Moiez – That is a good question. IMO, one does not have to “use” Qur’an or Islam, but rather, abide by its principles. In that sense, we need to discuss the pressing issues with the ulema, so they can warn us of what to avoid, inshallah. I don’t think the list of “don’ts” is so long, and will be very similar to general ethical concerns of other groups. For example, respecting the sanctity of all life, especially human life. Wrt stem cell research, there has been some discussion on this subject, though i will have to look for the articles now. Fundamentalist Christians have issue with it, as they believe every embryo is a life that must be protected. Muslims also have great respect for life, but as we believe the soul is not breathed into the foetus until later stages (some difference of opinion as to when exactly, but way after the initial embryo stage when stem cells are collected), there is less of an ethical dilemma, inshallah. Though i’m not sure about how these embryos are meant to be generated – for example, are we allowed to use aborted embryos, left-over IVF embryos, can we make our own? etc. Lots of questions that need answers.

Dawud: I’m not sure of the experiment you mention… there have been many experiments where human genes have been expressed in mice. But only one or two genes at a time, so they could not be called “human-like mice”. Perhaps you mean where human sperm was used to fertilise a mouse egg, or vica-versa? It is highly unlikely that such a coupling would lead to anything but an arrested embryo, considering how different the two species are… but whether such an experiment is allowed in Islam, i’m not sure. Have to ask someone who can issue fatwas.

Shahzad: Wa ‘alaykum salam wa rahmatullah. Harun Yahya’s books have their good and bad sides, as you said. I did appreciate the arguments against the theory of evolution; they should definitely be considered. However, i don’t think there is any evidence to conclusively support or reject the idea of evolution. There are a set of facts and observations that can be interpreted by both sides to support their theories… as i said, the only thing we, as Muslims, can comment on for sure, is the origins of humanity, as we have faith in the revealed knowledge of the Qur’an. However, non-Muslim (or perhaps, areligious, seeing as many religions have views about the creation of man) scientists are not going to accept that argument, understandably.

Salik: Jazakallah khair for the images… though in one of them, the sun looks like a dinosaur egg!

The creation of the heavens and the earth is indeed greater than the creation of mankind, yet most of mankind know not. (Surah Ghafir ayah 57)

and also this presentation: http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/powersof10/
the unviverse in powers of 10 mashaAllah.

talk about Rabbul Alamin! And humans think the world revolves around them subhanAllah.

Jazakallah Khairan for this thread. It is amazing that as Muslims, we have no problem excelling in the bilological sciences while remaining firm on our aqeedah. The Islamic concept of Allah’s creative power is far reaching. And like iMuslim said the mechanics of creation can include evolution. I see no contradiction between evolution and our aqeedah. That said the Muslim student of the sciences (as taught in the West) needs to fortify his/her heart and knowledge with Islam so as to not get caught up with the philosophical extensions of modern science (especially evolutionary biology and neuroscience) in which scientisits arrogantly deny their Creator.

The history of science in the West is quite different than its role in Islamic history. While the Muslim studies science to appreciate better the signs of Allah, the West used science to demolish the Church’s literal application of the Bible to describe natural events and history, and eventually to deny God.

It is important for Muslims to be able to articulate our aqeedah while embracing our observations from scientific research. For example I see a lot of benefit in the books of Harun Yayha. They are colourful and engaging, and remind us of the beauty of Allah’s creation. But his treatment of evolution and Darwinism is a bit too one-sided. It may be true that philosophical extensions of Darwanism influenced the development of facism and communism (i.e. application of “survival of the fittest” concepts to politics and sociology), but it would be very damaging for Muslims to jump on the anti-Darwinism bandwagon like the Christians do (ex: heard about the creationist museum in the States?) . As a Muslim I can embrace evolutionary concepts while at the same time saying that Allah is our Creator.

Allah knows best.

Quick question: there was an experiment where human DNA was injected into a mouse embryo to see if it would develop. It still continued to develop. But they ended the experiment because of ethical issues. I think you know of this experiment or something similar (my description might be off)…

Would such an experiment be allowed in Islam, especially considering that it could produce a human-like mouse?