Q: Please mention Islam's take on Darwin's theory.
A: Below is a minute and brief account in responce to the above question- written in haste! There is so much more that can be said, but my aim is to respond to the questioner's request, and provide an introductory picture, to one and all, regarding the issue.
Darwin’s theory of evolution
Charles Darwin laid the foundation of the theory of evolution. He fleshed out the mechanism of evolution by proposing the concepts of natural selection and sexual selection.
The term ‘evolution’ means ‘change over time’. Biological evolution is defined as ‘the change in the inherited traits of a population from a generation to the next’. It refers to the phenomenon that the many organisms that inhabit the Earth today are different from those that existed in the past.
In his book On the Origin of Species (1859), and later in The Descent of Man (1871) Charles Darwin proposed the theory of universal common descent via an evolutionary process. The theory claims that all organisms have descended from a common genetic pool hence share the same common ancestor. According to this theory, living beings initially originated from inorganic matter.
A key mechanism that contributes to evolution is natural selection. It is the process whereby offspring inherit advantageous traits from their parents which promote survival. Individuals possessing those traits will become more common in the population over successive generations because they are more likely than individuals not possessing those traits to survive and reproduce.
Sexual selection refers to the preference of both males and females to mate with strong specimens, so that the characteristics of stronger specimens will be passed on and the characteristics of weaker will be eliminated because of the reluctance of others to mate with them.
The bases of this theory
1. This theory is based on observations made during excavations carried out during Darwin’s time. It was discovered that the more ancient levels of strata contained more primitive life forms whereas the levels above it contained progressively developed life forms.
2. Similarities among groups of organisms were considered evidence of relatedness, which in turn suggested evolutionary change. During Darwin’s time, the resemblance of embryos of different vertebrates at the early stages of development gave the superficial appearance of relationship supporting the concept that the origin of all these animals was the same.
3. It was also based on the existence of the appendix in human beings, which helps in digesting plant matter and no longer has any function in humans. This gave the impression that the appendix is a vestige of evolution.
4. Many animals have similar bone structures, giving the superficial appearance of relationship.
Refutation!
• Archaeology is not always a precise science; the archaeological view at the time of Darwin was that man had existed for 600,000 years, recent discoveries put the age of man at 10 million years. This proves that archaeology is a changeable science on which no definitive proof can be based.
• The fact that the older layers of earth contained more primitive life forms which were then superseded by more advanced creatures does not prove that the advanced life forms developed from their primitive counterparts. All this observation proves is the order of their existence, which may simply be a reflection of changes in the environment which supported different life forms at different times.
• There is a complete and systematic lack of transitional life-forms (i.e., "missing links") between the various kinds of life in the fossil record. This would not be the case if the theory of evolution was a valid hypothesis. There are billions of fossils of both invertebrates and fish however fossils linking them are missing. There are some transitional fossils cited by evolutionists. However there should be a lot more if Darwin's theory is correct. Also 99 percent of the biology of an organism is in its soft anatomy, which you cannot access in a fossil – this makes it easy to interpret a fossil with a highly subjective opinion.
• It is possible to find transitional forms microscopically, in the cell itself. Dr. Michael Denton, the Australian molecular biologist, examined creatures on a molecular level and found no evidence whatsoever for the fish-amphibian-reptile-mammal sequence. He summarized his findings in his book "Evolution: A Theory in Crisis."
• Evolutionists can not explain how life could spontaneously generate from non-life, nor can they duplicate such a achievement despite their impressive scientific knowledge and sophisticated laboratory equipment.
• Evolutionists postulate that life began eons ago in a primordial soup of organic chemicals involving an extremely complex process that culminated in the creation of a living cell. However oxygen would have destroyed the would-be cell in its early stages of development. So evolutionists have also hypothesized that the earth's atmosphere at the time contained only methane, ammonia, and water vapour — but no free oxygen. Recent scientific discoveries have proven conclusively that no such atmosphere ever existed. (See, e.g., "Oxygen in the Precambrian Atmosphere" by Harry Clemmey and Nick Badham in the March 1982 issue of GEOLOGY.)
• The similarities seen between embryos of different vertebrates has been proven to be a serious mistake due to underdeveloped microscopes which were not able to show minute differences in the formation of the embryos of different species.
• The evolution theory states that the appendix is a "vestigial organ" that has no function, and that this demonstrates that humans evolved from quadrupled mammals that ate a vegetarian diet. A research team from Duke University demonstrated that the appendix does have a function. They concluded that the human appendix is well suited as a “safe house” for commensal bacteria, providing support for bacterial growth and potentially facilitating re-inoculation of the colon in the event that the contents of the intestinal tract are purged following exposure to a pathogen. This research provides evidence that the human vermiform appendix is not a useless structure as was previously believed.
• When the mathematical laws of probability are applied to the known facts of biology, the odds against the incredible, organized complexity of our biological world evolving through blind chance over the given time period are so astronomical in size that, evolution is mathematically impossible. Evolutionists such as Sir Fred Hoyle concede this when they say “The chance that higher life forms might have emerged in this way (time and chance) is comparable with the chance that 'a tornado sweeping through a junk-yard might assemble a Boeing 747 from the materials therein.”
The Qur’aan and Darwin’s theory
Allah has described in the Qur’aan the stages of the creation of Adam as a complete and independent creature which is diametrically opposed to this theory. This theory was postulated via “human endeavour” which is subject to all the restrictions, limitations and slow progress which are inherent in human nature. What Allah teaches us in the Qur’aan has all the divine qualities of unalterable truth which falsehood cannot approach from before it or behind it. Allah, the All-Knowing All-Aware has told us of the substances with which he created man:
We have created You (i.e. Adam) from dust…… { (22:5)
Allah has created Every moving (living) creature from water……{ (24:45)
{He created man (Adam) from sounding clay like the clay of pottery.}(55:14)
Allah also explained to us that he created Adam (A.S) with his own hands:
(Allâh) said: "O Iblîs (Satan)! What prevents you from prostrating yourself to one whom I have created with both My hands. } (38:75)
Allah created Adam (A.S) hollow, then blew into this clay His Spirit after which life entered into it. Thereafter Adam (A.S) started to hear, see, speak and be aware. Allah then commanded the Angels to prostrate to Adam (A.S).
{So when I have fashioned Him and breathed into Him (His) soul created by Me, Then You fall down prostrate to him.} (38:72)
When Allah completed creating Adam (A.S) he began to speak and understood what was being said to him:
{And He taught Adam All the names (of everything), Then He showed them to the angels and said, "Tell Me the names of these if you are truthful." They (angels) said: "Glory be to you, we have no knowledge except what You have taught us. Verily, it is you, the All-Knower, the All-Wise." He said: "O Adam! Inform them of their names,”} (2:31-33)
Adam (A.S) was the first man created thus the father of all people. From Adam, Allah created his wife Hawaa’ (Eve),
{ O mankind! be dutiful to Your Lord, who created You from a single person (Adam), and from Him (Adam) He created his wife [Hawaa’ (Eve)]} (4:1)
Contrary to what proponents of the evolution theory say, man was not created incomplete who progressively evolved to perfection. Rather, he was created by Allah complete after which he started to diminish.
According to a Hadith narrated by Bukhari and Muslim in their saheehs from Abu Hurayrah, the prophet said:
“Allah created Adam and his height was sixty cubits……Everyone who enters paradise will do so in the form of Adam, whose height was sixty cubits………mans form kept decreasing (in height) from that time until now.”
Furthermore, Allah informs us that He transformed some misguided humans into monkeys and pigs highlighting the possibility of the higher level of creation being reduced to a lower level. However the idea that monkeys and pigs can evolve into humans in contradictory to what Allah has taught us and rational reasoning.
The above quotes are a brief synopsis of what Islam says about the noble origins of man. It is important that we return to the Qur’aan and Sunnah for whoever follows guidance from any other source will be sent astray by Allah.
And Allah knows best.
Sajid Ahmed Umar
