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The Prophet Adam and Human Evolution

Praise be to Allah, the supreme Creator, Fashioner of mankind, Sustainer of the universe. All is His divine will, and his command is executed immediately. May peace and blessings be upon Muhammad, who came f rom the noble Adam, created and f ashioned f rom clay, and preceded by none. T he theory of human evolution, namely that man descended f rom apes, is widely accepted amongst nonMuslims although there have been many non-Muslim scientists, atheists included, who argue that it is f lawed. As an opinion, it was wholly rejected by all Muslims as it goes against their basic knowledge that Allah created Adam with his own hands, f rom clay, in the physical f orm of a human being, and then breathed lif e into it. Even so, there have been a f ew Muslims over the years that have endorsed the theory attempting to initiate a discussion on the topic, whilst there are non-Muslims who criticise us f or being simple-minded and scientif ically inconsistent. Due to such attacks, some Muslims f elt inf erior and thought that the problem could be rectif ied by an acceptance of the evolution theory, or at least accepting it as a valid alternative. However, the decisive verses of the Quran as well as the ahadith (Prophetic narrations) provide a problem f or such an undertaking, and so we f ind that there are mistakes and random misinterpretations. Of course, those of truth will always oppose such heresy, to which these Muslim evolutionists, if there ever was such a term (!), respond that we believe in the existence of Allah, the initial Creator, yet what is wrong in concluding that the way in which God created all human beings, including the f irst human, Adam, was by means of evolution, and namely, non-human parents who descended f rom apes? Such people insist that this latest version of the theory is compatible with revelation given that there is no unequivocal scriptural text to deny it! In order to deal with such unf ounded claims, I would like to approach the issue in a scholastic and systematic manner so as to demonstrate how theological deviancy comes about through incompetence in systematically and rationally deriving meaning f rom the scriptural texts. It is due to this incompetence (that we should all be aware of so we save ourselves) that some attempt to legitimise the theory of human evolution and others unrecognised views that accompany it. It is commonly believed that the Quran and the ahadith (Prophetic traditions) are the only sources of Islamic authority, yet we f ind that one of the primary causes of an individuals theological (and legal) deviancy is the attempt to f ully understand the divine texts by his/herself , with complete disregard f or the prof ound understandings and well-substantiated views of hundreds of thousands of Muslim scholars f rom around the world who have contributed to the vast corpus of Islamic scholarship over the last 1400 years. T he irony of such disregard is that Muslim proponents of the evolution process completely brush aside Islamic scholarly consensus yet are the f irst to advocate the (supposed) consensus of non-Muslim scientists! It is clear that priorities are misplaced, f or in glorif ying western scientists the proponents of human evolution neglect the intellectual aptitude of Muslim scholars, particularly, the early scholars who were extremely astute and would, with all dedication, intensely scrutinise each and every aspect of the Islamic religion prior to any f orm of endorsement or inclination towards a given view in f act, it is only very recently that scientists have adopted the same level of rigour. Given such a prof ound analysis, none of Islams scholars, let alone the greatest amongst them, ever articulated the view that Adam came into existence as a result of some evolutionary process. In f act, none of Islams early scholars ever even considered the possibility of Adam being created in stages of existence, or that he experienced childhood at some time of his lif e.

In adopting a religious opinion which is counter to a scholarly consensus made up of thousands of Muslim scholars over a long period of time, the proponents of human evolution expose their distorted outlook on Islamic knowledge and the Muslims scholars (as a collective) whom Allah has appointed as trustees of the f aith. Such an attitude implies that Allah, may he be f ree f rom such an implication, has allowed the entire Muslim ummah, over a period spanning more than a millennium, to deviate f rom the truth whilst the correct view is uncovered by (theological) laymen in recent times! Disregarding the binding legacy of scholastic consensus goes against plain old common sense and a number of verses and Prophetic traditions that state that scholars, not as individuals but as a collective, are the trustees of the f aith. T he explicit statements are numerous, such as Allahs statement, And We sent not bef ore you but men to whom We inspired, so ask the people of the Reminder if you do not know[1], and the Prophets (peace be upon him) saying, the scholars are the inheritors of the Prophets. To believe that Adam had monkey-like parents (despite the f act that overwhelming evidences go against it) and to completely abandon the consensus of Muslims is indicative of deep-rooted arrogance, a rejection of the clear evidences, or ignoring the correct methodology in understanding the divine texts. For example, the f irst step of a sound methodology would be to analyse whether the conclusion is consistent with the Arabic language, since Arabic is the primary tool used in interpreting divine revelation, and so, any interpretation that f ails to f all within the f ramework of the Arabic language is one that is redundant. For example, the Arabs did not consider the phrase kun f a yakun (be! And it is/was) to be an indef inite period of time, f or indeed, the phrase illustrates the power and might of God that His will is manif ested immediately and decisively, without delay. Even the phrase be! And it is/was in English implies it (whatever it is) happens instantaneously, and to argue otherwise would be a distortion of the English language! Another key principle that must be established when dealing with scripture is the inter-contextualisation of the entire divine text in order to correctly interpret the Quran and ahadith we must approach them, not as solitary verses, but as one coherent and homogeneous unit that af f ords a holistic interpretation, and not an interpretation based on preconceived ideas that singles out isolated verses so as to misconstrue them. Indeed, to approach the divine scriptures having already decided the matter is an insincere attempt to justif y ones belief , and to approach them enquiring into what Allah has ordained, in an open an unbiased way, is to demonstrate the sincere intention to receive guidance. Another irony is the f act that the evolutionists try to place a theory (evolution) over f act (the Quran and ahadith). Do we not ponder why it is still considered a theory despite the f act that the idea has been around, in some popular f orm, since Darwin and is promoted so f anatically by its protagonists? It is truly unf ortunate to see those who ascribe to Islam promote the theory of human evolution, and then do so by relying on mutashabih (ambiguous) verses of the Quran, some of which are clear kinaya[2] (metonyms), and leave of f muhkam (explicit) verses. T his is precisely what Allah warns us against, saying,

Those with deviation in their hearts follow what is undefined in it, desiring conflict, seeking its (false) interpretation.[3]

Evolution, in relating to man, is such an unf ounded concept that to engage with it on par with academic and intellectual standards is to af f ord it credence, it being deserving of nothing but aversion. I could perhaps list all of the scientif ic inaccuracies of claiming that Adam came f rom apes, but as a Muslim it is more than suf f icient to adopt the understanding of the scholars rather than derive a misconstrued meaning f rom a lone verse or hadith. T his should be the case with any Muslim who believes that Allah has ordained certain measures to guard Islam against innovation, and hence, I shall, very limitedly, mention a small number of proof s which, f or the benef it of the Muslim masses, simply expose the f oolishness of this supposition.

T he Quran clearly states that Adam was created by Allah, and with His own hands, He said, Iblis, what prevented you prostrating to what I created with My own two hands?[4] In addition, the f amous Companion, Abdullah ibn Umar, said, Allah created f our things with His hand: the T hrone, the Pen, the Garden of Eden and Adam. To the rest of His creation He said, Be! and it was.[5] T his narration clearly shows that the Companions believed that these f our things, Adam included, were created in a way dif f erent to other animals and creatures. T he authenticated ahadith f urnish us with f urther examples that leave no doubt whatsoever that this was an actual act perf ormed by Allah. For example, the Messenger of Allah said that on the Last Day, mankind would go f rom Prophet to Prophet requesting intercession; they would go to Adam and say, You are the f ather of mankind, Allah created you with His hands, had the angels prostrate to you, and taught you the names of all things.[6] If Adam was created f rom a despised drop and like all other human beings, then what is the point of singling him out as being created by Allahs hands?

The likeness of Jesus, to Allah, is the same as Adam. He created him from earth and then He said to him, Be! and he was.[7]

T his verse is of ten quoted in isolation f rom the reasons f or which it was revealed, thus, some evolutionists claim that the verse asserts that Jesus and Adam were born in the same way through the womb of a f emale. Such an interpretation is deceptive as a brief look into the sabab al-nuzul (causes f or revelation) quickly makes clear that the verse was revealed to repudiate the Christian argument that proof of Jesus divinity is his having no earthly f ather. T he verse states that Adam had no parents whatsoever, being created instead f rom earth, yet this did not make him divine; the comparison then was between the single parent of Jesus and the absence of parents in regards to Adam. T he Quran inf orms us that Allah taught Adam the names of all things [8] and so, we resolutely know that Allah engaged Adam directly. Allah also says,

O mankind! Be mindful of your Lord who created you from a single soul and created its mate from it and then disseminated many men and women from the two of them.[9] It is He who created you from a single soul and made from him his spouse so that he might find repose in her.[10] O mankind! We created you from a male and female, and made you into peoples and tribes so that you might come to know each other.[11]

If we were to ignorantly suppose that Adam was born of evolved apes, we would then be positing, according to the verses above, that the creation of Hawwa was ever so more signif icant than that of Adam as she was not born but actually f ashioned, by God, f rom Adam. T hus, in negating the instantaneous creation of Adam, the evolutionist is still lef t having to af f irm the instantaneous creation of Hawwa! And it is this f act, f rom amongst the many, that exposes the nonsense spewed by evolutionists, f or in striving to negate a miracle of God (the creation of Adam), they resort to having to af f irm it elsewhere (the creation of Hawwa), that is, if they can resist the urge to deny the book of God outrightly.

T he story of the Sabbath-breakers is well known whereby Allah cursed the disobedient and turned them into monkeys and pigs.[12] How then, can the honoured sons of Adam [13] actually come f rom that which is considered a curse? Of course, in being honoured, it is only logical to conclude that either humans havent come f rom apes, or that we negate the maskh itself and claim that the Sabbath-breakers did not turn into apes and pigs. Even if we were to state, f or the sake of argument, that the transf ormation was metaphorical, the essential point still remains that they were cursed by taking on qualities of monkeys and apes. Correspondingly, there are various contradictions that arise in relation to Adam and Hawwa when attempting to scripturally justif y human evolution. T here are various mutawatir texts that conf irm that Adam and Hawwa lived as spouses and that mankind came f rom the two, indeed the textual evidences regarding this point are particularly decisive. Furthermore, it seems quite an irrational interpretation that Allah mentions Hawwa as being brought into existence through Allahs direct involvement, yet Adam, the f irst human being receives no such honour! It is extremely clear that the evolutionists and their deviant ideas ref use to acknowledge the entire textual discourse surrounding the creation of Adam, instead using solitary verses as a justif ication f or evolutionist belief s. T hus, in order to attempt some f orm of reconciliation between the two accounts, the evolutionist must adapt the Quran to f it the theory, or the theory to f it the Quran, or transf orm both equally, and in every case, each possibility is as preposterous as the others, all serving as evil paths to heresy. In going beyond the Quran, we f ind that the ahadith are f ull with authentic narrations concerning the creation of Adam, and in keeping with deceitf ul intent we f ind that many liberals and evolutionists completely ignore the existence of such ahadith. Indeed they have to, f or the shariah of Allah is preserved through the Prophetic narrations and so the evolutionists will do anything to maintain their secular outlook on the Islamic f aith. In f act, the notion of evolution is deeply secular as it divorces the involvement of God in creation and attempts to posit Nietzsches opinion that if there is a god, then he merely initiated creation (which grew on its own) and that god is now non-existent or dead we seek protection f rom Allah f rom such prof anity. We f ind that Anas ibn Malik relates f rom the Prophet,

When Allah fashioned Adam in Paradise, He left him as He willed. Iblis then wandered around him examining him. Upon seeing him as hollow from within, he recognised that Adam had been created with a disposition that he would not have control over himself.[14]

I have not seen any scholar, past or present, who af f ords science the authority to determine how Adam was created. In cases where scholars do ref er to science (in a limited capacity), they tend to provide their conclusions and then either explicitly/implicitly mention that this matter should be dealt with through science. In numerous verses the Quran commands mankind to ref lect on the various types of creation, the alternation of day and night, and the celestial orbit of planets, but there is no indication whatsoever of an evolved Adam. In f act, the Quran describes the process of human creation in the womb but discounts the evolution of humans f rom monkey-like beings. If it is argued that the lack of evolutionary descriptions in the Quran is due to evolutions complex nature, then we retort with the f act that so too is the process of f oetal development, yet revelation inf orms us of it and to its f ullest extent. T here are countless texts that can be analysed, but to do so would make this article voluminous. However, even light analysis of the Quran and Sunnah makes it exceedingly evident that such heretical belief s have no place within Islamic thought the Companions and early Muslims all understood the manner in which Adam was created by Allah and it is preposterous to claim that Allah revealed scripture that was misunderstood by all of the af orementioned, yet the Most High did not rectif y their misreading! Is the creation of Adam a scientific or religious matter?

In reality, there is no disparity between religious creed and science, and if there seems to be so, it inevitably implies that there has been some f orm of misunderstanding, either in terms of our religious or scientif ic knowledge. However, a decisive part of being Muslim is to acknowledge that the inf ormation related by way of the Quran and Sunnah entails certainty, whereas any other knowledge that we acquire is prone to human error. T hus, if the scriptures posit anything related to science and the overwhelming majority of scholars af f irm its meaning, then we have to believe in it accordingly as such knowledge is f act-based and not merely human perception. T he Quran and Sunnah address various disciplines such as science, history, geography, anthropology, politics and others. Whatever is mentioned there should be adopted as an aspect of our f aith, they say: we believe in it, all of it is f rom our Lord.[15] Failing to do so suggests either ones negation of more than half of the Quran, or accepting a text which is essentially devoid of meaning as it ends up meaning anything we desire it to, and this is how many of the obdurate f all into disbelief . For example, it has been repeatedly argued that the Quran is not a book of history, and so, the heretics argue that we are not obligated to believe historical details which Allah has revealed. Of course, the Quran is not a book of many things, but that is not to suggest that various topics are touched upon. Indeed, Allah says,

There is not a moving (living) creature on earth, nor a bird that flies with its two wings, but are communities like you. We have neglected nothing in the Book, and then to their Lord they (all) shall be gathered.[16]

T he ruling concerning the belief in Adams primate descendents. Restricting the discussion merely to a ruling may be counterproductive as anyone who mistakenly concludes that it is not kuf r (disbelief ) will assume such prof anation is to be tolerated, and so theref ore, the main issue is not the ruling of such an immoral belief and whether it is kuf r, but instead the gravity of this belief and what it signif ies it is the negation of what the ummah has endorsed as well as being in violation of countless proof s that state otherwise. Endorsing the presumption that humans evolved necessitates accepting reprehensible belief s about the noble Prophet, Adam, may Allahs peace and blessings be upon him, and that his parents were either apes or ape-like beings! It is to insult the station of prophethood by claiming that Adam was taken care of by human-like baboons. Were Adams parents able to speak or did they merely grunt? Were they obliged to worship Allah or not? What was the extent of Adams cognitive f aculties? Do human beings now have more advanced f aculties than he did have they evolved since his time on earth? How is it that the Quran disregards a signif icant aspect of Adams lif e although he discusses, in detail, what was bef ore it and what came af ter. If we believe that Allah is the Creator and can create anything, then what is wrong in accepting that he created Adam directly f rom clay, f ashioned him, and brought him to lif e instantaneously? What is it that they negate? Why do we need to distort the meanings of countless Quranic verses in f avour of a theory that continually changes? Must we negate the numerous and authentic ahadith that clearly establish a nonevolutionist narrative? In conclusion, to use the theory of Darwin or any other theory that stems f rom it in order to justif y the wicked belief that Adam was born of non-human parents is, in essence, to deny the existence of Allah as supreme creator who creates f rom nothing by mere command. It is this method of creating (although there are other ways as well) that establishes Allahs rububiyyah (lordship), f or in af f irming unjustif ied theories of human evolution we make chance the creator, since anything that is created exists merely because chance decided so. But Allah says, Or do they assign to Allah partners who created the like of His creation, so that (both) creations seemed alike to them? Say: Allah is the Creator of all things; He is the One, the Irresistible.[17]

I call upon those who believe and adhere to Islam to af f irm the clear and decisive Quranic revelations and lucid ahadith, all of which negate the notion of human evolution, let alone Adam having non-human parents. I also call upon them to make the Islamic texts the primary source of authority in all of their af f airs, since (Allah) the One who reveals revelation is most knowledgeable about the af f airs of the universe. Let us not allow those of no f aith to dictate our readings of scripture, our implementation of the Islamic f aith, or our notions of what is to be deemed as being most superior, both in terms of creed and actions. For those Muslims who endorse the theory of human evolution, contemplate the scripture with a believing and unbiased heart whilst keeping in mind the Sunnah of Allahs noble Messenger. Strive against egotism and haughtiness and do not f ear the criticisms of the disbelievers. Allah says,

Therefore flee unto Allah; I am a plain warner to you from Him. And set not any other god along with Allah; I am a plain warner to you from Him.[18]

[1] 16:43; 21:7 [2] See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metonymy [3] 3:7 [4] 38:75 [5] Lalikai, no. 729-730 [6] Authenticity agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim; a mutawaatir hadith. [7] 3:59 [8] 2:31 [9] 4:1 [10] 7:189 [11] 49:13 [12] cf . 5:60, 7:166 [13] 17:70 [14] Muslim [15] 7:3 [16] 6:38 [17] 13:16 [18] 51:50-51