Evolution

[Isa]

assalam walikum!

Can someone explain evolution of exactly what it is? and would you recommend Harun Yahya's work?. I had so many debates with people at work but I'm running out of things to say. You know how it is when your giving Dawah you want to say so much things but it dosen't come out and after the debate then you start remembering things you wanted to say (wierd).

[FriendlyGuy]

Salaam,

As a biology major and a Muslim let me first define evolution:

The change in allele (gene) frequency over time.

Evolution does not contradict Islam whatsoever. It is a science and undeniable.

What you may be confused about is the so called "origins of species" that implies that men came from monkeys, etc etc.

This does contradict Islam, as we believe that Prophet Adam was not "born" but created. However the "origins of species" arguments are not based in any science, not even genetics. Don't let anyone argue with you on this regard: not science: not proven: not real. They are just a bunch of crackpot theories without any major scientific backing at all.

Hope this helps!

-
FG

[Alhumdulillah]

Salaam,
Evolution does not contradict Islam whatsoever. It is a science and undeniable.

Assalamoalaykum!

Brother, I am also taking Biology! But I will have to contradict you - evolution (how most people understand it) is deniable, and in fact, it does contradict Islam

There are 2 types of evolution:

Microevolution: which is merely the change in allele frequencies due to random mutations over time.

Macroevolution: the summation effect of microevolution, to form a new species over time.

Now, while you could accept microevolution, what we, and a lot of scientists incidently, say, is that microevolution can only result in changes WITHIN a species, and cannot result in the formation of a new species!

Those who support evolution ASSUME that microevolution can lead to MACROEVOLUTION (i.e. what most people understand to be evolution) but infact, the link has not been proven and is based on very shaky hypotheses.

For those studying biology, books have been written about this issue, but a quick summary article is here:

http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache...microevol1.htm

But yes, Darwinism and Neo-Darwinism's 'Origin of Species' theories are crackpot, hehe. As Muslims, even as Scientists, we cannot accept the Theory of Evolution at all.

Brother Isa, Harun Yahya's books about evolution are very informative. Even thought he uses pictures of live animals, which we shouldn't do. His books about evolution will give you a lot of arguments against the theory evolution, from a scientific perspective, inshaAllah.

Wasalaam.

[Isa]

Jazack Allah! for the info and pointing out the difference between Micro and Macro. I'm sure Harun's evolution work will come in handy Inshallah. The only reason I was asking because people are so ingorant he kept telling me Quran and God is your only proof he needs Physical proof which all leads to materialism .

[FriendlyGuy]

Sorry bro,

I must disagree. I am not taking biology, I have already graduated. There is no difference between microevolution and macro, as micros lead to macros. It is illogical to deny evolution, as it has been undeniably been proven. Please do not fall into the trap of christians who deny logic in favor of so called "faith"

-
FG

[IlyasLahoz]

salaam 'alaikum,
Yes it really is more nuanced than 'evolution is false'. Check the link
http://masud.co.uk/ISLAM/nuh/evolve.htm

[FriendlyGuy]

Brothers and Sisters,
Please believe me, I have studied biology. Evolution is a very minor and simple concept, it does NOT contradict Islam.

Its proven simply: we all can read about history and see that the average lifespan of an individual during the early 20th century was approximately in 50s. Now, people are *evolving* to live several decades longer, and this trait has been passed down through families.

There are no serious scientists against evolution. No serious Muslim should be either.

-
FG

[Saleel]

People are living longer because a) Allah swt has willied it, and b) better medical care.

I've studied biology. Evolution is false.

Wallahu Alam bis-sawaab.

[faqir]

Seriously, I don't know where this micro / macro evolution comes from. Most people I have ever heard who discuss the subject refer to change in the genetic make up. In the case of bacteria, for example, we see how bacteria "evolve" to develop resistance to antibiotics - the new version of the species survives the old dies..... is this not "evolution"?

[faqir]

In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Powerful

Assalamu `Alaykum.

Dear Honest Student,

Sidi, you wrote:

> What does the aqeedah of Islam say in terms of the theory of
evolution?
> In my opinion both sides seem to be a bit extremist and ignoring
facts
> (i.e. the extreme secular evolutionists and the extremist literalist
religious
> people [Christian and Muslim] who say there is absolutely no
evolution
> ever in any form). What is Ahlul Sunnah's stance on the matter?

The Ahlu s-Sunnah stance on this issue is that Adam was created
as an upright man of perfect posture and aesthetic appearance. Thus,
Adam was not some type of ape, fish, or amoeba.

Allah created Hawa' from the left (upper) rib of Adam.

All subsequent humans have been the result of the merging of the male
sperm
with the female egg - except the birth of `Isa which occurred without a
male sperm.

This is the Ahl as-Sunnah stance.

[As for the actual process used to create Hawa', then we would state
that it was a type of cloning in which an elegant modification of the
DNA
structure of the cell used (from the left (upper) rib of Adam) took
place.]

Reference(s):
Ibn Kathir's tafsir of verse(s) 30-35 of Surah Baqarah

Now a comparison of worldwide DNA shows that common species have
a concurrence in their DNA close to 99%. This is absolutely true for
humans and conditionally true for animals.

Such, that if one lists the DNA sequences for different species, one
can
discern major differences between the two. As some modern scholars
have shown that the Neanderthal man's DNA differs significantly (e.g.,
in
number of strands and arrangement) from modern man's such that it
becomes highly unlikely that one could have "evolved" into the other.

Now if you don't know much about DNA, you can think of it as a
four-letter
alphabet and a number of strands which are arranged in a specific order
known as a sequence. The exactitude of this code and its normal
variations
(e.g., during the formation of a zygote) make it highly unlikely that
one
species can "evolve" into another without some externally imposed
process.

Now the exception is the Chimpanzee (and similar ape) which has a DNA
similar to a "mutated" human. And the reason for this is that these
chimpanzees are actually *mutated* humans as is made apparent in
verses of the Qur'an such as 2:65 and authentic hadith (which state
even some people of this ummah in the future will be mutated due to
their declaring zina and khamr lawful - and similar acts).

As for the concept of evolution, it does not pose a base danger to
our aqidah system (unlike it does for Christianity and Judaism) and
this is because our advanced mutakallimin have proven the false
the notion of a "natural self-propelled change". Rather, each and
every frame of reality is independently created by Allah in all of
its intricate details without any real link to what existed in the
previous frame. And when one knows this, one understands that
whether or not evolution is true is actually rationally arbitrary -
if Allah wanted - he could have created successive frames to
make it appear that single celled-creatures evolved into multi-celled
creatures - and then these multi-celled creatures evolved into
more complex life forms.

Nevertheless, evolution as taught in modern universities is a grossly
errant view (in regards to Allah's actual chosen method of species
creation) - which only a sub-educated person could possible hold
to be true (e.g., someone with three letters after his/her name who
thinks these three letters point to some sort rank in knowledge).

In summary, there is such a thing as genetic variance within a species;
such as the fact that we are shorter today than the ancient humans; and
there is such a thing as genetic mutation brought about by some
external cause (e.g., radiation exposure), but to claim that the first
cell arose out of some "chemical soup" and the varied species we
see today are the result of successive mutations shows an ignorance
of how DNA works.

There are *rules* for the variance and mutation of DNA which
prohibit an amoeba-like creature to evolve into a human. And with
deep research you will find that this statement is true.

> Why did Allah (SWT) create animals? Allah (SWT) does not create
> without a purpose.

The true haqiqi answer is that Allah creates things to manifest some
quality within Himself. Thus, each and every creature displays some
"beautiful" quality of Allah - even those creatures we think are
useless pests (e.g., spiders) and even those creatures which are not
directly in contact with humans (e.g., those living on another planet
in our solar system - as is verified by the ancient Astral Traveler of
our
ummah Ibn al-Arabi in some of his writings about these life forms
on other planets - he stated: "there is not a terrestrial place in the
universe which is devoid of life (Allah's creation), but some times
this
life takes a form in which it is not readily identifiable as life.").

Then, there are secondary reasons such as the usefulness of all
creatures in the food chain and the larger interdependent
ecological systems on earth.


Wassalamu `alaykum wa rahmatullah

Abuqanit Hasani
Main Author
Guiding Helper Foundation