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Evolution and Islam: Difference between revisions
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→Quran 21:30 and 24:45 - All living things made from water: Added in Thales's same belief to show this motif was more widespread in Antiquity.
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==Quranic verses about the creation of Adam and mankind's descent from him== | ==Quranic verses about the creation of Adam and mankind's descent from him== | ||
===Quran 32:7 et | ===Quran 32:7 et al. - Creation of the first man from clay=== | ||
{{main|Creation of Humans from Clay}} | {{main|Creation of Humans from Clay}} | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran|32|7}}|Who made all things good which He created, and He began the creation of man from clay;}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|32|7}}|Who made all things good which He created, and He began the creation of man from clay;}} | ||
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Academic scholars have noticed another parallel between the Quranic stories of Adam and Jesus. In {{Quran|3|49}} and {{Quran|5|110}} Jesus is said to have miraculously created birds with Allah's permission by forming them out of dust or clay, then breathing into them. See the section on Jesus and the Clay Birds in the article [[Parallels_Between_the_Qur'an_and_Late_Antique_Judeo-Christian_Literature#Jesus_and_the_Clay_Birds|Parallels Between the Qur'an and Late Antique Judeo-Christian Literature]]. | Academic scholars have noticed another parallel between the Quranic stories of Adam and Jesus. In {{Quran|3|49}} and {{Quran|5|110}} Jesus is said to have miraculously created birds with Allah's permission by forming them out of dust or clay, then breathing into them. See the section on Jesus and the Clay Birds in the article [[Parallels_Between_the_Qur'an_and_Late_Antique_Judeo-Christian_Literature#Jesus_and_the_Clay_Birds|Parallels Between the Qur'an and Late Antique Judeo-Christian Literature]]. | ||
===Quran 7:27 et | ===Quran 7:27 et al. - All people are descended from Adam and Eve=== | ||
The Quran is explicit that every person alive is ultimately descended from Adam and his spouse alone. | The Quran is explicit that every person alive is ultimately descended from Adam and his spouse alone. | ||
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==Quranic verses purported to mention evolution== | ==Quranic verses purported to mention evolution== | ||
===Quran 29:19-20 et | ===Quran 29:19-20 et al. - Repeated creation=== | ||
At least one or some combination of the verses set out in this section are typically quoted by proponents of evolution (or human evolution) in the Quran because they mention that Allah "repeats" his creation. Supposedly, this sounds a bit like evolution. However, this is a distortion of the verses, which are about a future creation of each person after their death. This is so that they can return to Allah after death and be condemned or rewarded. This purpose is most explicit in the first verse quoted below, Q. 10:4. As with some of the other passages quoted in this article, according to classical commentaries these verses are concerned with the future resurrection of the dead. Indeed, the Quran has many other verses aimed at critics who doubted the possibility of resurrection. None of the verses unambiguously mention repeated creation as having occurred in the past on Earth. | At least one or some combination of the verses set out in this section are typically quoted by proponents of evolution (or human evolution) in the Quran because they mention that Allah "repeats" his creation. Supposedly, this sounds a bit like evolution. However, this is a distortion of the verses, which are about a future creation of each person after their death. This is so that they can return to Allah after death and be condemned or rewarded. This purpose is most explicit in the first verse quoted below, Q. 10:4. As with some of the other passages quoted in this article, according to classical commentaries these verses are concerned with the future resurrection of the dead. Indeed, the Quran has many other verses aimed at critics who doubted the possibility of resurrection. None of the verses unambiguously mention repeated creation as having occurred in the past on Earth. | ||
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Ephrem's comment is in the context of the Genesis creation story, much like the first Quranic verse quoted above, 21:30. Ephrem says that when heaven and earth were created there were no trees or vegetation as it had not yet rained, so a fountain irrigated the earth. Tafsirs say that when the heaven and earth were separated rain fell so that plants could grow. There is also a similarity with Ephrem in the other verse (24:45), which mentions creatures that move on two, four or no legs. Ephrem explains that as well as the "trees, vegetation and plants", the "Scripture wishes to indicate that all animals, reptiles, cattle and birds came into being as a result of the combining of earth and water".<ref>[https://faberinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Ephrem-the-Syrian-Commentary-on-Genesis-2-3-Brock.pdf Ephrem's commentary on Genesis] - Faber Institute.com</ref> For many more parallels between the Quran and Syriac Christian literature see [[Parallelism_Between_the_Qur%27an_and_Judeo-Christian_Scriptures|this article]]. | Ephrem's comment is in the context of the Genesis creation story, much like the first Quranic verse quoted above, 21:30. Ephrem says that when heaven and earth were created there were no trees or vegetation as it had not yet rained, so a fountain irrigated the earth. Tafsirs say that when the heaven and earth were separated rain fell so that plants could grow. There is also a similarity with Ephrem in the other verse (24:45), which mentions creatures that move on two, four or no legs. Ephrem explains that as well as the "trees, vegetation and plants", the "Scripture wishes to indicate that all animals, reptiles, cattle and birds came into being as a result of the combining of earth and water".<ref>[https://faberinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Ephrem-the-Syrian-Commentary-on-Genesis-2-3-Brock.pdf Ephrem's commentary on Genesis] - Faber Institute.com</ref> For many more parallels between the Quran and Syriac Christian literature see [[Parallelism_Between_the_Qur%27an_and_Judeo-Christian_Scriptures|this article]]. | ||
The tafsir notionally attributed to Ibn Abbas contains yet another interpretation, that Q. 21:30 refers to the dependence of all living things on water.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/TanwirAl-MiqbasMinTafsirIbnAbbasEng Tanwir al-Miqbas min Tafsir Ibn Abbas] p.361-362</ref> There is nothing miraculous about the claim that water is a constituent of living things or that it is important for their survival. In fact, the Greek philosopher [[w:Empedocles|Empedocles]] had already proposed that all living things are made from water among other substances, hundreds of years before the Qur'an was revealed.<ref>Frag. B17, (Simplicius, ''Physics'', 157-159)</ref> | The tafsir notionally attributed to Ibn Abbas contains yet another interpretation, that Q. 21:30 refers to the dependence of all living things on water.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/TanwirAl-MiqbasMinTafsirIbnAbbasEng Tanwir al-Miqbas min Tafsir Ibn Abbas] p.361-362</ref> There is nothing miraculous about the claim that water is a constituent of living things or that it is important for their survival. In fact, the ancient Greek philosopher Thales believed that life originated from water,<ref>''[https://teachersinstitute.yale.edu/curriculum/units/1980/5/80.05.11.x.html#:~:text=One%20of%20Thales'%20contributions%20was,died%20when%20deprived%20of%20it. The Origin of Life: A History of Ancient Greek Theories.] Man and the Environment.'' Curricular Resources > 1980 Volume V > Unit 11 (80.05.11) > Section 1. Joyce Puglia. Yale-New Heaven Teachers Institute</ref> [[w:Empedocles|Empedocles]] had already proposed that all living things are made from water among other substances, hundreds of years before the Qur'an was revealed.<ref>Frag. B17, (Simplicius, ''Physics'', 157-159)</ref> While another 'Anaximander' proposed that the first living creatures were made from evaporated water.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/biography/Anaximander Anaximander] - Britannica.com</ref> | ||
Scientifically, it is widely believed that life originated in water, most prominently in theories involving the heat and chemistry environment at submarine [[w:Abiogenesis#Hot_springs|hydrothermal vents]], or alternatively [[w:Abiogenesis#Hot_springs|hot springs]] on the surface of the early Earth. However, there is no standard model of the origin of life that is accepted among scientists. Some of the models without water (or having important substances other than water) are listed below. | Scientifically, it is widely believed that life originated in water, most prominently in theories involving the heat and chemistry environment at submarine [[w:Abiogenesis#Hot_springs|hydrothermal vents]], or alternatively [[w:Abiogenesis#Hot_springs|hot springs]] on the surface of the early Earth. However, there is no standard model of the origin of life that is accepted among scientists. Some of the models without water (or having important substances other than water) are listed below. | ||