0912P - CREATION, Al Khalq Al Insan

Background material for workshop on the Islamic Input in the Medical Curriculum by Professor Dr Omar Hasan Kasule Sr. MB ChB (MUK), MPH (Harvard), DrPH (Harvard) WEB: http://omarkasule.tripod.com

1.0 CREATION OF THE HUMAN, khalq al insan

1.1 BASIC CONCEPTS

Allah the creator is different from the created. He is infinite and all-knowing. Humans being created cannot participate in any way in the creation process. Humans were created after animals and plants. They are of dual nature being made from ruh and matter. Adam was from the elements of the earth. Allah then inserted the root into him making him a human. When the ruh was put in Adam, Allah ordered all angels to bow to him. All the angels followed Allah’s order except the proud Iblis. Adam was given knowledge superior to that of angels by being taught the names of all things. Adam then settled in jannat with his wife but was misled into disobedience by shaitan. He repented and was forgiven by Allah. Adam then descended to earth where he became a prophet and the father of all humans. Descendants of Adam were one community united on the creed of tauhid. When they deviated Nuh was sent to call them back to tauhid. Humans were created de novo as humans. All humans have a common biological origin and are different from other creations of Allah.

1.2 UNIQUENESS OF HUMAN CREATION

Human creation is optimal in structure and function. It is beautiful, orderly, harmonious, organized, and precise. It manifests signs of Allah. It is superior to and is honored above all other creations. It is unique and the most sophisticated. Humans have 3 unique features: the ruh, carrying amanat, khilafat, and taskhiir. The human is dual being both body and soul; matter and spirit. Animals have only the body whereas angels have only the soul. Humans agreed to carry amanat while all other creations were afraid to do so. Humans were placed on earth as viscegerants. All other creations were made subservient to humans.

1.3 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. Islam believes in a creator God. Evolution by natural selection is denial of the existence of a creator God. Our arguments against the theory of evolution are based on the premise that it is a theory that is unproven. The theory has been continually updated to fit new data while its atheistic and non-scientific core was left intact. Creation is a simpler explanation of the data on similarities and differences among living things than evolution by natural selection. Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection gave a pseudo scientific support for atheism and animalism. Atheism is denies the existence of a creator God worthy of worship. Animalism asserts that humans are like animals and have no special or superior moral standing. Persistence of the theory of evolution is supported by three practical motivations: racism, colonialism, and class exploitation.

1.4 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. Isa (PBUH) was created only from a mother and no father. 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 and plant kingdoms in which only one parent is involved.

1.5 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. There is parity in humans. There is parity in animals, parity in plants, and parity in physical phenomena like day and night.

2.0 NATURE OF THE HUMAN, tabi'at al insaan

2.1 THE NATURAL STATE, fitrat

Allah the creator created humans in the state of fitra. This is the best state both biologically, morally, socially, and psychologically. Fitrat can be degraded or distorted by human behavior biologically, morally, and in terms of ‘aqidat. Both nature and nurture play a role in human action and behavior. The relative role of each varies according to what aspects of human biology and behavior are being considered. The basic human fitrat enables humans to know the bad from the good in most cases without the need for revelation, wahy. Revelation and human experience only reinforce what is known innately. There are however a few aspects that humans cannot know without the guidance of revelation. Humans have innate weaknesses in their fitrat.

2.2 THE ESSENCE: NAFS, QALB, RUH

The essence of the human is the nafs. The words qalb and ruh are also used to mean nafs. The exact nature of the nafs, ruh, or qalb is in Allah’s knowledge. The nafs has three levels: prone to evil, nafs ammara; self-reproaching, nafs lawamat; and perfect, nafs kaamilat. The nafs kaamilat is satisfied, nafs mutmainnat; pleased, nafs raadhiyat; and pleasing, nafs mardhiyat. There are many signs of Allah in the nafs. The nafs has positive and negative attributes. It can change to the good or the bad. The qalb has been described as associated with iman, emotions, sensation, intellect, responsibility, and guidance. Diseases of the qalb include lahw, ghaflah, ghill, ghaidh, kibr, and nifaq. The qalb can be influenced or changed. The ruh is eternal. It was created before the body. It is the essential difference between a human and an animal. The ruh does not return to earth after death. Those who claim to make contact with souls of the dead are liars. Islam does not accept the concept of transmutation of souls (movement of the ruh from one person to another). It also does not accept reincarnation.

2.3 DUALITY

The non-material part of the human is the nafs or the ruh. It is the essence and the most important. It is the source of identity for each individual human. It is permanent existing before and after the end of the physical part of the human. The physical form of the human body is temporary. The uniqueness of the human lies in the duality of matter and ruh. Human behavior is a reflection of the dual nature but the ruh and nafs have overriding control over the body. The physical part of the human through the hormonal and neural drives is also responsible for some types of behavior.

6.2.4 RELATION WITH THE UNSEEN, ‘alaqat al insan bi ‘aalam al ghaib

Muslims believe in the unseen. They have only a one-way contact with the unseen through the verses of the Qur’an. Allah the almighty is watching and knows what the entire human is doing and nothing can be hidden from Him. Angels and jinn are part of the unseen. They intervene in human actions but most ordinary humans cannot initiate any contacts with them. The human lives and functions in the empirical world of the seen. Scientific empirical prediction of the future or reconstructions of the past are not intrusions into the unseen because they are interpretations of empirical data that may not always be perfect.

2.5 ATTRIBUTES of the HUMAN, sifaat al insan

It is a unique duality of the human that he has both negative and positive attributes. The human is superior because of ability to do good despite the potential for evil. The positive attributes of humans as: gratitude, desire of both the earth and the heaven, and belief. On the negative side the human is described as proud, unjust, hasty, miserly, ignorant, foolhardy, neglectful, evil-doer, spreader of evil, denier of the truth, kafir & kafuur, polytheist, hypocrite, niggardly, argumentative, perfidious, adversarial, despairing, impatient, fretful, transgressor, self-sufficient, ungrateful, denier of favors, and lover of passions. The most important attribute of humans is intelligence that is highly developed, sophisticated, specialized, and capable of abstract thought and problem solving. Human aggression is a constant characteristic of humans as individuals and societies. It always leads to destruction. Aggression can be against the self, dhulm al nafs, other humans, dhulm al ghair. Aggression is the final pathway for many of human weaknesses and failures. The first recorded act of human aggression was homicide committed by one of Adam’s sons because of jealousy. Since then human history has been characterized by aggression of various types and kinds. Human aggression is so much that even when seeking recreation, they have a tendency towards sports like boxing, wrestling and others that allow expression of the inner tension or aggression.

3.0 SUPERIORITY OF HUMANS, afdhaliyyat al insaan

3.1 CRITERION OF SUPERIORITY, mi’iyaar al afdhaliyyat

Humans aware of their superiority and distinction from other creations will have the self-confidence and self-esteem and will power needed to adopt and maintain healthy life-styles. Present medical technology and knowledge are sufficient to eradicate most human physical diseases if humans were willing to change to healthy lifestyles. The human is superior to every other living and non-living thing that Allah created. Allah honored the human above all other creation. Human superiority is due special attributes and capacities that Allah endowed the human with. Human superiority is not based on body size, physical strength, or any special anatomical or physiological function. Human superiority is generic and not specific for any individual human. Humans as a group are superior to other creations but individual humans may not be. Human superiority is not a right. It is a potential that can be developed or can be neglected. Not every single human individual can claim this superiority. Humans can rise to the summits of excellence. Humans can also fall to be the lowest of the low and could be worse off than animals. Taqwa is the basic criterion of superiority. It is a final common pathway for the 4 criteria of human superiority: intellect, ‘aql; a free will, iraadat; responsibility, amaanat; and moral guidance, hidaayat.

3.2 INTELLECT AND KNOWLEDGE, ‘aql and ‘ilm

Intellect is the most important criterion of human superiority and the other criteria depend on it either directly or indirectly. In the absence of the intellect, the rest of the criteria of superiority lose their significance. The superior human intellect is due to a better-developed and sophisticated cerebral cortex. The intellect enables humans to analyze, understand, and learn knowledge that is the basis for human action. Unlike other creations of Allah humans can enlarge their corpus of knowledge through research. Human control of the physical universe is made possible by their intellect. Closely related to intellect is the power of speech and communication that enables humans to carry out social intercourse and thus succeed in living in families and communities. The human can use the intellect well by thinking and deliberating on Allah’s creation and doing good. The intellect can also be misused to cause harm to self, the society, and the eco-system.

3.3 FREE WILL, al-iraadat

The human has a will that is defined and is limited. It is subservient to Allah’s authority. The human is personally accountable for actions done within this limited free will. Having a free will is an indicator of human maturity since it was not given to other creations. Humans are tested on how well they use their free will. They may pass the test or fail the test. Allah in His mercy always is ready to forgive if they turn to him in repentance, taubat, and are determined to pass the test when given a new chance.  Human will can be used positively in working and preparing for the life hereafter and doing good. Human will can also be used negatively for pursuit of pleasures of the earth, doing evil, and transgression.

3.4 THE TRUST, al amanat

Amanat is obedience and fulfilling duties. It is comprehensive covering ‘ibadat, iman, the self, the family, the society, and the whole eco-system. It includes the present and the future times. Amanat is the basis for human responsibility and accountability. Fulfilling the amanat is by doing the right. Failing the amanat is failing to do the right. It is part of Allah’s grace that failure does not affect all humans all the time and in all places. At any one time there is someone somewhere carrying the amanat responsibly.

3.5 MORAL GUIDANCE, hidayat

Allah honored and dignified humans by giving them a free choice to choose between right and wrong, good and evil. Allah's will is involved in human guidance. He guides only those who have already made the initial choice and taken steps towards hidayat. Humans, in the pure state of fitra, have an innate concept of what is good and what is bad. They however can make mistakes in some complicated matters. Allah in His mercy revealed the comprehensive code of the shari’at to help humans identify the good and do it as well as identify the bad and avoid it. Humans can live in societies regulated by a moral code. Humans can choose to live morally in their individual lives. The righteous, saalihiin, are humans who exemplify very high levels of morality by seeking to do good even in the most difficult conditions. The highest level of this morality is to seek the ultimate pleasure of Allah.

4.0 MISSION OF HUMANS ON EARTH

4.1 DEFINITION OF THE MISSION, mafhuum risaalat al insaan

‘Ibadat is the purpose of creation. It in turn defines the mission of humans on earth. The mission of the human is therefore to undertake ‘ibadat. A human who establishes ‘ibadat is successful in the mission. The concept of ‘ibadat in Islam is very wide. It includes virtually all human endeavor and all human activities. Closely related to ‘ibadat is the concepts of istikhlaf (vicegerancy of the human on earth) and and isti’imar (building of a material civilization on earth). Both istikhlaf and isti’mar are part of the mission of humans on earth.

4.2 SCOPE OF THE MISSION, huduud al risaalat

The scope of the human mission is as wide as the scope of ‘ibadat. ‘Ibadat in Islam is comprehensive embracing all human endeavors done in sincerity and without disobeying any of Allah’s commands. Although every human endeavor can be ‘ibadat, only those undertaken with the correct intention, niyyat, are rewarded as ‘ibadat. An act of ‘ibadat can therefore not be accidental. It must be a consequence of a deliberate choice and intention. The human mission covers responsibility in the family, in the community, and in the eco-system.

4.3 DURATION OF THE MISSION

The duration of human responsibility covers the present and the future. It does not include the past, no human can be held accountable for actions that they were not a party to. While humans undertake work to build and maintain a civilization today they must have a sense of responsibility for generations to come. The benefits of today must be balanced against the harm of tomorrow. The continuity of the mission requires that a human is engaged in a continuous way in fulfilling the mission. Since the mission is of finite duration, humans must be aware that there is accountability, hisaab, at the end with rewards and punishments. The nature and level of responsibility for the mission varies with time in two ways: chronological age and calendar time. Children, adults, and the elderly have different responsibilities. Different epochs in human history have posed different challenges and hence different levels of responsibility. With passage of time, humans tend to forget or neglect the mission. The constant challenge before humans is to resist forces of evil that take them away from their mission.

4.4 SUCCESS, falah

The Qur’an has used the word falah to refer to the success of humans in their mission. Success can be on earth or in the hereafter.  Complete success must be both on earth and the hereafter. Success on earth is a pre-requisite for success in the hereafter. However it is possible to succeed on earth but commit mistakes towards the end of earthly life that lead to failure and regret in the hereafter. Falah includes material success on earth and spiritual success. Both types of success depend on human effort on earth. It is a unique feature of Islam that all human endeavors that are good contribute to both types of success at the same time. Falah can be achieved by having a strong iman, tazkiyat, taqwat, ta’at, dhikr Allah, ‘amal salih, amr al ma'aruf, nahy al munkar, infaq, and tawbat.

4.5 FAILURE, khaibat

Failure at the individual level is not worshipping Allah as was enjoined. A community can fail if it does not follow and uphold the laws of Allah that are needed to guide human action. The failure of the human in his mission manifests as transgression dhulm, kufr, and ma’asiyat. Humans can fail in their mission as a result of internal motivation or external motivation. Internal motivation is due to innate evil promptings in the person that predispose to sinning or neglect of duty. External motivation is due to shaitan who presenting in the form of a human or jinn misleads the human and leads him or her to err. Most cases of human failure are due to the work of shaitan.

5.0 DIVERSITY OF HUMANS

5.1 COMMON BIOLOGICAL ORIGIN

All humans were created from one single origin. This means that there are shared characteristics among all humans. All humans are from Adam. Modern discoveries about DNA and the molecular basis of life prove that there is a biological commonality that must have been caused by a common origin. Unity of humanity is based on the common biological origin. Islam does not accept the concept of sub-human types. Primates may have external features similar to humans but they are, like humans, a unique creation by Allah and not a sub-human type. As far as we know all offspring of Adam are on planet earth. Humans differ from angels and jinn. Humans have a physical body whereas angels are only energy. Humans have a free will but angels have none.

5.2 COMMON SOCIAL ORIGIN

Humans started as one family that of Adam. They were at one time one community or nation. They share common traits. They have a sense of family and kinship. The sending of prophets to different communities with the same message has reinforced the common social origin of humanity. Because humans all arose from one primordial civilization, we can detect many similar social institutions in people living in different parts of the globe. The common social origin of all humans has also been reinforced by transmission of culture from place to place and from one generation to the next.

5.3 BIOLOGICAL SIMILARITIES

Biological similarities should actually point to one creator and not necessary one original primordial creature that evolved down the ages. Biological similarities among humans are based on common genetic control based on DNA, the same cellular structure and function, same chemical composition and function Human DNA is similar across many human groups. The cell is the basic building block of the body. There are hardly any detectable differences in structure or function of cells among different human groups. The bio-chemical and metabolic functions of the cells are all the same. There is specialization among cells therefore they differ in structure and some of their physiological functions. The ability of humans of different racial and ethnic groups to inter-breed is further proof of their biological similarity.

5.4 BIOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES

Biological differences indicate the power of the creator to create variations while at the same time there are commonalities. These differences were created by Allah and did not arise as passive adaptations to the environment. Allah deliberately created these differences to coincide with the geographical habitat, the environment, or the ecological niche in which they live. Basic biological differences among humans can be described as based on skin color and minor variations of body anatomy and physiology (weight, height, disease susceptibility, external physiognomy) that are used in a rather vague way to define three basic racial types: Caucasian, mongoloid, and Negroid. The races cannot be distinguished on the basis of genetic or DNA structure. Allah deliberately created differences in color as one of His signs. Skin color is due to varying amounts of melanin and carotene. Minor variations of body anatomy and physiology include weight, height, and external physiognomy. These are apparently not established differences because secular variations have been observed over time. There is no generally accepted scientific evidence that differences among humans due to the environment cumulate and lead to evolution of a different species. All humans are one species and can intermarry and reproduce.

5.5 OTHER DIFFERENCES

Humans vary by gender, race, customs, language, and social organization. Males and females are different biologically, psychologically, and emotionally. These differences do not indicate superiority or inferiority. They are rather part of Allah’s scheme for a balanced society with specialized and complementary functions. There is no pure or homogenous race because of extensive interbreeding. Customs are ways of living followed by a great many people. They are transmitted from generation to generation. Customs are a factor of similarity within the community and factors of differences between communities. Different languages were created by Allah as one of His signs. Languages change continuously as they adapt to differing needs of communities. The physical environment imposes social similarities on all people living in it that differentiate them from those living in other environments. Each individual has a unique biological and spiritual identity. Not all people will be the same even when given equal opportunities. These differences do not by themselves confer any superiority. The only true criterion of human excellence is taqwa and only Allah can determine an individual’s level of taqwa.