57.
Evolution -1
Believers in
Islam tend to fall into two camps regarding the scientific theory of
evolution:- Some reject it outright because they think it contradicts the
Divine Creation theory in the Quran. Others do not see a contradiction because
Allah has created the laws and processes by which things evolve.
For the Quran
all things come from Allah and strive to return to Allah, as the waves do in
the sea. Evolution is a spiritual journey toward the Unity of Allah, which
involves increasing consciousness. But it takes place in stages. That is the
underlying reality. This ascent is itself a consequence of the Involutional or
descending forces. The stages of physical evolution can be regarded as
consequences of this development, a kind of shadow, or manifestation of this
process. In other words, Life develops the appropriate organs according to the
needs of the stage it has reached. There is an underlying field of causal
forces, the laws or ordinances of Allah, which determines what happened, arises
and is removed (65:12, 34:1-2, 57:4, 13:15, 84:19).
"What ails you that you fear not the
greatness of Allah? Seeing that He has created you through various stages. Do
you not see how Allah has created the seven heavens, one above another, and
made the moon therein a light, and made the sun a lamp? And Allah has made you
out of the earth as a gradual growth:" 71:13-17
"Ye shall surely travel from stage to
stage!" 84:19
“For everything there is a time (and term)
prescribed. “13:38
“From Allah, the Lord of the Ascending
Stairways. To Him ascend the angels and the Spirit in a Day the measure of
which is fifty thousand years. Therefore endure with a goodly patience.” 70:3-4
One of the
arguments put forward by creationists is that if we have a complex ordered
system, then there must be a creator. This is because particles can combine in
a great number of ways, but most of these produce disorder. For example,
consider the bricks with which a house is made or the cells in the body. There
would be nothing to hold them together and things would disintegrate again and
recombine in one of an infinite number of ways. The likelihood of order coming
out of this spontaneously and persisting is impossibly small. And if it did it
could not last.
The
Evolutionists, however, tell us that we ought not to project our own ability to
create on to the world. There is a distinction between the natural and the
artificial, and science is interested in the natural. Complex order, they tell
us, can come out of an accumulation of small ordered steps by chance, because
each small step has a greater probability. But this does not impress the
creationists because no such accumulation can occur if the combinations did not
persist. This shows a cause and the operation of some law, not chance. The
chance of a Law arising spontaneously is also nonsense. Indeed when we speak
about chance, we are speaking about ignorance of the forces involved or the
inability to calculate. If you throw dice, you cannot calculate all the forces
that act on them to cause them to come to rest with a particular number
uppermost. In any case, we know that the number of faces restricts the chances
- 1 in 6 for a six sided dice, 1 in 8 for an eight sided one and so on. This
number must be explained.
On the other
hand, the existence of several different possibilities allows flexibility and
adaptability. It is a mark of intelligence. Variety exists because selection
can be made according to changing circumstances. But each possibility requires
causes to actualize it. In fact nothing is isolated from its context and there
is a constant interaction and feed back between any entity and its environment.
If we define intelligence as the capability for adaptation then intelligence is
fundamental to evolution.
It can also be
argued that what we see depends on our presuppositions, motives and actions
(since these elicit reactions, which become data). This includes attitudes, and
the concepts and techniques invented by scientists. If you start with the idea
that the world is dead and there is no intelligence or consciousness except in
man (how this can come about from nothing is a mystery) then you will seek and
interpret and organize data accordingly. The conclusions are already in the
premises selected and the kind of experiments conducted, and even in the way
concepts are defined. It is then a question of values and these must also be
correct. The theories based on Chance are not useful to life. Rational human
beings need "purpose" as much as "cause" and are an
integral part of the processes of the world. Their need arises from this and
their function demands that they see things from this point of view.
According to
Biologists much of the structure and behaviour of organisms can be explained by
assuming that the purpose of life is reproduction. But this seems logically
inadequate because it is reproduction that produces life. It also seems to be
falsified by the fact that organisms, especially man, survive beyond
reproductive life. In fact, self-preservation is also a powerful motive and so
is the urge to self-extend as seen in exploration, curiosity, and domination.
The three together may be called the Life force.
The Biological
Theory of evolution attributes variation to random mutations but it does
require causes in the form of Cosmic and other rays and mutagenic chemicals. It
also requires that selection by the environment should determine what survives
and multiplies. Mutations and selection may also take place within the body
itself owing to various stresses. All causal forces must ultimately come from
the creative event, the Big Bang. The forces that cause mutations are an
integral part of the Universe. Mutations are, therefore, inevitable. This
event, the Big Bang, cannot be explained by any causes that exist within the
Universe since it did not exist before the Big Bang.
From the Islamic
point of view, chance (or randomness) does not exist, except for man who has a
limited view of the totality of existence. Therefore, anything from the unknown
realm can enter into the known area at any time and produce unpredicted results
that seem random. But all things in the Universe are inter-dependent and derive
from a single command of Allah (54:50). Allah is responsible for all things.
The cause of what people call “chance” is also the will of Allah. It happens in
space-time and creates physical effects. A mutation may, therefore, be regarded
as a creative act, and evolution may be regarded as due to a series of such
creative acts.
For biologists
the word "randomness", however, has another meaning besides
"chance". It means, not that mutations have no cause, but they have
no purpose. This idea, from the Islamic point of view, must also be rejected.
Purpose and cause are really two sides of the same thing as is the case with
hunger. All things belong to systems and purpose refers to the function that
they have with respect to the system to which they belong, and ultimately
toward Allah. It is this function that causes them to arise. The cause of
creation lies in Allah. But causes need not be external ones. They can be
internal, connected with the structure of things. The actions of living
organisms do depend on their inner nature. Objects do change and materials do disintegrate
spontaneously. Flexibility and variation are also built into nature and are a
mark of intelligence, which allows adaptability. They ensure that when
conditions change things can adjust themselves. The idea of “chance” is
required only to compensate for the error of supposing that things are rigid,
inflexible, mechanistic and dead. This error itself requires the notion of
“force” to explain change and evolution. Force is something that is not inert
but something that enables. It is a fundamental assumption for which no
explanation is given. The notion of Allah from whom all forces derive is a
better assumption.
In order to
avoid the notion of a Creator and purpose scientists have invented the Anthropic Principle. According to this,
things exist and are as they are, not because of a purpose, but because the
correct conditions for their arising happened to exist. If they had been
different then different things would have existed. But the Muslim can argue
that, given “Cause and effect”, things could not have been different, except in
the origin. That is, Allah could have willed something different. Perhaps He
did and that exists as other Universes. The Anthropic Principle assumes that
time has a direction from past to present to future. The notion of “purpose”
requires that the future affects the present. In fact, it is only the present
moment that can be said to exist. We only know the past from the present and we
can often predict the future also from the present. The Past and Future are,
therefore, contained in the present. Physicists have discovered that the
fundamental particles, from which all things are made, come in pairs (as
affirmed also in the Quran 51:49-50). Whereas the electrons can be said to
travel forward in time, the positrons can be said to travel backwards. These
two arise from a splitting of photons and combine to recreate photons. Photons
are particles of light by which we see and become aware, and their combinations
probably produce all the other particles of matter. It is, therefore, possible
to assert that the events of the present moment are the result of both past and
future events.
It is also known
from Quantum Theory that in reality, apart from human observation, things exist
as a range of probabilities. They only collapse into an actuality when we act
with respect to them – e.g. when we measure something. The reality we see and
describe is, therefore, something we create by our actions. This Personal
reality is a subset of Absolute Reality. But our actions are determined by our
nature and experiences and the situation before us. As all this is also
determined by past events, we could say that our Personal Reality is determined
by Absolute Reality and the two are interlinked. The arising of human beings is
predetermined and is an integral part of Creation.
There is
sufficient indication in the Quran that the Universe has evolved from an
initial impulse and Allah does create, test, select and recreate. But the
Quranic notion of causation differs from the scientific one. The causes of
phenomena are not so much prior in time at the same level as the effect, but at
a higher level. Thus the events on earth are caused by forces in the Solar
System, particularly the Sun, and those at still higher levels, ultimately by
Allah, the creator of the Laws and forces which cause things. A force or a law
that controls it is, after all, no more or less mysterious than the Will of
Allah.
Why make the
distinction between the artificial and the natural at all? We know from
experience that birds make nests and that human beings create cities and
airplanes and so on. They do so because of natural laws operating in them.
Creators and Creativity is a fact of observation.
The following
verses indicate that Evolution is also taught by the Quran:-
"Blessed is He in Whose hand is the
Sovereignty, and He is Able to do all things. Who has created life and death
that He may try you which of you is the best in conduct; and He is Mighty, the
Forgiving." 67:1-2
"See they not how Allah produces creation,
then reproduces it? Lo, for Allah that is easy. Say (O Muhammad): Travel in the
land and see how He originated creation, then Allah brings forth the later
growth. Lo, Allah is able to do all things." 29:19-20
"If He will He can be rid of you and bring
instead of you some new creation. That is not a hard thing for Allah."
35:16-17
"Thy Lord is the Absolute, the Lord of
Mercy. If He will, He can remove you and can cause what He will to follow after
you, even as He raised you from the seed of other folk. Lo! that which ye are
promised will surely come to pass, and ye cannot escape. Say ( O, Muhammad): O
my people! Work according to your power. Lo! I too am working. Thus ye will
come to know for which of us will be the happy sequel. Lo! The wrongdoers will
not be successful" 6:134-136
"He is indeed successful who causes it
(his soul) to grow, and he is indeed a failure who stunts it." 91:9-10
" ...and We made every living thing of
water. Will they not then believe?" 21:30
"What ails you that you hope not towards
Allah with dignity when he created you by stages? ........And Allah has caused
you to grow as a growth from earth." 71:13-14
"He produces creation and then reproduces
it, that He may reward those who believe and do good works with equity."
10:4 and 27:64
"And surely We shall try you with
something of fear and hunger, and loss of wealth and lives and crops; but give
glad tidings to the steadfast, who say, when misfortune strikes them: Lo! we
are Allah's and verily , unto Him are We returning." 2:155-156
"Did you think that you would enter
"Ye shall travel from plane to
plane."84:16
The method by
which this evolution takes place is indicated by the following verses:-
"Allah it is who has created seven
heavens, and of the earth similarly. The commandment comes down among them
slowly, that you may know that Allah is Able to do all things, and that Allah
surrounds all things in knowledge." 65:12
"Lo, We have created everything by
measure. And Our Commandment is but one, as the twinkling of an eye."
55:49-50
"And there is not a thing but with Us are
the stores thereof. And We send it not down save in appointed measure."
15:21
The Islamic
attitude to evolution differs from the Scientific one in several ways:- (a)
There is a Universal Purpose. (b) Intelligence to various degrees is an
integral attribute of all created things. (c) Physical Evolution is a surface phenomenon.
The real causes lie at a higher level, a spiritual. (d) Evolution is itself
only part of the story. There are many kinds of horizontal changes as well as
degeneration. (e) We cannot consider anything in isolation. It forms an
interactive part of a greater system. (f) The entity has a function with
respect to the greater system and its arising and fate is connected with that
function. There is no guarantee that any entity will evolve, but there is an
inevitable general evolution. This is because things that evolve survive, but
things which do not get destroyed.
The Islamic
point of view, based on Tawhid (the Principle of Unity) could be explained as
follows:-
There is an
original fundamental self-existing Unity, an Absolute X, referred to as Allah.
This Ultimate Whole caused the arising of the Universe. We would have to say
that it has Intention, there being nothing external to it. The Universe is a
system S1, such that all parts are inter-dependent and affect each other. The
whole is always independent and more than the sum of the parts. This is because
it consists not only of parts and their interactions, but also of a pattern,
structure or organization and some principle which maintains the integrity of
the pattern.
The parts are
also systems S2, and must adjust to S1, with respect to which it must find an
equilibrium. Else there are tensions and suffering which may lead to the
destruction of that system. An organism is also such a system and belongs to an
ecological system in which the organisms are inter-dependent in a complex way.
There is a dynamic balance with a degree of flexibility or tolerance, which
allows changes to come about gradually. Any impulse coming from S1 into S2 will
cause changes in it designed to remove the disturbance and restore equilibrium.
As S2 also consists of parts, which are systems S3, then changes in S2 will
cause changes in S3. And so on to S4, S5, S6 and S7. From this it follows
that:-
(1) Existence is
layered. It has levels. These are referred to as heavens.
(2) All things
have a function with respect to a greater system, ultimately with X, the
Absolute.
(3) Cause and
Purpose are connected. The purpose is to adjust, to restore harmony.
(4) Changes and
events are not merely driven by external forces, but also by the inner need of
things to adjust. The capacity for adjustment can be defined as Intelligence.
It is an attribute of all systems to various degrees. Given an object O in an
environment E, an event is the result of an inner or inherent factor O' and the
environmental factors E' and the relationship R between them.
(5) Change implies
destruction of some things and construction of others.
(6) There is
ultimately a single force and this is defined as the Will, Word, or Command of
Allah. This differentiates into all other forces as it percolates through the
levels.
(7) The notion
of "force" is a mystery since it refers to something that enables as
opposed to something that is inert. In classical Western physics the world was
regarded as dead and this inertia is called "mass". The notion of
"matter" refers to this. So the existence of "change" or
motion required the notion of "force". Here we see a triad:- inertia,
change, force. Yet inertia opposes a force and is itself a force. Islam does
not require the notion of matter. There are simply phenomena of various kinds
and levels of vitality. If the original State of existence is regarded as zero
or X', then creation consists of the arising of a pair of opposite forces +A
and -A and this separation is achieved by a creative force *A which is also
trying to recombine the two to restore X'. In fact, since all three forces
coexist then reality taken as a whole always remains the same. It is only from
the limited point of view that things are changing.
(8) These
opposite forces not only cooperate in creating, but their balance may shift to and
fro as in pendulums, or they may create cycles. Evolution and involution are
also two processes that are interdependent but may also alternate. They are
also illustrated in catabolism and anabolism, analysis and synthesis etc.
Evolution is the result of a constant introduction of impulses from the higher
into the lower system, which is, therefore, raised.
(9) Allah
creates with "Truth". This refers to Order and what scientists call
"information" which is the opposite of chaos or disorder. Evolution
is an increase in Order and results from the introduction of order or truth
into a system. It comes from above.
"Have they not pondered upon themselves?
Allah created not the heavens and the earth, and that which is between them
save with Truth and for a destined end." 30:8 and 38:28
"He has created the heavens and the earth
with truth." 39:5
"We created not the heavens and the earth,
and all that is between them, save with truth, and for a term appointed."
46:3
"Allah it is who has created seven
heavens, and of the earth similarly. The commandment comes down among them
slowly, that you may know that Allah is Able to do all things, and that Allah
surrounds all things in knowledge." 65:12
(10) There is
probably not much difference between the way evolution takes place in nature
and the evolution of human artefacts such as airplanes. The latter takes place
in the minds of inventors, while the former may be said to take place in a
Universal mind. Another similitude could be the way iron filings take up the
shape of a magnetic field which is itself invisible. But obviously these iron
particles can "feel" it and organize themselves accordingly.
From the Islamic
point of view one could explain Evolution something as follows:- There is a
fundamental Law of Conservation. It refers not to matter or energy but to
something much more fundamental (Allah is self-existent, unchanging and
eternal). This implies that when anything is created its opposite is also
created. (Allah is creator of the pair). If there is involution then there is
evolution and vice versa. But this separation requires a creative act and there
is an equal tendency for a reunification. The Second Law of Thermodynamics
ensures that there is a tendency towards increasing entropy, disorder and
disintegration. There is also a Law of Evolution, a tendency towards increasing
complexity, order and unification. Order or Negentropy is the same thing as
Information or Truth. Evolution is, therefore, the result of the introduction of
Truth into a system from a higher system.
It could be
argued that the cosmic radiation causing mutations are connected with the
creation of the Universe itself. There is nothing accidental about them.
Mutations are, therefore, inevitable. Mutations are acts of creation by Allah.
But how these take place depends partly on the organism as a whole and partly
on the germ cell in which the change takes place. Its nature dictates what
changes it will tolerate. Since all the genes are also interdependent in an
organism, the system itself will select which genes will operate and how. The
environment in which the organism exists is itself changed by the activity of
the organism, and it, the organism also selects and migrates to an environment
suitable for itself. These things must also be considered apart from the
selective influence of the environment. Nor can we ignore the in-built inner
urges of the organism, its self-preservative and sexual urges and urges to
explore and dominate and the specific way these are channelled - e.g. what
exactly it wants to eat or do. We have a lot of feedback loops and a complex
system, which cannot be described by simple linear formulae.
Those who
believe that the mind and consciousness is a function of the brain, also know
that the brain is a complex electrical device. It is also known that this
planet, and the Universe itself, are complex system with all kinds of forces,
gravitational, electromagnetic etc., connecting all parts and controlling the
phenomena in the Universe. It is not, therefore, very difficult to see the
Universe as a huge brain. We are certainly not consciousness of all the subtle
forces and processes that take place in our surroundings and even within
ourselves, but there must certainly be interactions between the human brain and
body and the rest of the Universe. As for consciousness, this appears to have
something to do with some force beyond the electromagnetic, in the underlying
quantum field.
The following
points should also be considered:-
(1) There is not
much difference between saying Allah created the Universe and saying Allah
created the Laws by which the Universe arose. We know very well how we have
arisen but this does not prevent us from acknowledging that Allah has created
us.
(2) Allah
creates and recreates (10:5,35). His creativity has not ended. Evolution is
said to proceed by mutation and natural selection by the environment. To say
that new species arise by mutation is to say that a creative act has taken
place. Natural Selection is another way of saying Allah tests and selects.
(3) Allah
created the heavens and earth in 6 Days (7:54). This refers to periods of time
or Ages. This is because the Quran indicates that a day of God may be equal to
1000 years of man (32:5) or 50,000 years (70:4). Time is relative. It could be
some other period.
(4) As the Quran
affirms that the creation of the Universe has a purpose and a destined end
(30:8) and that there is a time for everything (13:38), then it must have a
direction of development.
(5) The whole of
the universe and everything in it can also be regarded as an elaboration or
actualization of the contents of a single creative act. (55:49-50, 65:12)
(6) Stages of
development are indicated by the following:-
"O mankind! If you are in doubt concerning
the Resurrection, then consider this : We created you out of dust, then out of
a drop of seed, then from a clot, then from a little lump of flesh, partly
formed and partly unformed, that We may make it clear for you. And We cause
what We will to remain in the wombs for an appointed time, and afterwards We
bring you forth as infants, then gave you growth that you attain full strength.
And among you there is he who dies young, and among you there is he who is
brought back to the most abject time of life, so that, after knowledge, he
knows naught. And you see the earth barren, but when We send down water
thereon, it thrills and swells and puts forth every lovely kind. That is
because Allah, He is the Truth. Lo! He quickens the dead, and Lo! He is able to
do all things." 22:5-6
"We fashioned the thing which clings into
a chewed lump of flesh and We fashioned the chewed flesh into bones and We
clothed the bones with intact flesh. Then we developed out of it another
creature. So blessed be Allah, the Perfect Creator." 23:14
"When He have created you in stages."
71:14
It is evident
that though the stages of physical development of the individual are mentioned
they are also symbols for spiritual evolution. Physical evolution can be seen
as an effect or manifestation of spiritual evolution, or as a material actualization
of a process which takes place in the spiritual realm.
But though the
scientific idea of evolution (gradual development) is not incompatible with the
teachings of the Quran, it has to be understood that the method, manner or
means by which it takes place are not the same, nor is its significance. The
idea that it takes place by chance and purposelessly cannot be considered in
Islam for several reasons: -
Chance is not a
cause and cannot have a direction and no value judgment about higher and lower
stages can be associated with it. It cannot, therefore, have significance for
human beings.
No dichotomy
between mind and matter is admitted - we see physical signs in human behaviour
and perceive a mind behind it. We do the same with respect to the Universe.
If evolution can
produce a mind, then if we consider the totality of whatever existed before the
Big Bang, in which the cause of the Big Bang also exists, there must have been
an infinite time or Eternity within which such a Universal Mind would have
arisen. The fact is that this Universe has many phenomena in it including
matter, force, order, law, life, mind, intelligence, and consciousness. All
these are potentialities within that original, fundamental Reality and are
actualities now. It is also evident that how we perceive the world depends on
the nature and capacity of the mind and we change the world through our minds.
(Continued in next article)
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58. Evolution-2.......... Contents