The Prophet’s Words That Make You See Your Body in a New Way
You began life as something soft and fragile — all soft cartilage, no hard edges, basically nature’s jellybean. Then, like something out of a sci-fi movie, your body went full architect mode 🛠️. It remodeled that soft, bendy blueprint into the toughest tissue in your body: bones! 💪
Blog summary:
- Decoding the verses of the Holy Quran
- Prophet Muhammad ( صَلَّى ٱللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ) an Osteologist?
- Human skeleton
- Number of Joints
- Spiritual Meaning of the Hadith
📖 Decoding the verses of the Holy Quran
Let’s unpack the deeper wisdom hidden in these powerful verses of the Holy Qur’an. Let’s decipher it:
“then We developed the drop into a clinging clot, then developed the clot into a lump ˹of flesh˺, then developed the lump into bones, then clothed the bones with flesh, then We brought it into being as a new creation.So Blessed is Allah, the Best of Creators’’1
The body forms bones first?
When we explore how bones and muscles develop during the embryonic stage, it’s fascinating to find that Chapter 23 of the Holy Qur’an (Surah Al-Mu’minun) touches on this very process. Verses 12 to 14 describe the stages of human creation, mentioning that bones (“ʿizam”) form first, followed by the clothing of flesh (“lahm”) that covers those bones.
I’ll wrap up this fascinating topic on embryology here, but the full exploration continues in my upcoming blog. Be sure to check it out!
🗿 Prophet Muhammad ( صَلَّى ٱللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ) an Osteologist?
Hazrat Ayesha has reported Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:
“Every one of the children of Adam has been created with three hundred and sixty joints; so he who declares the Glory of Allah, praises Allah, declares Allah to be One, Glorifies Allah, and seeks forgiveness from Allah, and removes stone, or thorn, or bone from people’s path, and enjoins what is good and forbids from evil, to the number of those three hundred and sixty joints, will walk that day having saved himself from the Fire” 2
From Revelation to Reality
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), 1400+ years ago — without microscopes, medical school, or even Google — said the human body has 360 joints. THREE. SIX. ZERO. That’s not a ballpark guess. That’s a mic-drop fact. 🎤
He didn’t study anatomy. He wasn’t scribbling notes in a lab. The man couldn’t even read or write — and yet, he nailed a detail that science would only catch up with much later.
So… either the Prophet was secretly the world’s first osteologist 🧠, or maybe — just maybe — he was speaking from a higher source of knowledge.
☠️Human skeleton
- The human body divides the skeleton into the axial skeleton and the appendicular skeleton.The axial skeleton contains the skull, vertebral column, rib cage, hyoid bone, and auditory ossicles (ear bones), making up a total of 80 bones in an adult.
- The appendicular skeleton includes the upper and lower limbs, along with the pectoral (shoulder) and pelvic girdles, totaling 126 bones in an adult.
Distribution of Bones
When a baby is born, they’ve got around 270 bones, but as they grow, many of these bones fuse together, leaving us with 206 bones as adults. That’s why babies are basically super flexible! 🍼
Fun fact: Ever wonder how your cat becomes liquid and slips through the tiniest cracks? It’s because cats have a free-floating clavicle (collarbone) that isn’t attached to other bones—so yeah, your cat’s basically a, boneless ninja. 🐱💨
Eve (Hawwa) was created from the shortest rib of Adam’s left side while he was sleeping! wanna read more about this amazing scientific fact? Click here
🔧Number of Joints
The human body has three main types of joints. They’re categorized by the movement they allow:
- Synarthroses (Immovable Joints) : These joints don’t move at all. The bones are stuck closely together and don’t shift. Example: The bones in your skull.
- Amphiarthroses (Slightly Movable Joints) : These joints can move, but only a little.The bones are joined tightly by cartilage, so there’s limited movement. Example: The joints between the bones in your spine.
- Diarthroses (Freely Movable Joints) : These joints can move in many directions. They have a slippery fluid inside (called synovial fluid) that helps the bones move smoothly. These are the most common joints in your body. Examples: Shoulder, knee, elbow, and fingers.
Types of Synovial Joints (Based on Movement)
Synovial joints are sub divided into different types of joints 🔄 :
| Type | Example | Movement Allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Ball and Socket | Shoulder, hip | Flexion, extension, rotation, abduction, adduction |
| Hinge | Elbow, knee | Flexion and extension |
| Pivot | Neck (atlas/axis) | Rotation |
| Saddle | Thumb (carpometacarpal joint) | Back-and-forth and side-to-side |
| Condyloid | Wrist | Bending, straightening, side-to-side |
| Gliding/Plane | Between tarsals/carpals | Sliding motions |
🔢 Number of Joints: 360 Total
This number includes:
11 in the pelvis
86 in the skull
6 in the throat (including the hyoid region)
66 in the thorax (ribs + sternum + vertebrae)
32 in each upper limb (shoulders, elbows, wrists, fingers)
31 in each lower limb (hips, knees, ankles, toes)
As we grow
The 360 joints number is typically counted in a newborn or young child 👶. As we grow, some bones naturally fuse together, which leads to a decrease in the total number of joints. However, the narration says, ‘Every one of the children of Adam has been created with three hundred and sixty joints.’ The word created clearly refers to the original state at birth, making the statement entirely accurate.
🧠 Scientific Fact: Joint Fusion
As we grow, our bones fuse together. For example, when we’re born, we have 33 vertebrae, but by adulthood, the vertebrae in the sacral (5) and coccygeal (4) regions fuse into single bones.
🌿 Spiritual Meaning of the Hadith
This Hadith gently reminds us that we are beautifully and purposefully made—every joint in our body, every little movement we’re capable of, is a sign of God’s care and design. With 360 joints, we’re given the ability to reach out, lift, carry, comfort, walk, protect, build, and give.
But it’s not just about what we can do—it’s about what we choose to do with this gift of motion, presence, and life.
🌟 Every Small Deed Counts
The Prophet ﷺ is telling us:
👉 Every single day, we have a chance to show gratitude—not just through prayers or rituals, but through the way we live:
- Saying a kind word3
- Praising our Creator4
- Helping someone5
- Removing harm from someone’s path6
- Standing up for what’s right7
- Encouraging good things, and quietly stopping harm when we can8
These actions might seem small. But spiritually, they are huge. Our own body shows us that there is a Creator and Lord who Loves us and care about us.
Tasbeeh problem?
You know, I used to get totally stuck in a tasbeeh dilemma—like, there are so many things to say! I’d just sit there thinking, “Should I say SubhanAllah? Or Alhamdulillah? Or maybe La ilaha illallah?!” 😅
It was like a spiritual game show, and I was the contestant trying to pick the right answer. So, I finally came up with an idea. Wanna know? Click here
Wanna read more?
Categories that will win your heart
Wanna know more about me? Here is the link of my official social media accounts:
https://www.instagram.com/ayhianali
https://youtube.com/@ayhian?si=j79tW8ppvqbhBmdX
- Chapter 23 (Surah Al-Mu’minun) verse 14 ↩︎
- Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Hadith 350 ↩︎
- Hadith: “A good word is a charity.”
Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari 2989, Sahih Muslim 1009 ↩︎ - Hadith: “Whoever says, ‘Subhan Allah wa bihamdihi’ (Glory is to Allah and praise is to Him), one hundred times a day, his sins will be forgiven, even if they are like the foam of the sea.”
Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari 6405 ↩︎ - Hadith: “Whoever relieves a believer’s distress, Allah will relieve his distress on the Day of Judgment.”
Reference: Sahih Muslim 2699 ↩︎ - Hadith: “Removing something harmful from the road is an act of charity.”
Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari 2340 ↩︎ - Hadith: “The best of Jihad is speaking a word of truth in front of a tyrant ruler.”
Reference: Sunan Ibn Majah 4011 ↩︎ - Hadith: “Whoever sees a wrong, let him change it with his hand; if he cannot, then with his tongue; and if he cannot, then with his heart.”
Reference: Sahih Muslim 49 ↩︎