You all perhaps have come face-to-face with evolution in your high school or college level biology courses. In the public school systems, teachers usually go over a disclaimer about how evolution is simply a theory and that the district requires students to learn it. Why do they do this? Because the concept of evolution insults many religious beliefs. How? By implying that there is no Creator.
I myself have dealt with reconciling my religious beliefs with those of evolution in a manner that would not result in bida’ah [innovation] or complete blindness. Thankfully, I have been able to do so by delving into research concerning the Qur’an and modern-day breakthroughs in evolutionary biology.
In this post, I hope to make a strong argument against those who use evolution as an excuse to not believe in God, and I hope to help those who feel threatened by evolution to understand it better.
Like Islam, evolution is highly misunderstood by Muslims and non-Muslims, and scientists and non-scientists.
So let us get started on what exactly evolution is. Evolution is the change in the inherited characteristics of an entire biological population over several generations. Let me explain that in simple English: Evolution is simply change over time in the genes and/or genomes of organisms. Think of how saber-tooth tigers are the ancestors of modern-day big cats or how scientists believe that dinosaurs are the ancestors of chickens.
This change is brought about by the process of natural selection. Natural selection is the all-familiar term “survival of the fittest.” This means that the organisms that are able to survive and reproduce the most are able to pass the more favorable, superior genes to their offspring.
Now, in a more broad perspective, think about why medical researchers use monkeys and mice in order to understand the human body and develop new drugs. It is because our anatomy and physiology are so similar. They have the same organs that function the same way since our genetic material is similar. Take this concept further, and you will see that this is so because our genetic material is similar and in some ways, identical.
Atheist scientists believe that this similarity in genetic material is because all life came from one original cell. They use this concept to justify that there is no God and that all life on Earth came about as pure coincidence.
Note, evolution is a scientific theory, but bear in mind the word “scientific.” A scientific theory is a widely accepted idea backed by much scientific data. Also, bear in mind that science is always changing. Science tells us “how” the universe functions, but Islam gives us insight into the “why.”
I, along with many Muslim evolutionary biologists, do not believe evolution tells us all creation came from one organism. We believe that evolution tells us that there is One Creator.
Dr. Fatimah Jackson, an evolutionary anthropologist at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, said that these similarities between all creations are the signature of a single Artist. She said that
…one would never confuse a Monet painting with a Van Gogh because every artist has a signature and a style of presenting their creativity and unity. Likewise, this signature and style of Allah can be found in the unity of the genetic message across all living species on this planet.
So now the question must be asked as to what makes human beings different from animals if we are similar biologically and genetically.
This can be answered by basic human psychology.
When humans behave in a way similar to that of animals, it does not suit nor is it compatible with the nature that we have been given. When it comes to life, the animal has no other choice but to survive by depending on their impulsive instincts in order to continue their species.
This applies to all animals, though there are different variants as to how they fulfill their needs. The overall idea here is that when animals are hungry, they will not care about the lives they take. When they need to reproduce, they will not seek consent from one another.
If human beings were to live a manner similar to that of animals, we would not be able to survive. Why? We owe this to our fitrah, our natural state. Fitrah in this case refers to the basic rules and regulations our bodies, minds, and souls must follow.
For instance, if we eat upon impulse and in excess, we experience in the short term indigestion and obesity in the long term, both of which can domino-effect into other more serious health problems. Remember your mother telling you not to eat so fast during iftar or overeat during suhoor?
Another example would be the exploitation of nudity. By nature, human beings have been indoctrinated with feelings of shame because
…when they tasted of the tree, that which was hidden from them of their shame (private parts) became manifest to them and they began to stick together the leaves of Paradise over themselves…
Surah ar Araf 24
If human beings were to engage in open nudity, it would be against our basic fitrah and could only be achieved through heavy desensitization.
Of course, the ideas of natural selection transcend the biological level into the monetary level. Take a look at Wall Street and tell me that it also reminds you of a zoo. We call this idea “Social Darwinism,” which follows the same laws as natural selection but Donald Trump edition.
Every nation follows their own variant of Social Darwinism, some more extreme than others. In the United States, college football coaches make four times more money than public school teachers, even though the quality of work says it should be otherwise. In Saudi Arabia, the House of Saud can afford to turn Masjid al Haraam into a palace, but seemingly cannot do anything about its intense poverty situation. The Brazilian government has spent trillions of dollars on perfecting its football stadiums for the 2014 World Cup, which has sparked uproar among the Brazilian people, 19% of which are forced to live in destitution.
Social Darwinism proposes that vast materialism through “survival of the fittest” in the marketing world will be the path towards economic prosperity. It states that such people should be commended for their efforts and that the less fortunate can only blame themselves for not putting in the extra elbow grease into fixing their predicaments. It destroys the idea that charity should be an obligation, turning it into more of a leisure activity.
We can uproot this entire concept by the good, ol’ phrase, “Money does not buy happiness.” Why are billionaires and celebrities infamous for their cyclical rehabilitation stints? Why do they even feel the need to turn to drugs and alcohol when they possess all the wealth in the world?
The answer lies in our fitrah. Allah has created a place in our hearts that can only be fulfilled by Him. No materialistic treasure can even compete with Allah when it comes to guaranteeing contentment and satisfaction, yet we are very quick to turn to such things, even if it results in self-harm.
Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.
Ar-Ra’d 13:28
I do readily accept evolution in its regards to animals, as it does not contradict the teachings of the Qur’an or the teachings of zoology. More research must be done, but for the reasons I have stated above, I cannot accept human evolution to be a reality. Not only because it goes against the teachings of the Qur’an, but also because it goes against the teachings of human psychology. The problem is that secular scientific research is always searching for a root cause of natural processes that is not God, but upon discovering these root causes, the mystery only grows. All scientific research can and will eventually be traced back to the Creator and Originator of all things.
Originator (is He) of the heavens and the earth; and when He decrees a matter to be, He only says to it ‘ Be’ and it is.”
Al-Baqarah 2:117
And of course, Allah knows best.
References
http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/country/home/tags/brazil
