http://islamtoday.com/showme2.cfm?ca...sub_cat_id=792
Biological Evolution – An Islamic Perspective| Prepared by the Research Committee of IslamToday.net under the supervision of Sheikh `Abd al-Wahhâb al-Turayrî|
Many Muslims 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.
We as Muslims 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 Allah is behind it?
Can a Muslim 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?
To start with, we wish to 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 Qur’ân and Sunnah – we see that, with respect to human beings living on the Earth today, they are all descendants of Adam and Eve.
Allah 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 Allah is the one who is the most God-fearing.” [Sûrah al-Hujûrât:13]
The Prophet (peace 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. Allah 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 Allah is the one who is the most God-fearing’.” [Sunan al-Tirmidhî (3270)]
We also see that Allah created Adam directly without the agency of parents.
Allah says: “The similitude of Jesus before Allah is as that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him: ‘Be’ and he was.” [Sûrah Âl `Imrân: 59]
We also know that Eve was created from Adam without the agency of parents.
In the Qur’ân, Allah 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.” [Sûrah al-Nisâ’: 1]
Therefore, the Qur’ân 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 Allah.
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 Allah informs us about it. We say the same for the miracles mentioned in the Qur’ân. 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 Qur’ân 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 Qur’ân and Sunnah require us to believe about the living things on Earth today is that Allah created them in whatever manner He decided to do create them.
Allah says: “Allah is the Creator of all things and over all things He has authority.” [Sûrah al-Zumar: 62]
Indeed, Allah states specifically that He created all life forms: “And We made from water all living things.” [Sûrah al-Anbiyâ’: 30]
We know that “Allah does what He pleases.” Allah can create His creatures in any manner that He chooses.
Therefore, with respect to other living things, the Qur’ân 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 Allah 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 Allah. 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 Allah’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 Qur’ân 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 Qur’ân and Sunnah is that even if those animals once existed, they were not the forefathers of Adam (peace be upon him).
Subscribing to the creation of Adam completes the belief that human being is holistic in nature.
While evolutionary process mainly deals with the physical change due to adaption to the so called primate's surroundings, it fails to address the emotional progression of human being. [Silvan Tomkins, Paul Ekman, and Carol Izard haven't proven anything yet]
We know Adam felt happy, sad and grief. He was a complete human, thus all his emotional faculties are inherited to us.
Evolution theory advocates are still scrambling with the fact, if such primate existed, and somehow or rather it was "selected" to evolve, when did complex emotional characteristics come about? [at least in this forum, my questions haven't been answered yet]
On another note, if such precise and complete data of evolution do exist, then cloning human being with perfect duplication is definitely possible.
But of course, can science guarantee or prove that a cloned Caesar would have the same emotional characteristics as the one who died?
What if the cloned Caesar is purposely brought up in China by a chinese family, hmmmm...Confucious watch your back!
Takumi Nakashima WattaquLlah(a) wa yu'allimukumuLlah(u)
(Be Mindful of Allah and He will teach you)
I would have liked to know at what time and in which place on earth Adam and Eve lived according to Muslims.
I got some kind of response from Ansar when he said "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."
Unfortunately that is a important fact of science which is missing from the Quran.
There is another question: the story of Adam and Eve is taken from the Bible. Scientists, historians and most Christians (I don't know the situation with Jews) know that it is a creation myth which originates in pagan cultures. (A myth being a story invented by men to express a religious idea).
So I wonder how Muslims can put in accordance their views of Adam and Eve with modern thinking.
I would have liked to know at what time and in which place on earth Adam and Eve lived according to Muslims.
I got some kind of response from Ansar when he said "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."
Unfortunately that is a important fact of science which is missing from the Quran.
If you believe it is unfortunate this fact is missing then we can't really help that.
There is another question: the story of Adam and Eve is taken from the Bible. Scientists, historians and most Christians (I don't know the situation with Jews) know that it is a creation myth which originates in pagan cultures. (A myth being a story invented by men to express a religious idea). So I wonder how Muslims can put in accordance their views of Adam and Eve with modern thinking.
We're getting into old habits Mansio . It doesn't matter if scientists, historians and most Christians believe Adam and Eve to be a myth, it is their opinion. You haven't really shown it originates from Pagan cultures but I'll assume you're saying the truth. Even so, the fact its mentioned in older Pagan cultures doesn't disprove/prove anything, you would assume that if Adam and Eve existed, then their story would be found in history.
I don't see how this can turn into a debate, since you have no evidence or facts to bring to me which outright, 100% disprove that we all come from a single mother and father and I cannot bring evidence that does outright, 100% proves we did.
As muslims, we believe in Adam and Eve because it is mentioned the Quran, and we believe (with evidence) that the Quran is the word of God.
Actually, in another thread I refuted mansio's lie that the creation of Adam and Eve (from clay) was a pagan myth, but mansio never returned to the discussion after that. Once again I will post what I had before.
In Norse Mythology, the first humans were created from logs by Odin and his brothers.
In the Ancient Aryan myths, we find the belief that the first men and women grew out of plants and bushes.
In the Babylonian myths, Marduk uses the blood of Kingu to create man.
In the Inca mythology, Con Tiqui fashoned human beings out of giant rocks.
In the Mayan mythology, human beings are created by the Heart-of-sky from Maize-corn dough.
In the Navajo nation, humans were believed to be created from the ears of corn.
In the Celtic mythology, human beings are the descendents of the gods.
In Greek mythology, it is Prometheus who created a race of ONLY men out of water and earth, and stole fire from the heaven to give them as a gift. Later on Zeus found at, and as punishment Zeus created for them the first woman, Pandora, and sent her to dwell amongst them. (bulfinch)
Amonst Egyptian Mythology, we find the belief that men and women formed from the tears of the god, Khepera.
In Hindu Mythology, Lord Prajapati (Viraj) divided himself into man and woman. He then mated with his female half, producing human beings. (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1:4:1-5).
Quite clearly, none of these pagan myths bear any resemblance to the Abrahamic belief that God created humanity from Adam and Eve, and that Adam was created from clay!
format_quote Originally Posted by mansio
I would have liked to know at what time and in which place on earth Adam and Eve lived according to Muslims.
I got some kind of response from Ansar when he said "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."
Unfortunately that is a important fact of science which is missing from the Quran.
Is the Qur'an supposed to give us the date when Adam and Eve were created?! Does this affect the guidance in our daily lives? Will this alter our path to salvation? The answer is no.
So I wonder how Muslims can put in accordance their views of Adam and Eve with modern thinking.
What isn't in accordance with modern thinking? You have to point out a specific problem first.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Surely I was sent to perfect the qualities of righteous character" [Musnad Ahmad, Muwatta Mâlik]
I would have liked to know at what time and in which place on earth Adam and Eve lived according to Muslims.
I got some kind of response from Ansar when he said "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."
Unfortunately that is a important fact of science which is missing from the Quran.
There is another question: the story of Adam and Eve is taken from the Bible. Scientists, historians and most Christians (I don't know the situation with Jews) know that it is a creation myth which originates in pagan cultures. (A myth being a story invented by men to express a religious idea).
So I wonder how Muslims can put in accordance their views of Adam and Eve with modern thinking.
I would have liked to know about many things. Was Aadam black or white or purple? Did Eve have long silky hair, what color were her eyes and did Adam have washboard abs?
I would have liked to know how Adam sounded like? He was the first created man, did he sound like Tom Jones or El Debarge? Did Eve sound like Mariah Carey or maybe Norah Jones?
The list could go on.
Since my faith is in God's words, elements of history that He did not reveal would not bother me. In fact, those were the first description given by Allah on those who are mindful of him.
alif laam meem.
Indeed, this is the book there is no doubt in it
Guidance to those who are mindful of God.
They are the ones who believe in the unseen and establish their prayers and they give charity from what We have blessed them.
....
Allah, the angels, hell fire, paradise, where Adam and Hawwa descended are just examples of the unseen.
Harold Kushner the author of the book "Who Needs God" and "When Bad Things Happen to Good People" cleverly and simply illustrated the hypocritical attitude of some people when it comes to God.
There are only a few among us who have seen the South Pole. But yet we believed that it exists. Because we saw it on TV and we read about it, giving our 100% to the authors.
But when it comes to the existence of God, some of us turned our backs on Him, even though it is with the faculties that He had given us that we are able to believe the existence of the South Pole.
Science is a man made discipline. The protocols of science (burden of proof, reproducibility and what's nots) are conjured by the human mind. Are those protocols credible; yes, but they're not absolute. In fact, those are the faculties GIVEN as a blessing from God so that human may ponder WHO is the one creative enough to have come up with such intricacies in His designs.
I don't speak for all muslims, but I don't believe that Adam and Hawwa came from pagan cultures. We know the immediate progenies of Aadam worshipped only God and then as time went by, human with their awe towards god fearing people began to construct statues to remember their dead loved ones.
But such admiration became obessession and unfortunately became idol worshipping. That's what happened to the people of Noah, who built statues of their dead ancestors, and you know the rest of the story. As you will agree with me, such process are also taking place right now.
There are people who worship prophets, and some worship Muhammad.
So, if somone accuses me of blindly following the ancient scriptures, I'd say, it's fine with me. How about you? You're blindly following many things.
The existence of the South Pole, for instance, since I guarantee you, you haven't seen it.
Last edited by Takumi; 01-15-2006 at 04:38 PM.
Takumi Nakashima WattaquLlah(a) wa yu'allimukumuLlah(u)
(Be Mindful of Allah and He will teach you)
During the past week, I have started to look into the matter of evolution, not being interested in it at all in the past.
I visited various sites (from talk.origins and wikipedia's evolution-section to trueorigins and "alternativescience") and even borrowed books on the subject from the library.
From what I've read, it seems that, as Dr. Michael Behe (author of a well-known book that criticises Darwinism) said, the idea of common descent has some support, and also some problems.
Of course, I am in no position to really comment on the issue since I have no real knowledge, but from what I've read, this seems to be the case.
In my search for some answers, I frequently e-mailed to IslamToday's research commitee, chaired by Shaykh 'abd al-Wahhâb at-Turayrî and they explained the islamic position on this matter to me.
They essentially told me that islam has no problem with evolution. We are obliged to believe that Adam and Eve were created directly by God and this can't be confirmed or denied by science.
Here's a quote:
There really is no reason for a Muslim to bother with refuting the theory of evolution or other scientific theories. A Muslim believes that Allah creates the universe and what it contains however He wishes to. Science can only attempt to see the observable patterns in Allah’s creation, whatever those patterns may be.
Therefore, such scientific theories do not have a bearing on our faith as Muslims, even if they do pose serious problems for some other religions.
I'm sorry.
I saw the name "biological evolution" so I thought it was about science.
If it is about faith then of course anything can be believed.
This is for Ansar (from Wikipedia. It corroborates what I knew from school):
"Many scholars have noted striking similarities between the creation story in the Enûma Elish and the first creation story in the Biblical tale of Genesis. For example, Genesis describes six days of creation, followed by a day of rest; the Enûma Elish describes six generations of gods, whose creations parallel the days in Genesis, followed by a divine rest. In both Enuma Elish and Genesis 1, the creation proceeds in the same order, beginning with light, and ending with mankind. Also, the goddess Tiamat parallels the primordial ocean in Genesis; the Hebrew word used in Genesis for the primordial ocean is "tehôm" which has the same etymological root as "Tiamat". This has led many to believe that Genesis is based on a modified form of the Enûma Elish, or that they are both derived from the same source.
The same parallell mythology can be found in the Baal cycle recovered in Canaanite Ugarit."
I got some kind of response from Ansar when he said "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."
Unfortunately that is a important fact of science which is missing from the Quran.
As Ansar al-'Adl mentioned, knowing this doesn't help us in the path to salvation.
The Qur'an isn't a science-book. When scientifical matters are mentioned, they are there to illustrate Gods power and as a lesson.
So mentioning details about the creation of Adam, animals or whatever isn't the purpose of which the Qur'an was revealed.
My question to you is, does the Bible mention these details about Adam and Eve and other parts of the creation?
Adam and Eve are not mentioned and neither are their home adress and zip codes.
Same with the Flood story, the registration number of Noah ark is not given in the Mesopotamian tablets.
Adam and Eve are not mentioned and neither are their home adress and zip codes.
Same with the Flood story, the registration number of Noah ark is not given in the Mesopotamian tablets.
Mansio, you said: -
There is another question: the story of Adam and Eve is taken from the Bible. Scientists, historians and most Christians (I don't know the situation with Jews) know that it is a creation myth which originates in pagan cultures. (A myth being a story invented by men to express a religious idea). So I wonder how Muslims can put in accordance their views of Adam and Eve with modern thinking.
I said that most Christians know the story of Adam is a myth of probably Sumerian origin.
We're talking about the origin of Adam and Eve. Ansar refuted your claims and you posted a link about the creation in Genesis, which had no reference (even vaguely) towards Adam and Eve.
Are you here for debate? Or to simply throw your opinions around with no facts and base? When a point you make is disproven, the honest, open minded and mature thing to do is to accept your mistake. The childish, ignorant thing to do is make silly, pointless comments like the one above. I've said this several times regarding your posts, you rarely, if ever, have facts to back up anything you say. If you would simply like to air your opinions, then create a blog where I'm sure hundreds of people will flock to read what you have to say. If you are here for honest, rational and intellectual fact-based debate..then stay, but I seriously admonish you to adopt a new method of arguing.
most Christians (I don't know the situation with Jews) know that it is a creation myth which originates in pagan cultures
According to whom do most Christians "know" this? You?
The Christians I've met and the various Christian sites that I've visited don't agree with your statement here. Of course, my personal experience doesn't disprove your claim, but I'd like to see you back that up.
Speaking as a christian I certainly do not believe that the story of Adam and Eve came from a creation myth which originates in pagan culture. Genesis chapter 1 verses 26-31 states that God created human beings on the sixth day of creation. Chapter 2 tells of the garden of eden.For some time the general thinking is that "Adam & Eve" was the name given to male and female, otherwise how was Cain able to have a wife.Irrespective of this we learn from the Bible that human beings were on the earth from the sixth day of creation.
I'm sorry.
I saw the name "biological evolution" so I thought it was about science.
If it is about faith then of course anything can be believed.
The topic of this thread is: "biological evolution - an Islamic perspective". This means it is a discussion on how Islam views biological evolution.
This has absolutely nothing to do with your ridiculous complaint that the Qur'an does not mention mundane scientific facts such as the date Adam was created.
This is for Ansar (from Wikipedia. It corroborates what I knew from school):
"Many scholars have noted striking similarities between the creation story in the Enûma Elish and the first creation story in the Biblical tale of Genesis. For example, Genesis describes six days of creation, followed by a day of rest; the Enûma Elish describes six generations of gods, whose creations parallel the days in Genesis, followed by a divine rest. In both Enuma Elish and Genesis 1, the creation proceeds in the same order, beginning with light, and ending with mankind. Also, the goddess Tiamat parallels the primordial ocean in Genesis; the Hebrew word used in Genesis for the primordial ocean is "tehôm" which has the same etymological root as "Tiamat". This has led many to believe that Genesis is based on a modified form of the Enûma Elish, or that they are both derived from the same source.
The same parallell mythology can be found in the Baal cycle recovered in Canaanite Ugarit."
Thanks, but what does this have to do with anything? This doesn't discuss adam and eve at all. If you want to discuss Babylonian/Mesopotamian myths, then i already pointed out that Marduk created human beings from the blood of Kingu. Doesn't sound anything like Islam to me.
Shall I take your silence on the issue of Adam's creation as an admission that your allegation has been refuted? The evidence I have given clearly proves that the Qur'anic account of man's creation bears no resamblance to any of the pre-islamic mythologies.
You are clearly fond of advancing personal conjecture as established fact.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Surely I was sent to perfect the qualities of righteous character" [Musnad Ahmad, Muwatta Mâlik]
During the past week, I have started to look into the matter of evolution, not being interested in it at all in the past.
I visited various sites (from talk.origins and wikipedia's evolution-section to trueorigins and "alternativescience") and even borrowed books on the subject from the library.
From what I've read, it seems that, as Dr. Michael Behe (author of a well-known book that criticises Darwinism) said, the idea of common descent has some support, and also some problems.
Of course, I am in no position to really comment on the issue since I have no real knowledge, but from what I've read, this seems to be the case.
In my search for some answers, I frequently e-mailed to IslamToday's research commitee, chaired by Shaykh 'abd al-Wahhâb at-Turayrî and they explained the islamic position on this matter to me.
They essentially told me that islam has no problem with evolution. We are obliged to believe that Adam and Eve were created directly by God and this can't be confirmed or denied by science.
Here's a quote:
There really is no reason for a Muslim to bother with refuting the theory of evolution or other scientific theories. A Muslim believes that Allah creates the universe and what it contains however He wishes to. Science can only attempt to see the observable patterns in Allah’s creation, whatever those patterns may be.
Therefore, such scientific theories do not have a bearing on our faith as Muslims, even if they do pose serious problems for some other religions.
"Lo! the Hour is surely coming, there is no doubt thereof; yet most of mankind believe not." (Al-Ghafir:59)
I have actually read that article. I read it last Wednesday or Thursday I believe. The book recommendation list at the end made me go to the library to borrow the following book:
Thinking About God. Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood. Bloomington, Indiana: American Trust Publications.
Seems to be the beginning of the end for ID, this is nothing more than laying the foundation to prepare muslims to accept evolution after years of rejecting it.
What a reversal, and to think you write it in such a way as to attempt to retain a certain ammount of respect. Still, at the very least you should be congratulated for taking evolution onboard after years of stubborn religous rejection. Still, you are only prepared to go halfway, Your ancestors in history were Archaics.
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Biological Evolution – An Islamic Perspective
Umrah1 liked this post
Brother check out this link http://www.islamonline.net/English/c...rticle01.shtml inshallah will be of some use to you. A long article but a interesting read.
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