Quran and Human Evolution

8/10/2019 Quran and Human Evolution

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Quran and Human Evolution

By Dr. Ahmed Afzaal

First published in "The Qurani Horizons"

!uly#eptember $%%&' (olume $. ) *o. +


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Evolution is ,enerally onsidered to be totally inompatible -ith the slami

understandin, of reality. This' ho-ever' happens to be a superfiial /ud,ment. 0pon

deeper refletion' the idea of evolution' and of ,radual development and pro,ress

from one sta,e to the ne1t' omes out as entral to the slami -orldvie-.

Althou,h the idea of evolution sprouts from the Holy Quran itself'$ many of the

presentday 2uslim sholars find this notion hard to s-allo-' partiularly -ith

referene to biolo,ial evolution. The reason for their abhorrene is probably the fat

that the very oneption of evolution brin,s up in their minds the appallin, ima,e of

an ape s3uattin, in mans family tree' somethin, -hih they onsider as diametrially

opposed to the Qurani onept of human di,nity. Ho-ever' -e shall try to sho- in

the present artile that it is 3uite possible to believe in the universal phenomenon of

evolution' inludin, the evolution of man from lo-er animals' -ithout havin, to

surrender the faith in the reative ativity of Almi,hty Allah 4#5T6 and -ithout

subsribin, to the de,radin, philosophy of Dar-inism. This is possible beause of thefollo-in, reasons) n the first plae' evolution is not synonymous -ith Dar-inism7

seondly' althou,h evolution is a universal fat 8 -hih an be established throu,h

the study of omparative morpholo,y' paleontolo,y' embryolo,y' anthropolo,y' and

,enetis 8 the theory -hih is ommonly propounded to e1plain its mehanism' i.e.'

*atural #eletion' is by no means a seure and sientifially proven fat7 and' finally'

beause the slami onept of human di,nity is based on the presene in man of a

nonphysial soul and has nothin, to do -ith his physial body.

The immediate response of the orthodo1 2uslim sholars to the idea of human

evolution' -hen it first arrived from the 5est in the 2uslim -orld durin, the late

nineteenth entury' -as one of outri,ht and total re/etion. The onflit bet-een the

shools of Deoband and Ali,arh in British ndia imitated a some-hat similar frition

in the 5estern -orld bet-een the #ientifi9:ationalist and the

:eli,ious9Traditionalist shools of thou,ht. Ho-ever' it is our ontention that no

inherent dihotomy e1ists bet-een the rational and the reli,ious' partiularly the

Qurani' -orldvie-s' other than an artifiial and temporary disrepany -hih

arises out of either the launae in the available sientifi ;no-led,e or a

misinterpretation and misunderstandin, of the ;no-led,e revealed by Almi,hty Allah

4#5T6.

Reason and Revelation

The olossal amount of aademi -or; -hih -as done by our learned anestors in

the field of Qurani e1e,esis is hi,hly valuable' but these tafaseer 8 on aount of a

pauity of sientifi ;no-led,e in that era 8 often ontain errors in the e1planation

of the Qurani allusions to natural and physial phenomena. The human errors in

e1e,esis should never be mista;en for "errors" in the Divine te1t. nstead' our

interpretations of the Qurani referenes to natural proesses 8 for e1ample' the in

utero development of the fetus and the appearane of first man on earth 8 need to be

arefully reonsidered and revised in the li,ht of modern sientifi ;no-led,e.

:eli,ion and siene are' in fat' lose allies in the searh for truth and not adversariesor anta,onists. Both strive to reah the ultimate realities of e1istene. Ho-ever' -hile


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siene uses a old and dry indutive method and an' by definition' arrive only at

partial truths re,ardin, the observable universe' reli,ion uses an intuitive and diret

approah to ;no-led,e and arrives at the -hole truth' -hih inludes the invisible

and transendent realities. Furthermore' sine the material and the spiritual' or the

physial and the metaphysial' are t-o aspets of the same reality' at least some

de,ree of overlap bet-een sientifi and reli,ious ;no-led,e is inevitable. Thus' thefats unovered by siene an help us understand more learly the truths revealed by

reli,ion' and' in the same -ay' various reli,ious insi,hts an help supply the missin,

piees in the puzzles of sientifi ;no-led,e' thereby pavin, the -ay to a more

holisti' oherent' and inte,rated vie- of reality. n the present artile -e shall apply

this approah to the problem of human evolution.

5ithout sho-in, any disrespet or irreverene to them' it may be pointed out that our

reli,ious sholars have' durin, the last ouple of enturies or so' restrited themselves

-ithin a rather narro- irle of ativity' -hih is essentially onerned -ith

defendin, the do,mati and ritualisti frame-or; of slam. 5hile this in itself is a

valuable servie' -hat is really needed is revival and reonstrution of differentaspets of the slami ideolo,y in ontemporary idiom. A proper reonstrution of

slami theolo,y' for e1ample' -ould re3uire a thorou,h study of the developments in

the sientifi and philosophial thou,ht' espeially durin, the last 5ith referene to osmi and human evolution' as -e

shall see' the ri,ht position is to aept as true the ,eneral notion of pro,ress and

development in the universe as -ell as the idea of the evolution of human bein,s from

lo-er lifeforms' but to re/et and refute the theory that all this happened as a result of

blind and purposeless "fore" of *atural #eletion.

The Darwinian Revolution

The idea of ,radual and orderly han,e 8 or evolution 8 an be traed to thebe,innin, of ?ree; philosophy' -hen Heralitus said that everythin, moves and

everythin, han,es. Aristotle not only tau,ht the idea of evolution' but also provided

a theory of its auses. The :oman poet @uretius ,ave the theory of ,radual

development of animal life from the simplest first be,innin,s to more omple1 forms.

Ho-ever' in modern times' it -as the Frenh naturalist !. B. @amar; 4$$C>%6

-ho formulated a omplete theory of speies transformation. Aordin, to him' in

any livin, reature' or,ans improve in effetiveness if used and deteriorate if not used'

and this improvement or deterioration -ill be passed on to its offsprin,. E1plainin,

his vie-s' @amar; said that all life has an innate drive for perfetion -hih leads to

evolution of or,anism. n order to deal -ith han,ed environmental onditions' the

animal brin,s about a han,e in its habits' involvin, the ,reater use of some or,ans4resultin, in their ,ro-th6' and redued use of some other or,ans 4ausin, their


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de,eneration6. #uh modifiations or a3uired haraters are inherited by the

offsprin,' leadin, to the proess of transformation. This theory' thou,h simple and

onvinin,' -as based upon a flimsy foundation' as the notion of the inheritane of

a3uired haraters ould not be proved.+

Durin, the middle of nineteenth entury' -e find the idea of or,ani evolution 3uiteommon in Europe' thou,h a solid mehanism of its ausation -as still la;in,. 2en

li;e 5illiam 5ells' Edmond Blyth' atri; 2atthe-' and Alfred 5allae -or;ed on

the idea of evolution after @amar;. t is interestin, to note that many naturalists

durin, the seventeenth and ei,hteenth enturies -ere ler,ymen' and that they tended

to see the study of nature as a sure -ay to a ,reater appreiation of the Divine

reative ativities. The enmity bet-een reli,ion and siene had not yet entered the

field of biolo,y. The prevalent idea -as that the atheist has to be -illfully blind to

i,nore the lear si,ns of ?ods e1istene every-here in the livin, -orld. t -as

,enerally believed by the naturalists that the e1istene of ?od an be inferred from the

evidene of the e13uisite desi,n in nature' inludin, the fat that or,anisms are so

perfetly adapted to their environment. Even -hen some of the biolo,ists of s;eptialtendenies ould not a,ree -ith all of the dotrines of the established hurh' they

-ould still remain' more or less' -ithin the boundaries of theism. All this han,ed'

of ourse' -ith the advent of Dar-in.

harles Dar-in -as born in #hre-sbury' En,land' in the year $C=%' and ame from a

prosperous and eduated family. n $C>


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variations -ould be unable to reprodue themselves in suffiient numbers and -ill'

onse3uently' perish. The phrase #urvival of the Fittest atually ame from

philosopher Herbert #pener 4$C>=$%=+6' -ho had speulated on evolution -ell

before Dar-ins theories beame ;no-n' and had pouned ea,erly on Dar-ins

thesis. n addition to #pener' Thomas Hu1ley and Ernst Hae;le also played

si,nifiant roles in preparin, the ,round for Dar-ins seond boo;' in -hih theauthor proposed that man is a desendent of apeli;e reatures.

There -ere serious errors and ma/or ,aps in the Dar-inian hypothesis of *atural

#eletion' as a result of -hih most early ritiisms -ere based on sientifi

ar,uments. #ome of the ,aps in Dar-ins theory -ere filled by others in the period

follo-in, his death in $CC>. ?re,or 2endel 4$C>>$CC6 had disovered the la-s

relatin, to inheritane as early as $C&


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did try to reonile Dar-ins vie-s -ith the teahin,s of the #riptures' but' in

,eneral' the reation from the hurh -as vi,orously hostile. Thomas Hu1ley 4$C>


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The fundamental error involved in this type of thin;in, is sometimes desribed as the

hypothesis of "?od of the ,aps." The development of siene in Europe ourred in

an intelletual environment -here the onept of a reator or a Desi,ner -as often

employed only for the purpose of fillin, the launae in human ;no-led,e. An "at of

?od" -as somethin, you ould not e1plain on the basis of available sientifi data.Thus' the presene of innumerable speies of plants and animals and their marvelous

adaptation to their environments -as e1plained as bein, the "-or; of ?od." Ho-ever'

as more and more la-s of nature -ere unovered' the need to invo;e a deity -ent on

dereasin, by the same proportion. #iene' -hih is essentially the study of the

reative ativities of Almi,hty ?od' -as thus turned into a substitute for ?od. This

fallay is still found in modern sientifi -ritin,s. For instane' arl #a,an' the

famous astronomer and popular siene -riter' laims in his television series and

boo; osmos that the idea of evolution throu,h *atural #eletion has suessfully

replaed the old hypothesis of an allpo-erful reator)

The idea that every or,anism -as metiulously onstruted by a ?reat Desi,nerprovided a si,nifiane and order to nature and an importane to human bein,s that

-e rave still. A Desi,ner is a natural' appealin, and alto,ether human e1planation of

the biolo,ial -orld. But' as Dar-in and 5allae sho-ed' there is another -ay'

e3ually appealin,' e3ually human' and far more ompellin,) *atural #eletion ...$$

bviously' the idea of evolution desribes a fundamental fat of the universe and

*atural #eletion is a valuable method of study' but they annot e1plain the -orld on

their o-n. Evolution is the desriptive interpretation of the ori,in and history of life

on earth7 it does not in itself neessitate any partiular mehanisti or atheisti

attitude. Ho-ever' in the hi,hly har,ed and polarized intelletual milieu of the

seond half of nineteenth entury' those -ho -ere already inlined to-ards atheism

thou,ht that they have found' in the form of Dar-ins theory' the oup de ,rKe for

reli,ion. Thus' Friedrih En,els -rote to his omrade Garl 2ar1 in $C

Dar-inism -as enthusiastially adopted and developed on purely materialisti lines

by the intelletuals of atheisti disposition' in the hope that it -ill demolish the

foundations of all reli,ious belief. The ori,in and evolution of man -as no- bein,vie-ed as resultin, from pure hane' ma;in, obsolete all spiritual and moral

onerns. This provided the perfet e1use to the philosophy of moral relativism and

absolute liberalism. 2an ame to be vie-ed as nothin, more than a sophistiated

brute' onsiousness -as e1plained a-ay in terms of eletrohemial and mehanial

proesses in the brain' and the uni3uely human phenomenon of reli,ious e1periene

-as disarded as a mental aberration or a result of -ishful thin;in,.

The Friction between Reason and Revelation

t is not surprisin,' therefore' that reli,ious sholars in the 2uslim -orld reo,nized

the demons of atheism' immorality' and permissiveness that -ere lur;in, beneath theapparently innoent faade of a sientifi theory. Their re/etion and ondemnation of


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Dar-inism -as e3ually e1peted. This re/etion inevitably resulted in a serious

division and disord bet-een the teahin,s of the #hool and those of the 2os3ue.

Loun, 2uslims -ere espeially vulnerable to the perple1ity aused by the onflit

bet-een the more rational and more redible urriulum offered by the lar,ely seular

shools on the one hand' and the traditional reli,ious instrutions reeived at home on

the other. This onfusion has e1isted in one form or another till the present day.

5e an no- appreiate that a lot of fallaious thin;in, and unfortunate mi1up of

theory and fat -ere involved in this dilemma7 but then' those -ere the days of

olonialism. The siene that had arrived alon, -ith the European rulers -as not to

be hallen,ed. n fat' the dazzled and a-estru; "natives" -ere in no position to

3uestion anythin, -hih -as even remotely onneted -ith the rulers. ur anestors

belon,in, to the #ir #ayyid shool of thou,ht' -ho adopted an attitude of total

a3uiesene and intelletual sub/u,ation to rationalism and the ne- "enli,htenment"'

-ere not ,uilty of any -illful -ron,doin,7 they -ere simply stupefied in the fae of

an over-helmin, opponent. n the other e1treme' our reli,ious sholars or ulama

adopted a ne,ative attitude and refused to aept anythin, that -as even remotelylin;ed -ith the rulers. This resulted in a serious dihotomy bet-een the "-orldy" and

the "reli,ious" se,ments of our soiety' somethin, -hih has ontinued to intensify

despite numerous attempts to find a middle path.

Today' -e are in a muh better position' relatively spea;in,' beause -e feel

intelletually free and onfident to distin,uish ri,ht from -ron,. 2oreover' the

onstany and absolute dependability of the sientifi vie-point has also disappeared'

,ivin, -ay to the merurial manner in -hih theories ome and ,o. Today' -e find

ourselves on a muh stron,er footin, to ar,ue that evolution and Dar-inism are t-o

different thin,s. That evolution is a natural and ubi3uitous la- of nature is a fat

based upon our daytoday observations as -ell as sientifi in3uiry and philosophial

onsiderations. At the same time' the theory of *atural #eletion is /ust that 8 a

theory' and not a very ,ood one at that. *atural #eletion is ertainly appliable in

many ases' but it is far from bein, proved as the sole or even a ma/or ause of

biolo,ial evolution as it too; plae on earth.

Evolution: Descriptive and Instructional

The ideas relatin, to the proess of evolution an be divided into t-o separate

ate,ories) Desriptive and nstrutional. 5hat is meant by desriptive evolution is

that lifeforms have under,one innumerable han,es durin, the ourse of the last fourbillion years' that hi,her and more omple1 or,anisms have evolved from simpler

ones' and that all speies an be traed ba; to the simplest forms in -hih life

initially appeared. nstrutional evolution' on the other hand' onsists of the various

theories that are propounded to e1plain the mehanism of evolution' Dar-ins *atural

#eletion bein, one suh attempt. n other -ords' desriptive evolution deals -ith the

3uestion of -hat' -hereas instrutional evolution tries to ans-er the ho- part.$+ t is

of fundamental importane that -e ;eep this ruial distintion in our minds' as any

mi1up bet-een the t-o an prelude our efforts to reah the truth and to find a

meetin, point bet-een siene and reli,ion.

5hat is most si,nifiant here is that there are hardly any doubts onernin,desriptive evolution 8 that is to say' biolo,ial evolution did ta;e plae on earth. n


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the other hand' a tremendous debate is still ,oin, on re,ardin, the instrutional

evolution 8 that is to say' the mehanism by -hih evolution too; plae has not yet

been settled. ur ontention is that the fat of evolution an not only be reoniled

-ith the teahin,s of the Quran' but that it fits perfetly in the overall sheme of

?ods reation as desribed in the Holy Boo;. n the ontrary' the theory of *atural

#eletion is basially an atheisti interpretation of evolution -hih is not only at odds-ith the spirit of reli,ion but -hih is onsidered 3uite flimsy even in the sientifi

irles. #everal alternate theories have so far been presented to e1plain the proess of

evolution' one of the most oherent of -hih is desribed belo-)

ierre ?rassM' a prominent Frenh biolo,ist' delares that the e1planatory dotrines of

evolution do not stand up to an ob/etive' indepth ritiism. He asserts that evolution

as -e ;no- it is 3uite obviously dependent on a proess of suessive additions of

,eneti information over the ourse of time. Fortuitous mutations do not ade3uately

aount for the emer,ene of ma/or variations' as they are unable to reate ne- forms

-ith modifiations that affet several or,ans in a oherent manner. His theory of

"reative evolution" has its roots in prototype forms7 all the ma/or or,anizationaltypes -ere laid do-n at a very early sta,e' follo-ed by a period of aentuation of

these phenomena' -hih -ere rounded off by a phase durin, -hih events slo-ed

do-n and the reation of ne- types finally ,round to a halt. Aordin, to ?rassM'

evolution and morpholo,ial variations an only our as a result of the reation of

ne- ,enes alon, -ith han,es in the e1istin, ,enes of an or,anism. *e- information

-hih materializes and inte,rates itself permanently into the ,eneti ode in the form

of se3uenes of nuleotides an only arise from prelimanry intraellular reaions'

resultin, from an orderly development that ta;es plae over suessive ,enerations.$

This theory is' in our opinion' muh more ompatible -ith a theisti understandin, of

evolution than *eoDar-inism.

Follo-in, is an overvie- of some of the ma/or shortomin,s of *eoDar-inism)

$6 There are a number of "panhroni speies" inludin, o;roah' oeloanth' lamp

shell' and horseshoe rab' -hih remained pratially unhan,ed for millions of

years. *atural #eletion annot e1plain this la; of evolution.

>6 5hen natural disasters stri;e' it is not al-ays the fittest -ho survives7 often it is the

most fortunate. #udden han,es in the environment brin, death and mass e1tintion

-hih does not neessarily ma;e a distintion bet-een the less adapted and the more

adapted speies.

+6 5hen animals fi,ht' it is not al-ays the best e3uipped -ho -ins the battle'

similarly the female does not al-ays hose the stron,est male7 in these ases the role

of individual irumstanes and pure lu; should not be overloo;ed.

6 n ertain animals' some harateristis ontinued to develop even after they had

beome deleterious' leadin, to the e1tintion of the speies. Thou,h' aordin, to

Dar-in' unfavorable haraters are not supposed to evolve.


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reahed. t is obvious that life has ta;en a muh ris;ier and adventurous path' sho-in,

that survival by adaptation -as not the sole purpose of evolution. The inreasin, level

of omple1ity of livin, or,anisms indiate that evolution is not a haphazard proess'

but seems to have a drive to-ards perfetion.

&6 *atural #eletion annot ta;e into aount any lon,ran,e onsiderations' beause'in the stru,,le for e1istene' every ne- variation must be immediately useful to the

or,anisms survival or it -ill be disarded. This means that *atural #eletion annot

e1plain the emer,ene of omple1 or,ans' eah of -hih is made of a very lar,e

number of parts that must have developed independently throu,h thousands of

,enerations' as they -ould have no utility durin, all that time.$$=+> E6' the author of

Fauz alAs,har' -ho -rote about the evolution of man from inanimate matter to

plants and then to the animals' and mentioned the lose relationship bet-een man and

ape.$% n addition' -e find the idea of evolution e1pressed in various forms by Al

2asOudi' AlBairuni' !alaluddin :umi' and bn Ghaldun.

2ore importantly' -e need to realize that the Holy Quran ,ives t-o ontrastin,

pitures of man. n the one hand' the Quran says that man is the hi,hest and the

most honored of ?ods reations>= and' on the other hand' it says that man isun,raious' -ea;' ,reedy' and full of haste.>$ These t-o onflitin, pitures of man

an neither be reoniled nor their true meanin, ,rasped e1ept by realizin, that

human bein,s have a dual nature) There is a nonmaterial mind or spirit or e,o -hih

e1ists side by side -ith mans orporeal body.>> Aordin, to a tradition -hih is

narrated by Hadrat Abu Huraira 4:AA6 and reported by mam Bu;hari 4:A6 and

mam 2uslim 4:A6' rophet 2uhammad 4#A56 has said) "He reated Adam in His

o-n ima,e"' and it is -ell;no-n that the Bible says the same thin,) "?od reated

human bein,s in his o-n ima,e7 in the ima,e of ?od he reated them7 male and

female he reated them." 4?enesis $)>6 This' of ourse' refers to mans spirit and not

his body. ndeed' the teahin, of most reli,ions is that mans essene is to be found in

his spirit' and that this spiritual essene must dominate his lo-er instintual impulses.The hadith 3uoted above also implies that mans true superiority over the rest of


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reation' inludin, an,els' is not beause of his physial body' -hih he shares -ith

other animals' but is atually due to his spiritual soul -hih truly distin,uishes him

and sets him apart from all other livin, reatures.

The si,nifiane of understandin, this soulbody dualism is as follo-s) The main

reason -hy the idea of biolo,ial evolution does not seem to be harmonious -ith thereli,ious outloo; is not the fat of evolution per se' but the aompanyin, vie- that

man is nothin, more than -hat it loo;s li;e' i.e.' a sophistiated animal. The only

solution' therefore' is to understand that the real essene of a human bein, is his

spiritual soul' and that he is not merely a physial form. The proess of evolution

onerns only the physial body of man7 it has nothin, to do -ith his :ooh. This

understandin, is absolutely essential if -e are to reonile the fat of evolution -ith

the teahin,s of reli,ion.

The idea of human evolution an be effetively divored from its apaity for

produin, atheism' immorality' and permissiveness one -e inorporate in it the

Qurani onept of the dual nature of man. The reason for this is 3uite easy toappreiate) f a person believes that he is a mere animal' then he is li;ely to behave

li;e one7 on the other hand' if he believes that his real self is of Divine ori,in' his

entire outloo; as -ell as his ondut in life -ill onse3uently be dominated by

spiritual and ethial onerns rather than mere material and arnal ones. n other

-ords' -e need to establish that man is omposed of both a material body of

terrestrial ori,in as -ell as a spiritual soul of elestial ori,in' and to emphasize that

this Divine #par; is muh more important than mans animal or physial self. As

suh' there is nothin, unslami in the belief that mans physial body is formed by

means of or,ani evolution' provided -e ;eep in our minds the distintion of body

and soul' as desribed in the follo-in, para,raphs.

The Physical and the piritual

The mindbody problem has been a ma/or onern for philosophers throu,hout the

history of speulative thou,ht. t has impliations for suh reli,iously si,nifiant

issues as freedom of -ill and the possibility of life after death. The nonphysial

identity of the human self is denied by the materialist in order to invalidate the

onept of the immortality of soul and its survival beyond death. :eduin, the human

self e1lusively to the physial body also inevitably leads to an e1planation of human

ations in term of stimuli and response instead of free hoie. The fundamental

position of Desartes 4$


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a uni3uely human privile,e' and it is not possible to e1plain them in terms of the

properties ommon to material ob/ets' li;e size' shape' olor' -ei,ht' et.'

neessitatin, a separate and distint e1istene of mind. Furthermore' there is an

immense amount of evidene onernin, syhi phenomena' inludin, telepathy'

preo,nition' retroo,nition' psyho;inesis' and e1trasensory pereption' -hih

proves that there are human faulties -hih ,o beyond the realm of physiale1istene' and even beyond the limitations of time and spae. t is obvious that none

of these faulties an be e1plained in terms of mehanial proesses.>C The mysterious despair of loneliness

and separation that is felt by the more sensitive amon, us' and -hih is so often

emphasized by E1istentialist -riters' is atually a manifestation of the ravin, of the

human spirit for intimay -ith the Almi,hty' poi,nantly e1pressed by :umi in the

initial ouplets of his 2athna-i)

@isten to the reed ho- it tells a tale' omplainin, of separations

#ayin,' "Ever sine -as parted from the reedbed' my lament hath aused man and

-oman to moan.

-ant a bosom torn by severane' that may unfold 4to suh a one6 the pain of my

lovedesire.

Every one -ho is left far from his soure -ishes ba; the time -hen he -as united

-ith it.>%

The Quran alludes to the fat that it is this very spiritual soul infused into man that

made a human bein, out of an animal' made him apable of reeivin, Divine

:evelation' and elevated him to the position of vie,erent of ?od' superior even to the

an,els. Aordin, to the Quran)

5hen your @ord said to the an,els) " am verily ,oin, to reate a human bein, from

fermented lay dried tin,lin, hard7 And -hen have fashioned him and breathed into

him of 2y #pirit' fall do-n' prostratin, yourself before him." 4AlHi/r $C'>%6

The Quran desribes that' in the be,innin,' Almi,hty Allah 4#5T6 reated the

spiritual souls 4or Ar-ah6 of all human bein,s that -ere destined to be born up till the

Doomsday' and it seems that this reation too; plae even before the reation of the

material universe 8 before the be,innin, of time itself. Almi,hty Allah 4#5T6 then

endo-ed these human spirits -ith their sense of identity and the faulty of speeh'and assembled them all to,ether so that a ovenant ould be ta;en from them' as

mentioned in the Holy Quran)

And reall -hen your @ord brou,ht forth desendants from the loins of the sons of

Adam' and made them -itnesses a,ainst their o-n selves' as;in, them) OAm not

your @ordJ They said) OLes' -e do testify. 4AlAOraaf )$>6

Aordin, to an authenti tradition' -hih is narrated by Hadrat Abdullah bn 2asOud

4:AA6 and reported by mam Bu;hari 4:A6 as -ell as mam 2uslim 4:A6' rophet

2uhammad 4#A56 is reported to have said that Almi,hty Allah 4#5T6 sends an

an,el to every e1petin, mother after $>= days of ,estation' and that this an,el theninfuses a spiritual soul into the unborn hild. Earlier interpretation of this hadith had


15/28

e3uated the soul -ith life7 this -as an obvious error' sine the fetus and even the

zy,ote before it is already alive' and there is no point in ,ivin, life to an already

livin, or,anism. The real meanin, of the hadith an be appreiated only -hen -e

onsider the spiritual soul 4or :ooh6 as distint from life. The infusion of spiritual

soul in the human fetus at a partiular point in its development 4at a ,estational a,e of

months6 is also su,,ested by the Holy Quran 4Al2ominoon >+)$>$6.

As far as the physial aspet of a human bein, is onerned' it is indeed a produt of

,radual biolo,ial evolution. This fat appears to lash -ith the reli,ious outloo; only

-hen -e interpret the Divine at of reation as a sin,ular event ourrin, in remote

past. This interpretation is' of ourse' not a orret one. The Quran teahes us that

Almi,hty Allah 4#5T6 is al-ays atively en,a,ed in reation. The priniple of

,radual han,e and development from the lo-er to the hi,her sta,es is an inte,ral part

of the material -orld. onsider the proesses in the natural or physial -orld 8 the

intrauterine develpment of a fetus' the ,ro-th of a tree' the han,e of seasons' the

birth and death of stars 8 and you shall find that' althou,h some proesses are faster

than others' all of them our by means of ,radual han,e. t is neither lo,iallyimpossible nor reli,iously sinful to oneive that Almi,hty Allah 4#5T6 brou,ht the

human physial form into e1istene throu,h a proess of ,radual development. n the

other hand' -e need to ;eep in mind that the spiritual soul in man belon,s to an

alto,ether different realm' a realm -here the notions of time and spae have no

relevane at all. There is absolutely no ,ro-th or development for the spiritual soul'

nor is there any time element involved in its apaities and funtions.

The dual nature of man represents the duality of ?ods reation. Thus' #hah

5aliyullah Delhvi has disussed' in his ma,num opus Hu/atullah alBali,ha' the t-o

types of Divine reative ativity. There is AlAalam AlGhal3' the -orld of Allahs

"ordinary" reatures that all of us ome aross in our day to day observation and in the

study of nature. Everythin, that happens in this realm ta;es time. The universe too;

appro1imately $< billion years to develop from the Bi, Ban, and the primitive

,aseous state to its present ondition. A fertilized ovum ta;es forty -ee;s to ,ro- into

a fully developed human baby. #imilarly' life on earth be,an in the primordial oean

and too; at least billion years of usually slo-' but at times rapid' evolutionary

development to reah its lima1 8 the reation of the perfet animal or the Homo

sapiens. But then there is AlAalam AlAmr' or the domain of Divine reative Ener,y'

that is a diret manifestation of His 5ord or "lo,os"' i.e.' His ommand of "BeP"

There is absolutely no time fator involved in this realm' and thin,s happen

instantaneously) He says) "BeP" and it beomes.+=

The initial at of the reation of matter out of nothin, represents a diret ommand or

Amr of Almi,hty ?od' and' li;e this at of reation e1 nihilo' the Quran su,,ests to

the disernin, reader that the an,els' human spirits' and the phenomenon of Divine

:evelation 4or 5ahee6 also belon, to the AlAalam AlAmr.+$ The human physial

form too; a lon, proess of evolution to reah its present state of maturity beause it

is a part of AlAalam AlGhal37 the spiritual soul' ho-ever' -as reated instantly in a

sin,le at of Divine ommand as it belon,s to the -orld of ?ods reative Ener,y or

AlAalam AlAmr.


16/28

The #ri$in and Evolution of %ife

There are numerous su,,estions in the Holy Quran -hih point to the fat that mans

physial form is' in fat' a produt of the earth' and' unli;e his spiritual soul' his body

is not a forei,ner or an alien in this planet. For instane' onsider the follo-in, ayaat)

And Allah has aused you to ,ro- as a ,ro-th from the earth. 4*uh $)$6

He brou,ht you forth from the earth and settled you therein. 4Hud $$)&$6

Thereof i.e.' from the earthR 5e reated you' and thereunto 5e return you' and thene

5e brin, you forth a seond time. 4TaHa >=)>)6

#o as; them if they are more diffiult to reate' or the rest 5e have reatedJ ndeed'

5e reated 4man6 from fermented lay. 4Al#affat +)$$6

He reated man of fermented lay dried tin;lin, hard li;e earthen -are. 4Al:ahman

6

t is He -ho reated man from -ater ... 4AlFur3an >


17/28

enzymes. t has been postulated that' at the shore of the primordial oean' the soil

ated as a atalyst by ausin, small moleules 8 espeially amino aids and nulei

aids 8 to ome loser' and traes of metals li;e in and *i;el aelerated their

polymerization' untill a omple1 or,ani moleule -ith the apaity for self

repliation ame into bein,' eventually leadin, to the formation of a uniellular

or,anism. Thereafter the on-ard marh of evolution be,an' and' after passin, throu,hinnumerable sta,es and phases' it finally ulminated -ith the advent of man.

The fossils of the first bipedal anthropoids 4apeli;e animals -al;in, on t-o feet6 8

alled Australopitheines 8are appro1imately one to +.& million years old.

#ubse3uent fossil reord sho-s the appearane of inreasin,ly humanli;e forms'

inludin, Homo habilis' Homo eretus 4!ava 2an and e;in, 2an belon, to this

,roup6' Homo sapiens neanderthalensis' and finally Homo sapiens sapiens 4-hih

inlude the ro2a,non 2an6. The fossils of this last mentioned form are as old as

+

n the li,ht of the Qurani narrations' -e are inlined to believe that -hen the

proess of biolo,ial evolution reahed its ,oal and the final form of man appeared on

the earth' Almi,hty Allah 4#5T6 seleted a sin,le pair 8 a male and a female 8 and

endo-ed them -ith their spiritual souls. t is not entirely inoneviable that all other

members of this speies died out and beame e1tint' and that all of us are' therefore'

desendants of this primordial human pair' Adam and Eve' as alluded to in the Quran

4AlHu/urat %)$+6. The Quran' ho-ever' ,ives us no lue as to -hen this happened'

thou,h the hronolo,y based on the Biblial ,enealo,ial data plaes the first human

pair in a timeframe of appro1imately C'=== B..++

n this onte1t' the si,nifiane of the infusion in man of his spiritual soul must not be

overloo;ed7 in the absene of these Divine foi of selfonsiousness and spirituality'

the Homo sapiens -ould have remained nothin, more than intelli,ent brutes.

onsider the Qurani ayaat ,iven belo-' and note ho- the referene to man suddenly

shifts from third person to the seond follo-in, the infusion of a spiritual soul)

4Allah is the one ?od6 5ho made all thin,s He reated e1ellent7 and He be,an the

reation of man from lay. Then He made his offsprin, from the e1trat of base fluid7

then He fashioned him and breathed into him of His #pirit7 and ,ave you hearin, and

si,ht and the faulty of inferrin,. And yet ho- little are the than;s you offerP 4Al

#a/da +>)%6

"o&in$ of '$e in 'l()annah

The Quran has narrated in detail the story of the primordial human pair' ho- they

lived in perfet bliss in "the ?arden" before bein, sedued by #atan the aursed. Theonventional renderin, of the story of Adam and Eve assumes that all this happened


18/28

as atual historial events' and it is ertainly oneivable that this literal interpretation

is a orret one and that the story does desribe atual events /ust as they ourred.

Ho-ever' it is also possible to e1plain the relevant Qurani verses in terms of a

metaphor or a parable' beause' as Allama 3bal has pointed out' it is ommon style of

the Holy Boo; that it fre3uently ma;es use of metaphors and parables in order to

ma;e omple1 and abstrat realities easily omprehensible.

t ,oes to the redit of 3bal that he sueeded in reinterpretin, the -ell;no-n

Qurani story of the ori,in of man;ind in ontemporary lan,ua,e' deipherin, its

underlyin, meanin, and eluidatin, its si,nifiane for the modern man' and' in so

doin,' he remained -ell -ithin the slami tradition. The follo-in, interpretation is

,iven by 3bal in the +rd leture of his :eonstrution of :eli,ioius Thou,ht in slam

4"The oneption of ?od and the 2eanin, of rayer"6.

3bal points out that there is no reason to believe that the -ord !annh 4,arden6' as

used in the Quran -ith referene to Adam and his -ife' means the supersensual

paradise that -ill be the eternal abode of the ri,hteous. 2an is not a stran,er on thisearth' and the -ord !annh in this Qurani onte1t atually means a primitive state in

-hih man is pratially unrelated to his environment and onse3uently does not feel

the stin, of human -ants' the birth of -hih alone mar;s the be,innin, of human

ulture. Aordin, to 3bal' the purpose of the Qurani le,end of the "Fall" is to

indiate mans rise from a primitive state of instintive appetite to the onsious

possession of a free self' apable of doubt and disobediene. And' as -e have stressed

in the fore,oin, para,raphs' this selfonsiousness as a uni3ue and free individual

an only indiate one thin, 8 the presene of a spiritual soul.

Aordin, to 3bal' the le,end of the "Fall" is a ommon motif amon, different

human ultures. The Quran has adopted this theme and presented it in a novel

manner for teahin, us a number of fundamental truths about the nature of man and

his position in the universe. Thus' -e see that the Quran has split up the le,end into

t-o distint episodes 8 the one relatin, to "the tree" 4desribed in AlBa3arah

>)+


19/28

;no-led,e and Adam yielded' not beause he -as eternally -i;ed' but beause

bein, "hasty" by nature he sou,ht a short ut to ;no-led,e. The only -ay to orret

this tendeny -as to plae him in an environment -hih' ho-ever painful' -as better

suited to the unfoldin, of his intelletual faulties.

The seond episode of the Qurani le,end is meant to su,,est the irresistible desireof life for lastin, dominion' an infinite areer as a onrete individual. As a temporal

bein,' fearin, the termination of its areer by death' the only ourse open to it is to

ahieve a ;ind of olletive immortality by selfmultipliation. 3bal interprets the

eatin, of the forbidden fruit of the tree of eternity as lifes resort to se1differentiation

by -hih it multiplies itself -ith a vie- to irumvent total e1tintion. The ori,inal

se1ual at is su,,ested by the mention' in the Quran' of the birth of the sense of

shame that aused Adam and his -ife to over the na;edness of their bodies.+

As mentioned above' in addition to this alle,orial interpretaion' it is e3ually possible

to desribe the Qurani narration of the "Fall" as atual' historial events. The

primordial human pair -as temporarily ;ept in a ,arden 8 ri,ht here on earth+< 8 inorder to impress upon them the fat that #atan is mans bi,,est enemy. Almi,hty

Allah 4#5T6 deided to test His -ouldbe vie,erents on earth' and for this purpose

He seleted a tree and told Adam and his -ife not to approah it. Ho-ever' they -ere

both led astray by #atans allurement and did e1atly -hat they -ere forbiddin to do.

As soon as they realized their sin' Adam and his -ife 8 unli;e #atan 8 did not

persist in disobediene but -anted to return to a state of obediene' thou,h they -ere

unable to find -ords to offer their repetene. Aordin, to the Quran "Thereupon

Adam learned from his @ord some -ords and repented and his @ord aepted his

repentane ..." 4AlBa3arah >)+6 0nli;e the hristian dotrine of "ri,inal #in"' the

Quran ma;es it very lear that Adam and his -ifes repentane -as aepted by

Almi,hty ?od' and after-ards they -ere as;ed to leave the ,arden 8 a plae -here

they -ere not disturbed by hun,er' na;edness' thirst' or e1posure to the sun+& 8 and

to live on their o-n. This -as not a punishment from Almi,hty Allah 4#5T6 but a

si,n of His onfidene in the abilities of His vie,erent 4or Ghalifah6 on earth.

Evolution and Purpose

ne the nonphysial nature and the Divine ori,in of human soul is reo,nized' and

its properties of freedom and immortality aepted' the idea of evolution and its

atheisit interpretations ease to have any erosive influene on reli,ious belief.

ndeed' our understandin, of the proess of evolution' if properly understood' anbeome an immene soure of faith and ,nosis.

n this respet' it may be pointed out that the most fundamental point of ontrast

bet-een the theisti and the atheisti versions of evolution is provided by the notion

of "purpose." The Dar-inian vie- is that the proess of evolution is essentially blind'

-ith no preestablished ,oal or aim7 this implies that the advent of human bein,s is

stritly a hane ourrene -hih resulted from the random interation of aimless

fores of nature. A theisti understandin, of evolution' on the other hand' is based on

the belief in the profound purposefulness of the universe. The ma/esti beauty in the

overall order of nature and in the advent of a rational bein, apable of ponderin, his

o-n ori,in and destiny is' -ithout a doubt' the si,n of an intelli,ent 2ind at -or;.The history of the evolution of life on earth sho-s that it -as far from bein, random


20/28

or aimless7 from the very be,inin,' biolo,ial evolution had proeeded in suh a -ay

as to lead' ultimately' to the emer,ene of human bein,s.

n ontrast to the a,nosti or the outri,ht atheisti biolo,ist' -ho is someho- satisfied

in his belief that there -as no diretion -hatsoever behind the entire phenomenon of

evolution' -e find numerous philosophers and even sientists -ho believe thatevolution had a definite purpose. They subsribe to -hat is ;no-n as the dotrine of

Teleolo,ial Evolution' the notion that evolution has been ,uided by a transendetal

fore aimin, to ahieve ertain predetermined ,oals. ne of the most influential

sholars amon, them -as ierre Teilhard de hardin 4$CC$$%


21/28

spirit of the Quran than any other e1planation of evolution. Dr. :afiuddin believes

that the desire or -ill of the reator is the atual ause of the evolution of universe7 it

is flo-in, in the osmos as a urrent of onsiousness' han,in, and transformin, the

universe so as to brin, it to the state of its hi,hest perfetion' as desired by the

reator. Biolo,ial evolution -as only one phase of the ,rand overall proess of

,ro-th and development. The transformation of one speies into another 8irrespetive of -hether it oured ,radually or abruptly 8 -as aused not by *atural

#eletion but -as' in fat' a manifestation of the -ill of Almi,hty Allah 4#5T6. The

-hole proess of the evolution of osmos an be understood as havin, several sta,es'

as follo-s)

The first sta,e -as that of physial evolution' -hih lasted from the reation of matter

out of nothin, up to the time -hen simple hemial ompounds ,re- into omple1

or,ani moleules' leadin, to the emer,ene of life on earth. This sta,e of purely

physial han,e -as direted by the Divine urrent of onsiousness that

ontinuously runs throu,h all matter' ausin, it to behave in speifi -ays 4-hat -e

desribe as the "la-s of nature"6. The seond sta,e -as that of biolo,ial evolution'-hen the same urrent of onsiousness too; the form of an ind-ellin, lifefore

-hih direted the proess to-ards the reation of the perfet animal' the Homo

sapiens. The third sta,e -as that of human intelletual evolution' -hih started -hen

selfonsiousness developed in man' and the Divine urrent too; the form of an ur,e

for Beauty and erfetion' e1pressin, itself in human thou,ht and behavior as the love

of an ideal. !ust as the biolo,ial phase of evolution -as haraterized by sudden

appearanes of ne- speies at variable intervals -hih aelearted the proess of

biolo,ial evolution' in the same -ay the intelletual phase of evolution -as

haraterized by the phenomenon of prophethood' the purpose of -hih -as to

aelerate the intelletual evolution of man;ind. rophethood ended after reahin, its

ultimate perfetion in the person of rophet 2uhammad 4#A56' -ho also represents

the zenith of the human searh for the ultimate ideal. At the moment -e are ,oin,

throu,h the fourth sta,e of osmi evolution' that of the soial evolution' -hereby

humanity as a -hole is movin, to-ards the realization of the values and ideals -hih

have already been ahieved at an individual level in the life and teahin,s of rophet

2uhammad 4#A56' and at a olletive level in the politiosoioeonomi system

that -as established by the rophet. This phase of evolution is ,oin, to ulminate in

the ,lobal domination of the only true deal' other-ise ;no-n as slam' at all levels of

olletivity.+%

The fat that the on,oin, soial evolution of humanity -ill ulminate in the ,lobaldomination of slam is not mere -ishful thin;in,' but this has been emphatially

foretold by rophet 2uhammad 4#A56 in various traditions. Furthermore' sine

rophet 2uhammad 4#A56 -as appointed messen,er of Almi,hty Allah 4#5T6 to

the entire humanity' and sine the purpose of his advent -as to ma;e the Deen alHa3

dominant over all manmade systems of life' it follo-s that ,oal of rophet

2uhammads advent -ill be fulfilled only -ith the establishment of the asendany

of slam over all man;ind' all over the -orld.

Evolution *eyond Death

Teilhard de hardin has said that the -orld is interestin, only -hen one loo;sfor-ard. As far as the human individual self is onerned' it seems that there is only


22/28

death to loo; for-ard to. But -hat is the meanin, of "death"J f -e identify the real

human self -ith the spiritual soul that is Divine in ori,in' there is no 3uestion of its

annihilation alon, -ith the death of the physial body. ur bodies deay and

de,enerate' they die and turn to dust' but our souls move on to another -orld in order

to fulfill their destiny. The human evolution -ill ontinue after death' but it -ill our

on a plane -hih -ill be very different from all the previous ones.

3bal has tau,ht us that -e are livin, in an unfinished universe. Everythin, around us

is ,ro-in,' developin,' pro,ressin, from one sta,e to the ne1t' maturin, to-ards its

ultimate perfetion. Therefore' human evolution too needs to be understood in its

proper' -ider onte1t. ndeed' the very nature of the self as desribed by 3bal

neessitates an e1tremely dynami and vi,orous areer. The ru1 of the matter is this)

?od needs me as muh as need Him. 2y ultimate deal of Beauty and erfetion is

the essene or person of Almi,hty ?od' and the deal of ?od is the full realization of

the potentialities -ith -hih He has endo-ed the finite e,os' or the spiritual souls of

human bein,s. 5e' finite e,os' are stru,,lin, to reah our Beloved' and in this

stru,,le -e are also helpin, ?od to realize His deal. The entire physial andbiolo,ial evolution of the osmos -as to prepare for the omin, of man7 its

intelletual and soial evolution is meant to ma;e him more and more onsious of his

o-n ultimate deal 8 ?od the Almi,hty. All this is happenin, on suh a ,rand sale

that' obviously' death annot stop this proess of ,ro-th in the least. The physial

body of terrestrial ori,in -ill ,o ba; to the earth' but the evolution of the soul -ill

ontinue. Aordin, to 3bal)

The theory of evolution ... has brou,ht despair and an1iety' instead of hope and

enthusiasm for life' to the modern -orld. The reason is to be found in the un-arranted

modern assumption that mans present struture' mental as -ell as physiolo,ial' is

the last -ord in biolo,ial evolution' and that death' re,arded as a biolo,ial event'

has no onstrutive meanin,.=

n the ontrary' death is nothin, more than our transfer from this -orld to the ne1t'

perhaps into a different dimension -ith a totally ne- set of rules. The first station on

our -ay to the Hereafter is alled the Barza;h' a state a;in to -hat -e sometimes

e1periene in this life -hen -e are mid-ay bet-een sleep and full -a;efulness. This

is a state in -hih the spirit -ill ath a ,limpse of the really :eal' and -ould ;no-

as to -hat -ill be its immediate future. Then' after the resurretion of the entire

humanity' all of us shall enter the state alled the Hereafter or AlAa;hira' -here the

e,os or spirits -ould emer,e for their final aountability before their @ord.$

The belief in the re-ards of the Heaven and the punishments of Hell is an inte,ral part

of the slami -orldvie-' but the point to be onsidered here is -hether or not the

aradise and the Hell are eternal. Aordin, to the orthodo1 slami beliefs' both the

aradise and the Hell are eternal' but there are a number of Qurani allusions as -ell

as ahadith -hih have been interpreted by some eminent 2uslim sholars 8inludin,

Hafiz bn Qayyam 4:A6 and 2aulana #ayyid #uleman *advi 4:A6 8 as su,,estin,

that althou,h the aradise is forever' the Hell may not be so.>

:efletin, on the Qurani verses from a philosophial perspetive' one is inlined to

the follo-in, onlusion) As far as the narro- and limited perspetive of us finitee,os is onerned' both the aradise and the Hell shall last forever' but their eternity


23/28

-ill only be a sub/etive e1periene7 on the other hand' from the infinite perspetive

of Almi,hty Allah 4#5T6' neither the aradise nor the Hell is eternal. The evolution

of the human souls -ill ontinue after death' in the sense that the punishments of the

Hell -ill ,o on diminishin, and the pleasures of the Heaven -ill ,o on inreasin,

until the e,os -ill reah their perfetion as desired by their reator. bviously' the

spirits -ho had failed to realize their real deal in the -orldly life' and -ho -ould'therefore' be sufferin, the torments of the Hell as a means of purifiation and

pur,ation' -ould ta;e a muh lon,er time to reah this sta,e of perfetion. Thus

-rites 3bal)

Time annot be -holly irrelevant to the development of personality. harater tends

to beome permanent7 its reshapin, must re3uire time. Hell' therefore' as oneived

by the Quran' is not a pit of everlastin, torture inflited by a reven,eful ?od7 it is a

orretive e1periene -hih my ma;e a hardened e,o one more sensitive to the

livin, breeze of Divine ?rae.+

0ltimately' there -ill be somethin, more beautiful and more pleasurable than all thedeli,hts and /oys of the aradise 8 the ommunion -ith Almi,hty Allah 4#5T6. 2an

-ill approah ?od -ith the irreplaeable uni3ueness of his individuality' and his

ultimate union -ith the nfinite E,o -ill be more li;e that of a pearl' not a drop'

mer,in, -ith the oean. The perfeted finite e,os -ill live' forever' as ideas in the

2ind of ?od' -hih -ill be their ultimate aradise. The same idea is e1pressed by Dr.

:afiuddin in the follo-in, -ords)

At the death of the 0niverse' sine the ation of every self -ill ome to a final end

there -ill be a re;onin, of the net pro,ress of humanity on aount of -hih the total

and ultimate share of every self in the evolution of the -orld as a -hole -ill be

refleted in an immediate deterioration or improvement of its position in Hell or

Heaven. This final re;onin, -ill be follo-ed a,ain by a ourse of evolution in -hih

the Hell of humanity -ill rise ,radually into a aradise and the aradise -ill ahieve a

hi,her and hi,her perfetion till the reator -ill realize His ideal ompletely and turn

his attention to the reation of the ne1t 0niverse. ... 5hen -e have reahed our

hi,hest evolution -e shall live as realized ideas in the mind of the reator forever.

The ahievement -ill be a soure of permanent /oy for us as -ell as for the reator7

He -ill be pleased -ith us and -e shall be pleased -ith Him and this -ill be an ever

lastin, aradise.

The reunion of human spirits -ith the 0ltimate Divine :eality is a ommon theme inslami mystial -ritin,s and poetry. Ho-ever' Allama 3bal has pointed out that the

finite e,o' in spite of its immensely stron, ur,e to reunite -ith its reator' an never

truly beome one -ith the Divine. This means that irrespetive of ho- lose they ,et'

the finite e,os -ill al-ays remain distint from the nfinite E,o' and' in this sense' the

proess of evolution -ill never reah its lima1 but -ill ontinue forever. 3bal has

repeatedly emphasized in his poetry that total satisfation and fulfillment is the death

of love' and eternal life is meanin,ful only if it is oneived as an everlastin, /ourney

to-ards the Beloved. t is better to ontinue burnin, forever in the fire of love than to

be ompletely onsumed in it.


24/28

Here annot but yield to the temptation of 3uotin, the follo-in, piee of

e1eptionally movin, poetry from !alaluddin :umi' desribin, the reative and

evolutionary funtion of death)

died as a mineral and beame a plant'

died as a plant and rose to animal' died as animal and -as man.

5hy should fearJ 5hen -as less by dyin,J

Let one more shall die as man to soar

5ith an,els blest7 but even from an,elhood

must pass on7 all e1ept ?od doth perish.

5hen have sarified my an,el soul

shall beome -hat no mind ever oneived.

h' let me not e1ist. For none1istene

rolaims in or,an tones) "To Him -e shall return."< -hen a hi,hshool biolo,y teaher in Dayton' Tennessee' -as har,ed and found ,uilty for

brea;in, the state la- -hih forbade the teahin, of evolution. 2any te1tboo;s

made little or no mention of evolution till the early &=s' -hen siene urriula -ere

thorou,hly revised throu,hout the 0nited #tates' and the onflit -as revived a,ain

-ith the publiation of The ?enesis Flood' a boo; /ointly -ritten by Henry 2orris

and !ohn . 5hitomb' !r.

$= A prominent reationist asserts that it is the idea of evolution -hih has promoted

apostasy' atheism' seular humanism' libertinism' and ethial relativism. f. Huse'

#ott. 2.' The ollapse of Evolution 4?rand :apids) Ba;er Boo; House' $%C+6

$$ #a,an' arl.' osmos.4*e- Lor;) :andom House n.' $%C=6 p.>%.

$> Quoted in Gopp' !oseph (.' Teilhard de hardin) A *e- #ynthesis of Evolution.

4?len :o;' *e- !ersey) aulist ress' $%&6

$+ o-e this e1planation of the distintion bet-een "desriptive" and "instrutional"

evolution to the hi,hly interestin, artile "T-o Evolutions" by Huston #mith'

inluded in his boo; Beyond the ost2odern 2ind 4*e- Lor;) Theosophial

ublishin, House' $%C%' seond edition6 pp. $&$$C+. Another si,nifiant distintion

that must be ;ept in mind is that of evolution and evolutionism) The former is asientifi idea -hih does not say anythin, about the e1istene or none1istene of

?od' -hereas the latter is a naturalisti ideolo,y that speifially e1ludes the

possibility of any Divine intervention.

$ ierre ?rassM has desribed his theory of evolution by means of an orderly inrease

in ,eneti information in his boo; @Evolution du vivant 4The Evolution of @ivin,

r,anisms6 and rMis de biol,ie ,MnMrale 4Handboo; of ?eneral Biolo,y6 For

details' f. Buaille' 2aurie.' 5hat is the ri,in of 2anJ The Ans-eres of #iene

and the Holy #riptures 4aris) #ei,hers' $%C>6


26/28

$< Buaille' 2aurie.' op.it S #mith' Huston.' op.it. t may be noted that a number

of ar,uments' put for-ard by the reationists in their attempt to refute evolution'

atually apply to *atural #eletion rather than to evolution itself.

$& For details of the theory of "untuated E3uilibrium" f. ?ould' #tephen !ay.' The

andas Thumb 4*e- Lor;) 5.5. *orton' $%C=67 #tanley' #teven.' The *e-Evolutionary Timetable 4*e- Lor;) Basi Boo;s' $%C$67 and Hithin,' Franis.' The

*e; of the ?iraffe 4*e- Heaven) Ti;nor and Fields' $%C>6.

$ f. 2or,an' . @loyd.' Emer,ent Evolution.' 4*e- Lor;) Henry Holt and

ompany6

$C f. 5allae' Alfred :ussel "Dar-inism as Applied to 2an" in :epresentative

Essays in 2odern Thou,ht 4*e- Lor;) Amerian Boo;' $%$+6 Alfred :ussel 5allae

4$C>+$%$+6 -as a ontemporary of Dar-in' and' -or;in, independently' he arrived

at the same onlusion about the evolution of life as -ere reahed by Dar-in himself.

The t-o sientists had presented a /oint paper at the @innean #oiety in $C= f. AlQuran) AlTeen %$ f. AlQuran) Al*isaa )>C' Alsra $)$$ S &' AlTeen %C 4introdution67

:yle' ?ilbert.' The onept of 2ind 4@ondon) Huthinson and o. @td.' $%%67 and

Dannett' Daniel.' onsiousness E1plained 4Boston) @ittle Bro-n' $%%$6

> Althou,h -ords li;e Omind' Osoul' Ospirit' Oself' and Oe,o have subtle

differenes in their respetive onnotations' -e have treated them as synonyms for thesa;e of simpliity.

>< #ir yril Burt -rites in the !ournal of arapsyholo,y 42arh' $%&6)

"arapsyholo,y appears fully to onfirm the vie- upheld by Ber,son' !ames' Eles

and others 8 that the brain is 4in #herrin,tons pre,nant phrase6 simply Oan or,an of

liaison bet-een mind and the physial -orld." Quoted in !ohnson' 2iles Beardsley.'

Four Questions 4alifornia) larion ubliations' $%C& The idea of mind or self as a nonphysial and nonmaterial entity is defended in

ampbell' .A.' n #elfhood and ?odhood 4@ondon) ?eor,e' Allen and 0n-in.'

$%


27/28

2artins ress' $%C67 and Ahmad' Dr. Absar.' The onept of #elf and #elf dentity

in ontemporary hilosophy 4@ahore) 3bal Aademy' $%C&6

> t may be pointed out that modern mans ,ro-in, sense of alienation is atually a

result of his materialisti mindset' -hih has eliminated any possibility for believin,

in unseen realities 8 inludin, his o-n inner self. As a result' he is 3uite -illin, andeven happy to see himself as an animal.

>C f. Ahmad' Dr. srar.' Ha3ee3ate:oohensani 4audio assette no. A0==&'

2ar;azi An/uman GhuddamulQuran @ahore6

>% :umi' !alaluddin.' The 2athna-i of !alaluddin :umi. Translated by :. A.

*iholson 4@ahore) Gazi ubliations' n d6 (ol $. p )$$' Aalemran +)' La#een +&)C>' Al2omin

=)&C' AlQamar ' AlHi/r $%' AlQadr %)

+> 5illiams' 5ar-i;' Dyson' and Bannister.' 4editors6 ?rays Anatomy 4Edinbur,h)

hurhill @ivin,stone' $%C%' +th Edition6 pp. < S $$

++ n the ld Testament "the appearane of man upon the earth is set forth as the

result of a diret reative at of ?od' -hih too; plae at least over '=== years B..'

and perhaps as early as seven or ten thousand years B.." f. 0n,er' 2errill.' 0n,ers

Bible Ditionary 4hia,o) 2oody ress' $%&&' third edition6 p. >=

+ 3bal' Dr. 2uhammad.' op. it. .&&=.

+< 5hat -as the loation of "Al!annah" -here Adam and his -ife -ere ;eptJ #ome

of the ommentators of the Quran have su,,ested that it -as in the heavens' others

are of the vie- it -as some-here on the earth. Even 2aulana Abul AOla 2aududi'

-ho re/eted the idea of biolo,ial evolution' -as inlined to-ards the latter opinion.

f. :isailo2asail 4@ahore) slami ubliations' $%%$' nineteenth printin,6 vol..'

pp.$%' >=. The Bible' ho-ever' is very lear on this point' and plaes the "?arden of

Eden" some-here in the Ti,risEuphrates ountry' probably in the eartern part of the

Fertile resent. f. The Boo; of ?enesis >)$=$

+& AlQuran) Ta Ha >=)$$C' $$%

+ f. Teilhard de hardin' ierre.' The henomenon of 2an 4*e- Lor;) Harper S

Brothers ublishers' $%


28/28

+C f. Ber,son' Henri.' reative Evolution 4*e- Lor;) Henry Holt and ompany'

$%$$6

+% f. :afiuddin' Dr. 2uhammad.' deolo,y of the Future 4@ahore) #hei;h 2uammad

Ashraf' $%&6 and The 2anifesto of slam 4@ahore) #hei;h 2uhammad Ashraf' $%+'

#eond Edition6

= 3bal' Dr. 2uhammad.' op. it. .%.

$ The possibility of bodily resurretion is a ontroversial sub/et in theolo,y.

ontrary to the hristian interpretation of lifeafterdeath' -hih is a purely spiritual

one' the slami understandin, is that the Qiyamah 4or :esurretion6 -ill be

haraterized by a reunion of eah spiritual soul -ith a physial body. Althou,h the

e1at nature of the bodies that -e shall be provided in the Hereafter is learly beyond

the realm of in3uiry or ima,ination' they are li;ely to resemble our present physial

forms' at least in appearane.

> f. *advi' 2aulana #ayyid #uleman.' #eeratun *abi 4@ahore) *ashiraneQuran

@td.' $+%< A.H6 (ol . pp. &=%> t may be noted that the over-helmin, ma/ority of

2uslim sholars have supported the vie- that both the aradise and the Hell are

eternal.

+ 3bal' Dr. 2uhammad.' op. it. p.%C

:afiuddin' Dr. 2uhammad.' deolo,y of the Future 4@ahore) #hei;h 2uhammad

Ashraf' $%&6

< :umi' !alaluddin.' The 2athna-i of !alaluddin :umi. Translated by :.A.

*iholson. Quoted by Dr. 2uhammad :afiuddin in The 2anifesto of slam' p. $

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Quran and Human Evolution

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