The Errors of Those Who Use Qur'anic
Verses To Prove Evolution
he fundamental guides for all Muslims who believe in Allah and Islam
are the Qur'an and the Sunnah (teachings) of the Prophet, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace. The Qur'an contains many verses about the creation
of life and the universe. None of these verses gives even the slightest
indication of creation through evolution. In other words, the Qur'an does
not support the ideas that species evolved from one another or that there
is an evolutionary link between them. On the contrary, the Qur'an reveals
that Allah created life and the universe miraculously by commanding them
to "Be!" When we recall that scientific discoveries also invalidate evolution,
we once again see how the Qur'an always runs parallel to science.
Of course, if Allah had so willed, He could have created anything by
means of evolution. Yet there is no sign of His doing so in the Qur'an,
and not one verse supports the evolutionists' claim that species developed
by stages. If creation had taken place in such a way, we would have been
able to see its details within the Qur'an. Even though everything is so
clear, some Muslims who support Darwinism misinterpret certain verses
by ascribing to them meanings that do not agree with the clear and obvious
meanings that those verses actually have. In order to defend evolution
and provide some Qur'anic evidence for it, the meanings of some verses
are distorted, guesswork is relied upon, and prejudiced interpretations
are made. About the people in this dangerous situation, Allah says the
following:
Among them is a group who distort the Book with their
tongues so that you think it is from the Book when it is not from the
Book. They say, "It is from Allah," but it is not from Allah. They tell
a lie against Allah, and they know it. (Qur'an, 3:78)
Those who know the Qur'an and yet twist its verses' original meaning
and deliberately misinterpret them are said to commit falsehoods against
Allah. No Muslim would willingly do such a thing, for he or she would
be too afraid of the consequences. Thus, all comments based upon guesswork
and speculation, especially when made by people who know the Qur'an and
what it says on such important matters, are morally unacceptable. Of course
it would be mistaken to make such a generalization about everyone who
claims that evolution is compatible with religion, because some of them
do not think about what such a claim means and others do not realize the
underlying dangers. Even so, people must not mislead others on what the
Qur'an says by speaking on Allah's behalf and seeking to prove evolution
by using its verses. Those who do so must reconsider the seriousness of
what they are doing and avoid making any such interpretations or comments,
for Allah will hold them accountable for their words. Not only do such
people deceive themselves, but they also deceive those who read their
words - a heavy responsibility indeed.
At the root of the question is this: Muslims who believe in evolution
accept it as a scientific fact and thus approach the Qur'an with the idea
that it must confirm evolution. Thus they load every word that might have
an evolutionary interpretation with meanings that it cannot possibly bear.
When the Qur'an is regarded as a whole, or when the verse in question
is read in conjunction with those before and after it, one can seen that
the explanations offered are forced and invalid.
In this chapter, we shall consider those verses that Muslims who accept
evolution present as evidence for evolution. We shall then respond to
their claims, again from the Qur'an, and compare them with the interpretations
made by prominent Islamic scholars.
However, we should be aware of the following basic fact: The Qur'an must
be read and interpreted in the form that Allah revealed it, with a completely
sincere heart and without being influenced by any non-Islamic idea or
philosophy. Approaching the Qur'an in this manner will reveal that it
contains no information about creation by evolution. On the contrary,
it will be seen that Allah created living things and everything else with
the single command "Be!" If half-ape half-human creatures really existed
before Prophet Adam, Allah would have explained that in a clear and easily
understandable manner. The fact that the Qur'an is quite clear and very
understandable shows that the claim of evolutionary creation is untrue.
  
Evolutionist scientists draw their strength
from forgeries, distortions, and works of fantasy, and not, as some
Muslims think, from scientific evidence. Reconstructions are an
example of these distortions.Evolutionists shape features that leave
no trace in the fossil record (e.g., the appearance of nose and
lips, hair style, the shape of the eyebrows, and body hair) in order
to support evolution. They portray these imaginary creatures as
walking with their families, hunting, or engaged in some other aspect
of daily life. Yet none of these creatures is supported by the existence
of even one fossil. |
1. THE ERROR THAT MAN WAS CREATED BY EVOLUTIONARY STAGES
What is the matter with you that you do not hope for
honor from Allah, when He created you by successive stages? (Qur'an, 71:13-14)
Those who support evolutionary creation interpret the words successive
stages as meaning "going through evolutionary stages." However, interpreting
the Arabic word atwaran as evolutionary stages, which is no more than
a personal opinion, is not unanimously accepted by all Islamic scholars.
Atwar (situation, condition) is the plural of tawru, and appears in that
form in no other Qur'anic verse. The Islamic world's interpretations of
this verse demonstrate that fact.
In his interpretation, Muhammed Hamdi Yazir of Elmali translated the
verse as: "He has created you stage by stage through several conditions." In his commentary, he described these stages as "steps of evolution."
However, this description has nothing to do with evolution, which proposes
that man's roots lie in other living species. In fact, immediately afterwards
he says what these stages are:
According to the explanation given by Ebus Suud43 first come the elements, then nutriments, then mixtures, then sperm, then
a piece of flesh, then flesh and bone, and this is finally shaped with
a completely different creation. "Blessed be Allah,
the Best of Creators!" (Qur'an, 23:14) Is not Allah, the Almighty
Creator, worthy of praise and respect? Can He not raise you still further
with another form and creation? Or can He not also destroy you and cast
you down into sorrowful torment? Why do you not think of these things?
As the above statements show, this verse describes how a person reaches
his or her mother's womb as a sperm, develops as an embryo and then as
a piece of flesh, and then develops into flesh and bone before emerging
into the world as a human being.
In Imam al-Tabari's commentary, Surah Nuh: 14 is translated as "In
fact, he created you by stages," and interpreted this as meaning,
"You were first in the form of a sperm, then He created you as a blood
clot, then a small piece of flesh."44
Omar Nasuhi Bilmen translates the verse as "In fact, He created you
through various degrees," and goes on to interpret it as follows:
He (created) you through various degrees. You were first of all a seed,
then a drop of blood. You became a piece of flesh and possessed bones,
then you were born as a human being. Are not all these assorted and exemplary
occurrences and changes shining proofs of the existence, power, and greatness
of a Lord of Creation? Why do you not think of your own creation?45
As we see here, Muslim Qur'anic scholars agree that the interpretation
of Surah Nuh: 14 refers to the process involved in the development of
the human being from the joining of a sperm and an egg. That the verse
is to be interpreted in this way is clear from the principle of "interpreting
Qur'anic verses in the light of other Qur'anic verses," because in
other verses Allah explains the stages of creation as being those inside
the mother's womb. That is why atwaran has to be translated in this way.
It is not justified to use the word as support for the theory of evolution,
which tries to tie the origins of man to another living species.
2. THE ERROR THAT THE QUR'AN CONTAINS SIGNS OF THE EVOLUTIONARY
PROCESS
There surely came over man a period of time when he was
a thing not worth mentioning. (Qur'an, 76:1)
The same people also use this verse as evidence for evolution. In translations
based on personal interpretation, the expression "when he was a thing
not worth mentioning" is expressed as a statement of "previous states
before man became man." However, this claim is just as far from the truth
as the first one.
The Arabic part of the underlined section runs as follows:
lam yakun : |
he was not |
shay'an : |
a thing |
madhkuran : |
mentioned |
Trying to use this expression as evidence for evolution is really forcing
the words. In fact, Qur'anic scholars do not interpret this verse as indicating
an evolutionary process. For example, Hamdi Yazir of Elmali makes the
following comments:
In the beginning were elements and minerals, then vegetable and animal
nutrients-"a kind of clay" (Qur'an, 23:12) were created out of them in
stages. Then, something emerged very slowly and by stages from the sperm
that was filtered from them. But that was not something called a human
being. Just as mankind is not eternal, nor is his substance; that emerged
later. Man came into being long after the beginning of time and the creation
of the universe.46
Omer Nasuhi Bilmen explains the verse in this way:
These verses announce that Allah created man to see and hear out of
a drop of water when he was not, and that He has set a test for him.... Mankind did not exist in the beginning, but was created later as a figured
body out of a drop of water, soil, and clay. That person was not known
at that time, his name and why he had been created were a mystery to the
inhabitants of Earth and sky. He then began to be reminded that he has
a soul.47
Imam al-Tabari explains the verse as meaning: "Such a long period of
time passed since the time of Adam that at that time he was not even a
thing that had any worth and superiority. He was nothing but sticky and
modified clay."48
For this reason, to see the expression of time in this verse as an evolutionary
period is purely subjective.
3. THE ERROR THAT CREATION OUT OF WATER INDICATES EVOLUTIONARY
CREATION
We created man from a mingled drop to test him, and We
gave him (the gifts) of hearing and sight. (Qur'an, 76:2)
Those who defend evolutionary creation try to show that the statements
in many verses that man was created out of water are evidence that all
living things emerged from water.
However, such verses are always interpreted by Qur'anic scholars and
commentators as referring to creation from the joining of a sperm and
an egg. For instance, Muhammed Hamdi Yazir of Elmali comments on the above
verse as follows:
... he was created from a nutfah in the form of water. The nutfah is pure
water. It also means seminal fluid. Nutfah and seminal fluid traditionally
have the same meaning. But at the end of Surat al-Qiyamah it says "a
nutfah in the ejected semen" (Qur'an, 75:37), thus stating that
the nutfah is part of the semen. As it is reported in Sahih al-Muslim,
"Children do not come from the entire fluid." And the hadith, speaking
of every little part of the whole, does not say, "Every part of a fluid,"
but rather speaks of one part of "the whole fluid," and that a child does
not come from the entire fluid, but from just one part of it. The nutfah
is just one pure part of the semen.49
Ibn al-Tabari interprets it as meaning, "We have created the descendants
of Adam out of the mixing of male and female fertilizing fluids."50
Omer Nasuhi Bilmen explains it in this manner:
... (We created man from a mingled drop.) We have formed him out
of the male and female fluids that mix together. Yes... Human beings were,
for a period of time, a nutfah, in other words, crystal clear, pure water,
and then for a certain period of time, an 'alaq, in other words, a clot
of blood, and then a mudgha, in other words, a lump of flesh. Later, bones
are formed and wrapped around with flesh, and come to life...51
As we have seen from these explanations, there is no connection between
man's creation from "a mingled drop" and the theory of evolution's claim
that man emerged by stages from a single cell that developed by chance
in water. As all great Qur'anic scholars have stated, this verse draws
our attention to the fact of creation inside the mother's womb.
When we examine another verse where the stages of human creation are
discussed, the fundamental error in these comments is clearly revealed:
Mankind! If you are in any doubt about the Rising, know
that We created you from dust, then from a drop of sperm, then from a
clot of blood, then from a lump of flesh, formed yet unformed, so We may
make things clear to you. We make whatever We will to stay in the womb
until a specified time, and then We bring you out as children so that
you can reach your full maturity. Some of you die and some of you revert
to the lowest form of life so that, after having knowledge, they then
know nothing at all. And you see the ground dead and barren; then when
We send down water onto it it quivers and swells and sprouts with luxuriant
plants of every kind. (Qur'an, 22:5)
In this verse, the stages of the creation of a human being are described.
Dust, i.e., substances both organic and inorganic, which are found in
their elementary forms on and in the earth, is the raw material that includes
the basic minerals and elements in the human body. The second stage is
the coming together of these materials in the seminal fluid, which is
described in the Qur'an as a mingled drop. This drop contains the sperm
that possesses the genetic information and structure necessary to fertilize
the egg inside the mother's womb. In short, the raw material for a human
being is (dust of) the earth, the essence of which is collected in a drop
of seminal fluid in a manner that will bring about a human being. Following
the water stage, a human being's developmental stages inside the mother's
womb are described in the Qur'an. The theory of evolution, on the other
hand, assumes the existence of millions of hypothetical stages (the first
cell, single-celled creatures, multi-celled creatures, invertebrates,
vertebrates, reptiles, mammals, primates, and countless similar stages)
between the origination of life in water to a human being's formation.
In the sequence presented by the verse, however, it is clear that there
is no such logic or description, for a human being takes on the form of
an 'alaq after he or she is in the form of a drop of water.
For this reason, it is clear that the verse is not describing the different
evolutionary stages undergone by a human being, but rather the stages
of creation from before and inside the mother's womb right up to old age.
Other verses stating that human beings and other living things were created
from water also contain no meaning that could be used to support evolution.
The following verses are among those that contain such statements:
Do those who disbelieve not see that the heavens and
Earth were sewn together and then We unstitched them, and that We made
from water every living thing? So will they not believe? (Qur'an, 21:30)
Allah created every animal from water. Some of them go
on their bellies, some of them on two legs, and some on four. Allah creates
whatever He wills. Allah has power over all things. (Qur'an, 24:45)
The verses below clearly state that the "drop of water" is semen:
He created the two sexes - male and female - out of a
sperm-drop when it spurted forth (min nutfatin idha tumna); that He is
responsible for the second existence. (Qur'an, 53:45-47)
min: |
from |
nutfatin: |
nutfah, sperm-drop |
idha: |
when... |
tumna: |
be spurted forth |
Was he not a drop of ejaculated sperm? (nutfatan min
maniyin yumna) (Qur'an, 75:37)
nutfatan: |
nutfah, a drop of water |
min: |
from |
maniyin: |
sperm |
yumna: |
being ejaculated |
Man has only to look at that from which he was created.
He was created from a spurting fluid (Khuliqa min ma'in dafiqin), emerging
from between the backbone and the breastbone. (Qur'an, 86:5-7)
khuliqa: |
was created |
min: |
from |
ma'in: |
water |
dafiqin: |
suddenly erupting, spurting, being caused to flow |
Some Qur'anic commentators think that "the creation of living
things from water" contains a meaning that parallels the theory of evolution.
However, this view is seriously flawed. The verses reveal that water is
the raw material for living things by saying that all living things were
created from it. In fact, modern biology has revealed that water is the
most fundamental component of all living bodies, for the human body is
approximately 70 percent water. Water permits movement inside the cell,
between cells, and between tissues. Without it, there would be no life.
4. THE ERROR THAT CREATION FIRST FROM DUST AND THEN FROM
WATER INDICATES EVOLUTIONARY CREATION
... Do you then disbelieve in Him Who created you from
dust, then from a drop of sperm, and then formed you as a man? (Qur'an,
18:37)
Imam al-Tabari comments on this verse as follows:
... Would you deny Allah, Who created your father Adam from dust,
then created you from a man and a woman's fluids, then wrapped you
in human form? Allah, Who gave you these things and made you what you
are, brought you into being to make you another living thing after you
die and return to soil.52
Omer Nasuhi Bilmen's commentary on the same verse states:
Do you deny the Almighty Allah Who created the Prophet Adam, the origin
of your race and the cause of your creation, (from dust), Who then created
you and (formed you as a man after creating you) from a nutfah and a drop
of sperm, Who brought you into being as a complete human being as a result
of different stages of life? Because denying the afterlife means denying
the Almighty Allah, Who gives you the news that it will happen and Who
has the power to make it happen.53
As these commentators indicate, using such verses as evidence for evolutionary
creation is no more than pure subjectivism, for they in no way bear the
meanings that the evolutionists attribute to them. The expression creation
from dust describes the creation of Prophet Adam, and creation from water
refers to the development of a human being, starting with the sperm. It
is indicated in the verse below that Allah created a human being directly
from dried clay. This verse, which describes Prophet Adam's creation,
does not speak of a stage:
When your Lord said to the angels: "I am creating a human
being out of dried clay formed from fetid black mud. When I have formed
him and breathed My Spirit into him, fall down in prostration in front
of him!" (Qur'an, 15:28-29)
If the Qur'anic account of creation's stages is read carefully, bearing
in mind the consecutive processes, it will be realized immediately that
such an evolutionary view is incorrect.
The Qur'an contains many verses indicating that Prophet Adam, peace be
upon him, was not created through an evolutionary stage. One of them reads:
The likeness of 'Isa in Allah's sight is the same as
Adam. He created him from earth and then He said to him, "Be!" and he
was. (Qur'an, 3:59)
The above verse states that Allah created Prophets Adam and 'Isa, peace
be upon them, in the same way. As we stressed earlier, Prophet Adam was
created with no parents, from the earth, at Allah's command "Be!" Prophet
Jesus also was created without father, by Allah's Will expressed through
the command "Be!" By means of this command, Maryam, peace be upon her,
became pregnant with Jesus:
(Maryam) veiled herself from them. Then We sent Our Spirit
to her, and it took on for her the form of a handsome, well-built man.
She said: "I seek refuge from you with the All-Merciful, if you do your
duty." He said: "I am only your Lord's messenger, so that He can give
you a pure boy." She asked: "How can I have a boy when no man has touched
me and I am not an unchaste woman?" He replied: "It will be so! Your Lord
says: 'That is easy for Me. It is so that We can make him a Sign for mankind
and a mercy from Us.' It is a matter already decreed." (Qur'an, 19:17-21)
In the other verses that refer to creation from water and earth, it is
not man's evolutionary stages that are being described, but the stages
of human creation before the womb, during it, and after birth.
Mankind! If you are in any doubt about the Rising, know
that We created you from dust, then from a drop of sperm, then from a
clot of blood, then from a lump of flesh, formed yet unformed, so We may
make things clear to you. We make whatever We will to stay in the womb
until a specified time and then We bring you out as children so that you
can reach your full maturity. Some of you die and some of you revert to
the lowest form of life so that, after having knowledge, they then know
nothing at all. And you see the ground dead and barren; then when We send
down water onto it it quivers and swells and sprouts with luxuriant plants
of every kind. (Qur'an, 22:5)
He created you from earth, then from a drop of sperm,
then from a clot of blood, then He brings you out as infants, then so
you may achieve full strength, then so you may become old men - though
some of you may die before that time - so that you may reach a predetermined
age and so that hopefully you will use your intellect. (Qur'an, 40:67)
Out of a sperm-drop when it spurted forth (Qur'an, 53:46)
5. THE ERROR THAT THE FIRST MAN WAS CREATED OVER TIME
Your Lord said to the angels, "I am going to create a
human being out of clay." (Qur'an, 38:71)
Another error in evolutionary creation stems from the faulty interpretation
of the above verse. Evolutionists claim that the underlined phrase above
indicates a slow creation over time. However, the original Arabic makes
it clear that this is a purely subjective view and entirely contradictory:
"inni khaliqun basharan min tinin" means "I am He Who created a human
being out of clay."
The verse says nothing like "I am creating." In fact, the verse continues, "When I have formed him and breathed My Spirit into him, fall down
in prostration to him!" It is clear from this that the verb create
here takes place in a single instant.
Indeed, no Qur'anic scholar translates it as "I am creating." For instance,
a Turkish Muslim scholar, Suleyman Ates's commentary reads:
The Originator of the heavens and earth. When
He decides on something, He just says to it, " Be" and it is.
(Qur'an, 2:117) |
Your Lord told the angels "I am going to create a human being out
of clay."
Allah told the angels He was going to create a human being out of putrid
clay. After giving the clay human form and breathing His Own Spirit into
him, he told the angels to prostrate before him. They all did so. Only
Satan did not prostrate himself to man's ancestor, saying that he who
was created from fire was better than a human being created from clay.
Imam al-Tabari translates the same verse as, "I am going to create
a human being out of clay," and provides this commentary:
... The Lord once told the angels, "I am going to create a human being
out of clay. When I create him, order his form, and breathe My Spirit
into him, you will prostrate before him."54
Those who defend evolutionary creation also cite the following verse
to support the thesis that human beings were created through a process:
He Who has created all things in the best
possible way. He commenced the creation of man from clay. (Qur'an, 32:7)
According to such peoples' interpretations, the underlined
expression refers to a process, in this case an evolutionary process.
Yet it does not actually refer to such a thing at all. As we have stressed
throughout this book, a great many verses describe in detail Allah's creation
from nothing, and none of them can be interpreted to mean an evolutionary
process. The following verses stress that Allah is in a constant state
of creation.
He Who originates creation and then regenerates it and provides
for you from out of heaven and earth. Is there another god besides Allah?
Say: "Bring your proof if you are being truthful." (Qur'an, 27:64)
Have they not seen how Allah brings creation out of nothing,
then reproduces it? That is easy for Allah. (Qur'an, 29:19)
Allah originates creation, then will regenerate it, and
then you will be returned to Him. (Qur'an, 30:11)
Allah's constant creation of every detail in the universe does not imply
evolution. Like the other such interpretations, this one is very forced.
Moreover, when the Qur'an is taken as a whole, such an assertion is found
to have no true basis. Omer Nasuhi Bilmen interprets the verse to mean
"... He created the Prophet Adam from earth,"55 and Imam al-Tabari as "He commenced the creation of Adam from clay."56
Evolutionist Muslims cite the verses below, especially the underlined
part, to support their case:
O man! What has deluded you in respect of your Noble
Lord? He Who created you and formed you and proportioned you and assembled
you in whatever way He willed. (Qur'an, 82:6-8)
Yet it would be forcing the verse's meaning to say that it refers to
an evolutionary process. In fact, Hamdi Yazir of Elmali interprets the
verse as follows:
"The Lord created you. It is clear that creation here means bringing
into being prior to ordering the body and the organs, giving measure and
form and bringing the parts together. We are also told that existence,
the essence of every blessing, is the most important Divine Favor and
Kindness.
He then ordered your body and organs. It is stated that "He created
you from dust, then from a drop of sperm, then formed you as a man" (Qur'an,
18:37) and, as in many other verses, that man was brought to the stage
at which he could have the soul breathed into him in stages; He ordered
your body, organs, and powers, and gave you harmony and moderation. There
are two interpretations here, one originating from 'adl and the other
from ta'dil. Since they both mean "balancing" and "normalizing," several
interpretations have been made stating that the "creation in order" has
been made perfect.
According to the account by Muqatil, the expression in Surat at-Qiyama:
4 that "We are well able to reshape his fingers," means that the
body is well-proportioned and orderly, as the matching and details of
the twin organs (e.g., the eyes, ears, hands, and feet) is known from
anatomy.57
According to Abu Ali Farisi, the expression "He proportioned you" actually
means "He shaped you in the most beautiful form, and with this proportion
gave you the capacity to perceive reason, ideas and might, and gave you
dominion over plants and other living things. He brought you forth in
a state of maturity far exceeding that of the other beings in the world." This is compatible with the meanings of "When I have formed him and
breathed My Spirit into him" (Qur'an, 15:29) and "favored them greatly over many We have created" (Qur'an, 17:70).
All of these are a blessing and kindness from Allah.58
Omer Nasuhi Bilmen interprets the verse in these terms:
Yes. Your Lord (Who created you) gave you form from nothingness (then
shaped you), gave you sound and perfect organs (and proportioned you).
He proportioned your organs, with a pleasing beauty and natural disposition.59
Imam al-Tabari states that Surat al-Infitar: 7 refers to man being created
within an order:
Oh Man, the Lord Who created you made that creation ordered and produced
you in a healthy, ordered and correct form. (In other words he created
a complete human being with ordered height, sound dimensions and in the
best possible form and appearance.) Allah produced you with the beauty
or ugliness He saw fit.60
As can be seen from the above accounts, the statements are very clear;
they point to Allah's sound, ordered, and complete creation of the first
man. Similar statements are in fact to be found in many other verses.
For instance, Surat as-Sajda: 7-9 says:
He Who has created all things in the best possible way.
He commenced the creation of man from clay; then produced his seed from
an extract of base fluid; then (He) formed him and breathed His Spirit
into him and gave you hearing, sight and hearts. What little thanks you
show! (Qur'an, 32: 7-9)
The word "creation" was first used in these verses, which then went on
to say that He created eyes, ears, and hearts. Thus, we are being told
that all of these stages happened at the same time; in other words, that
the first man's eyes, ears, and hearts were created together, and that
he was created in one moment. It is a grave error to interpret these verses
as referring to human evolution. In fact, the great Islamic scholars all
agree about this verse's interpretation. For instance, Imam al-Tabari
says:
... He then brought forth man as a complete being in an ordered form, then
breathed his soul into him, and thus made him a speaking creature ... He
gave the ears with which you hear, the eyes with which you see, and the
hearts with which you distinguish between right and wrong, and you must
give thanks for these gifts ...61
Omer Nasuhi Bilmen's interpretation reads: "The Lord ordered man who
started to take form, completed his body while it was still in his mother's
womb, and formed it in the appropriate manner (and then breathed His Spirit
into it). In other words, He gave him life and inspired the vital force
in his soul ... The Lord gave you such beneficial powers (hearing) that
thanks to these you hear the words spoken to you, and created your eyes
and hearts with which you see what is around you and distinguish between
what is beneficial and what is not. Each of these is a great divine blessing."62
6. THE ERROR THAT PROPHET ADAM WAS NOT THE FIRST MAN
Another claim put forward regarding evolutionary creation is that Prophet
Adam, peace be upon him, may not have been the first man and may not even
have been a human being. (We absolve Prophet Adam, peace be upon him).
The following verse is presented as evidence for this:
When your Lord said to the angels, "I will create a vicegerent
on Earth," they said, "Why put on it one who will cause corruption on
it and shed blood when we glorify You with praise and proclaim Your purity?"
He said, "I know what you do not know." (Qur'an, 2:30)
Those who support this claim say that the Arabic verb ja'ala in the expression
"I will create a vicegerent" means "to appoint." In other words, they
suggest that Prophet Adam was not the first man, but that he was "appointed"
as a vicegerent among many people. However, in the Qur'an, this verb has
the following meanings:
To create, invent, translate, make, place and render
Some examples of Qur'anic verses where ja'ala is used are:
He created you from a single self, then produced (ja'ala)
its mate from it, and sent down livestock to you - eight kinds in pairs...
(Qur'an, 39:6)
Say: "He brought you into being and gave (ja'ala) you
hearing, sight and hearts. What little thanks you show! (Qur'an, 67:23)
(Do you not see how He) placed the moon as a light in
them and made (ja'la) the sun a blazing lamp? (Qur'an, 71:16)
Allah has spread (ja'la) the ground out as a carpet for
you (Qur'an, 71:19)
As can be seen from the above verses, ja'ala has various meanings. Furthermore,
several verses state that Prophet Adam, peace be upon him, was created
from dust. These verses make it clear that Prophet Adam, peace be upon
him, was not just one man among many, but that he possessed a special
and different creation.
The Qur'an reveals another important fact about Prophet Adam: his removal
from the Garden of Eden. It says in the verses:
Children of Adam! Do not let Satan tempt you into trouble,
as He expelled your parents from the Garden, stripping them of their covering,
and disclosing to them their private parts. He and his tribe see you from
where you do not see them. We have made the demons friends of those who
do not believe. (Qur'an, 7:27)
We said: "Adam, live in the Garden, you and your wife,
and eat freely from it wherever you will. But do not approach this tree
and so become wrongdoers." But Satan made them slip up by means of it,
expelling them from where they were. We said: "Go down from here as enemies
to each other! You will have residence on Earth and enjoyment for a time."
(Qur'an, 2:35-36)
The verses' statements are perfectly clear. Allah created Prophet Adam,
peace be upon him, from dust. Prophet Adam is a special creation that
emerged first from his existence in heaven and then from his removal from
it. Yet evolutionist Muslims ignore this evident truth and maintain that
"heaven" here refers not to the Heaven in the hereafter but to a beautiful
area on Earth, despite the fact that the Qur'an specifies many features
of the heaven in which Prophet Adam was created. For example, that Heaven
contains both angels and the devil, and the angels speak with Allah. It
is a mistake to produce forced interpretations and seek evidence of evolution
when the verses are so clear on this matter.
Many verses state that all people are descended from Prophet Adam, peace
be upon him. As the Qur'an tells us:
When your Lord took out all their descendants from the
loins of the children of Adam and made them testify against themselves
"Am I not your Lord?" they said: "We testify that indeed You are!" Lest
you say on the Day of Rising: "We knew nothing of this." Or lest you say:
"Our forefathers associated others with Allah before our time, and we
are merely descendants coming after them. So are You going to destroy
us for what those purveyors of falsehood did?" (Qur'an, 7:172-173)
Prophet Adam, peace be upon him, was the first man and Allah's first
messenger. The verses are so clear on this matter that there is no need
for any commentary. All that people have to do is read the Qur'an with
a sincere heart and listen to their conscience. Allah will reveal the
truth to those who read the verses with that intent.
7. THE ERROR THAT THE "FOREFATHERS" MENTIONED IN THE
QUR'AN REFER TO EVOLUTIONARY ANCESTORS
Another matter that Muslim evolutionists try to portray as evidence for
their claims is the expression our forefathers, which appears in several
verses. According to their erroneous interpretation, this expression refers
directly to man's primitive ancestors. Their rationale for this is that
the word forefathers appears in the plural in the Qur'an. Two of the verses
in question read:
He (Musa) said, "Your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers,
the previous peoples." (Qur'an, 26:26)
There is no god but Him - He gives life and causes to
die - your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers, the previous peoples.
(Qur'an, 44:8)
However, this is a forced claim because the use of the word in the plural
form is familiar and definitely cannot be used as a basis for an evolutionist
interpretation.
This expression occurs in many other verses, among them Surat al-Baqara:
133. Here, "forefathers" does not refer to any evolutionary process, but
to preceding generations. In the same way, the term "forefathers, the
previous peoples" in the past refers to past generations. The expression
carries no evolutionary meaning:
Or were you present when death came to Ya'qub and he
said to his sons, "What will you worship when I have gone?" They said,
"We will worship your God, the God of your forefathers, Ibrahim, Isma'il
and Ishaq - one God. We are Muslims submitted to Him." (Qur'an, 2:133)
8. THE ERROR ABOUT THE FORM OF HUMAN CREATION
Allah caused you to grow from the earth, and then will
return you to it and bring you out again. (Qur'an, 71:17-18)
Evolutionist Muslims view this verse as a vital foundation upon which
they can base their views. The expression "Allah caused you to grow
from the earth" is presented as evidence for inorganic evolution.
As is clearly indicated in the verse's interpretation, however, it expresses
the creation of the first human being from earth. Hamdi Yazir of Elmali
offers the same interpretation:
There are two aspects to the verse. The first is that saying He created
you from earth means that He created your father from earth, and began
the process of creating your race by creating him from earth. The other
is that he created all of you from earth, because Allah creates us from
nourishment, from plants, from earth.63
Omer Nasuhi Bilmen offers this interpretation of Surah Nuh 17-18:
O people! Consider this. Allah made you like a plant from earth. In other
words, "He has created Adam, your forefather, from earth, or your essential
substance (zygote) came into existence from plants and several food stuffs
growing in the earth. People then grow and live. (Then) O people, He will
return you to it. In other words: When you die, you will return to the
earth and become part of the soil. (And) Then He will take you out of
the graves and drive you all to the Judgment Day. These are facts.64
Imam al-Tabari's commentary states that: "Allah created you from dust
of the earth. He made you from nothing.... He will later return you to your
original states, to the earth. You will return to how you were before
you were created. He can bring you back from the earth alive when He chooses."65
As we have seen from these interpretations by Qur'anic scholars, this
verse cannot serve as a basis for evolutionary creation.
What is more, the claim of inorganic evolution has no scientific basis.
The idea that lifeless substances could come together to form life is
an unscientific one that has not been confirmed by any experiment or observation.
Quite the contrary: French biologist Louis Pasteur (1822-95) showed that
life can only come from life. This shows that life was definitely consciously
created. In other words, Allah created all living things. (For more detail
about the scientific proof and evolutionist deceptions on this subject
please refer to The Evolution Deceit by Harun Yahya, Taha Publishers,
London, 1999, and Darwinism Refuted by Harun Yahya, Goodword Publishers,
New Delhi, 2003)
9. THE ERROR THAT THE QUR'AN POINTS TO NATURAL SELECTION
One of evolution's most fundamental claims is that natural selection
is an evolutionary force. As we saw in earlier chapters, natural selection
is an evolutionist deception that maintains that the strong survive while
the weak are eliminated over time.
However, modern science shows that natural selection has no evolutionary
force and cannot cause species to develop or new ones to appear. However,
these scientific facts, which Darwinists choose to ignore because of their
materialist concerns, also are ignored by Muslim evolutionists. Some Muslim
circles support this dogmatic Darwinist view and even try to provide extremely
forced Qur'anic evidence for it. For example:
Your Lord creates and chooses whatever He wills. The
choice is not theirs. Glory be to Allah! He is exalted above anything
they associate with Him! (Qur'an, 28:68)
This verse reveals those to whom Allah will show the true path and those
prophets He will announce as messengers. It is a great mistake to say
that the verse points toward evolutionary natural selection.
Qur'anic scholars unanimously agree on this interpretation. For instance,
Imam al-Tabari offers the following commentary:
Your Lord creates what He wills out of His servants, and selects those
He chooses to follow the true path. They have no right of choice in
the matter. They have no right to choose to do as they wish...66
The great scholar Omer Nasuhi Bilmen offers this interpretation:
In those holy verses, Allah declares His creative Power, that He favors
and chooses whom He wishes, His Wisdom and Might, His Unity, His meriting
praise and splendor, His Divine Command, and that all His servants will
be summoned to His spiritual Presence. In other words, no one can prevent
the Almighty's favoring and choosing in any way. Whatever His servants
choose is not effective on their own. With all due respect, Allah is not
obliged to create what they favor and prefer. Allah does not send His
prophets upon the preference and opinion of the people to whom He has
sent His prophets, but only upon His divine Preference. Only He knows
how and by which means goodness and prosperity will manifest. He has no
partners, nothing may exist against His eternal Will, and no one's will
may be against His exalted Determining and Selecting.67
Hamdi Yazir of Elmali interprets the verse as follows:
Your Lord creates and selects what He chooses. In other words, He
creates what He wills and chooses those He wills from whom He has created.
He imposes upon them such duties as prophethood and intercession. They have no choice in the matter. Apart from those Allah chooses, they
have no right to select other partners or intercessors.68
A second verse that evolutionist Muslims offer is:
Praise be to Allah, the Bringer into Being of the heavens
and Earth, He who made the angels messengers, with wings - two, three,
or four. He adds to creation in any way He wills. Allah has power over
all things. (Qur'an, 35:1)
Such Muslims suggest the verse is evidence for evolutionary development.
However, they have to twist the verse's true meaning in order to derive
such a meaning. It also conflicts with reason and logic, for the verse
talks about the creation of the angels. Imam al-Tabari interprets the
verse as follows: "He can increase the number of an angel's wings to the
extent that He wills. He can carry out the same process in all living
things. Creation and command are in His hands."69 Omer Nasuhi Bilmen agrees, "He is so powerful that He decides on angels'
wings and powers."70
10. THE ERROR OF SHOWING THE QUR'AN AS EVIDENCE FOR MUTATION
Just as with natural selection, evolutionist Muslims misinterpret and
force Qur'anic verses when it comes to mutation.
However, to think that a natural mechanism that has nothing but destructive
effects could be evidence for evolution is a terrible error. No evolutionary
effect of mutation has ever been observed. (For more detail on the scientific
evidence about this subject, please see Darwinism Refuted by Harun Yahya,
Goodword Publishers, New Delhi, 2003, Evolution Deceit by Harun Yahya,
Taha Publishers, London, 1999) The important thing here is the evidence
that evolutionist Muslims who believe that mutation is a mechanism of
evolution try to offer from the Qur'an. They completely twist some verses
away from their actual meaning. The verses in question read:
If We willed, We could transform them where they stand
so they would neither be able to go out nor return. (Qur'an, 36:67)
You are well aware of those of you who broke the Sabbath.
We said to them, "Be apes, despised, cast out." (Qur'an, 2:65)
When they were insolent about what they had been forbidden
to do, We said to them, "Be apes, despised, cast out!" (Qur'an, 7:166)
Say: "Shall I tell you of a reward with Allah far worse
than that: that of those whom Allah has cursed and with whom He is angry
- turning some of them into monkeys and into pigs - and who worshipped
false gods? Such people are in a worse situation and further from the
right way." (Qur'an, 5:60)
So He (Musa) threw down his staff and there it was, unmistakably a snake.
(Qur'an, 7:107)
Unless someone believes that it is necessary to twist and force the truth
to find some Qur'anic evidence for evolution, it is impossible to see
the verses as any kind of evidence for mutation.
The first four verses speak of the miraculous way in which Allah changes
living things' bodies. The subject of the fifth verse is not even living,
which makes it impossible to suggest it undergoes mutation. Evolutionist
Muslims' portrayal of these verses as evidence for evolution shows just
how corrupt, forced, and un-Islamic the idea of evolutionary creation
truly is.
11. THE ERROR THAT THERE IS A FAMILIAL CONNECTION BETWEEN
MAN AND APE IN THE QUR'AN
One verse that is often wrongly interpreted during debates on evolution,
and which is interpreted by some individuals as indicating that theory,
is the verse regarding Allah's turning a group of Jews into monkeys:
You are well aware of those of you who broke the Sabbath.
We said to them, "Be apes, despised, cast out." We made it an exemplary
punishment for those there then, and those coming afterwards, and a warning
to the heedful. (Qur'an, 2:65-66)
This cannot be construed in a manner parallel to the theory of evolution,
for:
1) The punishment mentioned might be in a spiritual sense. In
other words, it is possible that the Jews in question were compared to
monkeys in the sense of character and not in their actual physical appearance.
2) If the punishment in question did happen physically, that would
be a miracle outside the laws of nature. We are talking about a sudden,
supernatural miracle by the will of Allah here, a conscious creation.
Evolution proposes that different species turned into each other over
millions of years, by chance and in stages. For this reason, this Qur'anic
account has nothing to do with the scenario put forward by those who support
evolution.
In fact, the following verse reads: "We made it an exemplary punishment
for those who were living at that time and those who will come later,
and a warning to the heedful." This verse indicates that the people in
question were turned into apes as a warning to those who will come later.
3) This punishment happened only once and to a limited number
of people, whereas the theory of evolution puts forward the illogical
and unscientific scenario that apes are related to all people.
4) The verse says that human beings were turned into apes; evolution
says that it happened the other way around.
5) Qur'an, 5:60 relates that a deviant community incurred Allah's
wrath and was turned into apes and pigs. It reads:
Say: "Shall I tell you of something with Allah far worse
than that: that of those whom Allah has cursed and with whom He is angry
- turning some of them into monkeys and into pigs - and who worshipped
false deities? Such people are in a worse situation and further from the
right way." (Qur'an, 5:60)
In this situation, the web of flawed logic that we have been considering
throughout this book produces the unrealistic conclusion that the verse
contains not only an evolutionary link between human beings and apes,
but also between human beings and pigs! Not even the evolutionists claim
that there is such a link between humans and pigs.
As we have seen so far, the claim that some verses point toward evolution
is an error that contradicts not only the Qur'an but also the theses of
the theory of evolution itself.

43. Ebus Suud was an Ottoman sheikhulislam
and scholar who lived between 1492 or 3-1574 or 5.
44. Imam at-Tabari, Tabari Commentary, vol. 6, p. 2631
45. Omar Nasuhi Bilmen, Turkish Edition of and Commentary on
the Qur'an, vol. 8, p. 3851
46. Hamdi Yazir of Elmali, http://www.kuranikerim.com/telmalili/insandehr.htm
47. Omer Nasuhi Bilmen, Turkish Edition of and Commentary on
the Qur'an, vol. 8, p. 3851
48. Imam at-Tabari, Tabari Commentary, vol. 6, p. 2684
49. Hamdi Yazir of Elmali, http://www.kuranikerim.com/telmalili/insandehr.htm
50. Imam at-Tabari, Tabari Commentary, vol. 6, p. 2684
51. Omer Nasuhi Bilmen, Turkish Edition of and Commentary on
the Qur'an, vol. 8, p. 3915
52. Imam at-Tabari, Tabari Commentary, vol. 3, p. 1268
53. Omer Nasuhi Bilmen, Turkish Edition of and Commentary on
the Qur'an, vol. 4, p. 1958
54. Imam at-Tabari, Tabari Commentary, vol. 4, p. 1991
55. Omer Nasuhi Bilmen, Turkish Edition of and Commentary on
the Qur'an, vol. 6, p. 2763
56. Imam at-Tabari, Tabari Commentary, vol. 4, p. 1991
57. Hamdi Yazir of Elmali, http://www.kuranikerim.com/telmalili/infitar.htm
58. Hamdi Yazir of Elmali, http://www.kuranikerim.com/telmalili/infitar.htm
59. Omer Nasuhi Bilmen, Turkish Edition of and Commentary on
the Qur'an, vol. 8, p. 3983
60. Imam at-Tabari, Tabari Commentary, vol. 6, p. 2748
61. Imam at-Tabari, Tabari Commentary, vol. 4, p. 1796
62. Omer Nasuhi Bilmen, Turkish Edition of and Commentary on
the Qur'an, p. 2764
63. Hamdi Yazir of Elmali, http://www.kuranikerim.com/telmalili/nuh.htm
64. Omer Nasuhi Bilmen, Turkish Edition of and Commentary on
the Qur'an, vol. 8, p. 3851
65. Imam at-Tabari, Tabari Commentary, vol. 6, p. 2632
66. Imam at-Tabari, Tabari Commentary, vol. 4, p. 1707
67. Omer Nasuhi Bilmen, Turkish Edition of and Commentary on
the Qur'an, vol. 5, p. 2622
68. Hamdi Yazir of Elmali, http://www.kuranikerim.com/telmalili/kasas.htm
69. Imam at-Tabari, Tabari Commentary, vol. 4, p. 1877
70. Omer Nasuhi Bilmen, Turkish Edition of and Commentary on
the Qur'an, vol. 6, p. 2882
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