Due to such attacks, some Muslims felt inferior and thought that the problem could be rectified by an acceptance of the evolution theory, or at least accepting it as a valid alternative. However, the decisive verses of the Qur’an as well as the ahadith (Prophetic narrations) provide a problem for such an undertaking, and so we find that there are mistakes and random misinterpretations.
Praise
be to Allah, the supreme Creator, Fashioner of mankind, Sustainer of
the universe. All is His divine will, and his command is executed
immediately. May peace and blessings be upon Muhammad, who came from the
noble Adam, created and fashioned from clay, and preceded by none.
The
theory of human evolution, namely that man descended from apes, is
widely accepted amongst non-Muslims although there have been many
non-Muslim scientists, atheists included, who argue that it is flawed.
As an opinion, it was wholly rejected by all Muslims as it goes against
their basic knowledge that Allah created Adam with his own hands, from
clay, in the physical form of a human being, and then breathed life into
it. Even so, there have been a few Muslims over the years that have
endorsed the theory attempting to initiate a discussion on the topic,
whilst there are non-Muslims who criticise us for being ‘simple-minded’
and ‘scientifically inconsistent’.
Due
to such attacks, some Muslims felt inferior and thought that the
problem could be rectified by an acceptance of the evolution theory, or
at least accepting it as a valid alternative. However, the decisive
verses of the Qur’an as well as the ahadith (Prophetic narrations)
provide a problem for such an undertaking, and so we find that there are
mistakes and random misinterpretations. Of course, those of truth will
always oppose such heresy, to which these Muslim evolutionists, if there
ever was such a term (!), respond that “we believe in the existence of
Allah, the initial Creator, yet what is wrong in concluding that the way
in which God created all human beings, including the first human, Adam,
was by means of evolution, and namely, non-human parents who descended
from apes?” Such people insist that this latest version of the theory is
compatible with revelation given that there is no unequivocal
scriptural text to deny it!
In
order to deal with such unfounded claims, I would like to approach the
issue in a scholastic and systematic manner so as to demonstrate how
theological deviancy comes about through incompetence in systematically
and rationally deriving meaning from the scriptural texts. It is due to
this incompetence (that we should all be aware of so we save ourselves)
that some attempt to legitimise the theory of human evolution and others
unrecognised views that accompany it.
It
is commonly believed that the Qur’an and the ahadith (Prophetic
traditions) are the only sources of Islamic authority, yet we find that
one of the primary causes of an individual’s theological (and legal)
deviancy is the attempt to fully understand the divine texts by
his/herself, with complete disregard for the profound understandings and
well-substantiated views of hundreds of thousands of Muslim scholars
from around the world who have contributed to the vast corpus of Islamic
scholarship over the last 1400 years. The irony of such disregard is
that Muslim proponents of the evolution process completely brush aside
Islamic scholarly consensus yet are the first to advocate the (supposed)
consensus of non-Muslim scientists!
It
is clear that priorities are misplaced, for in glorifying western
scientists the proponents of human evolution neglect the intellectual
aptitude of Muslim scholars, particularly, the early scholars who were
extremely astute and would, with all dedication, intensely scrutinise
each and every aspect of the Islamic religion prior to any form of
endorsement or inclination towards a given view – in fact, it is only
very recently that scientists have adopted the same level of rigour.
Given such a profound analysis, none of Islam’s scholars, let alone the
greatest amongst them, ever articulated the view that Adam came into
existence as a result of some evolutionary process. In fact, none of
Islam’s early scholars ever even considered the possibility of Adam
being created in stages of existence, or that he experienced childhood
at some time of his life.
In
adopting a religious opinion which is counter to a scholarly consensus
made up of thousands of Muslim scholars over a long period of time, the
proponents of human evolution expose their distorted outlook on Islamic
knowledge and the Muslims scholars (as a collective) whom Allah has
appointed as trustees of the faith. Such an attitude implies that Allah,
may he be free from such an implication, has allowed the entire Muslim
ummah, over a period spanning more than a millennium, to deviate from
the truth whilst the correct view is uncovered by (theological) laymen
in recent times!
Disregarding
the binding legacy of scholastic consensus goes against plain old
common sense and a number of verses and Prophetic traditions that state
that scholars, not as individuals but as a collective, are the trustees
of the faith. The explicit statements are numerous, such as Allah’s
statement, “And We sent not before you but men to whom We inspired, so ask the people of the Reminder if you do not know”[1], and the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) saying, “the scholars are the inheritors of the Prophets.”
To
believe that Adam had monkey-like parents (despite the fact that
overwhelming evidences go against it) and to completely abandon the
consensus of Muslims is indicative of deep-rooted arrogance, a rejection
of the clear evidences, or ignoring the correct methodology in
understanding the divine texts. For example, the first step of a sound
methodology would be to analyse whether the conclusion is consistent
with the Arabic language, since Arabic is the primary tool used in
interpreting divine revelation, and so, any interpretation that fails to
fall within the framework of the Arabic language is one that is
redundant. For example, the Arabs did not consider the phrase kun fa
yakun (be! And it is/was) to be an indefinite period of time, for
indeed, the phrase illustrates the power and might of God that His will
is manifested immediately and decisively, without delay. Even the phrase
“be! And it is/was” in English implies it (whatever it is) happens instantaneously, and to argue otherwise would be a distortion of the English language!
Another
key principle that must be established when dealing with scripture is
the inter-contextualisation of the entire divine text - in order to
correctly interpret the Qur’an and ahadith we must approach them, not as
solitary verses, but as one coherent and homogeneous unit that affords a
holistic interpretation, and not an interpretation based on
preconceived ideas that singles out isolated verses so as to misconstrue
them. Indeed, to approach the divine scriptures having already decided
the matter is an insincere attempt to justify one’s belief, and to
approach them enquiring into what Allah has ordained, in an open an
unbiased way, is to demonstrate the sincere intention to receive
guidance.
Another
irony is the fact that the evolutionists try to place a theory
(evolution) over fact (the Qur’an and ahadith). Do we not ponder why it
is still considered a theory despite the fact that the idea has been
around, in some popular form, since Darwin and is promoted so
fanatically by its protagonists? It is truly unfortunate to see those
who ascribe to Islam promote the theory of human evolution, and then do
so by relying on mutashabih (ambiguous) verses of the Qur’an, some of
which are clear kinaya[2] (metonyms), and leave off muhkam (explicit) verses. This is precisely what Allah warns us against, saying,
“Those with deviation in their hearts follow what is undefined in it, desiring conflict, seeking its (false) interpretation.”[3]
Evolution,
in relating to man, is such an unfounded concept that to engage with it
on par with academic and intellectual standards is to afford it
credence, it being deserving of nothing but aversion. I could perhaps
list all of the scientific inaccuracies of claiming that Adam came from
apes, but as a Muslim it is more than sufficient to adopt the
understanding of the scholars rather than derive a misconstrued meaning
from a lone verse or hadith. This should be the case with any Muslim who
believes that Allah has ordained certain measures to guard Islam
against innovation, and hence, I shall, very limitedly, mention a small
number of proofs which, for the benefit of the Muslim masses, simply
expose the foolishness of this supposition.
The
Qur’an clearly states that Adam was created by Allah, and with His own
hands, “He said, ‘Iblis, what prevented you prostrating to what I
created with My own two hands?”[4]
In addition, the famous Companion, Abdullah ibn Umar, said, “Allah
created four things with His hand: the Throne, the Pen, the Garden of
Eden and Adam. To the rest of His creation He said, ‘Be!’ and it was.”[5]
This narration clearly shows that the Companions believed that these
four things, Adam included, were created in a way different to other
animals and creatures. The authenticated ahadith furnish us with further
examples that leave no doubt whatsoever that this was an actual act
performed by Allah. For example, the Messenger of Allah said that on the
Last Day, mankind would go from Prophet to Prophet requesting
intercession; they would go to Adam and say, “You are the father of
mankind, Allah created you with His hands, had the angels prostrate to
you, and taught you the names of all things.”[6]
If Adam was created from a ‘despised drop’ and like all other human
beings, then what is the point of singling him out as being created by
Allah’s hands?
“The likeness of Jesus, to Allah, is the same as Adam. He created him from earth and then He said to him, ‘Be!’ and he was.”[7]
This verse is often quoted in isolation
from the reasons for which it was revealed, thus, some evolutionists
claim that the verse asserts that Jesus and Adam were born in the same
way – through the womb of a female. Such an interpretation is deceptive
as a brief look into the sabab al-nuzul (causes for revelation) quickly
makes clear that the verse was revealed to repudiate the Christian
argument that proof of Jesus’ divinity is his having no earthly father.
The verse states that Adam had no parents whatsoever, being created
instead from earth, yet this did not make him divine; the comparison
then was between the single parent of Jesus and the absence of parents
in regards to Adam.
The Qur’an informs us that Allah “taught Adam the names of all things”[8] and so, we resolutely know that Allah engaged Adam directly. Allah also says,
“O mankind! Be mindful of your Lord who created you from a single soul and created its mate from it and then disseminated many men and women from the two of them.”[9]
“It is He who created you from a single soul and made from him his spouse so that he might find repose in her.”[10]
“O mankind! We created you from a male and female, and made you into peoples and tribes so that you might come to know each other.”[11]
If
we were to ignorantly suppose that Adam was born of evolved apes, we
would then be positing, according to the verses above, that the creation
of Hawwa’ was ever so more significant than that of Adam as she was not
born but actually fashioned, by God, from Adam. Thus, in negating the
instantaneous creation of Adam, the evolutionist is still left having to
affirm the instantaneous creation of Hawwa’! And it is this fact, from
amongst the many, that exposes the nonsense spewed by evolutionists, for
in striving to negate a miracle of God (the creation of Adam), they
resort to having to affirm it elsewhere (the creation of Hawwa’), that
is, if they can resist the urge to deny the book of God outrightly.
The story of the Sabbath-breakers is well known whereby Allah cursed the disobedient and turned them into monkeys and pigs.[12] How then, can the honoured sons of Adam[13]
actually come from that which is considered a curse? Of course, in
being honoured, it is only logical to conclude that either humans
haven’t come from apes, or that we negate the maskh itself and claim
that the Sabbath-breakers did not turn into apes and pigs. Even if we
were to state, for the sake of argument, that the transformation was
metaphorical, the essential point still remains that they were cursed by
taking on qualities of monkeys and apes. Correspondingly, there are
various contradictions that arise in relation to Adam and Hawwa’ when
attempting to scripturally justify human evolution. There are various
mutawatir texts that confirm that Adam and Hawwa’ lived as spouses and
that mankind came from the two, indeed the textual evidences regarding
this point are particularly decisive. Furthermore, it seems quite an
irrational interpretation that Allah mentions Hawwa’ as being brought
into existence through Allah’s direct involvement, yet Adam, the first
human being receives no such honour! It is extremely clear that the
evolutionists and their deviant ideas refuse to acknowledge the entire
textual discourse surrounding the creation of Adam, instead using
solitary verses as a justification for evolutionist beliefs. Thus, in
order to attempt some form of reconciliation between the two accounts,
the evolutionist must adapt the Qur'an to fit the theory, or the theory
to fit the Qur'an, or transform both equally, and in every case, each
possibility is as preposterous as the others, all serving as evil paths
to heresy.
In
going beyond the Qur’an, we find that the ahadith are full with
authentic narrations concerning the creation of Adam, and in keeping
with deceitful intent we find that many liberals and evolutionists
completely ignore the existence of such ahadith. Indeed they have to,
for the shari’ah of Allah is preserved through the Prophetic narrations
and so the evolutionists will do anything to maintain their secular
outlook on the Islamic faith. In fact, the notion of evolution is deeply
secular as it divorces the involvement of God in creation and attempts
to posit Nietzsche’s opinion that if there is a god, then he merely
initiated creation (which grew on its own) and that god is now
non-existent or dead – we seek protection from Allah from such
profanity.
We find that Anas ibn Malik relates from the Prophet,
“When
Allah fashioned Adam in Paradise, He left him as He willed. Iblis then
wandered around him examining him. Upon seeing him as hollow from
within, he recognised that Adam had been created with a disposition that
he would not have control over himself.”[14]
I
have not seen any scholar, past or present, who affords science the
authority to determine how Adam was created. In cases where scholars do
refer to science (in a limited capacity), they tend to provide their
conclusions and then either explicitly/implicitly mention that this
matter should be dealt with through science. In numerous verses the
Qur’an commands mankind to reflect on the various types of creation, the
alternation of day and night, and the celestial orbit of planets, but
there is no indication whatsoever of an evolved Adam. In fact, the
Qur’an describes the process of human creation in the womb but discounts
the evolution of humans from monkey-like beings. If it is argued that
the lack of evolutionary descriptions in the Qur’an is due to
evolution’s complex nature, then we retort with the fact that so too is
the process of foetal development, yet revelation informs us of it and
to its fullest extent.
There
are countless texts that can be analysed, but to do so would make this
article voluminous. However, even light analysis of the Qur’an and
Sunnah makes it exceedingly evident that such heretical beliefs have no
place within Islamic thought - the Companions and early Muslims all
understood the manner in which Adam was created by Allah and it is
preposterous to claim that Allah revealed scripture that was
misunderstood by all of the aforementioned, yet the Most High did not
rectify their misreading!
Is the creation of Adam a scientific or religious matter?
In
reality, there is no disparity between religious creed and science, and
if there seems to be so, it inevitably implies that there has been some
form of misunderstanding, either in terms of our religious or
scientific knowledge. However, a decisive part of being Muslim is to
acknowledge that the information related by way of the Qur’an and Sunnah
entails certainty, whereas any other knowledge that we acquire is prone
to human error. Thus, if the scriptures posit anything related to
science and the overwhelming majority of scholars affirm its meaning,
then we have to believe in it accordingly as such knowledge is
fact-based and not merely human perception. The Qur’an and Sunnah
address various disciplines such as science, history, geography,
anthropology, politics and others. Whatever is mentioned there should be
adopted as an aspect of our faith, “they say: we believe in it, all of it is from our Lord.”[15]
Failing to do so suggests either one’s negation of more than half of
the Qur’an, or accepting a text which is essentially devoid of meaning
as it ends up meaning anything we desire it to, and this is how many of
the obdurate fall into disbelief. For example, it has been repeatedly
argued that the Qur’an is not a book of history, and so, the heretics
argue that we are not obligated to believe historical details which
Allah has revealed. Of course, the Qur’an is not a book of many things,
but that is not to suggest that various topics are touched upon. Indeed,
Allah says,
“There
is not a moving (living) creature on earth, nor a bird that flies with
its two wings, but are communities like you. We have neglected nothing
in the Book, and then to their Lord they (all) shall be gathered.”[16]
The ruling concerning the belief in Adam’s primate descendents.
Restricting
the discussion merely to a ruling may be counterproductive as anyone
who mistakenly concludes that it is not kufr (disbelief) will assume
such profanation is to be tolerated, and so therefore, the main issue is
not the ruling of such an immoral belief and whether it is kufr, but
instead the gravity of this belief and what it signifies - it is the
negation of what the ummah has endorsed as well as being in violation of
countless proofs that state otherwise. Endorsing the presumption that
humans evolved necessitates accepting reprehensible beliefs about the
noble Prophet, Adam, may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, and
that his parents were either apes or ape-like beings! It is to insult
the station of prophethood by claiming that Adam was taken care of by
human-like baboons. Were Adam’s parents able to speak or did they merely
grunt? Were they obliged to worship Allah or not? What was the extent
of Adam’s cognitive faculties? Do human beings now have more advanced
faculties than he did – have they evolved since his time on earth? How
is it that the Qur’an disregards a significant aspect of Adam’s life
although he discusses, in detail, what was before it and what came
after.
If
we believe that Allah is the Creator and can create anything, then what
is wrong in accepting that he created Adam directly from clay,
fashioned him, and brought him to life instantaneously? What is it that
they negate? Why do we need to distort the meanings of countless
Qur’anic verses in favour of a theory that continually changes? Must we
negate the numerous and authentic ahadith that clearly establish a
non-evolutionist narrative?
In
conclusion, to use the theory of Darwin or any other theory that stems
from it in order to justify the wicked belief that Adam was born of
non-human parents is, in essence, to deny the existence of Allah as
supreme creator who creates from nothing by mere command. It is this
method of creating (although there are other ways as well) that
establishes Allah’s rububiyyah (lordship), for in affirming unjustified
theories of human evolution we make chance the creator, since anything
that is created exists merely because chance decided so. But Allah says,
“Or do they assign to Allah partners who created the like of His
creation, so that (both) creations seemed alike to them?’ Say: ‘Allah is
the Creator of all things; He is the One, the Irresistible.’”[17]
I
call upon those who believe and adhere to Islam to affirm the clear and
decisive Qur’anic revelations and lucid ahadith, all of which negate
the notion of human evolution, let alone Adam having non-human parents. I
also call upon them to make the Islamic texts the primary source of
authority in all of their affairs, since (Allah) the One who reveals
revelation is most knowledgeable about the affairs of the universe. Let
us not allow those of no faith to dictate our readings of scripture, our
implementation of the Islamic faith, or our notions of what is to be
deemed as being most superior, both in terms of creed and actions.
For
those Muslims who endorse the theory of human evolution, contemplate
the scripture with a believing and unbiased heart whilst keeping in mind
the Sunnah of Allah’s noble Messenger. Strive against egotism and
haughtiness and do not fear the criticisms of the disbelievers. Allah
says,
http://www.islam21c.com/
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