Is the duration mentioned for each of the nutfah (sperm drop), alaqah (clot), and mudghah (lump of flesh) in the hadiths forty days for each stage individually, or is the total of these three stages within the first forty days of pregnancy?

"The sacred texts cannot contradict established scientific facts. If such a contradiction occurs, then either the scientific fact is not established, or the sacred text is not authentic, or the understanding of the text is incorrect.

Regarding the duration of the stages of embryonic development, some scholars believe that the Hadith of Ibn Mas'ud, which states that the creation of man is gathered in his mother's womb for forty days, then becomes a 'alaqa (clot) for a similar period, then a mudgha (lump of flesh) for a similar period, means that each stage lasts for a separate forty days.

However, others believe that the phrase "for a similar period" does not refer to a separate time duration for each stage, but rather to the completion and perfection of creation within the first forty days. This view is supported by the Hadith of Hudhayfa ibn Usayd al-Ghifari, which clarifies that the formation, creation, and inscription by the angel occur after forty-two nights (within the first forty days), and not after one hundred and twenty days."