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Although scientists across the world have been working on the human genome for decades, our knowledge of genetic structure is still very limited. Scientists working for the Celera company, using advanced laboratory technology and computer analysis techniques, identified 26,500 human genes and provided estimated locations for around 13,000 of them. Using a different method, the Human Genome Project estimated that there are 31,778 human genes. What these two methods agree on is that human beings have between 30,000 and 40,000 genes. Given the complex nature of human genes, it is presently impossible to provide an exact number.
According to Human Genome Project estimates, those sections of DNA concerned with instructions for the production of protein represent less than 5% of the DNA sequence. The remaining genetic information consists of genetic control regions regarding chromosomes and DNA segments that are not yet understood.127 A great deal more research is needed before we can fully understand human genetic data.
As scientists seek to reveal how the genetic mechanism functions, they cannot explain how such a perfect system came to be. Under the caption "Messages from the Genome" in the December 2000 issue of Harper's Magazine, Arthur Cody describes the operations within the genome as a series of "triggering processes" and then poses the following questions:
What triggers the triggerer? Nobody knows. More than that, nobody has any theoretical proposal to suggest . . . . 'Triggering' is an interesting biological event; it goes nowhere toward explaining construction. What kicks the homeotic gene [which regulates the embryo development] into action? No answer exists, factual or theoretical . . . . Not only does no one know, no one has the slightest idea how to look for an answer . . . . Everything truly essential about the process is utterly and even radically incomprehensible. 128
To the writer's questions, there is only one answer, of course: all these things take place under the inspiration of Almighty Allah. By the will of our Lord, billions of atoms combine together in such a way as to comprise all the functions of life. Indeed, with the conclusion of the Human Genome Project, the details of the genetic information that reveals the sublime creation with which Allah brings living things into being have been revealed for all to see. Today, anyone who examines the results of the project and discovers that in a single human cell is sufficient information to fill thousands of encyclopedia pages will see this as evidence of a magnificent creation. One of those who express this fact is the physicist and geneticist Prof. Francis S. Collins, leader of the Human Genome Project and head of the National Human Genome Project Research Institute. In 2005, Prof. Collins was awarded the Allen Prize, regarded as the American Society of Human Genetics' most prestigious award, for his lifetime's study of human genetics. In a speech, Prof. Collins stated that his studies had deepened his faith in Allah:
From my perspective as director of the Human Genome Project, the scientific and religious world views are not only compatible but also inherently complementary. . . The elegance and complexity of the human genome is a source of profound wonder. That wonder only strengthens my faith, as it provides glimpses of aspects of humanity, which God has known all along, but which we are just now beginning to discover.129
Any honest scientist will admit that faith and science are compatible with each other and that the universe is full of proofs of Allah. However, the dishonest approach adopted by the Darwinist-materialist media clearly demonstrates their selectivity. The words of this scientist, who headed the Human Genome Project and who confessed his amazement at the superior organization manifested in DNA--and how a single molecule strengthened his faith--appear nowhere in the press. However, the perfection in the order created by Allah is far too apparent to be concealed in any way. In the Qur'an, Allah reveals the attitude of believers:
Those who have been given knowledge see that what has been sent down to you from your Lord is the truth and that it guides to the Path of [Allah], the Almighty, the Praiseworthy. (Surah Saba, 6)
There is an excellent example in them for you to follow that is for those whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day. But if anyone turns away, Allah is the Rich Beyond Need, the Praiseworthy. (Surat al-Mumtahana, 6)