Education begins in the
Womb
"Verily the creation
of everyone of you is brought together in the mother's womb as a
drop of semen for forty days, then it becomes a clot for the
same period, then it becomes a blob of flesh for the same
period. Then the angel will be sent unto it to blow into it a
spirit (ruh), and the angel ordered (to carry out) with four
instructions: to write down his livelihood, the span of his
life, his deeds, and either he is wretched or fortunate..."
And so goes the first part of
one of the most well-known hadeeth recorded by Bukhari and
Muslim on the subject of Qadr (predestination).
The significance of this
hadeeth is that science has recently verified this process of
embryo/foetus development. That is, six weeks (roughly 40 days)
after fertilisation, the embryo is developed (from zygote - sperm
& ovary - to embryo); then another 6 weeks (roughly another 40
days) it develops into a foetus (a clot); after which for about
the same period (again roughly another 40 days) it develops into
the recognisable human form (a blob of flesh).
Science has also verified
that the foetus can think. Before 120 days the foetus does not
think: "The brain of the foetus appears to be electrically silent
during the first six weeks of life. After this time, slowly
activities of low intensity occurs. So although the brain is at
least 'moving', it is not 'thinking' in any real sense." (The
Thinking Foetus) But after 120 days, when the spirit (ruh) enters
the foetus, brain activities place: "The foetus becomes conscious
sometime during the second trimester...There is ultrasound
evidence that about 23 weeks (161 days) the foetus dreams.
Dreaming is certainly an indication of the presence of the mental
capabilities required for thought..." (The Thinking Foetus)
There are numerous other
things which the foetus can do in this period. Such as expressing
emotions (happiness, fear, disgust etc.) through it's facial
expressions. It can show anxiety through the sucking of the thumb,
assert itself and protest through kicking, and it develops
memory.
One other important development during this stage is the ability
to distinguish and recognise sounds. Experiments have been carried
out that proved this: - A newborn will prefer a story that has
been read twice a day to it, when it was a foetus, to a new one.
- A newborn will recognise and copy its mother's words. - When
a theme music to a program was played, a newborn whose mother
watched the show during pregnancy, will calm down.
What is significant about
this is that babies can be taught the Quran (or some surahs
(chapters) from the Quran) while they were in their mother's
womb.
Imagine if you were to read
the Quran everyday to your foetus, by the time it is born, inshaa
Allah, it will prefer the Quran over other books and sounds. It
will recognise the Quran and try to copy it, and it will use the
recitation of the Quran to find solace. Is that not what we all
want for ourselves, let alone for your child? Imagine your reward
when you have bestowed, with Allah's Grace, this tremendous gift
on your child. Your reward will be two-fold: one for you for
reciting the Quran, the other for you and your child for having
taught him the Quran.
Even if you cannot read the
whole Quran, whatever you can read, inshaa Allah, will benefit the
both of you. A few surahs twice a day will engender a love of the
Quran in your child.