The meaning of His saying: "Indeed, We created the man from a drop of sperm, and We made him a test tube, and We made him a lump of flesh, and We made him a bone, and We clothed the bone with flesh, then We made him another creation. So blessed is Allah, the Best of creators."
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The Shaykh : It remains a drop of sperm for forty days. The drop of sperm is a drop of water, and the water referred to here is the semen of men. It is a gushing water that emerges from between the backbone and the ribs. It is a weak water, not flowing like running water, but a weak water. This water forms in the womb of the woman as a drop of sperm for forty days, but it changes gradually until it reaches forty days, at which point it becomes a clot, meaning like a red worm. It has now turned into red blood, because blood is the substance of life. This is why, if the blood is drained, the human being dies. It is the substance from which the human being is formed after the water. It remains a clot for forty days, but it develops gradually, because it is still closer to being a clot than to being a lump of flesh. Then, after the second forty days, it becomes a lump of flesh, meaning a small piece of meat the size of what a person chews. This lump of flesh begins from the eighty-first day, when it is formed and when it is not formed, as the Exalted said: [Al-Hajj 22:5] But from the eighty-first day, the creation of the fetus can be distinguished, whereas before the eighty days, it cannot be distinguished. Then, after forty days, and this period is completed... how long is the period completed?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : No, how is it? Eighty-one? How?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : A mistake. Where did you go? No, you are with me in the body. Who knows? Please, rest. May Allah reward you.
The student: One hundred and twenty days.
The Shaykh : One hundred and twenty days. Forty days as a drop of sperm. Forty days as what? Forty days as a lump of flesh. There is no god but Allah. Forty days as a drop of sperm, forty days as a clot, forty days as a lump of flesh. After the third forty days, the fetus completes four months, is that not so?
and then from a lump of flesh, formed and unformed
ثم من مضغة مخلقة وغير مخلقةThe student: ... .
The Shaykh : No, how is it? Eighty-one? How?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : A mistake. Where did you go? No, you are with me in the body. Who knows? Please, rest. May Allah reward you.
The student: One hundred and twenty days.
The Shaykh : One hundred and twenty days. Forty days as a drop of sperm. Forty days as what? Forty days as a lump of flesh. There is no god but Allah. Forty days as a drop of sperm, forty days as a clot, forty days as a lump of flesh. After the third forty days, the fetus completes four months, is that not so?