Re: Does the soul have a physical meaning in Islam?
Peace Sister
Please read this first:
Now this:
If the mother is not in danger, it would be unlawful to abort the baby after 120 days of conception, the age of ensoulment. to develop into a full human being. The Prophet Mohammad is quoted as saying: “The human being begins life in the mother’s womb as a germ for forty days. The germ turns into a clot during the following forty days, the clot into a lump of flesh during the following forty days. Then an angel is sent to blow the spirit into it and note down its means of living, its life-span, its actions and its fate, whether good or bad.” These stages of feotal development are also given in the following Quranic verses: “We first created man from an essence of clay: then made him a living germ in a safe enclosure (the womb). The germ We made a clot of, and the clot a lump of flesh. This We fashioned into bones, then clothed the bones with flesh and then brought him forth as another creation. Blessed be God, the noblest of creators.” (al-Mu’minoon: 12- 14)
The Hanbali school of Islamic law are of the opinion that forty days is the critical point at which a foetus is fully formed, and do not allow abortion after that age .
Some scholars are known to disallow abortion once fertilisation takes place in the womb. Among them are the following:
http://www.islamset.com/bioethics/aids1/rights.html
According to science the Carnegie Stage 16 occurs around 40 days of foetal development.
Head and Neck
Brain is well marked by its cerebral hemispheres. The hindbrain, which is responsible for heart regulation, breathing and muscle movements, begins to develop.
This corresponds with the nufs/soul relationship. Rather than ruh the nufs word is linked with the word blood and in the 40 day stage the blood begins to circulate in a fashion due to the formation of the hindbrain that controls the heart for that function.
The ayah can be interpreted that the equal periods of time are nested within the 40 days or are equal to the 40 days each or are equal to each other but occur after the initial 40 day start period. Though I am not Hanbali it seems their opinion coincides with established embryology, however, interesting things happen between 40 and 120 days, the heart beat can only be detected after 12 weeks by external instruments.
Around 14 weeks is the time when gender is clear for view, but gender really sets in at post 40 days. Post 50 days the gender can be differentiated with sophisticated equipment.
And later at around 16 weeks, Visible Embryo 16 - 17 Weeks Post Ovulation, circulation becomes fully functional and fingerprints begin to develop.
It is my understanding that the ruh is put into the body when blood is beginning to renew itself with oxygenated blood from the mother.
Anyway whether it is 40 days or 120 the fact is Islam does not acknowledge the early embryo as a living human soul, but one that is given a spirit after some biological process have begun. So the question about the stem cell is the same for a gamete the same for a zygote. If Allah (SWT) Wills it He can give us the technology to change non sex cells into sex cells and He can make them continue on to living entities.