Q130 :During a discussion, a friend of mine claimed
that human beings came from apes (Darwin’s theory of evolution). This
led to a heated argument and a scar on our friendship. May I ask who
were the first human beings on earth? Whom did they worship and who was
their god?
A130 : The theory of evolution has two basic flaws.
It observes in fine details the gradation of species from one-cell
organisms up to the chimpanzee and man, who the theory considers to be
the next in line. Advocates of the evolution theory have admitted this
and sought to explain by speaking about a “missing link”. The other
basic flaw in this theory is that it cannot be proven in any
scientifically acceptable way. Its argument is rather didactic. It
makes a huge jump from scientific observation to theorization about
life and existence. Thus, it imposes its theory on scientific findings.
Perhaps it is appropriate to state here that Muslim scientists have
observed the gradation of species, not only in the animal world but
also in the world of plants. They referred to the fact that there is a
very fine line which separated one species from the next. They also
observed that there are two huge gaps: The one which separates the
highest from the lowest, i.e. the chimpanzee from man. However, Muslim
scientists did not seek to impose any arbitrary theory of life on their
findings. They simply attributed this gradation to its appropriate
cause, the will of Allah, the Creator of all. As Muslims, we recognize
only one source for the formulation of our concepts of life and the
role of man. That source is divine revelations. We know that Allah has
revealed the Qur’an, His last message, through the angel Gabriel to His
last messenger, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Allah has also
guaranteed that the Qur’an which contains His message, will remain
intact, free from distortion, for the rest of time. Therefore, we must
refer to the Qur’an for the formulation of our concepts of life and
creation. We know that the knowledge contained in the Qur’an is
factual, because it netes from the Creator whose knowledge is limitless
and absolute. We cannot, therefore, abandon this factual source of
knowledge, preferring it to a scientific theory which is liable to
amendment or improvement as even its most outspoken advocates admit. On
the basis of information Allah has given us in the Qur’an, we state
without hesitation that human life on earth started with Adam (peace be
upon him), who was created of clay and Allah breathed of His spirit
into him. Therefore, man is the result of a netbination of clay and
spirit. He came into existence as a result of Allah’s will when He
decided to appoint a vice regent on earth. How did Allah breathe His
spirit into Adam whom He made of clay and when did all this happen are
details which He has not chosen to give us. Therefore, we need not
concern ourselves with these for two reasons: First, we have no means
of finding out the answers with any degree of certainty because the
only source which can give us such information, namely, Allah
(limitless He is in His glory) has chosen not to tell us. Second, our
knowledge of such details will not be of any help to us in the
fulfillment of our task which is given to us by Allah, namely, the
building of human life on earth. Had such information been of benefit
to us in this regard, Allah would not have withheld it. You ask about
the God worshipped by the first human beings. There has always been
obviously one God, Allah. Adam was a prophet who taught his children
how to worship Allah alone. The Unitarian faith existed as long ago as
man himself. What professors of netparative religion in Western
universities assert about the development of religious beliefs is
totally untrue. They claim that man started with primitive concepts of
God and worshipped forces of nature and represented them with idols and
totters, etc. Later, as man developed, his beliefs also developed and
he started to believe in a small number of deities, who were then
reduced to two before the concept of monotheism evolved. All this is
contrary to what Allah tells us in the Qur’an. Allah gave Adam, the
first man on earth, the message based on the Oneness of Allah. His
children continued to worship Allah alone for many generations before
deviation crept into their faith. Therefore, Allah sent them prophets
and messengers to call on them to revert to the Unitarian faith. They
made such a return at the time of Prophet Noah, when the group of
believers who survived the flood with Noah , started a new social
order. Other returns were achieved by other prophets in different
netmunities. This message was given its netplete and final form in the
Qur’an revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), Allah’s last
messenger.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )