Round XII - page 42

Evolution in Quran

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Edip Yuksel wrote: 

There is no miracle this verse. (19:67) The concept that a deity created man out of nothing predates Islam. This story is reported in Genesis and that book was written if not 2000 years, at least 1500 years before Islam. The Quran does not add anything to the story of the Bible but merely repeats it. The story that God created man out of nothing actually predates even Judaism and is found in the Sumerian and Babylonian religious lore. Even if this tale is true, taking credit for an idea that existed before is plagiarism and dishonesty.    

The verse 2:19-20 has no reference to evolution. The Quran is talking about something obvious to any man living thousands of years ago who was completely ignorant of the concept of evolution. One does not need to have any knowledge of evolution to believe God created man and then this creation is repeated each time a pair gives birth to a child. The verse says “'Roam the earth and find out the origin of life”. If Muhammad knew about the origin of life why he did not say it? He could easily say man has evolved and the origin of all life on earth was a tiny (single celled) creature from which all creatures have evolved. This verse is not a miracle. The only miracle is in the imagination of Muslims that can see science in purely asinine statements of the Quran.  

Around 520 BC, The Greek philosopher, Anaximander of Miletus, wrote a text called "On Nature" in which he introduced an idea of evolution, stating that life started as slime in the oceans and eventually moved to drier places. He also brought up the idea that species evolved over time.  

Around 500 BC, Xenophanes studied fossils and put forth various theories on the evolution of life.

Around 350 BC,  Aristotle studied marine animals and developed an epigenetic model of evolution. He also developed a classification system for all animals.  

If 1100 before Muhammad, Anaximander could speak about evolution why Muhammad couldn’t?  

Now let us read the verses 71:14-19  

Verse 24 says He created you in stages. Does this have anything to do with evolution? No! Here Muhammad is talking about the stages of creation stated in the Bible. These stages are described in Genesis 1.

1. The creation of heaven and Earth,

2. The creation of light and its separation from darkness

3. The separation of heavenly water from earthly water

4. Separation of dry land from oceans

5. The creation of vegetation on Earth

6. The creation of two bulbs of light, one for the day and one for the night

7. The creation of fish and birds

8. The creation of land animals

9. The creation of Man 

When Muhammad talks about the creation taking place in stages he is talking about this biblical description of creation and not of evolution.  A confirmation of that can be found in verse 7:54 where it says: 

"Your Guardian-Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in six days, and is firmly established on the throne: He draweth the night as a veil over the day, each seeking the other in rapid succession: He created the sun, the moon, and the stars, (all) governed by laws under His command. 

And  

10:3 "Verily your Lord is Allah, who created the heavens and the earth in six days" 

Also:

11:7 He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days - and His Throne was over the waters

The above is an old myth that predates Islam and it is plagiarized from the Bible. It is also scientifically wrong. 

Verse 11:7 says God's Throne is over the waters. It presumes that God is an anthropomorphous deity who sits on a throne and whose throne is over the waters. There is no room to interpret this verse allegorically. 

The origin of this myth can be found in the Genesis 1:2 that says: "Spirit of God was hovering over the waters". But before that this very concept appears in the pagan beliefs of the Sumerians.  

Enki is the god of water, creation, and fertility (semen). He is also the god of wisdom. He holds dominion over the land and is the keeper of  Me, the divine law and consequently he is the Ruler of the Universe. (Kramer & Maier Myths of  Enki 1989: pp. 2-3)  http://illuminati-news.com/sumerian-mythology.htm

The Quranic tale that the throne of God is established over the waters is originated from the fable of the Sumerian deity Enki. 

Enki walks out of the water to the land.
Enki is attended by a god with two faces called Usmu (Isimud).

Enki presided over the assembly of gods. In Psalms 82:1  we read that Yahweh presided over the assembly of gods. This shows that when Pslams were written, monotheism was not a tenet of the Jews. Muhammad founded his mission on the premise of monotheism nonetheless, influenced by the language of the people, he had a slip of tongue and talked about "the Exalted assembly" الْمَلَإِ الْأَعْلَى in the Quran. Talking about Jinns he wrote: 

37:8 (So) they should not strain their ears in the direction of the Exalted assembly but be cast away from every side,

Also in the Quran Allah often uses the plural pronoun when he refers to himself. This is the relic of divine language of a time when gods spoke to men in plural.  

Verse 71:15 says the heavens are created in seven layers one above another. This is a very old belief and it dates back to the time when humans thought seven gods inhabit the heavens. The idea crept into Judaism and Muhammad borrowed this old pagan idea. For a detailed study of this myth see this article.     

Verse 71:16 is a replica of Genesis 1:16 that says:

"God made two great lights-the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars".  

Of course moon does not have light and both the Quran and the Bible are mistaken.  The Quran repeats this mistake in two other places: 

25:61 "Blessed is He Who made constellations in the skies, and placed therein a lamp and a moon giving light;"  َقَمَرًا مُّنِيرًا

71:16 "And made the moon a light in their midst, and made the sun as a (Glorious) lamp?" وَجَعَلَ الْقَمَرَ فِيهِنَّ نُورًا

The verse 71:17 says: “And God has produced you from the earth growing” (the word “gradually” is Yusuf Ali’s interjection).  

Is this a hint to evolution? Why should it not be interpreted as people growing from infancy to adulthood by eating the fruits of the Earth? Based on Occam's Razor principle, this is the more likely explanatio. In fact the Quran says that the creation of Adam was at once and not gradual.  

3:59 "The similitude of Jesus before Allah is as that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him: "Be". And he was"

The verse 71:18 talks about the Resurrection and rising of people from their death. This is of course an absurdity and a scientific heresy and it denotes the fact that Muhammad's paradise and hell are physical places. The concept of a spiritual world was alien to Muhammad. 

Verse 71: 19 says the earth is like a carpet (spread out), 

وَاللَّهُ جَعَلَ لَكُمُ الْأَرْضَ بِسَاطًا

The same erroneous belief is repeated in verse 15:19 

This is clearly another mistake. Note that every one of the verses that we discussed from this Surah was scientifically wrong. Can God possibly be so ignorant? 

The verse 15:26 is saying that God created human beings from mud like potter’s clay. The same scientific fallacy is expressed in verse 6:2 where it says “He it is created you from clay” . What is the origin of this error?

Enki in Assyrian Babylonian period came to be known as god Ea. He was the god who created the first humans: "In those days, in those years, The Wise One of Eridu, Ea, created him as a model of men. His name was Adapa" http://www.crystalinks.com/sumergods.html

Compare the above to the tale of creation given in the Old Testament from where Muhammad borrowed his story of creation. In the Biblical story of creation God created Adam in His image. The Quran does not specify this similitude but a Hadith-e Qodsi does.  

Creation of first man by Anunnaki.
Laboratory vessels and Tree of Life.

The images and the tales of the Sumerians demonstrate that the origin of the Quranic tale of the creation of Adam with clay, the tree of life and Adam's expulsion from Paradise are in the fables of ancient men and not in science.   http://www.crystalinks.com/sumergods.html

The claim that the Quran talks about evolution is ludicrous.  

The Sumerian and Biblical notion of Adam and Eve, and the belief that all men derive from a single prototype are dominant in the Quran.  

2:35 We said: "O Adam! dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden; and eat of the bountiful things therein as (where and when) ye will; but approach not this tree, or ye run into harm and transgression."

7:19 "O Adam! dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden, and enjoy (its good things) as ye wish: but approach not this tree, or ye run into harm and transgression."  

6:98 "It is He Who hath produced you from a single person:"  

7:189 "It is He Who created you from a single person, and made his mate of like nature, in order that he might dwell with her."  

4:1  “O mankind! reverence your Guardian-Lord, who created you from a single person, created, of like nature, His mate, and from them twain scattered (like seeds) countless men and women."  

The above verses make it clear that the Quran does not talk about evolution but it stipulate that all humans are off springs of a single person is called Adam who was created from clay and he was the prototype of all humans. The creation of Eve is not explicitly mentioned in the Quran. She is referred to as Adam's mate but her name isn't mentioned as if she was not that important. 

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