If we consider human nature as a book, the encoded information contained within, together with all the elements of inner and outer environments (bio-psycho-socio-cultural), becomes meaningful and functional. This is because each book has a visible structure composed of letters (semiotic DNA sequence) and a manifested meaning (semantic web) in a particular environment. From this point of view, genes should not be seen as mandatory codes, but should be considered as similar to the art of marbling (or ebru, which is the making of different patterns on a fluid by small vibrations of the ink droplets), for they are created by the united effect of various dynamic forces, and can only be understood accordingly. Human willpower and responsibility will also gain meaning and value when they are analyzed within the framework of the reaction intervals presented within the motifs of human nature which are shaped by the mutual effects genes and cultural factors have on each other. In this sense, human nature and culture should be evaluated together. We can organize the factors that determine human behavior and manners under three main titles – genetic, physicochemical environment, and psycho-socio-cultural factors. We can only speculate statistically as to how large or small a role each factor plays in development.

Behaviors like an inclination to crime, having intimate feelings for same sex individuals, cognitive and sensory sharpness, a desire for excitement and risk, or an inclination to addiction cannot be described by one or two genes. For instance, there are many factors (environment, genes) involved in acts of violence. However, one missing and insufficient factor can trigger violence. For instance, the Monoamine oxidase A enzyme is encoded by the MAO-A gene; this enzyme is in charge of degrading neurotransmitter molecules such as dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine (these enable signaling between nerve cells). Depending on the mutations or polymorphisms of this gene, if the enzyme cannot function sufficiently, these individuals display an inclination towards violence and aggressive behavior. But if the person is aware of the situation and gets educational support from others, this behavior can be controlled.

Similarly, every person has a variable degree of genes that put them at risk for cancer. If these genes are activated via environmental factors – such as smoking, poor nutrition, mutagens, carcinogens – cancer may develop. On the other hand, if a person is lacking the cancer-causing genes or has low inclination towards cancer, such a person may not get cancer, even if he or she is a smoker. Similar statements can be made for genes associated with addictions, sexual perversions, and violent tendencies. More significantly, we can produce more value and meaning out of behavior-related genes when we evaluate them according to their context, position, and other factors, along with their relations to other genes. That is to say, there is a complicated network of factors that shape behavior. That’s why a DNA sequence alone cannot determine, all by itself, the development of emotions and manners, skills, and personality. In other words, phenotype can never be predicted 100% just by the interpretation of genetic information.

Brain and personality development is a multi-faceted, exposome mystery. From the start of pregnancy, especially throughout the preschool era, everything one is exposed to, and the way those events shape one’s nature, is called exposome. This can include subconscious events, for all sorts of personal history plays a role in such development. The connections of 1011 neuron cells that exist in an average human brain are not only determined by genes. Human DNA contains 6.2 x 109 nucleotide (letter), or information. Reading and using this raw information depends on many factors. Neurons can establish new connections via internal and external stimuli, while on the other hand, the number of neuron cells and connection networks can be changed by the neurochemical substances and hormones that they synthesize. All of the information required to define fine details in the motifs and connections of brain cells is not present in the genome. Mere environmental factors are not enough to complement this missing information.

Aside from these, many factors play a role in brain development and function. When the ends of axons and dendrites extend, they do so by recognizing nanomolecules that guide them all the way to the target organ or region. They happen to make minor changes and deviations during this extension. These changes are extreme enough that this extension is part deterministic and part trial and error. They reach the target through a statistically systemic algorithm but with a certainty less than 100%. Axons that are extended from eyes to the brain have a 1% possibility of taking a wrong turn at optic chiasm, and therefore not reaching the brain or arriving at the wrong region of it. However, there are also signalization systems built in our brains that recognize and correct these errors. If axons cannot receive the correct signals from target neurons, they get degraded. And sometimes a neuron of the axon terminates itself. These observations clearly show that brain development does not take place by a molecular program that is predetermined down to the minutest details but rather through a flexible program open to changes and errors.

This flexible program is explained by materialistic philosophy as “chance,” which basically means being in the right place at the right time to encounter the right factors. The same program, in religious literature, is explained by factors known as fate, kismet, destiny, divine blessing, and grant. Aside from that, there are also certain uncontrollable activations and a genetic background in the brain that are involved before we start a conscious action. From this perspective, motifs generated by biological and genetic inclinations set the infrastructure for the freedom of decision making and self-determination. Since our thoughts, emotions, and acts are formed within the neurogenetic and neurochemical construct of the brain, the motif that is created by the background here generates inclinations for specific acts and behaviors. In other words, events that take place in our brain chemistry during the fetal period and early childhood years are significant determinants of human development. The human brain can function in a state with willpower and consciousness, but can also function automatically, without consciousness. Briefly, it is through our genes that the framework of what we can achieve, our reaction intervals and threshold values are determined, and the possibility of an act is indicated. But the boundaries of the final decision are determined via statistical possibilities as a result of a person’s interaction with their environment. Therefore the boundary is not determined in a mandatory fashion, but via external dynamics (like manners, beliefs, or moral nourishment).

Human willpower is our capacity and strength to make free decisions and selections under the effects of spiritual, genetic, and environmental frameworks (endophenotype). The decisions and selections cannot take place independently from the sources nourishing one’s metaphysical world, cultural circles, or from the impact of neurochemicals in the brain and our hormones. “God burdens no soul except within its capacity” (2:286) is a sign of mercy and compassion from the Qur’an, indicating that the field of action and boundaries of the human willpower are determined based on multiple factors and wise causes. Producing customized religious rulings according to one’s natural strengths and weaknesses is also a very meaningful legal action in Islamic law. It is, in a sense, an acknowledgement that everyone has trials and experiences that are different than others’.

Humans have responsibilities within defined, limited conditions, and they can only make decisions within those permissible intervals of conditions and the constraints of their natural dispositions. If we can analyze human actions in a model that looks into their dispositions, cultural environments, genetic inclinations, and spiritual and moral nourishment, then we can attain better results in the education and character development of human beings.

Each factor mentioned above affects the child’s sexual separation and differentiation to various degrees. Misbehaviors during sexual development may emerge as a result of a complex mosaic of biological, psychological, sociocultural factors. There is not a complete consensus around the main reasons for this, yet each researcher favors one factor in the light of their expertise and ideological choices. However, objective observations and research point out that the quality of relationship between the parents and children is very influential in this matter. The display of unhealthy sexual inclinations stems from a negative background where there is not enough parent-child relationships to help the child develop. In families of children with strange sexual behaviors, a suppressive, excessively controlling model of mother and a distant, aggressive model of a father who resorts to violence are often found to exist. That is why many problems with intimacy and sex that occur later in life can be viewed as a developmental ailment and a problem of insufficient parental communication rather than a mandatory genetic phenomenon.

Various problems can arise when healthy differentiation and separation do not take place during a child’s development. A child, in the beginning, is like a part of the mother. If differentiated by detachment from the mother, and from her compassion and care, a child struggles to develop a healthy sense of ego. Such a child becomes inclined to develop a personality that is dependent, passive, and lacking sufficient confidence.

Research clearly states that each child is born with different inclinations and threshold values that are determined genetically and hormonally for each of his or her possible characters and behaviors. These potential inclinations and threshold values can surface depending on internal and external stimuli and educational styles. Even though both genders carry hormones belonging to each other naturally, during development one steps forward upon expression of encoded gender genes. When it comes to displaying sexual abnormalities, everybody is, genetically speaking, a dry log or a wet log. A dry log can easily catch fire, a wet one does not. However, it is the responsibility of society and parents to provide a spark-free environment for the dry log. Spiritual and biological nourishment during the developmental process are found to be significantly influential in diseases and aging, in disorders of character development, and in anomalies in sexual behaviors. When proper measures are taken timely, via suitable environments and educational modes, the possible surfacing of behavioral pathologies may be prevented or reduced for children potentially at risk. Through correct guidance and education, the expression and regulation of genes can be altered and managed, controlling these naturally present inclinations.

Cezmi Aydin is a freelance writer in natural sciences.

References

• Alper, Joseph S. (1998). “Genes, free will, and criminal responsibility.” Soc. Sci. Med. Vol. 46, No. 12, pp. 1599 1611
• Meyer, Lia Midori Nascimento, Gilberto Cafezeiro Bomfim, Charbel Nino El-Hani. 2011. “How to Understand the Gene in the Twenty-First Century?” Sci & Educ. DOI 10.1007/s11191-011-9390-z
• Levitt, Mairi and Neil Manson. 2007. “My Genes Made Me Do It? The Implications of Behavioural Genetics for Responsibility and Blame.” Health Care Anal. 15, pp. 33–40.
• Richardson, Brian. 2011. “What’s wrong with me? Coming to terms with same sex attraction.” Nursing Children 24 and Young People. October 2011. Volume 23. Number 8. pp. 22-24.
• William J. Jenkins. 2010. “Can Anyone Tell Me Why I’m Gay? What Research Suggests Regarding The Origins of Sexual Orientation.” North American Journal of Psychology, 2010, Vol. 12, No. 2. pp. 279-296.
• Botz-Bornstein, Thorsten. 2010. “Genes, memes, and the Chinese concept of wen: toward a nature/culture model of genetics.” Philosophy East & West Vol. 60, No. 2. April 2010. University of Hawaii Press, pp. 167–186.

A: Some critics of Islam have reviled the Prophet as a self-indulgent libertine. They have accused him of character failings that are hardly compatible with being of average virtue, let alone with being a Prophet and God’s last Messenger, as well as the best model for humanity to follow. However, based on the easily available scores of biographies and well-authenticated accounts of his sayings and actions, it is quite clear that he lived the most strictly disciplined life, and that his marriages were part of the numerous burdens he bore as God’s last Messenger.

The reasons for his multiple marriages vary. However, all of them were related to his role as leader of the Muslim community, and his responsibility to guide the new Muslims toward the norms and values of Islam.

Q: Can you be more specific?

A: When Muhammad was 25, before he was called to his future mission, he married Khadija, his first wife. Given the surrounding cultural environment, not to mention the climate and such other considerations as his youth, it is remarkable that he enjoyed a reputation for perfect chastity, integrity, and trustworthiness. As soon as he was called to Prophethood, he acquired enemies who did not hesitate to raise false calumnies against him, but not once did any of them dare invent something unbelievable about him. Khadija was 15 years his senior.

This marriage was very high and exceptional in the eyes of the Prophet and God. For 23 years, their life was a period of uninterrupted contentment in perfect fidelity. In the eighth year of Prophethood, however, she passed away, leaving the Prophet as the sole parent of their children for 4 or 5 years. Even his enemies are forced to admit that, during these years, they can find no flaw in his moral character. The Prophet took no other wife during Khadija’s lifetime, although public opinion would have allowed him to do so. When he began marrying other women, he was already past 55, when very little real interest and desire for marriage remains.

Q: How could a Prophet be polygamous?

A: People often ask how a Prophet can have more than one wife. This question is usually asked by those people who know next to nothing about Islam; their question is based either on genuine ignorance or the desire to spread doubt among believers.

Many of those who reproach the Prophet’s polygamous family life are usually involved in casual relations and liaisons with numerous sexual partners. Considering themselves free, they engage in what most societies consider to be immoral behavior. One wonders why believers of other religions attack the Prophet for his multiple marriages. Have they forgotten that the great Hebrew patriarchs, considered Prophets in the Bible and in the Qur’an and revered by Jews, Christians, and Muslims as exemplars of moral excellence, all practiced polygamy? Moreover, as in the case of Prophet Solomon, they had far more wives than Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace. One wonders if they are moved more by their anti-Islam bias than genuine concern or interest.

Polygamy did not originate with the Muslims. Furthermore, in the case of the Prophet this practice has far more significance than people generally realize. In a sense, the Prophet had to be polygamous to transmit his Sunna (the statutes and norms of Islamic law). As Islam covers every part of one’s life, private spousal relations cannot remain untouched. Therefore, there must be women who can guide other women in these matters. There is no room for the allusive language of hints and innuendoes. The chaste and virtuous women of the Prophet’s household were responsible for explaining the norms and rules of such private spheres to other Muslims.

Q: How did the Prophet select his wives?

Some of the Prophet’s marriages were contracted for specific reasons:

Since his wives were young, middle-aged, and old, the requirements and norms of Islamic law could be exemplified in relation to their different life stages and experiences. These were learned and applied first within the Prophet’s household, and then passed on to other Muslims by his wives.

* Each wife was from a different clan or tribe, which allowed the Prophet to establish bonds of kinship and affinity throughout the rapidly expanding Muslim community. This also enabled a profound attachment to him to spread among all Muslims, thereby creating and securing equality and brotherhood in a most practical way and on the basis of religion.

* Each wife, both during and after the Prophet’s life, proved to be of great benefit and service to the cause of Islam. They conveyed his message and interpreted it to their clans: the outer and inward experience, and the qualities, manners, and faith of the man whose life was the embodiment of the Qur’an-Islam in practice. In this way, all Muslims learned about the Qur’an, hadith, Qur’anic interpretation and commentary, and Islamic jurisprudence, and so became fully aware of Islam’s essence and spirit.

* Through his marriages, the Prophet established ties of kinship throughout Arabia. This gave him the freedom to move and be accepted as a member in each family. Since they regarded him as one of their own, they felt they could go to him in person and ask him directly about this life and the Hereafter. The tribes also benefited collectively from their proximity to him: they considered themselves fortunate and took pride in that relationship, such as the Umayyads (through Umm Habiba), the Hashimites (through Zaynab bint Jahsh), and the Bani Makhzum (through Umm Salama).

Part of that discipline was providing each wife with the most meticulously observed justice, dividing equally whatever slender resources he allowed for their subsistence, accommodation, and allowance. He also divided his time with them equally, and regarded and treated them with equal friendship and respect. The fact that all of his wives got on well with each other is no small tribute to his genius for creating peace and harmony. With each of them, he was not only a provider but also a friend and companion.

Q: If a Muslim man is allowed only four wives, why did the Prophet have eleven?

A: The number of the Prophet’s wives was a dispensation unique to him. Some of the merits and wisdom of this dispensation, as we understand them, have been explained. All other Muslims are allowed a maximum of four wives at one time. When that Revelation restricting polygamy came, the Prophet’s marriages had already been contracted. Thereafter, he married no other women.