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Evolution and Islam: Difference between revisions
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The source is wrong regarding Thales. Other sources make clear that he believed everything, not just life originates from water (Muslims rightly criticise the more specific claim an inaccurate/misleading).
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(→Quran 7:27 et al. - All people are descended from Adam and Eve: Added note confirming humans are all descended from Adam with the Qur'anic phrase.) |
Lightyears (talk | contribs) (The source is wrong regarding Thales. Other sources make clear that he believed everything, not just life originates from water (Muslims rightly criticise the more specific claim an inaccurate/misleading).) |
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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 ancient Greek philosopher | 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 [[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> Thales of Miletus taught that the originating principle of everything including life is water.<ref>[https://iep.utm.edu/thales/#H5 Thales of Miletus] - Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy</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. | ||