MAN EVOLUTION AN ISLAMIC POINT OF VIEW

The evolutionary theory proposed by Charles Darwin describes the universal common descent for organisms. Evolution of man from lesser beings has been a subject of debate among scholars for a long time and has been thought by many scientists to challenge several religious beliefs. There are four different opinions among Muslim scholars regarding this theory. The first believes that although this theory is just based on some hypotheses, the assumption of instant creation of the man is inferred from the appearance of the Quranic verses and not the explicit texts of verses; and these verses can be interpreted in other ways. The second believes that according to appearance and explicit texts of the Quranic verses, man has been created in a sudden way and it is not possible to interpret these verses differently; so even if the validity of this theory becomes evident, the creation of man will be an exception to it. The third one argues that the ultimate goals in science and religion are different, so is the language of each. As the Quran has been revealed for the guidance of human beings, other deductions from this book may lead to imposition of one's idea to the Quran, and this is not acceptable. Finally, the fourth one discusses that evolutionary theory can be inferred from the Quranic verses. Hence, by discussing different verses of the Quran and scholars' views in this regard we conclude that the Quran is not faced by any challenge from the man evolutionary theory at all.