Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
Cloning does not mean that humans have become capable of creating as Allah Almighty creates, nor does it mean that scientists can produce the soul or grant life by themselves. The cloning process begins with living material and cells that Allah has already created, after which certain procedures and technologies are used to benefit from the properties already present in them.
There is a fundamental difference between creating something from nothing and working with something that already exists by changing its form, transferring it, or rearranging its components.
First: Creation and giving life belong to Allah Almighty
The Qur’an states that Allah is the Creator of human beings, life, and death. Allah Almighty says:
“Allah is the One who created you, then provided for you, then will cause you to die, then will bring you back to life. Is there any among your partners who can do any of these things?”
[Qur’an 30:40]
He also says:
“How can you disbelieve in Allah when you were lifeless and He gave you life, then He will cause you to die, then bring you back to life?”
[Qur’an 2:28]
Human beings can use creatures and the laws Allah has placed in the universe, but they cannot independently bring life into existence from nothing apart from the causes Allah created.
Second: What is cloning in reality?
Cloning, in reality, is not creating a living being from nothing. Rather, it relies on biological material that already exists.
In what is known as somatic cell cloning, the nucleus of a cell containing genetic material is taken and placed into an egg cell whose nucleus has been removed. The resulting cell is then stimulated to divide and requires suitable biological conditions for its development to continue.
The scientists did not create the original cell, nor did they create the genetic material, the egg cell, or the laws that enable cells to divide and grow.
Therefore, describing cloning as creation from nothing is inaccurate because its essential components already existed before human intervention.
Third: Do scientists breathe a soul into a cloned organism?
There is nothing in the cloning process that is scientifically described as manufacturing or breathing in a soul.
Scientists deal with cells, genetic material, and cell division. As for the soul, Allah has informed us that its true nature is among those matters of which human beings have been given only limited knowledge.
Allah Almighty says:
“They ask you concerning the soul. Say: ‘The soul is of the affair of my Lord, and you have been given only a little knowledge.’”
[Qur’an 17:85]
Therefore, the success of a biological procedure does not mean that scientists have created the soul or become capable of controlling it.
Fourth: Using the laws of creation is not creating from nothing
A person can farm by placing a seed in the ground and providing it with water and suitable conditions so that it grows. Yet this does not mean that the person created the seed or created the life within it.
Likewise, a doctor may use techniques that assist pregnancy, a surgeon may transplant an organ from one person to another, and scientists may work with cells and genes. But all of this takes place using existing material and natural laws that humans themselves did not create.
This makes clear the difference between the human ability to discover and use some of the laws of nature and the act of bringing matter, life, and their governing laws into existence from nothing.
Fifth: What about the miracle of Jesus, peace be upon him?
The Qur’an states that Jesus, peace be upon him, would fashion from clay something in the shape of a bird and then breathe into it, whereupon it would become a bird. Yet the Qur’an repeatedly emphasizes that this happened by Allah’s permission:
“And when you fashioned from clay the form of a bird by My permission, then breathed into it, and it became a bird by My permission.”
[Qur’an 5:110]
Thus, the miracle was not an independent power possessed by Jesus, peace be upon him, competing with the power of Allah. Rather, it was a sign that Allah caused to occur through him.
This clarifies an important principle: the occurrence of something extraordinary through a created being does not make that being an independent creator apart from Allah.
Sixth: Cloning does not contradict belief that Allah is the Creator
Scientific progress may enable humans to discover how some of the systems Allah placed within living creatures function, but this does not mean that humans brought these systems into existence from nothing.
Cloning depends on the cell and its genetic material, its ability to divide and grow, and a suitable biological environment for the process to continue.
Therefore, the human ability to make use of these things does not make humans their creators, just as making objects from iron does not mean that humans created iron itself from nothing.
In conclusion: Cloning is not creation like Allah’s creation. It is not the production of life from nothing, nor does it involve scientists manufacturing or breathing in a soul. Rather, it is human intervention in already existing cells and genetic material, using properties and laws that Allah placed within living beings. Therefore, there is nothing in the reality of cloning that contradicts the belief that Allah Almighty is the Creator, the Giver of life, and the One who causes death.
And Allah knows best.