Science in the Glorious Quran: Development of Senses
“إِنَّا خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ مِن نُّطْفَةٍ أَمْشَاجٍ نَّبْتَلِيهِ فَجَعَلْنَاهُ سَمِيعًا بَصِيرًا” (الانسان:2).
“Indeed, We created man from liquids of males and female that We may try him; and We made him hearing and seeing.” (Qur’an, 76:2).
“وَجَعَلَ لَكُمُ السَّمْعَ وَالْأَبْصَارَ وَالْأَفْئِدَةَ ۚ قَلِيلًا مَّا تَشْكُرُونَ” (السجدة:9).
“And He gave you hearing, and sight, and understanding” (Qur’an, 32:9).
The first sense to develop in the human embryo is hearing. The foetus can hear sounds after the 24th week. Subsequently, the sense of sight is developed by the 26th week, when the retina becomes sensitive to light. In the above Qur’anic verses, the sense of hearing is mentioned before that of sight, which is only recently uncovered with modern embryology.
From left to right: 24-week embryo, the foetus can respond to sound from both inside and outside the uterus, and a 26-week embryo, the eyes are partially opened and can perceive light.