Scientific facts:

By the end of the 8^th week, a new stage starts where important processes occur.  The rate of developing accelerates compared with the previous one.  The embryo transforms into another creature, as the sizes of head, body and limbs start to be balanced and regular between the 9^th and 12^th week.  At the 10^th week, external genital organs appear, and the skeleton develops structure from soft cartilaginous to hard calcic bones at the 12^th week .  Limbs and fingers are distinguished at the same week.  The gender of the embryo is manifest with the clear appearance of genitalia.

The weight of the embryo increases noticeably.  Voluntary and involuntary muscles develop, and voluntary movements start in this stage. in the 16th  week (112 days) the foetus can grasp with his hands, kick, or even somersault .

Reflections on Quranic verses :

This stage starts after the stage of clothing the bones with lahm (muscles and flesh), i.e., at the beginning of the 9^th week, taking a period of almost 3 weeks.  This is indicated with the use of conjunctive article (thumma) then, which denotes a time break between clothing with lahm and developing into another creature: He the Almighty says;

(فَكَسَوْنَا الْعِظَامَ لَحْمًا ثُمَّ أَنشَأْنَاهُ خَلْقًا آخَر فَتَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ ) (المؤمنون: 14)

“And clothed the bones with flesh; then We developed out of it another creature. So blessed be Allah, the best to create ” (23: 14).  

After the development of the cartilaginous skeleton, clothing it with muscles, and the head and the limbs are distinguished, the embryo changes into a human creature well differentiated from other creatures.

During this stage, some important processes occur in the development of the embryo, which are clearly described in the Holy Quran and can be summarized as follows:
1-     Nash’ah (developing) which is clearly noticed in the accelerated rate of growth at the 9^th week compared with the previous stages.
2-     Khalqan Akhar (another creature): this description coincides with the first one and indicates that the embryo has changed in the nash’ah stage into another creature, i.e., the foetus. Limbs and external organs begin to appear, and fingers and external genitalia are distinguished.  Allah the Almighty says;

 ( هوَ الَّذِي يُصَوِّرُكُمْ فِي الأَرْحَامِ كَيْفَ يَشَاء لاَ إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ)  آل عمران 6

 “He it is Who shapes you in the wombs as He pleases.  There is no god but He, the Exalted in Might, the Wise.” (3:6)

Here is an exquisite remark.  Allah says in Surat Al Zumar;

 ( يَخْلُقُكُمْ فِي بُطُونِ أُمَّهَاتِكُمْ خَلْقًا مِن بَعْدِ خَلْقٍ فِي ظُلُمَاتٍ ثَلَاثٍ) (الزمر6 )

“He creates you in the wombs of your mothers in stages, one after another, in three veils of darkness.” (39:6), thus indicating the continuation of the embryonic development and the change from one stage into another, as explained earlier.  Embryologists have confirmed that the foetus is surrounded, during the stages of development, with three membranes:

1-     The amnion membrane which contains a fluid encompassing the foetus to make it in a state of swimming, thus protecting it from trauma that the uterus encounters, and facilitates the foetus movements for re-position smoothly during labour.

2-     The chorion membrane.

3-     The decidua membrane.

Some scholars interpreted the three veils of darkness with the amniotic membrane surrounding the uterus, wall of uterus, and abdomen wall .  Yet, Allah knows best.

Membranes
surrounding the foetus
(press on photo for enlargement)

Three layers
protect the foetus