As we recently stressed, materialism is the belief that categorically rejects the existence of the nonmaterial (or the "supernatural"). Science, on the other hand, is under no obligation to accept such a dogma. The duty of science is to observe nature and produce results. If these reveal that nature was created, science has to accept the fact.

And science does reveal the fact that living things were created. This is something demonstrated by scientific discoveries, which we may call "design." When we examine the fantastically complex structures in living things, we see that they possess such extraordinary design features that they can never be accounted for by natural processes and coincidences. Every instance of design is evidence for an intelligence; therefore, we must conclude that life, too, was designed by an intelligence. Since this intelligence is not present in matter, it must belong to a nonmaterial wisdom-a superior wisdom, an infinite power, that rules all of nature… In short, life and all living things were created. This is not a dogmatic belief like materialism, but the result of scientific observation and experiment.

We see that this conclusion comes as a terrible shock for scientists who are used to believing in materialism, and that materialism is a science. See how this shock is described by Michael Behe, one of the most important scientists to stand against the theory of evolution in the world today:

The resulting realization that life was designed by an intelligence is a shock to us in the twentieth century who have gotten used to thinking of life as the result of simple natural laws. But other centuries have had their shocks, and there is no reason to suppose that we should escape them.396

Mankind has been freed from such dogmas as that the world is flat, or that it is the center of the universe. And it is now being freed from the materialist and evolutionist dogma that life came about by itself.

The duty that befalls a true scientist in this respect, is to do away with materialist dogma and evaluate the origin of life and living things with the honesty and objectivity befitting a real scientist. A real scientist must come to terms with the "shock," and not tie himself to outdated nineteenth-century dogmas and defend impossible scenarios.

CONCLUSION

Throughout this site we have examined the scientific evidence for the origin of life, and what emerges clearly demonstrates that life was not the result of chance, as claimed by Darwinism and materialist philosophy in general. Living species could not have evolved from one another through a string of coincidences. On the contrary, all living things were independently and flawlessly created. As the twenty-first century dawns, science offers but one answer to the question of the origin of life: Creation.

The important thing is that science has confirmed the truth which religion has been witness to from the dawn of history to the present day. God created the universe and all the living things in it from nothing. And it was God Who created man from nothing and blessed him with countless characteristics. This truth has been sent down to man since the dawn of time by prophets, and revealed in holy books. Every prophet has told the communities he addressed that God created man and all living things. The Bible and the Qur'an all tell of the news of creation in the same way.

In the Qur'an, God announces in a number of verses that it was He Who created the universe and all the living things in it from nothing, and flawlessly ordered them. In this verse, it is declared that the universe and everything in it was created:

Your Lord is God, Who created the heavens and the Earth in six days and then settled Himself firmly on the Throne. He covers the day with the night, each pursuing the other urgently;and the sun and moon and stars are subservient to His command. Both creation and command belongs to Him. Blessed be God, the Lord of all the worlds. (Qur'an, 7: 54)

Just as God created everything that exists, so he created the world we live in today, and made it capable of supporting life. This fact is revealed in certain verses:

As for the Earth, We stretched it out and cast firmly embedded mountains in it and made everything grow in due proportion on it. And We put livelihoods in it both for you and for those you do not provide for. (Qur'an, 15: 19-20)

And the Earth: How We stretched it out and cast firmly embedded mountains onto it and caused luxuriant plants of every kind to grow in it. (Qur'an, 50:7-8)

The above verses announce that all plants were created by God. All plants, known and unknown, all trees, grasses, fruit, flowers, seaweed and vegetables were created by God.

And the same thing applies to animals. All of the millions of different animal species that live, or have ever lived, on Earth, were created by God. Fish, reptiles, birds, mammals, horses, giraffes, squirrels, deer, sparrows, eagles, dinosaurs, whales, and peacocks were all created from nothing by God, the Lord of infinite art and knowledge. God's creation of the different species of living things is mentioned in a number of verses:

God created every animal from water. Some of them go on their bellies, some of them on two legs, and some on four. God creates whatever He wills. God has power over all things. (Qur'an, 24:45)

And He created livestock. There is warmth for you in them, and various uses and some you eat. (Qur'an, 16: 5)

And God created man in exactly the same way. It is revealed in the Qur'an that Adam (pbuh), the first man, was created from mud, and then all subsequent people came into existence from each other by a simple liquid (sperm). Furthermore, man had a soul breathed into him, unlike all the other species in the world. The Qur'an has this to say about the truth of the creation of man:

He Who has created all things in the best possible way. He commenced the creation of man from clay; then produced his seed from an extract of base fluid. (Qur'an, 32:7-9)

Man's Duty

As we made clear at the start, science has confirmed the truth of creation, as handed down in the Qur'an, because scientific discoveries show that living things possess extraordinary design, and that they were brought into existence by a superior intelligence and knowledge. Biological observations show that one living species cannot turn into another, and that for that reason, if one could go back in time, one would eventually come across, for each species, the first individuals that ever existed and that were created from nothing. For example, since eagles have always been eagles, if we could go back in time, we would arrive at the first pair, or group, of eagles who were created from nothing. In fact, the fossil record confirms this, and shows that different living species suddenly emerged with all their particular, individual features. These living things may have been created at different points in time and settled in different parts of the world, but this all happened through the will of God.

In short, science confirms the proof we have considered that living things were all created by God.

However, science goes no further than that. It is the Qur'an, the book that has come down to us from God, that introduces us to the essence of God and is the sole source of truth on every subject that tells us why we were created and what the reason for our lives is.

The Qur'an says that the reason for our creation is so that we might know God, our Lord, and serve Him. In one verse, He says, "I only created jinn and man to worship me." (Qur'an, 51:56) The duty falling to everyone who grasps the truth of creation is to live in accordance with that verse, and to say, "Why indeed should I not worship Him who brought me into being, Him to Whom you will be returned?" (Qur'an, 36: 22), like every believer, as described in the Qur'an.

As for those who still deny God and the truth of creation, despite all the evidence before their eyes, their minds have been conquered by their own pride. One of God's holy verses describes how helpless and powerless these individuals really are:

O Humanity! An example has been made, so listen to it carefully. Those whom you call upon besides God are not even able to create a single fly, even if they were to join together to do it. And if a fly steals something from them, they cannot get it back. How feeble are both the seeker and the sought! (Qur'an, 22:73)

396 Michael J. Behe, Darwin's Black Box, The Free Press, New York, 1996, pp. 252-53.