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The Origin of Life
A. Why Does Allah
Tell Us About the Creation? The Holy Quran
is the book given to us by the Creator of the Universe. Allah, (literally: THE
God) which is His personal Name, knows us best and is aware that humans can be
very skeptical creatures. Allah points out,
"...if you were to seek a tunnel into the earth or a ladder into the skies and
bring them a sign, (they still wouldnt be convinced.) If it were Allahs will,
He could gather them all into true guidance, so dont be among those who are
influenced by ignorance." ( Allah, the Keeper
of Wisdom, makes it a point to give as many proofs in the Quran about His
existence and creative abilities as possible so the maximum number of humans can
be guided. We need proof, and Allah gives us that proof. ( Allah, of course,
does not need us to follow Him, or believe in Him. As He states, "Allah can do
without them and Allah is free of all needs." (64:6) He merely wishes
that people would choose to believe in Him so He can reward them for their
choice. Allah is ready to forgive even those who acted wrongly if they but ask
for His forgiveness. In a Hadith, or
saying of the Blessed Prophet Muhammad, we learn, "When Allah decreed the
creation (of the universe,) He set down in His book which is with Him, Indeed,
My mercy is stronger than My wrath." (Bukhari & Muslim. Also see
Among the proofs
given in the Quran for us to learn from is a very detailed explanation of the
different features of the universe, how it was made and how the planets and
stars were formed. Allah says that, "To Him is due the origin of space and the
Earth." (6:101) Of course, most
people who lived at the Prophets time would never have understood what those
ayat really meant, but they accepted them anyway and interpreted them as best
they could. Sometimes they came up with very interesting
explanations. Allah instructs
us to accept everything in the Quran, even if we dont yet know how to
understand it. The understanding of the Quran grows with each passing
generation. As He said, "The intelligent people declare, We believe in the
book, the whole of it is from our Lord." (3:7) B. Modern Science
and Islam. Modern day
scientists have been awe-struck at how complex and intricate the universe is.
(67:3-4) The sciences of astronomy, chemistry, astrophysics and molecular
biology have pushed the limits of our knowledge ever further. These new
discoveries have assisted greatly in the understanding of what the ayat in the
Quran mean. For example, there is a section of verses where Allah mentions that
during the process of human development, there is a stage where we were an Alaq
in the womb. (96:1-5) The word literally means, "a clinging thing." But no one
knew in past centuries how that could be part of the process of growth for a
fetus. So translators,
commentators and scholars have tried to explain it as meaning we were clots of
blood or other such strange things in the womb. But new discoveries in the last
few years have shown that in the early stages of pregnancy, the fertilized egg
actually attaches itself to the uterine wall and clings there as it is growing.
Thus, modern knowledge unlocks another mystery that previous Muslims could only
guess at. The same thing is
true in other areas to quite a startling degree. When we study the ayat of the
Quran relating to the creation of the universe, we come away astounded,
especially since they agree with what we have only discovered in the last ten,
twenty and fifty years. The Quran does
not give a single, unified essay on how the universe began. Instead, keeping
with the Quranic method of teaching, different aspects of creation are
mentioned in different places in order to give authority to the particular
lesson being taught. (See 30:58) For example, in
Surah at Tariq, (86) Allah begins by mentioning the brightest star which appears
in the sky at night. Then He describes this star and uses it as a metaphor for
how every human has an angel watching over them. Do you see how Allah uses
physical aspects of nature to illustrate spiritual principles? C. The Quranic
History of Creation. After we find the
references to creation in the Quran, then we can piece them together to get a
picture of how Allahs revelation explains the beginning. As Muslims, however,
we must not forget to look into the lesson taught in each passage. We must
remember what the purpose is for including these signs in the Quran so we can
be enlightened spiritually as well as mentally. Allah begins by
stating that the universe and planet Earth took six "days" to create.
( The creation of
planets and the Earth took place in the last two periods of time. As Allah
states in the Quran, "Declare, Do you disbelieve in the One Who created the
Earth in two stages? Do you make others equal to Him? He is the Lord of all the
worlds." (41:9) The process of
creation can be summarized as follows: All matter in the universe was compacted
together in one place. Then Allah gave the command and it blew apart scattering
molecules and gases in all directions. ("The Big Bang.") The force of this
initial explosion keeps the universe expanding. Space was filled
with matter, anti-matter and gases which eventually combined into larger
particles. These bits of matter eventually grew into asteroids, planets, stars
and moons. Each object of inter-stellar space conformed to a set of physical
laws which governed the trajectory of their orbits so a regular pattern of
rotation could be seen. ( Stars ignited in
a fury of radioactive fusion and gave off light and heat which brought warmth to
those planets near them. (86:3) Small moons were captured in the orbit of larger
planets and came to have a regular orbit around them, often reflecting light
from the sun. (54:1-2) Finally, the
planets themselves developed and formed in a variety of ways with fantastic
geologic formations and movements both above and below the surface.
(27:61) The planet Earth,
in particular, cooled near its outer layers, forming a thin crust made up of
plates that moved and grated against each other. ( Escaping gases
from the ground and water, warmed in the sunlight, eventually raised to a high
altitude where they formed a protective layer. This Ozone Layer shielded out
harmful radiation and ultraviolet rays from the sun. After a time,
life was to appear but that is the subject of the next lesson. For now, it is
amazing that this scientific narrative is almost exactly the same as what Allah
revealed in the Quran. Look at the following illustrations showing what
happened, what Allah said about it, and the ayat from which they
come. You will be
amazed and can only proclaim your wonder at Allahs Revelation. Remember, He
mentioned these things to teach us to be believers in Him. If He tells us the
truth, we would be fools not to believe in Him. Right? "Dont they see
anything in the functioning of space and the Earth and in all things Allah
created?" (7:185) D. How Can We Know
the World Around Us? As we have
learned already, Islamic teachings assume that the Earth and universe are very
old. In addition, the Quran states clearly that one of the reasons Allah made
us intelligent and self-aware, or Sentient, is so that we can discover the
wonders of the natural world around us. In short, Allah gave us the mission to
investigate what He created. There is so much
we dont know or understand, even about how our own bodies work. With all these
fantastic areas of knowledge to pursue, you would think that everyone would
recognize their Lord. But some still choose to keep their eyes shut. As Allah
says, "He, (Allah,) created humans from a drop of sperm and then the same humans
become clear arguers!" (16:4.) But thankfully,
not everyone closes their understanding and the world has many fine examples of
great scientists and researchers who also put their trust in Allah. In our modern
world there are so many discoveries in all fields which are giving us a more
complete picture of the history of the universe. At the same time, our knowledge
of Earths past is expanding and revealing some surprising results. E. What Do We Know
about the Origins of Life? Today, scientists
tell us that life began in the sea when simple molecules bonded together and
became self-replicating, or self-producing. These single-celled organisms,
quickly took on the characteristics of what we know as algae. They received
their energy from the sun in a process termed Photosynthesis, and as a result of
their activity, new gases formed in the air creating a viable environment for
more complex forms of life. As Muslims we can
either accept this theory, reject it or modify it according to what we know in
Allahs revelation. As you will remember, we learned that Allah said He created
all life from water and raised a protective canopy over the Earth. Allah knows
best and all we can do is study, research, test and reflect. Scientists
further tell us that over millions of years, the first organisms blossomed
gradually into many different types and shapes, resulting in plant life,
plankton, arthropods and simple fishes. Dinosaurs, higher creatures and mammals
followed. F. What is
Evolution and Creationism? These discoveries
in themselves are not harmful to a healthy belief in Allahs creative power to
make whatever He wills in whatever way He wishes. But some scientists have tried
to say that everything in the universe, even life itself, happened all by chance
and accident, without any Divine intervention. The name of this
theory is Evolution and its most famous advocate was a man named Charles Darwin
(1809-1882). He was an Englishman who lived during the nineteenth century when
He was keenly
interested in the origin of life and took a journey around the world to study
the plants and animals of Earth. The ship he sailed on was called the HMS
Beagle. He spent a particularly long amount of time on the
He came to
believe that the variety of life in our world was due to what he called "Natural
Selection" and "Survival of the Fittest." He wrote his findings in a book
entitled, "On the Origin of Species" which he published in 1859. The book
immediately caused a controversy in the Christian world because Christianity
taught that God made life in an instant and that Earth was the center of
importance in the universe. Christians also felt threatened by
These Christians
advance the counter- idea of Creationism, or God making things all at once,
while modern scientists still promote Evolution, or things happening by
themselves accidentally, gradually and naturally. The two sides are as far apart
as ever. G. What Do Muslims
Believe? Where do Muslims
stand? The answer may surprise you for we can agree with aspects of both sides.
Islam teaches us that Allahs creation is vast and beyond our comprehension. We
are also taught that the more we explore and learn, the more we will come to
believe in Allah. That is the Islamic position. So we assert
without any hesitation that Allah caused the creation of the universe and that
He set up the laws for its functioning. As Allah said: "Behold! In the
creation of space and the Earth and in the changing of night into day are indeed
signs for people of understanding. Those who remember Allah standing, sitting
and lying down, and contemplate the (wonders) of creation in space and the
Earth. (They declare,) "Our Lord! You didnt create all of this for nothing. So
save us from the punishment of the fire." (3:190-191) Science, then,
must increase our faith. It is wrong for anyone to close their eyes to what is
right in front of them. For hundreds of years people have been finding fossils,
bones and ancient artifacts which point to a hidden past we dont know much
about. Allah even commands us to travel over the Earth and learn from what we
see. We humans have now seen much to challenge our understanding! We know that
Earth existed long before the appearance of humans. Allah says, "Wasnt there a
long period of time before humans were even mentioned?" (76:1) We also know from
the geologic timetable that the Earth went through many ages before we came
here. And in the ayat that mentions this proof of Allah, we are given a very
strong clue about the adaptability of life forms to their
environment. Allah said,
"Dont you see that Allah sends rain from the sky? With it We produce plants of
various colors. And in the mountains are colored layers, white and red of
various tones and some black in hue. And so too, among humans and crawling
creatures and cattle. They are of various colors. Those among Allahs servants
who have knowledge truly fear Him, for Allah is Mighty and Forgiving."
(35:27-28) So while we agree
with the Creationists who say Allah made the universe, we disagree with them on
how fast it was constructed and that Earth is the only center of focus for the
Creator. Allah declares Himself to be the Lord of All the Worlds: Rabb ul
Alameen. Because we do not
reject the evidence presented to us by Paleontologists (fossil hunters) and
other scientists, we can accept some of what they say, also, about the origins
of life on Earth and the existence of dinosaurs and other creatures in the
fossil record. However, we read in Allahs book that He caused it to happen and
that by studying it we increase our faith in Him. Therefore, we disagree with
those who say everything happened without Allah, by mere chance
only. "To Allah belongs
the control of space and the Earth and Allah has power over all things."
(3:189) Ours is the
middle position even as Allah said we were created to be the middle community:
never going to extremes. (2:143) So we dont accept, based on the evidence, the
final positions of both sides. Rather, we accept what appears to be true and
reject what appears to be false from each. The Quran is our standard, our
determiner, and it has never let us down, nor will it ever do so. For a Muslim,
then, the evidence of dinosaurs, trilobites and ancient algae is not a threat to
our beliefs. Rather, it is a confirmation of the power of Allah. As Allah said,
"He has created horses and mules for you to ride and show; and He has created
other (creatures) that you dont know." (16:8) "Allah created
every creature from water. Of them are some that creep on their bellies, some
that walk on two legs and some that walk on four. Allah creates what He wills
for He has power over all things. We have indeed sent signs that make things
clear and Allah guides whom He wills to the straight way."
(24:45-46) Who else but
Allah could have made such a complex and mysterious universe? ( Remember the ayah
that was listed before: Allah says, "He, (Allah,) created humans from a drop of
sperm and then the same humans become clear arguers!" (16:4.) Even a miraculous
thing such as the fertilization of the egg cannot convince some people to
believe in the creative energy of the Creator of the Universe. Allah asks
rhetorically, "Then what message will they believe in after this?"
(77:50) ///// JIMedia: Memurnikan Tanggapan Umum Melalui Penyebaran Ilmu dan Maklumat ////////////////////////////////// Nota: Kandungan mel ini tidak menggambarkan pendirian rasmi Pertubuhan Jamaah Islah Malaysia (JIM) melainkan yang dinyatakan sedemikian. Berminat menjadi ahli JIM? Sila isi borang keahlian "online" di: http://www.jim.org.my/, dari seksyen "BORANG Online". Langganan : Hantar E-mail kosong ke [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsub : Hantar E-mail kosong ke [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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