921 MEDICINA NEI SECOLI ARTE E SCIENZA, 28/3 (2016) 921-938 Journal of History of Medicine Articoli/Articles Key words: Qur’an - Generation - Nuṭfah - ‘Alaqah - Muḍghah THE EMBRYO DEVELOPMENT IN QURANIC VERSES NESMA ELSAKAAN, MICHELE LONGO Dipartimento di Scienze Umanistiche Università degli Studi di Palermo, I SUMMARY The aim of this paper is to answer two questions: is there a section in the Qur’an that describes the human embryo development? Second, if such a case existed, could it be compared to the Greek theories of generation? The answer to both questions is affrmative. In the frst part of this paper, we discuss some Quranic verses talking about the embryo development. We also outline how the terminology (nuṭfah, ‘alaqah, muḍghah) used for expressing the embryo development in these verses involves complex translation challenges. In the second part, we compare the Quranic verses to two Greek theories of generation. Finally, we highlight a little-known aspect of the Quranic text worthy of study. Introduction Considered as a source of knowledge, the Qur’an (al-Qur’ān) is the holy book of Muslims. For them the Qur’an contains the word of God revealed to his Prophet Muḥammad 1 . Like any other book thought sacred, the Qur’an tells the story and the customs of the Arab people at the time. Moreover, it provides account of some issues which have occupied human beings brain constantly, such as the bringing into existence of the universe and humankind origins 2 . In this paper, we focus on some Quranic verses that narrate the story of creation and the process of generation. We will examine three terms