?
The verse 22:5 means that each man was created from materials all of which are derived from the earth and the actual process starts with creating the sperm. The verse also refers to the different stages of gestation through which the foetus passes in the mother’s womb. The stages of gestation known today with the help of powerful microscopes, and through them alone, are not mentioned in the Qur’ān. Instead, only those major changes are mentioned with which even the illiterate bedouin of that time were familiar.