Quran & Science

The cloning of humans, males or females, if done, would be a disaster for the world.


Cloning has re-kindled an ongoing debate centered around ethical concerns, which scientists, pro-creationists, politicians and religious personalities are struggling to define in terms of right and wrong.


Scientists who favour cloning, argue that the tissue material from cloned embryos could lead to breakthroughs in the treatment of severe human diseases such as Parkinson’s, Motor Neuron or Diabetes. On the other hand, the Church and pro-life campaigners argue that the cloning of embryos constitutes life, and to terminate an embryo would be no different to terminating the life of any other human being. Western politicians are also deeply divided between the two views. In 2003, White House spokesman said that US President George Bush had found the news “deeply troubling”, and added that the news underscored the need for legislation to ban all human cloning in the US. While other politicians most notably those with close ties with bio-technology firms are fervent supporters of human cloning.


So who is right? Many people in the West believe that science is fully capable of providing truths about human behaviour, which in turn can be used to govern people’s lives. This view is erroneous as the scientific thought is a particular type of thought only suited to the study of material objects under laboratory conditions.


Science is unable to pass ethical judgements on things or human actions and can never provide a code of ethics for mankind. In western societies it is the secular creed together with its viewpoint on life based on benefit, which determines what is right and wrong. In practice the politicians who are the elected representatives of the people are given the responsibility of deciding what is right and wrong on behalf of society. For instance, on the issue of human cloning Tony Blair’s New Labour party which has close links with bio-tech companies is in favour of human cloning, while opposition groups such as the anti-abortion charity, Life, want a total ban on all forms of human cloning. In the end, the government sought a middle ground and enacted legislation to support the cloning of human embryos, but outlawed the cloning of a human being. This is an ethical position which is definitely incorrect, as it fails to provide an answer to the original question.


In Islam, truth and falsehood, right and wrong are clearly defined and do not change with age, places or people. The Islamic laws or ethical standards in Islam are fixed and do not revolve around benefit nor are subject to environmental influences. Islam did not leave human beings without guidance in this life. So what is Islam’s view on cloning?


The aim of cloning in plants and animals is to improve quality and increase productivity, and to find a natural cure for many common human diseases, especially the acute ones, instead of using chemical drugs which have harmful side effects on man’s health.


The improvement in the quality of plants is not prohibited from a shariah perspective. This is the ruling concerning cloning plants. As for cloning of human beings, it is as follows:


For foetal cloning, the zygote is formed in the womb of a wife as a result of the husband’s sperm and the wife’s egg. That zygote is divided into many cells, which can divide and grow. These cells are divided so that each cell becomes a foetus by itself, as a duplicate of the original zygote. Then, if they were to be implanted in the womb of a foreign woman or in the womb of the husband’s second wife, these two forms of cloning would be prohibited (Haram) because this would result in mixing of kinship. Then, it would cause loss of kinship, and Islam has prohibited this.


If on the other hand, one or more of these zygotes were implanted in the wife’s womb (who was the source of the original cell) then this form of cloning would be permitted (Halal). This is because it is a multiplying of the zygote, which existed in the wife’s womb through a medical procedure to bring about identical twins. This is the rule concerning foetal cloning.


As for the cloning of humans, it could be done by taking a body cell from the male, extracting its nucleus, merging it with a female’s egg after removing the egg’s own nucleus. This male nucleus in a female egg would be transferred to a woman’s womb to double and grow. Hence, it would become a foetus and then a baby, which is a duplicate of the original male from whose body the cell was taken. Also, cloning could be done among females only without a need for a male. This is done by taking a cell from the body of a female and extracting its nucleus in order to merge it with a female’s egg. Then, the egg is transferred to a woman’s womb after it is merged with the cell’s nucleus, to grow and become a foetus and then a baby, which is a duplicate of the female from which the cell was taken. This is what happened with Dolly, the sheep, where the nucleus was taken from a sheep’s breast cell. Then, the elements related to the breast were taken out from this nucleus and the nucleus was placed in a sheep’s egg after removing its own nucleus. The cell was placed in the womb of a sheep to multiply and grow, and become a foetus. Dolly, the sheep, was born as an exact duplicate of the first sheep from which the cell was taken.


This cloning of humans, males or females, if done, would be a disaster for the world. This would be the case whether the aim was to improve quality, select the offspring which is smarter, stronger, braver, healthier, or more beautiful, or if the aim was to increase the number in order to increase the population or to make the state stronger. It is prohibited because of these reasons:


• The production of children in this manner is different from the natural way that Allah made humans to reproduce their offspring.

• The children who are born out of cloning females, without a male, have no fathers. In addition, they will not have mothers if the egg that was merged with the nucleus of the cell was placed in the womb of a female different from that female whose egg was used in the cloning process. This is the case because the female whose womb was used to implant the egg is no more than a place to house the egg. This will lead to the loss of that human, where he has no father and no mother. This contradicts the saying of Allah, “O mankind! We have created you from a male and a female and and also His saying, “Call them by the names of their fathers, that is more just in the sight of Allah.”

• Loss of kinship. The cloning which aims at producing people who are outstanding in terms of their intelligence, strength, health and beauty would mean choosing the people with characteristics among the males and the females regardless of if they were married couples or not. As a result, the cells would be taken from the males who had the required characteristics, and the eggs would be taken from selected women and implanted in selected women. This would lead to the kinship being lost and mixed.

• The production of children through cloning prevents applying many of the shariah rules, such as the rules of marriage, kinship, alimony, fatherhood. So human cloning is prohibited (Haram) from a shariah perspective and it is not allowed.


The creation of Allah is the nature (fitra) which Allah has created in people at birth, and the nature (fitra) of reproduction of humans from a male and a female through the fertilisation of the sperm of the male with the egg from the female. The law of Allah is that this process is to be done between a male and a female with a valid contract. It is not the nature (fitra) that reproduction and birth are achieved by cloning. This is in addition to the fact that this would happen between a male and a female who do not have a valid marriage contract that binds them. Clearly, the Quran presents answers to issues arising out of human cloning, which Western societies and science are unable to answer.

(The writer is a political analyst who specialises in Muslim affairs-Al-Jazeerah.info)

Do you know how important a food source the honey is, which Allah offers man by means of a tiny insect?


Honey is composed of sugars like glucose and fructose and minerals like magnesium, potassium, calcium, sodium chlorine, sulphur, iron and phosphate. It contains vitamins B1, B2, C, B6, B5 and B3 all of which change according to the qualities of the nectar and pollen. Besides the above, copper, iodine, and zinc exist in it in small quantities. Several kinds of hormones are also present in it.


As Allah says in the Quran, honey is a “healing for men”. This scientific fact was confirmed by scientists who assembled during the World Apiculture Conference held from 20-26 September 1993 in China. During the conference, treatments with honey derivatives were discussed. American scientists in particular said that honey, royal jelly, pollen and propolis (bee resin) cure many diseases. A Romanian doctor stated that he tried honey on cataract patients, and 2002 out of his 2094 patients recovered completely. Polish doctors also informed the conference that bee resin helps to cure many diseases such as haemorrhoids, skin problems, gynaecological diseases and many other disorders.


Nowadays, api-culture and bee products have opened a new branch for research in countries advanced in science. Other benefits of honey are

• It is easily digested: because sugar molecules in honey can convert into other sugars (e.g. fructose to glucose), honey is easily digested by the most sensitive stomachs, despite its high acid content. It helps kidneys and intestines to function better.

• Has a low calorie level: Another quality of honey is that, when it is compared with the same amount of sugar, it gives 40% less calories to the body. Although it gives great energy to the body, it does not add weight.

• Rapidly diffuses through the blood: When accompanied by mild water, honey diffuses into the bloodstream in 7 minutes. Its free sugar molecules make the brain function better since the brain is the largest consumer of sugar.

• Supports blood formation: Honey provides an important part of the energy needed by the body for blood formation. In addition, it helps in cleansing the blood. It has some positive effects in regulating and facilitating blood circulation. It also functions as a protection against capillary problems and arteriosclerosis.

• Does not accommodate bacteria: This bactericide (bacteria - killing) property of honey is named “the inhibition effect”. Experiments conducted on honey show that its bactericide properties increase two-fold when diluted with water. It is very interesting to note that newly born bees in the colony are nourished with diluted honey by the bees responsible for their supervision.

• Royal Jelly: Royal jelly is a substance produced by worker bees inside the beehive. Inside this nutritious substance are sugar, proteins, fats and many vitamins. It is used in problems caused by tissue deficiency or body weakness.


It is obvious that honey, which is produced in much higher amounts than the requirements of the bees, is made for the benefit of man. And it is also obvious that bees cannot perform such an unbelievable task “on their own.”


It is Allah who makes this possible as it is clearly said in the Quran: “And your Lord revealed to the bee saying: Make hives in the mountains and in the trees and in what they build: Then eat of all the fruits and walk in the ways of your Lord submissively. There comes forth from within it a beverage of many colours, in which there is healing for men; most surely there is a sign in this for a people who reflect”. (Surah an-Nahl, 68-69)