Creation and the Origins of Life

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The Big Bang: Surah 21, Verse 30: ARE THEN, they who are bent on denying the truth not aware that the heavens and the earth were [once] one single entity, which We then Parted Asunder? - and [that] we made from water every living thing? Will they not then [begin to] believe? This verse should be re-read a couple of times. In it we see that the whole of material existence was once as one thing before it was exploded apart. This appears to be a clear reference to the "Big Bang" - the widely accepted theory of the origins of the universe. In the very same verse we see a reference to the origins of life being in water (see also origins of life section). This is also a key finding of science. Both of these points must have been somewhat puzzling to the early readers of the Qur'an. Now these statements are seen in the full light of modern knowledge and are recognised as astonishingly accurate. Moreover, the last question of the verse is now doubly potent.

The Story of Creation : There are several places where the Qur'an describes aspects of the creation. The Bible describes the creation as having taken place in six days followed by a day of rest. In the Bible a 'day' is explicitly the interval between two successive sunrises or sunsets. There can be no question that this story is wrong. The very mechanism of the Earth rotating around its axis was not fixed in the earliest stages of creation as were described in the Bible. In contrast to this the Qur'an while also describing creation as taking place in 6 'days' never connects this word with a set period. In fact, in the Qur'an a day in the sight of Allah (in this instance judgement day) is described as 50,000 human years. (Surah 70: Verse 4) The use of the word yawm in Arabic can equally well 'mean period of time' as it can mean 'day'. A significant passage of the Qur'an is Surah 41, Verses 9 to 12: (Muhammad Asad translation) "Say: Would you indeed deny Him who has created the earth in two aeons? And do you claim that there is any power that could rival Him, The Sustainer of all the worlds?" For He [it is who after creating the earth,] placed firm Mountains on it [towering] above its surface, and bestowed [so many] blessings on it, and equitably apportioned its means of subsistence to all who would seek it: [and all this He created] in four aeons. And He [it is who] applied His design to the skies, which were [yet but] smoke; and He [it is who] said to them and to the earth, "come willingly or unwillingly!" - to which both responded, We do come in obedience." To me this is obviously a reference to the fact that we are in the second cycle of solar evolution. The earth is made up of material that resulted from the first life cycle of a sun and our sun is a 'second generation' sun- two periods. The last of the verses quoted above confirms this point by referring to the what the sky and earth was made from - smoke. A simple but absolutely accurate description of the remains of the burnt out first generation sun! This description of the coming together of matter in forming the solar system is a very fundamental part of the concept of the current understanding of how it actually happened. The expansion of the universe Surah 51, Verse 47: And it is We who have built the universe with [Our creative] power; and verily, it is We who are expanding it. The expansion of the universe : was only discovered in the last few decades and the theories that describe the universe in cosmology only began to be developed after Einstein discovered General Relativity Early in the 20th century. This verse is from a book that was completed 1400 years ago. How could Muhammad have known this if he wasn't receiving revelation from the All-Knowing? The origins of life Are, then, they who are bent on denying the truth not aware that the heavens and the earth were [once] one single entity, which We then Parted Asunder? - and [that] we made from water every living thing? Will they not then [begin to] believe? (see Also Big Bang section)This quote clearly says that all life comes from water. There are two possible meanings to this and both agree exactly with scientific knowledge. One is that every living thing is made from Water (as its essential ingredient) and the other that all life originates from Water. The first meaning is true since in all living cells water is the major component. The latter is true since all life known about had its origins in water. http://www.islamic.org.uk/I4WM/consiste.htm What is Evolution and Creationism? These discoveries in themselves are not harmful to a healthy belief in Allah’s creative power to make whatever He wills in whatever way He wishes. But some scientists have tried to say that everything in the universe, even life itself, happened all by chance and accident, without any Divine intervention. The name of this theory is Evolution and its most famous advocate was a man named Charles Darwin (1809-1882). He was an Englishman who lived during the nineteenth century when Britain ruled most of the world. He was keenly interested in the origin of life and took a journey around the world to study the plants and animals of Earth. The ship he sailed on was called the HMS Beagle. He spent a particularly long amount of time on the Galapagos Islands, located in the Pacific ocean, examining birds, lizards and giant turtles. He came to believe that the variety of life in our world was due to what he called "Natural Selection" and "Survival of the Fittest." He wrote his findings in a book entitled, "On the Origin of Species" which he published in 1859. The book immediately caused a controversy in the Christian world because Christianity taught that God made life in an instant and that Earth was the center of importance in the universe. Christians also felt threatened by Darwin’s teachings because they knew it meant he was saying everything happened without needing God. To this day, many Christians still oppose and do battle in court over whether or not these theories should be taught in school. These Christians advance the counter- idea of Creationism, or God making things all at once, while modern scientists still promote Evolution, or things happening by themselves accidentally, gradually and naturally. The two sides are as far apart as ever. G. What Do Muslims Believe? Where do Muslims stand? The answer may surprise you for we can agree with aspects of both sides. Islam teaches us that Allah’s creation is vast and beyond our comprehension. We are also taught that the more we explore and learn, the more we will come to believe in Allah. That is the Islamic position. So we assert without any hesitation that Allah caused the creation of the universe and that He set up the laws for its functioning. As Allah said: "Behold! In the creation of space and the Earth and in the changing of night into day are indeed signs for people of understanding. Those who remember Allah standing, sitting and lying down, and contemplate the (wonders) of creation in space and the Earth. (They declare,) "Our Lord! You didn’t create all of this for nothing. So save us from the punishment of the fire." (3:190-191) Science, then, must increase our faith. It is wrong for anyone to close their eyes to what is right in front of them. For hundreds of years people have been finding fossils, bones and ancient artifacts which point to a hidden past we don’t know much about. Allah even commands us to travel over the Earth and learn from what we see. We humans have now seen much to challenge our understanding! We know that Earth existed long before the appearance of humans. Allah says, "Wasn’t there a long period of time before humans were even mentioned?" (76:1) We also know from the geologic timetable that the Earth went through many ages before we came here. And in the ayat that mentions this proof of Allah, we are given a very strong clue about the adaptability of life forms to their environment. Allah said, "Don’t you see that Allah sends rain from the sky? With it We produce plants of various colors. And in the mountains are colored layers, white and red of various tones and some black in hue. And so too, among humans and crawling creatures and cattle. They are of various colors. Those among Allah’s servants who have knowledge truly fear Him, for Allah is Mighty and Forgiving." (35:27-28) So while we agree with the Creationists who say Allah made the universe, we disagree with them on how fast it was constructed and that Earth is the only center of focus for the Creator. Allah declares Himself to be the Lord of All the Worlds: Rabb ul Alameen. Because we do not reject the evidence presented to us by Paleontologists (fossil hunters) and other scientists, we can accept some of what they say, also, about the origins of life on Earth and the existence of dinosaurs and other creatures in the fossil record. However, we read in Allah’s book that He caused it to happen and that by studying it we increase our faith in Him. Therefore, we disagree with those who say everything happened without Allah, by mere chance only. "To Allah belongs the control of space and the Earth and Allah has power over all things." (3:189) Ours is the middle position even as Allah said we were created to be the middle community: never going to extremes. (2:143) So we don’t accept, based on the evidence, the final positions of both sides. Rather, we accept what appears to be true and reject what appears to be false from each. The Qur’an is our standard, our determiner, and it has never let us down, nor will it ever do so. For a Muslim, then, the evidence of dinosaurs, trilobites and ancient algae is not a threat to our beliefs. Rather, it is a confirmation of the power of Allah. As Allah said, "He has created horses and mules for you to ride and show; and He has created other (creatures) that you don’t know." (16:8) "Allah created every creature from water. Of them are some that creep on their bellies, some that walk on two legs and some that walk on four. Allah creates what He wills for He has power over all things. We have indeed sent signs that make things clear and Allah guides whom He wills to the straight way." (24:45-46) Who else but Allah could have made such a complex and mysterious universe? (16:40) We must have pity on those who reject the proof of Allah’s existence for they will be the losers in the end. Remember the ayah that was listed before: Allah says, "He, (Allah,) created humans from a drop of sperm and then the same humans become clear arguers!" (16:4.) Even a miraculous thing such as the fertilization of the egg cannot convince some people to believe in the creative energy of the Creator of the Universe. Allah asks rhetorically, "Then what message will they believe in after this?" (77:50) This is from an interesting essay where the author, Y.Emerick, takes a more sympathetic view of the findings of science. http://www.islamicedfoundation.com/life.