Muslims jumping on the Creationist Bandwagon

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Originally posted by Egyptianmuslima
as salam alykom once more Ahmed
let us put the Quran aside
dont u think that Allah is more than capable to create man kind as man kind. Why would He need to create an ape or anything else so as to evlove into man kind??

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Good quesiton. Firstly, why did Allah create the earth and its continents the way he did?

It came about 4 billion years ago--and the continents were in a mass called "pangea" which soon split up and formed the continents we have today.

Allah created many animals this way--it is NOT, I repeat NOT a strike against Allah's omnipotence.

I would have to agree with brother Kohr-Ah and Sultan; I do believe that Allah created us (but it was not by pure chance; instead it was guided)

And although sister EgyptianMuslima you may feel this a disgusting topic (the whole ape to human) it is better understood if you look at the world around out.

Alhumdulliah--light years seperate us from any near star...how many billion years did it take to form this galaxy of ours? I doubt it was simply done in a second.

Allah gave us senses (eyes ears etc) to take a look at our world and learn. Surely, if Allah ment us to use them--why then must we try to deny a scientific fact?

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But Brother Ahmed - how can you say that belief in Allaah is just based on faith?

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Because you need to show me empirical evidence as to Allah's existance. (yes I believe in Allah, but I cannot study Allah like I can study a turtle)

You cannot give Allah's properties--mainly be cause we cannot directly observe Allah.

Subhanallah.

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Originally posted by Egyptianmuslima
as salam alykom
La hawala wala qowata ila billah, brother u r soooo confused.
read Quran. Sobhan Allah. u need to read Quran a lot

I never said so! I believe whole heartedly in Allah. Evolution is not proving how Allah doesn't exist, astugfirallah. Its explaining how the animal and plant kingdoms have evolved to be.
That is why I said read Quran, Allah said in Quran He Created Adam in whole, if other wise, Allah would have stated so.
I am sure u do believe in Allah, and thus Quran as His word, So just read Quran. specially Suratu Baqarah.
If u can not understand it, then read again and again and ask Allah for close guidance

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Sister EgyptianMuslima--

I think we have already discussed this although I did not respond to your PM. I looked over the vereses that you kindly sent me, but I did not regard them for a moment as concrete proff in the Quran of "creationism" (creationism meaning that man was not from apes)

Further more--the verses were vague (that is IF you are trying to use them to prove "creationism")

Subhanallah I do read Quran, it becomes clearer and a treasure evertime I open its cover.

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Originally posted by Zaman
I understand Sultans point that maybe Allah (swt) evolved Men from Apes as a show of his mercy, intelligence and power but im afraid the theory of evolution just doesnt hold up. There is more SOLID evidence to support Creation then Evolution right now (and No we dont just blindly follow).

If anyone can prove to me that we are descended from Apes (Solid Proof) i will get this some serious consideration. Until then... Glory be to Allah. Lord of the Worlds.

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Zaman I seriously doubt that the day they'll give you solid proof will never come.

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Originally posted by BubbleGum
Better to start with the issue of how old the universe is. That polarizes the issue pretty well. Creationists invariably believe the Earth is about 4000 - 10,000 years old. But the evidence that the Universe is millions of years old is obvious to any educated person.

I suppose there may be a few ppl who don't fit the above. They would agree that the Universe is in fact billions of years old, but they would believe that god made humans as described in the books, ie. dirt. But I have never heard someone express this belief.

~Bub

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Well, now you have. I believe in biblical creation but I don't presume that the world is only 6,000 years old. I think Genesis 1:2 allows some leeway.

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Sultan, Didn't know you were a 'guided evolutionist'. Personally I do think we arose by 'chance'. But it really isn't 'chance' when you do the math. 10^10 stars in each galaxy. 10^11 galaxies in the observable universe. 10^-100 is the size of the observable universe compared to the whole universe. 1.4x10^10 years to let all that to evolve.

Chances are intelligent beings like us would come in to being in this universe. In fact, chances are it has happend in other other galaxies many times.

~DoubleBub

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Actually, I disagree. The numbers I've seen (granted from believers in biblical creation) say it doesn't matter if you think the earth is 6,000 years old or if the universe is 15 Billion years old. Neither amount of time allows a plausible probability for the complexities we observe to evolve by chance. I suggest we all try to read some of our opposing camp's literature. Michael Behe, William Dembski, Jonathan Wells and Phillip Johnson have all written for intelligent design. Anyone want to reccommend a defense of macroevolution?

Brother Ahmed

Are you yourself not the proof of a creator?

The Qur'an points to this very basic (and very true) fact - the signs of Allaah are everywhere - in His creation: measureable by their complexity

A sign & proof of Allaah is in the Qur'an: measureable by its perfection

[2:164]Verily! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, and the ships which sail through the sea with that which is of use to mankind, and the water (rain) which Allah sends down from the sky and makes the earth alive therewith after its death, and the moving (living) creatures of all kinds that He has scattered therein, and in the veering of winds and clouds which are held between the sky and the earth, are indeed Ayat (proofs, evidences, signs, etc.) for people of understanding.

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Originally posted by AhmedSyed
Because you need to show me empirical evidence as to Allah's existance. (yes I believe in Allah, but I cannot study Allah like I can study a turtle)

You cannot give Allah's properties--mainly be cause we cannot directly observe Allah.

Subhanallah.

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Brother Ahmed,

There are hadith that tell us that Adam was created as he was i.e. as a man, and how hawwa was created from his rib, and how subsequent generations of man came about.

The whole of mankind originate from this single person, Adam.

[4:1]O mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person (Adam), and from him (Adam) He created his wife [Hawwa (Eve)], and from them both He created many men and women and fear Allah through Whom you demand your mutual (rights), and (do not cut the relations of) the wombs (kinship). Surely, Allah is Ever an All_Watcher over you.

[30:20]And among His Signs is this, that He created you (Adam) from dust, and then [Hawwa' (Eve) from Adam's rib, and then his offspring from the semen, and], - behold you are human beings scattered!

And there are other verses that point to the creation of Adam:

[15:28-29]And (remember) when your Lord said to the angels: "I am going to create a man (Adam) from sounding clay of altered black smooth mud.

"So, when I have fashioned him completely and breathed into him (Adam) the soul which I created for him, then fall (you) down prostrating yourselves unto him."

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Originally posted by AhmedSyed
Sister EgyptianMuslima--

I think we have already discussed this although I did not respond to your PM. I looked over the vereses that you kindly sent me, but I did not regard them for a moment as concrete proff in the Quran of "creationism" (creationism meaning that man was not from apes)

Further more--the verses were vague (that is IF you are trying to use them to prove "creationism")

Subhanallah I do read Quran, it becomes clearer and a treasure evertime I open its cover.

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Originally posted by Consider
Brother Ahmed

Are you yourself not the proof of a creator?

The Qur'an points to this very basic (and very true) fact - the signs of Allaah are everywhere - in His creation: measureable by their complexity

A sign & proof of Allaah is in the Qur'an: measureable by its perfection

[2:164]Verily! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, and the ships which sail through the sea with that which is of use to mankind, and the water (rain) which Allah sends down from the sky and makes the earth alive therewith after its death, and the moving (living) creatures of all kinds that He has scattered therein, and in the veering of winds and clouds which are held between the sky and the earth, are indeed Ayat (proofs, evidences, signs, etc.) for people of understanding.

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Salams Sister Consider,

Yes, I am proof of a creator--but like I have said before, there is no way in which we can go up to Allah and study his properties the way we would with the objects in this world.

The universe is proof if the creator--because how can matter exist for eternity? It had to have appeared somewhere--and this is why I believe in Allah--because everything had a starting point.

As for the verses I still would not beconvinced--Allah did not decribe the full procedure although I do see how you can say that he created Adam as a whole.

We frankly do not know of how the WHOLE procedure (as stated in the Quran). Sister Consider, I'm just going to use my knowledge to understand the world around me. It is the simpliest way of seeing things--and I do pray to my creator to guide all of us to the core of this knowledge so that we may learn more.

Alhumdulliah
AhmedSyed

Brother, what those verses say is that mankind originated from Adam.

Even ignoring the hadith on the actual creation of Adam, the verses from the Qur'an are explicit it informing us that we came from Adam, who was himself created by Allaah from dust.

Thus we could not have originated from apes - if we had, Allaah would have surely told us.

Why do you want to study Allaah? How can you?

You are merely a creation of Allaah - a tiny, insignificant thing with extremely limited capabilities and a small brain.

You cannot know Allaah except through what He has told us of Him, nor are we required to "know" him further than that - as we cant.

[3:190]Verily! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding.

Salams Sister Consider,

<<Thus we could not have originated from apes - if we had, Allaah would have surely told us.>>

I don't know if Allah (swt) also told us about quantum physics--but its a branch of science.

Allah (swt) does not tell us everything.

<<<Why do you want to study Allaah? How can you?

You are merely a creation of Allaah - a tiny, insignificant thing with extremely limited capabilities and a small brain.

You cannot know Allaah except through what He has told us of Him, nor are we required to "know" him further than that - as we cant.>>>

I don't, I was merely using it as a set up to explain that we cannot gather empirical knowlegde about Allah (swt).

You have said it all right there "How can you?".

One last thing, I believe that Allah (swt) definetly guided this evolutionary process.

And Allah (swt) knows best.

Doesnt it say in Koran that Allah created Adam without father or mother?

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Originally posted by suspiro
Egyptianmuslima,

You wouldn't happen to be Monika, would you?

If yes, I have certain lavender questions to discuss with you, interrupted from several months ago.

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I am Egyptianmulima since ever I joined the forum Alhamdulelah, did not change names, did u change names????
:confused:

Learn and find knowladge study various sciences and never rely blindly on what you have been told or teached.
And ignore all the rest.
Before making judgement on things, rather read and understand them carefully without making conclusions while not even knowing anything.
Clearly you cannot say that the planets and stars came out of nothing, they formed over time. Something which has been observed happening.
All that has been proven to have happen, the only thing that is unknown is where did the original matter came from.
The processes following have been proven by science.

Humans did not evolve from apes, nor have any theores ever sed it, all that is a saying of unknowing and ignorant people who dont even know about the theories. (generalised conclusion)

Truly it is the wise and educated ones who know about those things and believe in Allah, that are the greatest of believers, not the blind followers who dare not even ask or search answers to things that they do not know or do not understand.
It would even seem, that they fear to even think about it, for they feel as if it would compromise theyre faith.

Why is it that during the times of the great caliphates during the middle ages, it was we that were most educated and science was teached side by side with Islam.

But now science is avoided and looked as something evil and instead only blind faith is forced onto us.

And why have ever since this has happened, become subjects of colonizing and things of use as lesser servants ?

And at the same time our rulers grow more rich and fat and theyre power over us becomes greater and they themselves are above the laws.

All this blind faith and removal of knowladge has made us only ignorant and more easy to convince and to force in subserviance.

Over times power has corrupted those who lead us and should guide us, instead they only think of how to best make us serve them.

And the reasons why the fear anything new, is that it could weaken theyre control and show how corrupt they themselves are.

For some strange instance we commonly talk about how good those old times were and great everything was, but we never talk about the current times, it would even seem that we want to deny to ourselves how bad things are now.

And being in denial and doing nothing but hoping that things will improve which some have lead us to think, things will only get worst.

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Originally posted by Kohr-Ah


Humans did not evolve from apes, nor have any theores ever sed it, all that is a saying of unknowing and ignorant people who dont even know about the theories. (generalised conclusion)

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i guess you can put me in your category of the ignorant ones, because i have been taught my whole life that man evolved from apes

Weird that theyve sed it, since I have always believed that they did not.

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Originally posted by Kohr-Ah
Learn and find knowladge study various sciences and never rely blindly on what you have been told or teached.
And ignore all the rest.
Before making judgement on things, rather read and understand them carefully without making conclusions while not even knowing anything.
Clearly you cannot say that the planets and stars came out of nothing, they formed over time. Something which has been observed happening.
All that has been proven to have happen, the only thing that is unknown is where did the original matter came from.
The processes following have been proven by science.

Humans did not evolve from apes, nor have any theores ever sed it, all that is a saying of unknowing and ignorant people who dont even know about the theories. (generalised conclusion)

Truly it is the wise and educated ones who know about those things and believe in Allah, that are the greatest of believers, not the blind followers who dare not even ask or search answers to things that they do not know or do not understand.
It would even seem, that they fear to even think about it, for they feel as if it would compromise theyre faith.

Why is it that during the times of the great caliphates during the middle ages, it was we that were most educated and science was teached side by side with Islam.

But now science is avoided and looked as something evil and instead only blind faith is forced onto us.

And why have ever since this has happened, become subjects of colonizing and things of use as lesser servants ?

And at the same time our rulers grow more rich and fat and theyre power over us becomes greater and they themselves are above the laws.

All this blind faith and removal of knowladge has made us only ignorant and more easy to convince and to force in subserviance.

Over times power has corrupted those who lead us and should guide us, instead they only think of how to best make us serve them.

And the reasons why the fear anything new, is that it could weaken theyre control and show how corrupt they themselves are.

For some strange instance we commonly talk about how good those old times were and great everything was, but we never talk about the current times, it would even seem that we want to deny to ourselves how bad things are now.

And being in denial and doing nothing but hoping that things will improve which some have lead us to think, things will only get worst.

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Very well said.

i've only just read this thread now...and thought it was worth bringing it up again. i've been doing quite alot of reading on the subject of evolution vs creation however i am still confused...there is one question that's still in my mind-

can one be a muslim and believe in evolution?

also, i would be greatful if any of you could introduce 'dinosaurs' in the thread...it's something which i feel doesn't fit in to religion since such creatures haven't been mentioned in the qur'an.

I believe in a creator so powerful that he made a Universe of 10^100^100 planets just to create us. This Universe follows the laws of matter and light and time that the creator decreed at the moment of creation.

Dinosaurs first appeared on this planet about 275,000,000 years ago. Coincidently, this is also when the first mammals appeared.

Before the dinosaurs the world was polpulated by primitive beasts. Crocodiles, giant 'toads', large lizards, and large brutes that looked like a bear/armadillo mix. Google search 'permian'.

The first dinosaurs were small and agile. They began the Triassic period. They were giants in the Jurrasic. They got smarter and faster in the Cretacious. Then they all died 65,000,000 ago.

~Bub

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can one be a muslim and believe in evolution?

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Good question. Firstly, those who believe in creationism will use the verses to their advantage and try to prove that Adam pbuh was created with out evolution. Disregarding evidence when it suits them.

However, those Muslims who do believe that we came about with evolution will say that the Quran doesn't mention the means by which Adam pbuh came about. But, they DO NOT use evidence when it suits them--they let it flow and see what science has to offer.

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i would be greatful if any of you could introduce 'dinosaurs' in the thread...it's something which i feel doesn't fit in to religion since such creatures haven't been mentioned in the qur'an.

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Dinosaurs were not mentioned in the Quran. But I do not believe that protozoan cells were either. Never the less, they exist and have existed for quiet a while.

Aura if something in the Quran is not mentioned it does mean that it never existed. And Allah knows best.

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Originally posted by AhmedSyed
Good question. Firstly, those who believe in creationism will use the verses to their advantage and try to prove that Adam pbuh was created with out evolution. Disregarding evidence when it suits them.

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the best speech is the book of Allah

how do our evolutionist suggest how Allah created angels and jinns?

Allah is not in need of any evolutionary process to create.

seven, thats easy

angels are created from light, thus a spark evolved into a flash, then into a beacon, and so forth

jinns are created from fire, free of smoke

so lemme see.......... give me some time, i will have abumubaraks theory of jinn evolution, then i will find some dead fossils of scattered bones, then put them together in a haphazard fashion, and wala! a new theory that will be taught in public schools in 50 years and only fools will discredit me

:D

seven, stop laughing


you,,,,,,,,,
you,,,,,,,,,,CREATIONIST!!!

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Originally posted by AhmedSyed

Aura if something in the Quran is not mentioned it does mean that it never existed. And Allah knows best.

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Opps. Ment 'does NOT mean that it never existed'.

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Originally posted by seven
how do our evolutionist suggest how Allah created angels and jinns?

Allah is not in need of any evolutionary process to create.

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Brother Seven, Allah never mentioned the process of the creation of Angels...we do know however that they are creatures made from Nur.

Brother Seven, please explain why it takes millions of years to create a star? This of course is not a shot at Allah's omnipotence because Allah creates as He wills.

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the best speech is the book of Allah

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I totally agree.

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so lemme see.......... give me some time, i will have abumubaraks theory of jinn evolution, then i will find some dead fossils of scattered bones, then put them together in a haphazard fashion, and wala! a new theory that will be taught in public schools in 50 years and only fools will discredit me

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Very funny Brother Abu Mubarak...:D ...but then again, I did ask for empirical evidence...

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Originally posted by AhmedSyed
Sister EgyptianMuslima--

I did not regard them for a moment as concrete proff in the Quran of "creationism" (creationism meaning that man was not from apes)


Subhanallah I do read Quran, it becomes clearer and a treasure evertime I open its cover.

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as salam alykom
I was a bit late, thank u very much for explaining to me what creationism is.
Ok akhi a very good ground to use is your statment about Quran.
u mean that Quran is your manual, your guide, your referrence and source of info.
can u get us the verses that prove the evolution theaory, I dont want darwin's I need it from Quran. How did Allah creat whatever first which evolved into man kind.
I must admit your topic title is well selected and I can answer why we jump into this bandwagon, but I will wait for your reply
:) :) :)

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can u get us the verses that prove the evolution theaory, I dont want darwin's I need it from Quran. How did Allah creat whatever first which evolved into man kind.

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Salams, this is a good question to ask.

Why does not the Quran say that we evolved from apes? Well, firstly, we must examine the other facts it does not talk about.

Such as dinosaurs or specifically the other animals that existed before man.

I personally think that Allah swt has guided his creation into evolution and by saying "bandwagon" I ment that we were jumping on the old Christian evolutionary bandwagon and out rightly blaming Darwin for making some critical observations.

We often also wonder at why Allah swt would have made this route to create man upon--but there are things that take time, such as volcanos and mountains, stars specifically take millions of years.

In the end Allah swt knows best and to Him we return. :)

as salam alykom
I usually withdraw from arugments in the name of Allah, i am sure u know the hadeeth.
I still insist on having an Ayah of the Quran indicating evolution, i agree that Quran does not talk in detail about other creatures, but does indicate their existence on earth before man kind.
However, children of Adam are something very spcial, we are those who accepted the amanah, the creation of man kind involves many miracles, take embrylogoy for ex.
So if u dont have any ayah proving evlotion which I know u dont
ok, pls look at these ayahs. and I had another aim from referring to your title, prefer not to bring it in public

look at:
18:37, 30: 20, 22: 5, 35:11, 40:67
check those akhi may Allah assist us all
I am not aiming to win an argument, so just look at it with the same motive, not to win an argument but to arrive to the truth.
Insh aAllah
and surely Allah knows best and He included it in His Noble book

regarding muslims who believe in evolution instead of accepting that Allah created adam from mud

as if science (mans interpretation of gods achievements) is the answer to all intelligence, what do you say about ya'juj and ma'juj?

Allah says they are on the earth, a complete civilization, where are they and is it possible that a civilization can exist that is totally unknown to mankind?

also, Allah speaks about the day of judgement and the world ending, and according to my very limited reading, i have read that the earth will be consumed by the sun in a few million years or so

is that what you base your acceptance of the day of judgement?

how about death? will we be raised? or is that also, tales of the ancients?

be mindful of casting doubt on Allahs words based upon mans limited perception, which he calls science

science has its uses, but Allah is the confirmation of what is true and what isnt

Ahki, perhaps I should have explained this at the beginning of the thread.

I believe that Allah (SWT) has guided the creation of man.

You see, this is a great problem that is created. I see evolution as something that does not contradict with Islam.

Just because nothing is said of it does not mean that it has not happend.

What became of the dinosaurs Ahki? Do you believe in them--as their kind are not mentioned in the Quran?

So please--all of you--quit placing the blame on me just because you cannot bring evidence and instead resort to trying to justify your own ideas by saying the Holy Quran "doesn't mention it".

sorry, akhi, but your claim is flawed

Allah says he created adam from dust

not evolved adam from a monkey

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Originally posted by AbuMubarak
sorry, akhi, but your claim is flawed

Allah says he created adam from dust

not evolved adam from a monkey

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You're right.

Dust is from the Earth. We are originally from this Earth.

ok, Allah doesnt say he created monkeys from dust, then evolved that monkey into adam

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Originally posted by AbuMubarak
ok, Allah doesnt say he created monkeys from dust, then evolved that monkey into adam

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Assalmualkum,

True. But according to the Quran--all living things are created from water. (which I might add is very true--as every being needs water to survive).

Secondly, the Quran does not mention dinosaurs in specific. But they were here--for sure.

These are interesting verses from the Holy Quran to see:

Allah has caused you to grow as a growth from the earth (Nuh 71:17)

He brought you forth from the earth and settled you therein (Hud 11:61)

He fashioned you in stages (Nuh 7:14)

He created man of fermented clay dried tinkling hard like earth ware (Ar-Rahman 55:14).

He fashioned man from fermented clay dried tinkling hard (A.Hijr 15:26).

It is He who created man from water (Al-Furqan 25:54).


And Allah knows best.

akhi, its not that you accept evolution, that didnt really bother me

but it was the attitude that those who just accept the creationist aspect were somehow lacking in intelligence

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Originally posted by AbuMubarak
akhi, its not that you accept evolution, that didnt really bother me

but it was the attitude that those who just accept the creationist aspect were somehow lacking in intelligence

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Assamlualiukum,

Ok, sorry. Looks like we both misunderstood each other.

I am "creationist" in the sense that Allah guided life. However--this attitude of denying evolution--just because some of us find it strange is hard to believe.

I merely added "Creationist Bandwagon" in my thread to equate it with the old Christian thought of 7 day creation. And many Muslim thinkers out right denying simple facts and thinking quite highly of themselfs.

Next time--I think I'll make my thread titles better.

Salams.

I think the second part of this paper would explain how I think about evolution. Once again I would like to state that I personally believe that Allah (SWT) guided us--and that evolution isn't a strike against Allah (SWT) omnipotent.

My sincere apologies to those who were given a negative impression by my thread--if I indeed insulted anyone by my words, May Allah forgive me.

__________________________________________________ __

There are three different viewpoints of Muslim theologians and scholars about evolution. One view is that evolution is totally contradictory and incompatible with the Islamic teachings. The proponents of this view believe literally in the Quran and Hadith.

They argue that Almighty Allah created all organisms in their present form and then scattered from those created parents of animals and plants, all the present diversity of animals and plants. About the creation of man, they quote different verses of the Holy Quran in which it is described that Allah created the father of all humans “Adam” from clay and then from the rib of Adam, his wife Hawwa (Eve), the mother of all mankind. Then from these two, all human beings sprung. The important personalities of this viewpoint are Shihab-ud-Din Nadvi, Wahiduddin Khan and Harun Yahya.

Shihab-ud -Din Nadvi wrote a very comprehensive book entitled “The Creation of Adam and the Evolutionary Theory” in which he categorically refuted the evolutionary theory. Wahidud Din Khan also wrote number of books especially his book“ Ilm- e- jaded ka challenge (The Challenge of the Modern Knowledge ) the English translation of which is published as “God Arising: Evidence of God in Nature and in Science”. Maulana Wahidud Din Khan writes about evolutionary theory as:

“For a hundred years this theory held sway over human thought. But then further investigations revealed that it had loopholes. It did not fully fit in the framework of creation. In certain fundamental ways, it clashed with the order of the universe as a whole.(1)

Harun Yahya is an eminent Turkish scholar, the author of several books on evolution and creation. Yahya’s opponents claim that Harun Yahya is not a single person but a group of writers formed by Science Research Foundation (known in Turkey with its Turkish initials as BAV). They even claim that Harun Yahya is actually Necmettin Erbakan himself or collaboration between Erbakan and Adnan Okhtar. His website http://www.harunyahya.org has an impressive range of books and it states that Harun Yahya is the pen-name of Adnan Oktar, who devoted his life explaining the existence and unity of Allah.( 2) His two important books “Evolution Deceit” and “Allah is known through Reason“ are basically on the refutation of Darwinism. In the introduction of Evolution Deceit , Harun Yahya notes:

“Some of the people who heard of the theory of Evolution or Darwinism may think that these concepts only concern the field of biology and that they have no significance in their every day lives. This is big misconception because far more than a biological concept, the theory of evolution constitutes the underpinnings of a dishonest philosophy that has held sway over a great number of people”. He further says, “This philosophy is materialism which holds a number of bogus views about why and how we came into being. Materialism maintains that there is nothing but the matter and that matter is the essence of every thing ----------- it (materialism) denies the existence of a divine creator, this is Allah. It also seeks to abolish the basic values on which the state and society rest.”(3) Harun Yahya’s book Evolution Deceit is in fact a scientific approach to refute and reject Darwinism , that is why it is written on the first page of this book.

“The Scientific collapse of Darwinism and its Ideological Background”. Harun Yahya refers to the event of “Cambrian Explosion” during which the remarkably complex forms of animals appeared suddenly, some 550 million years ago. He then quotes a number of contemporary biologists who authenticate the “Cambrian Explosion” and then at page 30 of his book (the Evolution Deceit) writes “the fossil record indicated that living things did not evolve from primitive to the advanced forms, but instead emerged all of a sudden and in a perfect state.”(4)

Some of the very important and recent traditional writers as Martin Lings (Abu-Bakr-Siraj-ud-Din) Frithjof Shuun and Sayyed Hossein Nasr offer clear and lucid arguments to condemn the theory of evolution in its present form. Shuan points out that the transformist evolution of species is a prolonged elaboration that is at once arbitrary and unlimited.

Materialists, even those who consider transformist evolution “inexplicable and even contradictory, accept this hypothesis as an indispensable idea, which moreover carries us outside of Science and into Philosophy, or more exactly into rationalism with its reasoning cut off from the very roots of knowledge, and if the evolutionist idea is indispensable to them, it is because in their minds it replaces the concept of a sudden creation ex nihilo, which to them seems to be only possible solution.” He further notes that “modern philosophers replace metaphysical causality with physical and empirical causalities, which no doubt demands intelligence”. (5)

S.H.Nasr gives the main reason for the acceptances of evolutionary theory:

“Rather in a world in which the Divinity had been either denied or neglected to the role of the maker of the clock which the seventeenth century conceived the universe to be and where sapiential wisdom based on the contemplation of the higher states of being had become practically inaccessible, the theory of evolution seemed the best way of providing a background for the study of the amazing diversity of life forms without having to have recourse to the creation power of God. Nasr further argues, that the theory of evolution soon turned into a dogma precisely, because it rapidly replaced religious faith and came to provide what appeared to be a ‘scientific’ crutch for the soul to enable it to forget God.”(6)

Jamal-ul-Din Afghani also refuted Darwinism by writing an essay titled Al-Radd ala al Dahriyyah (The Refutation of Materialists) in 1881. In 1885, Muhammad Abduh, one of Afghan’s disciples, translated this text into Arabic. Dr Muzaffar Iqbal, after discussing the views of Afghani, writes that in his later life, Afghani softened his stand (about the rejection of evolution) but he remained a firm believer in the special creation of Man.

Ghulam Ahmad Pervez and his student Dr.Abdul Wadood are included in the category of those who totally accept evolutionary theory and endorsed Darwin’s idea into a book titled, “The Phenomena of Nature in the Quran and Sunnah” in which he completely derives the evolutionary stages from different verses of the Holy Quran.

The third category of Muslims response can be called as a moderate response i.e. trying to relate some of the features of the theory to the teachings of Islam (especially the Quran). The important figures which have this viewpoint are Hossein al-Jisr, al-Asfahani, Dr.Mohammad Iqbal, Dr.Inayatullah Mashriqi, Dr.Ahman Afzal , Dr.Israr Ahmed Dr.Absar Ahmad.

Hossein al-Jisr, a Lebanese Scholar who wrote more than twenty five books, including Al-Risala al-Hamidiyya and Falsafa Science and Quran. The former is translated from Arabic into urdu by Syed Muhammad Ishaq and published in urdu as Science and Islam under the patronage of Maulana Ashraf Ali Thanvi. The latter (Falsfa, science and Quran) is the translation of al-Jisr’s Arabic book. Qissat-ul-Eman bain-ul-falsfa wal-hilm wal Quran by khuda Baksh kaliar Advocate and is in dialogue from. In these two books, especially in falsafa, science and Quran at pages 203 to 211, he makes efforts to reconcile the theory of evolution with the Quranic teachings. He seems to defend Darwinian Theory and quotes elsewhere the Quranic verse “We made every living thing from water, will they not believe?” (21:30) and then agrees with the theory of evolution. “There is no evidence in the Quran”, he writes, “to suggest whether all species, each of which exists by the grace of God, were created all at once or gradually.”(7)

Another Iraqi theologian, abu al-Majid Muhammad Rida al-Isfahani accommodated the evolutionary theory in his book Naqd Falsfa Darwin, (Critique of Darwin’s Philsophy). Isfahani defends a God-based version of evolution and counted Lamarck, Wallace, Huxly, Spencer and Darwin among those who believed in God. He referred to the works of Imam Jafar Sadiq (especially to his Kitab al-Tawhid) and to those of Ikhwan al-Safa to point out anatomical similarities in Man and apes, claiming that Darwin could never provide full treatment of these similarities as compared to Ikhwan. But he disputed the embryological similarities between man and other mammals. He affirmed that the structural unity of living organisms was a result of heavenly wisdom and not a consequence of blind chance in nature”.(8)

Dr.Inayatullah Khan al-Mashraqi also defended the Darwinian theory of evolution in his famous book Tazkira. According to him, evolution is inherent in nature as a well- thought out program of Almighty Creator; it has not merely been going on ever since creation but it will continue for endless years till the fulfillment of the purpose of creation. He appears at variance with Darwin who was reluctant to accept God as an entity, and also differs with his somewhat limited framework of ‘fitness’ which when applied to human societies is found inadequate. Allama Mashraqi, wrote a long footnote in the Urdu text of the first volume of Tazkira (published in 1924) in which he took a comprehensive view of this phenomenon with special reference to and support of Darwin in the context of what the Quran stated over 1400 years ago .(9)

Dr. Muhammad Iqbal noted in his Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam that the idea of evolution was first presented by Muslims scientists before Darwin or Lamarck. Iqbal recalled that it was Al-Jahiz (776 –869 CE), the author of Kitab-al-Haiwanat who first hinted at the changes in animal life caused by migrations and environment generally, and Ibn Maskawaih (942 –1032 CE), the author of Fauz al-Asghar, who give a clear and in many respects thoroughly modern theory of the origin of man. Iqbal further notes, “The discoveries of Newton in the sphere of matter and those of Darwin in the sphere of natural history reveal a mechanism. All problems, it was believed were really the problem of Physics, Energy and atoms with the properties self-existing in them, could explain everything including life itself, thought, will and feeling. The concept of mechanism –a purely physical concept – claimed to be the all-embracing explanation of Nature. And the battle for and against mechanism is still being fiercely fought in the domain of biology. The question, then, is whether the passage to Reality through the revelations of sense perception necessarily leads to a view of Reality essentially opposed to the view that religion takes of its ultimate character. Is Natural science finally committed to materialism?”(10)

Iqbal further states, “though natural science can produce a verifiable data about matter, life and mind it generates a sectional view of Reality”. He then delineates the limitations of natural sciences: “the moment you ask the question how matter, life and mind are mutually related, you begin to see the sectional character of the various sciences that deal with them and the inability of those sciences, taken singly, to furnish a complete answer to your question.(11)

Dr.Hamidullah fully accommodated the theory of evolution and the process of evolution. During the question-answer session that followed the lecture on “Religion’ some one asked Dr.Hamidullah: If Darwin’s theory of evolution is correct from the scientific point of view, there is conflict between science and Islam. Kindly explain. Dr.Hamidullah’s answer is totally astonishing, he said:

It has been presumed that Darwin’s theory had been rejected by Islam. It appears to create complications for us because we presume that Darwin was an atheist, although he believed in God. When he completed his medical education and entered his family profession, Darwin went through a metamorphosis. Being sick of the world he became interested in God. He studied Christianity in the Faculty of Religion at the University of Cambridge. Comparative Religion was one of the subjects taught in the university. Darwin also learned Arabic in order to understand Islam. In the collection of his letters that have been published, a number of them are addressed to his Arabic teachers. They are couched in extremely reverend and respectful language.

Dr.Muzaffar Iqbal, after quoting the above mentioned answer, writes, “This is indeed an amazing statement that belies all known facts about Darwin.” (12)

Then Dr.Hamidullah elucidated the theory of evolution contained in “The Epistles of the Brethren of Purity” (Ikhwan-al-Safa) and states:

In the Quran it is stated that God made men out of clay. Our concept of the creation of man is that God, like a potter, moulded clay into shape and breathed his spirit into it and Adam was thus created. Possibly this was the process but what does one do with verses 18:37, 22:5, 25:11, 40:67 which state time and again that God created man from clay and sperm? It is obvious that clay does not create sperm: it comes from an animal and a human being. It means that the mention of all intermediary stages of evolution has been omitted and attention is drawn to the original source, which is clay. The last cause is the sperm of man which stays in the womb of a woman”. According to Dr. Muzaffar, the worst example of this attitude is the definition of evolution that he ( Dr. Hamidullah) produced from the Quran “He created you in stages” (Wallah-o-Khalaqaqum Atwara ,71:14). The word tawr is the basis of tatawwar, which means evolution. This is then further defended: This can also mean that God created man as a mineral in the first instance. Mineral developed into vegetation, which developed into animal life. There is no contradiction. (13)

Dr.Rafiuddin and Dr.Ahmed Afzal have more or less the same opinion about evolution and Darwinism. Dr.Rafiuddin discussed in detail the Darwinian Theory in his book, Quran and Ilm-I-Jadeed. Dr.Israr Ahmed who is very much impressed by ideas of Dr. Rafiuddin has discussed the concept of evolution in detail in the special issue of the Hikmat-I-Quran entitled “Eejad-o-Abda-I-Alam”. Dr.Ahmed Ahmad Afzal, who is student of Dr.Israr Ahmed, wrote a brilliant and thought provoking article entitled “Quran and Human Evolution” about which Dr.Absar Ahmed writes: “Dr.Ahmed Afzal’s brilliant and substantial article, essentially concurring and amplifying the idea and insights of Dr.Israr Ahmed as it does, cuts new grounds in this area by bridging the gulf between the theory of Special Creation and natural biological evolution.” (14)

These three scholars are of the opinion that evolution is not synonymous with Darwinism; secondly they confess that although evolution is a universal fact which can be established through the study of comparative morphology, Paleontology, embryology, anthropology and genetics – the theory which is commonly propounded to explain its mechanism i.e. Natural Selection, is by no means a secure and scientifically proven fact. Thirdly they consider that human beings have a dual nature. There is a non-material mind or spirit or ego which exists side by side with man’s corporeal body. They further argue that the real essence of human being is his spiritual soul which is directly inspired in humans and it has nothing to do with evolution. Evolution concerns only the physical body of man. The man’s true superiority over the rest of creation, including angles, is not because of his physical body, which he shares with other animals, but is actually due to his spiritual soul which truly distinguishes him and sets him apart from all living creatures. The tradition of prophet Muhammad (PBUH) that “Allah created Adam in his own image”, refers to man’s spirit and not his body. Then Dr.Ahmed Afzal says that the dual nature of man represents the duality of God’s creation. Then he refers to Shah Waliullah Dehlvi who had discussed in his Hujjal-ullah-al-Baligha, the two types of Divine creative activity. According to Shah Waliullah Dehlvi (1703—1762 A.D. ), there are two types of Divine Creative activity viz; Al-Aalam Khalq & Al-Aalam Amr. The Al-Aalam Khalq,the world of Allah’s ordinary creatures, in which every thing that happens takes times (e.g. the universe took approximately 15 billion years to develop from Big Bang and the primitive gaseous state to its presents form. A fertilized ovum takes 270—280 days to grow into a fully developed baby). But there is Al- Aalam Amr, or the domain of Divine Creative Energy, that is a direct manifestation of His Word or Logos that is His command of Be! There is absolutely no time factor involved in this realm and things happens instantaneously. He says: Be! and it becomes (Al-Quran 36:82). The initial act of the creation of matter out of nothing (creatio ex Nihilo) represents a direct command or Amr of Almighty Allah. According to the Holy Quran “Ruh (soul) is an Amr-i-Rabb(17:85)]. (15)

He further refers to verses of the Holy Quran in which different stages of the creation of man are described like:

Allah has caused you to grow as a growth from the earth (Nuh 71:17)

He brought you forth from the earth and settled you therein (Hud 11:61)

He fashioned you in stages (Nuh 7:14)

He created man of fermented clay dried tinkling hard like earth ware (Ar-Rahman 55:14).

He fashioned man from fermented clay dried tinkling hard (A.Hijr 15:26).

It is He who created man from water (Al-Furqan 25:54).

Then Dr.Ahmad Afzal mentioned the fossil record of bipedal human like forms Australopithecines, (approximately 3-6 million years old), Homo hobilis, Homo erectus (Java Man and Peking man belong to this group) Homo sapiens neanderthalenisis and finally Homo sapiens sapiens (Modern Man). The fossils of this last mentioned form are as old as 35000 (According to some, biologists 50000 – 100,000). It must be noted that although there is no general agreement regarding the precise relation ship between modern Man and the various man-like forms mentioned above, a number of anthropogical and biochemical studies have pointed the emergence of all present day humans from a small group of individuals, perhaps some where in the middle East. It is supposed that their descendants soon migrated to various continents and adopted to their different environments and climatic conditions leading to the variations in the skeletal, muscular, and other details of different races. (16)

Dr.Ahmed Afzal (and similarly Dr.Israr Ahmed) is inclined to believe that when the process of biological evolution reached its goal and the final form of man appeared on earth, Almighty Allah selected a single pair – a male and female – and endowed them with their spiritual souls. It is not entirely in conceivable that all other members of this species died and became extinct and that all of us are, therefore, descendants of this, primordial human pair, Adam and Eve, as alluded to in the Quran (Al-Hujrat 49:13). The Quran, however, gives no clue as to when this happened. (17)

Now the modern scientific findings also confirm that all human beings of today are the descendants of a single pair, “because the Mitocheridrial DNA in each living human being can be traced back to a single female, who lived in Africa or Asia some 100,000 years ago”. (18)

The Quran declared this fact 14 centuries ago.

O mankind! Reverence your Lord, who created you from a single soul, and He created there of his mate and from them twains, He spread countless men and women. (Al-Quran 4:1)

In another verse Almighty Allah Proclaims:

(Allah is the one God) who made all things He created excellent; and He began the creation of man from clay. Then He made his offspring from the extract of base fluid; then He fashioned and breathed into him of His Spirit; and gave you hearing and sight and the faculty of inferring. And yet how little are the thanks you offer! Qaliluma ma Tashkuroon (Al-Quran, 32:7-9)



REFERENCES

1. Wahiduddin Khan: God Arising, Evidence of God in Nature and in Science (New Delhi: Goodword Books, 1999), p.182

2. Dr. Muzaffar Iqbal: Biological Origins: Traditional and contemporary perspectives, p.33. This paper was presented at an International conference on God, Life and Cosmos: Theistic Perspectives held – November 6-9, 2000, Islamabad.

3. Harun Yahya: Evolution Deceit (London: Ta-Ha Publishers, I Wynne Road, 1999), p.1

4. Ibid, pp.29-30

5. F. Schuon: From the Divine to the Human, (Bloomington, Ind: Word Wisdom Books, 1982), p.88 and F.Schuon’s book Roots of the Human Condition (Bloomington Ind. 1991), p.5 both quoted in John Herlihy’s book Modern Man at the Crossroads (Lahore: Suhail Academy, 1999), p.93

6. S. H. Nasr: The Need for a Sacred Science (NY: Albany Sunny Press, 1993), p.156, Quoted in Modern Man at Crossroads, p.94

7. Dr. Muzaffar Iqbal’s paper op.cit, p.30

8. Ibid, p.31, and for details of Isfahani’s and other Muslims’ views, please see Adel A. Ziadat’s book”Western Science in the Arab World” : The impact of Darwinism, (London, The Macmillan Press Ltd., 1986), pp.84-122

9. Inayatullah Khan Al-Mashriqi: Tazkira (Amritsar: Idaratul Ishayat-lil-Tazkirah, 1924), Muqaddima, pp.1-41 and for English version of that syyed shabbir Hussain (ed): Quran and Evolution (Islamabad: EI-Mashriqi Foundation, 1987), pp.30-75

10. Dr. Mohammad Iqbal: The Reconstruction of Religios Thought in Islam, ed. By M. Saeed Sheikh, (Lahore: Iqbal Academy and Institute of Islamic Culture, 1986), p.33

11. Ibid, pp.33-34

12. Dr. Hamidullah: The Emergence of Islam, Lectures on the Development of Islamic world-view, intellectual Tradition and Polity (Islamabad: Islamic Research Institute, 1993), pp.143-144 quoted in Dr. Muzaffar Iqbal’s paper, op.cit, pp.39-42

13. Dr. Muzaffar Iqbal, op.cit. p.42

14. Dr. Absar Ahmed: Religion and Science (editorial) The Quranic Horizons 1:3, 1996 (Lahore: The Quran Academy), p.11

15. Dr. Ahmed Afzal: “Quran and Human Evolution” in the Quranic Horizons, 1:3, 1996, pp.50-51

16. Ibid, p.53

17. Ibid., for details also study, Dr. Absar Ahmad’s Article: Creation and Evolution in the Quranic Perspectives in this issue.

18. John Herlihy: Modern Man at the Crossroads: The search for the Knowledge of first origins and final ends, (Lahore: Suhail Academy, 1999), p.49

http://www.hssrd.org/journal/summer2...m-response.htm

Quote:

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Originally posted by AhmedSyed
Assalmualkum,




He fashioned you in stages (Nuh 7:14)

And Allah knows best.

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wa alykom as salam akhi
u certainly dont need to apologize for anything, all what matters to me, is Insh aAllah for u to settle an important issue of a`qidah.
I will not comment on each and every ayah.
as for this one, akhi, here Allah is just summing up the embriology part I spoke about earlier, Quran is miraculous as u know.
If u simply ponder on the ayahs I gave u will get much idea Insh aAllah
So this ayah speaks about embroiology, stages of the embroy. This is the stages meant by the Ayah
and of course Allah Knows best
May Allah help us all akhi