Biological Evolution - An Islamic Perspective
Many people wonder about the theory of biological evolution -
the theory that living species on Earth today are descended from
others in the past, and that the present diversity of living
species we see is a result of descent with modification over the
course of numerous generations.
Muslims also wonder about one of the main processes that
evolutionary theory proposes to explain how evolution takes place -
the process of natural selection. This is the idea that the
individuals within a populations of living organism vary in their
individual traits - they are not exactly alike - and that the
organisms which are most successful at leaving descendants will
pass on their unique traits to the next generation at the expense
of the traits possessed by less successful organisms in the
population, thereby contributing to a long-term gradual change in
the suite of traits found within the population.
To start with, it is not our intention in this article to discuss
the scientific implications of evolutionary theory. We wish to
explore the issue from the perspective of Islamic teachings.
We must ask:
Does the theory of evolution - and likewise the theory of natural
selection as a mechanism of evolution - conform to Islamic
teachings or conflict with them?
Is a Muslim allowed to believe in evolution as a scientific theory
as long as he or she accepts that God is behind it?
Is a Muslim allowed to believe in human evolution? If not, how can
we explain the fossils of upright, bipedal, tool-using apes with
large brains that have been discovered?
We wish to re-emphasize that our concern here is not with examining
the scientific merits of the theory of evolution. What we want to
know is what Islamic teachings have to say about the idea. Whether
evolution is true or false scientifically is another matter
altogether.
When we look at the sources of Islam - the Quran and Sunnah - we
see that, with respect to human beings living on the Earth today,
they are all descendants of Adam and Eve.
God also says:
{O mankind! We have created you from a
male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you
may know one another. Verily, the most honorable of you with God is
the one who is the most God-fearing.} [Quran 49:13]
{يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا
خَلَقْنَاكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍ وَأُنثَىٰ وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ شُعُوبًا
وَقَبَائِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوا ۚ إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ اللَّهِ
أَتْقَاكُمْ} [الحجرات:١٣]
Transliteration: Yā 'Ayyuhā An-Nāsu 'Innā Khalaqnākum Min
Dhakarin Wa 'Unthá Wa Ja`alnākum Shu`ūbāan Wa Qabā'ila
Lita`ārafū 'Inna 'Akramakum `Inda Allāhi 'Atqākum
The Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him,
identified the "male" mentioned in this verse as being Adam. He
said:
Human beings are the children of Adam
and Adam was created from Earth. God says: 'O» mankind! We have
created you from a male and a female, and made you into nations and
tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most honorable
of you with God is the one who is the most God-fearing'.«
[Al-Tirmidhî]
We also see that God created Adam directly without the agency of
parents.
God says:
{The similitude of Jesus before God is
as that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him: 'Be'
and he was.} [Quran 3:59]
{إِنَّ مَثَلَ عِيسَىٰ عِندَ اللَّهِ
كَمَثَلِ آدَمَ ۖ خَلَقَهُ مِن تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ قَالَ لَهُ كُن
فَيَكُونُ} [آل عمران:٥٩]
Transliteration: 'Inna Mathala `Īsá `Inda Allāhi
Kamathali 'Ādama Khalaqahu Min Turābin Thumma Qāla Lahu Kun
Fayakūnu
We also know that Eve was created from Adam without the agency of
parents.
In the Quran, God states clearly:
{O mankind! Be careful of your duty to
your Lord Who created you from a single soul and from it created
its mate and from them twain hath spread abroad a multitude of men
and women.} [Quran 4:1]
{يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا
رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُم مِّن نَّفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ وَخَلَقَ مِنْهَا
زَوْجَهَا وَبَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالًا كَثِيرًا وَنِسَاءً}
[النساء:١]
Transliteration: Yā 'Ayyuhā An-Nāsu Attaqū Rabbakumu
Al-Ladhī Khalaqakum Min Nafsin Wāĥidatin Wa Khalaqa Minhā Zawjahā
Wa Baththa Minhumā Rijālāan Kathīrāan Wa Nisā'an
Therefore, the Quran tells us that Adam and his wife were the
father and mother of all human beings living on the Earth today. We
know about this by way of direct revelation from God.
The direct creation of Adam (peace be upon him) can neither be
confirmed nor denied by science in any way. This is because the
creation of Adam (peace be upon him) was a unique and singular
historical event. It is a matter of the Unseen and something that
science does not have the power to confirm or deny. As a matter of
the Unseen, we believe it because God informs us about it. We say
the same for the miracles mentioned in the Quran. Miraculous
events, by their very nature, do not conform to scientific laws and
their occurrence can neither be confirmed nor denied by
science.
What about other living things, besides the human beings living on
the Earth today? What about plants, animals, fungi, and the
like?
When we turn our attention to this question, we find that the Quran
and Sunnah do not tell us much about the flora and fauna that was
present on the Earth before or at the time of Adam and Eve's
arrived upon it. The sacred texts also do not tell us how long ago
Adam and Eve arrived upon the Earth. Therefore, these are things we
cannot ascertain from the sacred texts.
The only thing that the Quran and Sunnah require us to believe
about the living things on Earth today is that God created them in
whatever manner He decided to create them.
God says:
{God is the Creator of all things and
over all things He has authority.} [Quran 39:62]
{اللَّهُ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ ۖ وَهُوَ
عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَكِيلٌ} [الزمر:٦٢]
Transliteration: Allāhu Khāliqu Kulli Shay'in Wa Huwa
`Alá Kulli Shay'in Wa Kīlun
Indeed, God states specifically that He created all life
forms:
{And We made from water all living
things.} [Quran 21:30]
{وَجَعَلْنَا مِنَ الْمَاءِ كُلَّ
شَيْءٍ حَيٍّ} [الأنبياء:٣٠]
Transliteration: Wa Ja`alnā Mina Al-Mā'i Kulla Shay'in
Ĥayyin
We know that "God does what He pleases." God can create His
creatures in any manner that He chooses.
Therefore, with respect to other living things, the Quran and
Sunnah neither confirm nor deny the theory of biological evolution
or the process referred to as natural selection. The question of
evolution remains purely a matter of scientific enquiry. The theory
of evolution must stand or fall on its own scientific merits - and
that means the physical evidence that either confirms the theory or
conflicts with it.
The role of science is only to observe and describe the patterns
that God places in His creation. If scientific observation shows a
pattern in the evolution of species over time that can be described
as natural selection, this is not in itself unbelief. It is only
unbelief for a person to think that this evolution took place on
its own, and not as a creation of God. A Muslim who accepts
evolution or natural selection as a valid scientific theory must
know that the theory is merely an explanation of one of the many
observed patterns in God's creation.
As for the fossil remains of bipedal apes and the tools and
artifacts associated with those remains, their existence poses no
problem for Islamic teachings. There is nothing in the Quran and
Sunnah that either affirms or denies that upright, brainy, tool
using apes ever existed or evolved from other apelike ancestors.
Such animals may very well have existed on Earth before Adam's
arrival upon it. All we can draw from the Quran and Sunnah is that
even if those animals once existed, they were not the forefathers
of Adam (peace be upon him).
By IslamToday.com
(edited by IslamReligion.com)
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