ISLAM AND SCIENCE: A HAPPY MARRIAGE TO BENEFIT MANKIND

The Holy Quran states that life resulted from evolution. However, this evolution was neither blind nor random. Rather, evolution was controlled by a Divine hand, which accounts for the beginning, diversity and complexity of life on Earth. 

Ahmadiyya Times | Article | Faith & Science
From Portland Islam Examiner | October 8, 2009
Harris Zafar | Portland, OR

Science proves the existence of God?

A scientific study last week from the University of Oregon proves the existence of God.  Scientists at University of Oregon used the theory of human evolution – which asserts that humans have genetically evolved over hundreds of millions of years – to attempt to reverse genetic mutations in order to go back to previous human forms.

The result of this experiment?  “It didn't work at all” said UO Biologist Joe Thornton, whose team re-ran evolution on this smaller scale.  The basic findings of the study show that evolution cannot backtrack.  Meaning, if we could go back 3 billion years and start all over, the evolution of man would be completely different.  The team of scientists assert that this is because no matter how scientific and logical we try to become in illustrating how and why man evolved, there are still  random “mutations” humans underwent that are inexplicable.

These additional random mutations cannot be understood or predicted because they have nothing to do with our enhancement as a species.  The strict definition of evolution (often used by atheists) is to say that there is no God; rather, human bodies naturally evolved over time due to mutations that made some more dominant than others.  And through survival of the fittest, humans that survived did so due to mutations that made them more powerful.

This new study from University of Oregon challenges that assertion by illustrating that there are many random mutations we have gone through that logically have no reason to have survived.  Thornton’s team discovered mutations that did nothing to enhance our ancestral function but still stayed with us.  “Each mutation either reduces responsiveness to ancestral hormones or it has no effect,” Thornton says. “Natural selection can't drive the acquisition of those five steps, so the chances of that happening are virtually zero.”

Natural selection, the foundation of modern theory of evolution, credits accidental mutation for the survival of life and its complexity.  But now even scientists say that science alone cannot explain why and how humans evolved the way they did.  A strict “science only” methodology cannot explain how humans evolved to their current state.  It wasn’t natural selection.  It wasn’t pure science.  It was… a higher power.

This perfect marriage between science and the belief in a higher power is presented by Islam.  According to the Holy Quran, the evolution of life is the result of divine will and divine guidance. It declares that the harmony and complexity of creation could not have come of its own accord. In contrast, natural selection fails to explain how the life was created and how accidents can guide the life towards complexity. 

Islam is that one faith that does not fight science.  Islam does not create a battle between evolution and creationism.  The Holy Quran states that life resulted from evolution. However, this evolution was neither blind nor random.  Rather, evolution was controlled by a Divine hand, which accounts for the beginning, diversity and complexity of life on Earth.

According to the Holy Quran, God creates in stages. Humans have also been created in stages.  At every step of creation, intentional choices were made.  Choices were not made by the blind operator of natural selection, but by God, the All-seeing, the All-knowing.  Evolution, as presented by the Holy Quran, states that life has indeed advanced step by step but by Divine guidance. 

In reality, not only have mutations been timely, but the nature of the mutations has been essential for survival at that particular time. One timely mutation may be explained by coincidence but continuous and timely occurrences of mutations over million of years demands supervision of evolution. Mutations do occur but they do not drive evolutionary processes.

Islam invites one to faith through logic and reason.  Islam states that life indeed resulted from evolution but completes the equation by explaining that the harmony and complexity of creation could not have come of its own accord.  And with time, we now see scientists coming to the same conclusion that there is something else at work here…not just science.
For more info: See the original story about the University of Oregon experiment at OregonLive.com.

Read more: Science proves the existence of God?

Harris Zafar is a contributing member of Majlis Sultan-ul Qalam, USA (MSQ USA). He speaks and writes about Islamic issues locally and nationally and believes faith does not require one to abandon logic and reason.