GOD

Islam Religion Encourages Learning,

Observation and Science
 Science is Observation
The science of today is nothing else then
observation. The scientists first observe a
problem and then on the bases of
experimentation followed by further
observation reach to a particular solution.
Thus, observation is science and science is a
pivotal component of the whole learning
process.
 Allah commands Prophet to learn and
Seek Knowledge

“And Allah has brought you out from the wombs of

your mothers while you know nothing. And He gave
you hearing, sight, and hearts that you might give
thanks (to Allah).” (16:78)
The rewards associated to increasing
knowledge
“Whoever follows a path in the pursuit of knowledge, Allah will make
a path to Paradise easy for him.” (Bukhari)

This hadith shows that in addition to the satiation of the spirit of

knowledge, the pursuit of knowledge also comes with the
pavement to the Paradise. Now this hadith can be interpreted in
two ways. The first of which is the obvious that those who seek
knowledge are blessed by Allah Almighty. The second way in which
this hadith could be seen is the fact that when a person strives on
the way of seeking knowledge and is true to the cause, he or she
then gets to know the reality of things, and when one is able to
understand the reality of things then he or she is able to
differentiate between the right and wrong and the acting upon the
former is what leads to paradise.
 What is Cloning and its different type
The presentation will focus on 3 different types
of cloning.
1. Reproductive Cloning – Both in Animals &
Humans
2. Therapeutic Cloning
3. DNA Cloning (Recombinant DNA Technology)
 Is Reproductive Cloning an Act of
Creation?
This argument demonstrates a misunderstanding of what cloning is. Cloning is merely
taking genetic material from one organism created by Allah and transferring it to the
female reproductive cell of another. No doubt, the person carrying out the procedure
chooses the donor organism he wishes to reproduce, but he does not come up with
anything new on his own. He can be compared to an animal breeder who selects which
animals he wishes to mate in order to produce the desired offspring, except that in this
case, he can choose the exact genetic makeup of the desired organism he wishes to
reproduce.
Furthermore, the person doing the cloning cannot create the life that is developing in
the womb any more than he could create the original genetic material. Allah is the one
who brings all that about, Allah says: “He is the one who shapes you in the wombs as
He pleases. There is no God but He, the Mighty, the Wise.” [Sûrah Al `Imrân: 6]
Allah makes it clear that every stage of embryonic development is His direct creation.
He says: "Then we paced him as a drop in a firm resting place. Then we made the drop
into a congealed clot of blood. Then of that clot we made a lump of flesh. Then we
made out of that lump of flesh bones and clothed those bones with flesh. Then we
developed out of it another creation. So blessed be Allah, the best of Creators!” [Sûrah
al-Muminûn: 13-14]
 Cloning of Animals
Allah has placed animals in our service. Allah speaks about this in many places in
the Qur’ân. He says: “And among the cattle are some for carrying burdens and
some that provide wool. Eat of what Allah has provided for you.” [Sûrah al-An`âm:
142]
He says: “And the cattle, He has created them for you. In them is warmth and
numerous benefits, and of them you eat. And wherein there is beauty for you
when you bring them home in the evening and when you lead them forth to
pasture in the morning. And they carry your loads to a land that you could not
reach except with great trouble to yourselves. Truly your Lord is Most-Kind, Most-
Merciful. And (He created) horses, mules, and donkeys for you to ride and as an
adornment. And He creates things of which you have no knowledge” [Sûrah al-
Nahl: 5-8]
There really is no objection to cloning animals in principle; any more than there
can be an objection to selective breeding. However, animals have rights, and these
rights must be taken into consideration in whatever we do with animals, including
cloning them.
 Guidelines for Cloning Animals
Therefore, we can give the following guidelines for the cloning
of animals, as proposed by Dr. Sâmî al-Mâjid, professor at the
Islamic Law College in Riyâdh:
1. There must be a clear benefit for humanity in cloning the
animal. This benefit could be in the way of scientific research
or from medical treatments and products derived from the
process.
2. Any harm to humanity that might result from cloning the
animal must be outweighed by the benefit.
3. No unnecessary harm or suffering should occur for the
cloned animal during the course of its life as a result of its
being a clone.
 DNA Cloning (Recombinant DNA
Technology)
DNA cloning is also referred to as molecular cloning and gene cloning. This
is the process by which a specific fragment of DNA is copied. Often the
DNA fragment of interest is placed within a cloning vector – such as a
bacterial plasmid – to produce copies of that DNA. In this way sufficient
amounts of a given fragment of DNA can be generated for study. Often,
the DNA is then transferred to a foreign host cell, like a bacteria cell, a
yeast cell, or a mammalian cell.
This form of cloning has been around since the 1970s and is widely used in
molecular biology research.
In and of itself, there is no reason to prohibit this type of cloning. Its ruling
is contingent on what it is being done to achieve. If DNA cloning is carried
out for lawful purposes that can benefit humanity and expand the
horizons of knowledge, then it is lawful. If it is employed for evil, then it is
prohibited.
 Therapeutic Cloning
This is also referred to as embryo cloning. It involves the production of human embryos for
medical research. This procedure is not intended to produce cloned human beings, but rather
to generate stem cells that can be used to study human development and to treat disease.
These eggs are never planted in a womb and are never brought to term. It is hoped that one
day, human stem cells may be used as replacement cells in the treatment of such diseases as
heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and cancer.

This procedure brings up the ethical question of the definition of human life. We are dealing
with a human embryo. Does this embryo in the first few days of its existence enjoy the rights
and the sanctity of a human life?

The majority of scholars permit abortion during the first 120 days of pregnancy out of
necessity on the strength of the hadîth: "One of you is brought together in his mother’s
womb for forty days as a drop, then likewise as a clot, then likewise as a lump of flesh. Then
the angel is sent to him and his soul is breathed into him.” [Sahîh al Bukhârî and Sahîh
Muslim] Many scholars have drawn from this hadîth the conclusion that the human form is
not endowed with a soul until 120 days after conception.
• Dr. Sâmî al-Mâjid offers the following statement about therapeutic cloning:
If the meaning of this procedure is to produce fully cloned adults, children, or even
a fetus so that its organs can be used as substitutes for another, then this is
categorically prohibited. The reason for this is that we are dealing with a human
life created by Allah, even though it is a clone. Its limbs and organs cannot be put
on the market – even if it is still a fetus – since it is sacred. However, if it is possible
to clone specific organs in isolation, like a heart or a liver or a kidney to be
provided to those who need such organs, then this is something welcomed by our
religion and worthy of reward, because of the benefits that it brings to humanity
without bringing harm to anyone.
•
One final objection that is sometimes raised for all unnecessary medical
procedures involving human reproductive cells, is that they require the exposure
of the female sexual organs to a doctor without there being a pressing medical
necessity for the woman being exposed. This objection has been levied by a few
scholars against a host of medical procedures – like in-vitro fertilization – that are
not critical to the health of the patient. However, considering the real and
potential benefits to humanity from this research, we maintain that such an
objection should not be used to prohibit therapeutic cloning, even for those
scholars who prohibit fertility treatments on these grounds.
And Allah knows best.
 Genetic Counseling
The Hadeeth of the Camel – Irq (Strain)

Genetic counseling advises patients or relatives at risk of an inherited

disorder or a trait of the consequences and nature of the disorder or
character, the probability of developing or transmitting it, and the options
available in order to prevent, avoid.
“Choose well your mate as (the hidden) traits can reappear.” Muslim
The word `irq could mean traits or genes, while the word dassās is
probably used to designate the behavior of human traits that skip a
generation but reappear in the next.
This ḥadīth implies that `irq or gene is not only implicated in simple traits
like skin color as in the first ḥadīth but are also implicated in the whole
range of hereditary traits including character and disease.
 Hadeeth about Mother
It is noteworthy that regardless of the offspring’s sex,
cytoplasmic inheritance is exclusively maternal. Actually,
cytoplasm contains exclusively maternally inherited
mitochondria, which harbor tiny circular DNA molecules that
contain 37 of our genes. The genetic balance is, therefore, in
favor of mothers. In addition, this is especially true in male
offspring who inherit their long sex chromosome X from their
mothers but their short sex chromosome Y from their fathers.
The X chromosome is much larger (154,913,754 base pairs
versus 57,741,652 base pairs) and contains many more genes
(1,846 versus 454) than the Y chromosome. This results in
more maternal than paternal genetic participation in our
development.
 5 Goals in Sharia
The protection and preservation of life, mind, religion, right of ownership and procreation (family). The
sources of the sharia are the Quran (God’s very word), the religious teachings of Prophet Muhammad ,
the process of analogy and reasoning, ijtihad, and the unanimous opinion of recognized qualified
scholars in a given time and place. Other juridical rules are:

• the choice of the lesser of two harms if both cannot be avoided;

• necessities overrule prohibitions;
• avoiding harm takes priority over bringing good;
• public interest overrules private interest;
• rulings of previous God-sent religions;
• judgements of the Companions of the Prophet;
• doing no harm;
• harm is not to be repelled with harm;
• where the welfare of the people resides, there resides the statute of God (this is considered the
rule of all rules in matters on which other invocations are silent);
• human needs are divided into essential, necessary, and complementary: they are assigned relative
priority (including budgetary priority) in this order;
• the principle of precautionary preventive approach (sadd al-thara’i).
 Human genetic and reproductive
technologies
Abortion

• This is prohibited in view of the sanctity of human life,

whose beginning is characterized by:
• it is a clear event;
• growth by cell division;
• unless interrupted, it leads to a full human being; and
• it has the genome of humanity as well as the specific
genome of a specific individual.

The question of abortion is a multifaceted one

 In vitro fertilization

In vitro fertilization is allowed between husband and wife

during the span of their marriage. Marriage entails two
individuals only (husband and wife), therefore donated
sperm or ova or the use of a surrogate uterus is not
accepted. In vitro fertilization is almost natural except for
a detour outside the body where ovum and sperm can
evade an obstructing barrier. In countries where the
technique leads to surplus fertilized ova after a successful
pregnancy, it is still debated whether to throw them away
or to keep them in cold storage for long periods, but
eventually they will acquire abnormalities or will perish.
 Genetic engineering
Genetic engineering seems to be a more serious
development since it transgresses the distinctive genetic
uniqueness of living species. There is a reference in the
Quran where Satan tells God almighty that he would go
after those human beings in their earthly abode and
tempt them to do evil, including tampering with God’s
creation. The principle is clearly rejected by Islam but an
exception is made when used to produce medicines or
other material to alleviate suffering and illness. Using it to
tamper with human individuality and eligibility for
personal responsibility is forbidden. Apart from
combating illness, it should not be allowed.
 Other important matters
• Blood Donation
• Organ Transplantation
• Treatment through Intoxicants – Alcohol as a
medication
• Ruling on in-vitro fertilization (IVF)
• Other medical related procedures
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iz7FphXL2uY
 Question Time
"There is no such thing as a stupid question“.
It suggests that the quest for Knowledge includes
failure, and that just because one person may
know less than others they should not be afraid
to ask rather than pretend they already know. In
many cases multiple people may not know but
are too afraid to ask the "stupid question"; the
one who asks the question may in fact be doing a
service to those around them.