Our Actions linked to Genetic Code ?

In today’s world, there is an idea floating around which is claiming that our actions and behavior, and the life we elect to lead is not the result of the choices and decisions we make but rather something that we are compelled to do because of our biological makeup. Manifestations of this type of thinking can be found in statements like, “Criminal behavior has a genetic basis,” or “morality is something that is decided by our biology and not by our choices.” And every so often, an article or book is published, or a documentary is released trying to push for this idea, particularly as it pertains to homosexuality.

Therefore, the question is: To what extent is our nature involved in the actions we do and the decisions we make? Answering this question necessitates a close look at the human being and, more specifically, the human nature. Allah (swt) created the human being with certain instincts and needs, and these instincts and needs push the human being to satisfy them. For example, the human being possesses the need to eat, and this need will push the human being to satisfy it. He can satisfy this need by eating pork and consuming wine, or he can satisfy this need by eating fish and consuming milk. The need itself does not dictate how to satisfy this need or which specific food types to eat or drink. This is where the nature of the human stops and the mind takes over, because the concepts and ideas that the mind will adopt will lead a Muslim, for example, to satisfy his hunger by eating halal foods and refraining from the haram, such as pork and wine. On the other hand, a Kafir, who does not have this concept of halal and haram, will satisfy his hunger and may refrain from wine for a different reason, such as for financial reasons.

Similarly, when it comes to the instincts, the same principle applies. Human beings have certain instincts, such as the instinct of companionship, the sexual instinct, and the instinct of sanctification. These instincts will only push the human being to satisfy them, but the decision on how to satisfy these instincts is a choice that will depend upon the concepts and ideas that the human being carries. Whether he elects to satisfy the sexual instinct through marriage or though adultery is a choice, because there is no instinct that pushes the human being to satisfy according to a specific process or channel. The instinct demands only satisfaction, but the choice to satisfy the instinct according to a specific process will depend upon the concepts that the human being adopts. Similarly, the human being possesses the instinct of sanctification, and this instinct pushes the human being to revere or sanctify something greater or more powerful than himself and look up to something for answers to his fundamental questions. Whether the human being elects to satisfy his instincts by worshipping Allah (swt) according to the system that He revealed, or whether the human being chooses to satisfy this need by worshipping a rock, a human being, or something else, will be decided by his concepts. In all of these cases, the instincts and needs push the human being to satisfy them, but it is the human being who chooses to satisfy his instincts and needs in a specific way, and he uses his mind to make that decision.

Keep in mind that the decision to satisfy one’s hunger by consuming pork and wine will go against the rules of Allah (swt), but it will not go against the natural law that Allah (swt) created because pork and wine, while being haram, are still considered food and will satisfy hunger. However, can we say the same about eating nails and glass, and drinking benzene and formaldehyde? Such an action is not just a matter of contravening the Halal and Haram, but it completely violates the natural law that Allah (swt) created. The one who chooses to eat nails and glass and drinks benzene will not satisfy his hunger. And if the decision to satisfy one’s hunger in the haram way by consuming pork and wine is something that the human being is free to choose, based on a concept that he or she adopts, then we can definitely say that the decision to completely violate the natural law by consuming nails and drinking benzene is also a choice that the human being makes, based upon a twisted concept about life. Similarly, the sexual instinct can be satisfied through the halal manner (through marriage) or through the haram way in a manner that violates the rules of Allah (swt), by adultery and fornication. In either case, the instinct will be satisfied in accordance to the natural law of Allah (swt). If choosing to satisfy the sexual instinct in a manner that violates the rules of Allah but is within the natural law is a decision that the human being makes, based on a concept or an idea, then we can definitely conclude that electing to satisfy this instinct in a manner that contravenes the natural law itself, such as homosexuality or intercourse with animals, is a pure decision that the human being makes, based on a twisted concept about life.

In conclusion, we must acknowledge the role of our nature. The nature of the human being manifests itself in instincts and needs, which create within us the drive to satisfy them, and we choose the manner in which we satisfy these instincts and needs, either according to the system and rules laid down by Allah (swt) or through a system that human beings choose for themselves. And it is the way we choose to satisfy these instincts and needs that will shape who we are, how we behave, and how we conduct ourselves in life. Unfortunately, the existing societies are established upon incorrect ideas, which have given rise to systems that are unable to correctly address the needs of human beings and correctly resolve issues. As a result, many problems have emerged, and they have reached epidemic proportions that the society can no longer hope to solve. Such a situation may cause the people to question the very validity of the system itself and the ideas that it is established upon, which has the potential to translate to a momentum for change. The status quo has many means of containing or diverting this momentum, one of which is to attribute these problems to some imaginary force which “compels” the human being. Thus, the society is busily propagating this idea that homosexuality, adultery, and even morality and values, are the result of genetics or human nature and not the result of incorrect systems built upon incorrect concepts and ideas about life. And compounding the problem is the fact that this movement has used the scientific institution to advance itself; because the scientific culture is highly respected among the people, then this has caused many people to accept this idea as a scientific one.

In reality, such an idea is another manifestation of Fatalism, which is the notion that human beings are compelled to behave in a certain way because of some imagined force and not because of the decisions they make. During the Middle Ages, the Church pushed the idea that the problems in the society were the result of the Will of God, which made the people accept their extreme poverty and miserable conditions as something they could not control. As a result, no one questioned the real reason behind the misery and oppression that existed, which was the oppressive systems that were applied. Similarly, the society of today wants to divert the attention of the people by convincing them that the problems in the society is because of our genes or our biological makeup, and this idea is cleverly wrapped in a scientific coating. Such an idea is not only a false idea based on a false understanding of human nature, but it makes a mockery of the scientific institution in the process because any credible scientist will realize that genes code for proteins and not for concepts and ideas. Furthermore, the decision to satisfy the instincts and needs does not emanate from the person’s genes or molecular biology, but rather from the concepts and ideas that the person adopts.

Therefore, we should expose this idea for its fallacy, and this is no small task because human beings prefer to avoid responsibility for the decisions and choices they make. As a result, Fatalism, or any idea that reeks of Fatalism, is attractive because it gives the human beings an opportunity to defer responsibility for his or her choices to some imagined force that he has no control over, whether that force is imagined to be the Will of God or Our Genes or Our Molecular Biology.

May Allah (swt) help us in understanding the Truth so that we can live by it and explain it to the others.

Comments

Indeed, secular culture is fundamentally based on the arrogant assumption that man can determine whether actions are good or bad. While everyone can agree that sugar is sweet and vinegar is sour, such agreement cannot be reached regarding actions. Judgements about actions come from one's viewpoint of life