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Evolution and Islam: Difference between revisions
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===Quran 71:13-14 - Creation in stages=== | ===Quran 71:13-14 - Creation in stages=== | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|71|13|14}}| | {{Quote|{{Quran-range|71|13|14}}|What is [the matter] with you that you do not attribute to Allah [due] grandeur While He has created you in stages?}} | ||
The word translated "stages" is aṭwāran (أَطْوَارًا), which means states or conditions<ref>aṭwāran أَطْوَارًا - [http://www.studyquran.org/LaneLexicon/Volume5/00000175.pdf Lane's Lexicon page 1890]</ref> There is no evidence given anywhere to indicate that these ''stages'' refer to evolution. Indeed, in responding to their lack of faith, these verses expect the Quran's 7th century listeners to understand the meaning, which could hardly then be evolution. The tafsir of Ibn Kathir suggests that the topic may have been the stages of [[Embryology in the Qur'an|embryology]] described elsewhere in the Quran.<ref>[http://m.qtafsir.com/Surah-Nooh/What-Nuh-said-when-He-called-H--- Tafsir of Ibn Kathir for Q. 71:13-14]</ref> Since this verse comes immediately after a speech by Noah to his people, alternatively it could be a reference to the pre and post-flood stages of mankind's history. | |||
A few verses which occur almost immediately afterwards (following a brief interlude about the seven heavens) may shed light on the correct interpretation: | |||
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|71|17|18}}|And Allah has caused you to grow from the earth a [progressive] growth. Then He will return you into it and extract you [another] extraction.}} | |||
These verses poetically mirror the original creation of man from mud or clay (according to tafsirs) with the burial of the dead back into the ground, and finally their future resurrection therefrom. | |||
Perhaps the most likely interpretation then is that verses 13-14 refer to the existing and new creations of each person on the day of resurrection. This would be in keeping with the repeated creation theme of many other verses (discussed in the previous section above). | |||
===Quran 6:2 - Allah decreed a term for us=== | ===Quran 6:2 - Allah decreed a term for us=== | ||
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===Quran 71:17-18 - Growth from the Earth=== | ===Quran 71:17-18 - Growth from the Earth=== | ||
{{Quote|{{Quran-range|71|17|18}}|And Allah | {{Quote|{{Quran-range|71|17|18}}|And Allah has caused you to grow from the earth a [progressive] growth. Then He will return you into it and extract you [another] extraction.}} | ||
This verse is sometimes claimed to contain an inkling of evolution from the simplest lifeforms to humans, though it remains hard to see how "a growth from the Earth" could be interpreted in an evolutionary context given that in [[w:Kingdom_(biology)#Seven_kingdoms|the tree of life]], the animal kingdom has a common ancestor with the kingdoms of plants and fungi, but does not descend from them. These verses are, however, consistent with the story of the creation of Adam from dust or clay, which is the interpretation found in classical commentaries for these verses. Even supposing it is possible to interpret them in isolation as a reference to evolution, the fact remains that some of the other verses discussed in this article explicitly trace all human descent to a single couple, and state that Adam was specially created from clay. Indeed, Q. 71:17-18 quoted here poetically mirrors the original creation of man from mud or clay with the burial of the dead back into the ground, and finally their future resurrection. | This verse is sometimes claimed to contain an inkling of evolution from the simplest lifeforms to humans, though it remains hard to see how "a growth from the Earth" could be interpreted in an evolutionary context given that in [[w:Kingdom_(biology)#Seven_kingdoms|the tree of life]], the animal kingdom has a common ancestor with the kingdoms of plants and fungi, but does not descend from them. These verses are, however, consistent with the story of the creation of Adam from dust or clay, which is the interpretation found in classical commentaries for these verses. Even supposing it is possible to interpret them in isolation as a reference to evolution, the fact remains that some of the other verses discussed in this article explicitly trace all human descent to a single couple, and state that Adam was specially created from clay. Indeed, Q. 71:17-18 quoted here poetically mirrors the original creation of man from mud or clay with the burial of the dead back into the ground, and finally their future resurrection. | ||