Library Islam Philosophy of Islam chapter 11 - Man and Evolution Manufacture of living cell
Manufacture of living cell
- Details
- Hits: 2211
Manufacture of living cell
if one day the scientists succeed in manufacturing a living cell, the doctrine of those who believe in Allah will not be affected, just as the flight of man to other planets, the making of artificial rain, the grafting of one man's limbs to another, the manufacture of an electronic brain and so many other small and big inventions do not mean a clash or a rivalry with Allah. Such things only mean fructifying the human creative power and exploitation of natural material and its hidden forces. The Qur'an itself urges to make use of ideas and skills and to utilize the gifts of nature.
As we have repeatedly said, scientific progress is a movement in the direction of divine guidance and is not in conflict with it.
Anyhow, it should not be forgotten that human creativity does not mean the invention of a totally new phenomenon or a norm. It only means the exploitation of the material and energy available in nature and the bringing about of the conditions necessary for the utilization of the laws and norms relating to them.
If really there is a possibility of the production of life by combining natural material under certain conditions still not known to man, then he may in future discover the law of the origination of life and the conditions and norms pertaining to it. If that happens, this discovery will‑ not be different from the discovery and utilization of so many other laws already made in the fields other than that of life.
Obviously the discovery of a law and its utilization does not in any way lower the position of the law‑maker.
At a lower level we see that the pair of a male and a female pave the way for the birth of a child. But do they affect Allah as the creator? A farmer cultivates his land. But does he replace Allah as the real creator of the crop?
If it is discovered that life can be produced from matter under certain conditions, that will only mean that matter in its evolutionary motion can go to the extent where it receives life and then can go further to a higher stage.
It is interesting to note that the Qur'an, describing the birth of man, expressly says:
"One of His signs is that He created you o f clay" . (Surah al‑Rum, 30:20).
In fact clay becomes man, the highest living being, after passing through so many developments.
The Qur'an also talks of the birth of man from `black clay' and Mastic clay'. (Surah al‑Hijr, 15:28 and Surah al-Saffat, 37:11).
It also says:
" We made every living thing o f water". (Surah al‑Anbiya, 21:30).
When the Qur'an has such a wide horizon, there is no reason why a Muslim who follows it, should be narrow-minded.
