ADVANCES IN SCIENCE
 Thinking
is essential to recognize the wonders and beauties surrounding
us. The Qur'an invites people to ponder so as to see the signs
of Allah encompassing them. This is the only way to appreciate
Allah's superior wisdom and power, which He manifests in living
beings. Subtleties concealed in the creation of the heavens,
Earth, animals, plants, and human beings deserve our deep
thought. In the following verses, Allah invites people to
think on these subtleties:
He Who created the seven heavens in layers.
You will not find any flaw in the creation of the All-Merciful.
Look again—do you see any gaps? (Surat al-Mulk: 3)
Man has only to look at what he was created
from. (Surat at-Tariq: 5)
Have they not looked at
the camel—how it was created? And at the sky—how
it was raised up? And at the mountains—how they were
embedded? And at the earth—how it was smoothed out?
(Surat al-Ghashiyya: 17-20)
Complying with Allah's commands, which encourage
people to think, analyze, and research, will open new scientific
horizons. These very developments, which flourish wherever
people live according to the real spirit of the Qur'an's moral
teachings, will be evident in the Golden Age, a time of unprecedented
scientific development.
In the Golden Age, the major factor that will
enable such scientific development will be science's purification
from some dogmas and erroneous goals. In recent centuries,
such bigoted beliefs as materialist philosophy and Darwinism
have impeded scientific progress. Many scientists concentrated
their efforts on proving entirely mistaken assumptions, and
great amounts of effort and time have been wasted. In the
Golden Age, the scientific world will embrace the fact that
Allah created the universe and everything that it contains.
This will allow science to be practiced on sound foundations.
Available resources that were used to support Darwin's fantasies
or to produce chemical weapons and nuclear bombs will be channeled
to humanity's service in compliance with Allah's consent.
Aware that serving humanity will earn Allah's good pleasure,
scientists will engage in more fruitful research.
Developments in Genetics and Medicine
The discovery of the structure of DNA in the
mid-twentieth century opened new horizons in medicine and
biology. Similarly, all scientific and technological developments
in the Golden Age will add momentum to medical studies, minimize
errors, shorten the time required for an accurate diagnosis,
and enable patients to receive the optimum treatment.
Genetics, which will be the science of this new
century, will be the impetus behind medical advances. Studies
on the human DNA code seek to disclose the genetic causes
of many diseases. One goal of the Human Genome Project, originally
planned to last for 15 years and being worked upon by thousands
of scientists from more than eight countries, is to identify
the genes in human DNA and thereby uncover its mysteries.
Determining the sequences of human DNA's 3 billion chemical
base pairs, entering this information in databases, and using
the related technologies to serve science will open a new
era. The project's primary goals are to protect people against
disease by altering the DNA code, predetermining how the body
responds to medicines, and ensuring protection by predetermining
every human beings' weaknesses. Devising medicines solely
for an individual's needs, as well as forming a database of
genetic features and a genetic card for a person, are also
on the scientists' agenda. As science can progress only as
far as Allah wills, we should not be worried about such undertakings,
as many people are today. Such research either will succeed
and benefit humanity, or fail due to Allah's will.
Thanks to these developments, doctors will be
able to detect minute differences of the same diseases and
then use individualized treatment procedures or techniques.
As a result, people living in the Golden Age will not suffer
from maltreatment and feel desperate. Everyone will immediately
receive the appropriate medical assistance, for ideal morality
and good conduct complies with the duty to help patients and
save their lives. In the Golden Age, enhancing an individual's
health and quality of life will be of primary importance.
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