Science in the Glorious Quran: Chemical Evolution or Divine Creation?
“أَمْ خُلِقُوا مِنْ غَيْرِ شَيْءٍ أَمْ هُمُ الْخَالِقُون” (الطور: 35).
Were they created by nothing, or were they themselves the creators? (Qur’an, 52:35).
The hereditary material of humans and all living creature is made of DNA. It contains the complete construction plan of the human bodies, including their physical and structural characteristics, from their birth until their death. DNA is found in the form of chromosomes in the nucleus of each of the 100 trillion cells of the human body. The genetic make-up of humans is almost 99.9% identical. The remaining 0.1% variation in DNA is responsible for differences in individual traits of people.
The building units of DNA are called nucleotides. There are four types, named by their initial letters A, T, G, and C. The number of nucleotides in the human DNA is about 3.5 billion.
The data pertaining to DNA is recorded in the form of genes, which are estimated to number between 20,000 and 25,000. The genes are translated into proteins which are made of amino acids. Each three nucleotides of a gene code for one amino acid. An error in the sequence of just one of the nucleotides of a gene could cause a mutation in an amino acid that renders the protein completely useless. For example, one nucleotide error could lead to diabetes.
You may ask, “Wouldn’t the situation become less sophisticated in a unicellular creature like bacteria?” In fact, the chromosome of bacteria consists of about 4.6 million nucleotides coding for about 4,400 genes.
Is it possible for chance to have accurately arranged millions of nucleotides in the right sequence to produce functional genes and proteins which are required for the life of even a single bacteria cell to start? Certainly, Not.
Suppose, for the sake of argument, this happened: would life start? No, because DNA alone is useless and does not function without the service of several enzymes which are capable of replicating and reading it. Ironically, these enzymes need to be synthesized from the recorded information on the DNA itself. In other words, both the DNA and the enzymes have to coexist at the same time. Otherwise, neither of them is enough to start life.
Can chance create both functional DNA and enzymes simultaneously for life to start?
It may, therefore, be concluded that there is no likelihood for the chemical evolution of life to have taken place by sheer chance. In fact, naturalists are just substituting God with Mother Nature. The only chance for life to emerge is by the Will of a Creator.
” بَدِيعُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَإِذَا قَضَى أَمْرًا فَإِنَّمَا يَقُولُ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ ” (لقمان: 28).
“And whenever He decrees a thing, He says to it, “Be,” and it becomes.” (Qur’an, 2:117)
A functional protein needs to have the correct amino acid sequence which is dependent on the correct DNA sequence of the coding gene.
Each amino acid has a codon of three nucleotide of the DNA of the genetic material (left). A mistake in one amino may lead to incorrect protein folding and non-functional protein (right)