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Presented at the 11th Leadership Training Program held in Hungary 21 July - 21 August 1999 by Prof Omar Hasan Kasule, Sr
OUTLINES
BASIC CONCEPTS
Qur'anic terminology
The creator and the created
Human history on earth
Source of creation
The process of creation
The human species
UNIQUENESS OF HUMAN CREATION
Miracle
Signs of Allah in human creation
Dignity of the human being, karamat al insan
Duality
Superiority of the human, tafdhil al insan
CREATION AND NOT EVOLUTION
Creation and not evolution, khalq wa laisa tatwiir
The theory of evolution
Our arguments against the theory of evolution
SPECIAL CASES OF CREATION
Adam
Isa
PARITY IN CREATION
Parity in all creation
Parity in humans
Parity in animals
Parity in plants
Parity of day and night
Parity of gender
BASIC CONCEPTS
Qur'anic terminology: The Qur’anic term for a human are insan or bashar (p 195 3:47, 3:79, 5:18, 6:91, 11:27, 12:31, 14:10-11, 15:28, 15:33, 16:103, 17:93-94, 18:110, 19:17, 19:20, 19:26, 21:3, 21:34, 23:24, 23:33-34, 23:47, 25:54, 26:154, 26:186, 30:20, 38:71, 41:6, 42:51, 54:24, 64:6, 74:29, 74:31, 73:36). The Qur’anic terms khalaqa and fatana `are used to refer to creation (p 902 6:14, 11:51, 17:51, 20:72, 21:56, 36:22, 43:27). The creation described in detail the creation of humans, khalq al insan, (p 161-162 4:1, 6:98, 7:11, 7:189, 15:26, 16:4, 16:70, 16:72, 16:78, 19:67, 21:37, 22;5, 23:12-14, 25:45, 30:20-21, 30:54, 32:7-9, 35:11, 36:77, 38:71, 39:6, 40:67, 42:11, 50:16, 53:45-46, 55:3, 71:14, 76:2, ?7:36-39, 77:20-23, 80:18-19, 82:7-8, 86:5-7, 90:4, 95:4, 96:2).
The creator and the created: The creator is different from the creation, mukhalafat al laah li al hawadith (p 683 2:116, 4:171, 6:100-103, 10:68, 18:4-5, 17:111, 19:35, 19:88-93, 21:26, 23:91, 25:2-3, 37:151-152, 39:4, 42:11, 43:81, 72:3, 112:3). Allah the creator, al khaliq, and humans are created, makhluq. Allah is infinite whereas humans are finite. The concept of infinity is understandable mathematically but it is difficult for the ordinary human to conceptualize that the creator is infinite and that the human is finite. This intellectual failure is the root of several forms of shirks in which human attributes are ascribed to Allah or the reverse when divine attributes are ascribed to humans. Allah's knowledge and power encompasses humans in all aspects because he is the creator. Humans being created can not participate in any way in the creation process.
Human history on earth: We know from the archeological record that the existence of human life on earth is relatively shorter than that of plants and animals. When Adam was created trees and other elements of the physical world already existed. The end of human history will however coincide with destruction of the physical universe as we know it today.
Source of creation: The source of the physical human body is the earth. Humans are created from the earth and to it they will return (p 230 13:5, 16:59, 17:49, 20:55, 23:35, 23:82, 27:67, 37:16, 37:53, 50;3, 56:47, 37:16, 78:40). A human is however made of the physical matter and the ruh (p 515-516 4:171, 15:29, 17:85, 21:19, 32:9, 38:72, 40:15, 66:12, 97:4).. The physical body without the ruh is not a human being. Components of the human physical body are: water, m’au (p 1054 25:54, 32:8, 77:20, 86:5-6), and clay, twiin ( p 755 3:49, 5:11, 6:2, 7:12, 11:82, 15:74, 17:61, 23:12, 28:38, 32:7, 37:11, 38:71, 38:76, 51:33, 105:4).
The process of creation: The Qur'an and sunnat have described in detail the creation of Adam from the elements of the earth (MB # 1356, 1399). Allah then inserted the root into him making him a human. He later gave him knowledge which distinguishes humans from animals.
The human species: The short form of the human species is homo sapiens. The human species as we know it is classified scientifically as follows. Kingdom: animalia, phylum: vertebra, class: mammalia, order: primate, family: hominidae, genus: homo, and species: sapiens. Humans were created de novo as humans. All humans have a common biological origin (4:1, 6:98, 7:189) and are different from other creations of Allah.
UNIQUENESS OF HUMAN CREATION
Miracle: The creation of humans is a unique miracle, mujizat khalq al insan. The human is created in the best of moulds, ahsana taqwin. The design is optimal and it is impossible to imagine a better design for the anatomy and physiology of the human body. The human manifests the beauty of creation, jamal al khalq. The beauty can be appreciated as order, harmony, organization, and precision. It can also be experienced in an aesthetic sense.
Signs of Allah in human creation: Being the best creation, the human body best manifests signs of the power and might of Allah, ayat al llah fi khalq al insan, & ayat al llah fi al anfus (p 49-50 3:6, 6:46, 6:98, 13:8, 15:26-30, 16:4-8, 16:70-72, 22:5-6, 24:45, 30:20-21, 30:54, 32:7-9, 39:6, 41:53, 4:4, 51:21). Study of science especially medicine is part of observation and reflecting on Allah’s creation, tafakkur fi khalq Allah (p 399 2:164, 3:190-191, 6:99, 7:54, 7:185, 10:67, 10:101, 13:2-4, 16:10-17, 16:65-70, 21:30-33, 23:80-89, 26:24-28, 27:59-64, 28:71-73, 29:19-20, 30:20-25, 30:48-50, 31:10-11, 41:53, 42:28-29, 45:3-5, 50:6-11, 51:70-71, 79:29-33, 80:24-32, 86:5-7, 88:17-20). It enables scientists discover many secrets of creation and many signs that Allah put in the universe for the education and intellectual growth and development.
Dignity of the human being, karamat al insan: The human is the most dignified and honored among all Allah's creations.
Duality: the human is both body and soul; matter and spirit. Animals have only the body whereas angels have only the soul.
Superiority of the human, tafdhil al insan. The human is superior to all other creations of Allah, biological or phtsical ( p 161 2:34, 7:11, 15:28-29, 17:61-62, 17:70, 18:50, 38:71-72). The human is unique and is superior because of special faculties and potentials that Allah gave him. He can however deteriorate to a level of animals or even less when he misuses those faculties.
CREATION AND NOT EVOLUTION
Creation and not evolution, khalq wa laisa tatwiir: The Qur’an teaches that Adam was created de novo as a human. Human history therefore starts from Adam the fully formed human being. All human beings have the same biological origin, asl al insan wahid. Human creation was a deliberate and not a random or accidental event. It was revolutionary and not evolutionary.
The theory of evolution contradicts the Qur’anic teaching about creation. It proposes that life started by chance as simple one-cell organisms that gradually evolved to become more sophisticated. They passed through the stages of fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, apes, and subsequently humans. Alfred Russel Wallace (1821-1913) and Charles Darwin independently developed the theory of natural selection to explain how evolution could have taken place. They published their findings in 1858. The theory of evolution has two main ideas. (a) living things change from generation to generation until new species appear (b) all living things are related. We can observe changes in living things but appearance of a completely new species still has to be proved. Similarity among living things should be interpreted as pointing more to the existence of one creator for all and not all starting from one primordial creature.
Our arguments against the theory of evolution are based on the premises that it is a theory that is unproven. There is on the other hand concrete evidence that the observations on which the theory is based are biased. In the 19th century when the theory was first proposed, Europe was at the peak of its industrial, military and economic power. In the absence of knowledge that it is Allah who gives power and takes it away, many Europeans started thinking that they had something special that made them so powerful compared to other people. The theory of evolution, with its assertions about natural selection and survival of the fittest supplied an easy answer by placing them on the pinnacle of the evolutionary tree thus making them superior to all what came before them. The theory of evolution and the concept of survival of the fittest provided intellectual justification for the subjugation and exploitation of the non-European races.
SPECIAL CASES OF CREATION
According to the Qur’an two humans were created in a different way: Adam and Isa. Adam (PBUH) was created without a father or a mother (p 38 15:28-29, 38:81-82, p 39:15:33, 15:28, 7:12, 38:71, 38:76). Isa (PBUH) was created only from a mother and no father (p 858 3:45-47, 19:16-33). Adam was more of a miracle because he had no parent at all. These differences are not unique when we look at the whole scheme of Allah’s creation. There are many examples of reproduction in the animal kingdom in which only one parent is involved. There are also many cases of asexual reproduction.
PARITY IN CREATION
Parity found in human creation is part of the general phenomenon of parity found in other creations of Allah. The Qur'an has mentioned parity in all creation (p 548 11:40, 15:88, 20:131. 23:27, 36:36, 37:22, 38:58, 43:12, 51:49, 56:7, 81:7, 92:3), parity in humans (p 548-9 3:36, 3:195, 4:1, 4:11, 4:124, 4:176, 7:189, 12:84, 15:88, 16:72, 16:97, 18:28, 18:57, 20:131, 22:10, 30:21, 31:7, 35:11, 39:6, 40:40, 42:11, 42:50, 49:13, 53:21, 53:45, 75:39, 78:8, 78:40, 90:8-10, 111:1), parity in animals (p 549 6:143-4, 42:11), parity in plants (p 549 13:3, 20:53, 22:5, 26:7, 31:10, 50:7, 55:52), parity of day and night (p 549-50 2:164, 6:143-144, 39:6, 42:11, 92:1-2). The special case of parity of gender will be discussed subsequently.
KEY WORDS: Tiin, Ruh, Khalq, Banu Adam-Bashar
DISCUSSION
1. Tell the story of human creation in your own words
2. What is the mythical story of creation in your community or any other community you know about
3. Explain in scientific terms what the Qur’an means by creation of humans from water and dust
4. Explain how a human can become the lowest of all creatures
5. What is the methodological flaw in the conclusions that Darwin reached from his observations
6. Give examples of parity in creation
7. Give examples of symmetry in creation
8. Give examples of asexual reproduction in plants and animals
9. Explain in your own words why human creation is unique
10. Explain what you mean by dignity of human