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Islam and Evolution: Al-Ghazālī and the Modern Evolutionary Paradigm
This book attempts to equip the reader with a holistic and accessible account of Islam and evolution. It guides the reader through the different variables that have played a part in the ongoing dialogue between Muslim creationists and evolutionists.
This work views the discussion through the lens of al-Ghazālī (1058-1111), a widely-known and well-respected Islamic intellectual from the medieval period. By understanding al-Ghazālī as an Ash’arite theologian, a particular strand of Sunni theology, his metaphysical and hermeneutic ideas are taken to explore if and how much Neo-Darwinian evolution can be accepted. It is shown that his ideas can be used to reach an alignment between Islam and Neo-Darwinian evolution.
This book offers a detailed examination that seeks to offer clarity if not agreement in the midst of an intense intellectual conflict and polarity amongst Muslims. As such, it will be of great interest to scholars of Science and Religion, Theology, Philosophy of Religion, Islamic Studies, and Religious Studies more generally.
This work views the discussion through the lens of al-Ghazālī (1058-1111), a widely-known and well-respected Islamic intellectual from the medieval period. By understanding al-Ghazālī as an Ash’arite theologian, a particular strand of Sunni theology, his metaphysical and hermeneutic ideas are taken to explore if and how much Neo-Darwinian evolution can be accepted. It is shown that his ideas can be used to reach an alignment between Islam and Neo-Darwinian evolution.
This book offers a detailed examination that seeks to offer clarity if not agreement in the midst of an intense intellectual conflict and polarity amongst Muslims. As such, it will be of great interest to scholars of Science and Religion, Theology, Philosophy of Religion, Islamic Studies, and Religious Studies more generally.
362 pages, Hardcover
Published June 21, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
June 18, 2021
This, is an archetypal academic work.
lucid. Every explanation, though succinct, is clear and easy to understand. Even though the book covers a huge amount of sub-topics, it has described every one of those in the perfect way possible. And Dr Malik sure deserves applause for the unthinkable hard work while studying, understanding and then explaining these many sub-topics between science, philosophy and theology. Of course I'm sure he didn't see it as hard work, rather he enjoyed it.
The book focuses on theology, so science stops at chapter 4. After that we get a glimpse at 20 Islamic personalities who have spoken on evolution. In total there are 4 exclusive positions. After this we get to read metaphysical considerations, and hermeneutic complexities. At the end the book, the four positions are evaluated. Everything has been explained from the Ash'arite perspective through the lens of Ghazali. Every apparent question you can have on Islam and Evolution has been answered in this book (for deeper questions on a particular position, you'll need to go to the primary sources. All references can be found in the book)
Even if you're not interested in Islam and Evolution, I'll say you should read this. To experience a well written work firstly, and secondly, there are many sub-topics which are of general interest e.g. theology and Hadith, when is it possible to interpret the Quran metaphorically, what should the position of a Muslim be between reason and revelation. Of course you should be reminded that everything has been explained using Ghazali, and these are not complete overviews of Islamic intellectual tradition (as the subtitle of the book suggests, you should notice).
One point I wanted to note is, when traditional minded Muslims usually criticize modernists, they don't do it to convince modernists rather they do it only to defend their version of traditionalism. So whatever critique they write, it almost always has some aspects using which proponents of Islamic modernism can push it away i.e. arguments are not ironclad. They may call it 'intolerant' or something, and often there is an amount of truth in the accusation, even if little. But in this book, Dr Malik has criticized the proponents of no exceptions camp (most of which are liberal minded, if not explicit modernists) in such a way that they'll have to rethink they're proposals. Dr Malik has pointed out the blind spots in the best way possible. Well, everything in this book is so perfect (except typo mistakes though, lots of them here and there. But I don't consider them much at all, rather concerned with the overall content)!
The end result is: Ghazali would agree with creationism, human exceptionalism and Adamic exceptionalism but not with the no exceptions camp (specifically because of their belief that there can't be miracles).
lucid. Every explanation, though succinct, is clear and easy to understand. Even though the book covers a huge amount of sub-topics, it has described every one of those in the perfect way possible. And Dr Malik sure deserves applause for the unthinkable hard work while studying, understanding and then explaining these many sub-topics between science, philosophy and theology. Of course I'm sure he didn't see it as hard work, rather he enjoyed it.
The book focuses on theology, so science stops at chapter 4. After that we get a glimpse at 20 Islamic personalities who have spoken on evolution. In total there are 4 exclusive positions. After this we get to read metaphysical considerations, and hermeneutic complexities. At the end the book, the four positions are evaluated. Everything has been explained from the Ash'arite perspective through the lens of Ghazali. Every apparent question you can have on Islam and Evolution has been answered in this book (for deeper questions on a particular position, you'll need to go to the primary sources. All references can be found in the book)
Even if you're not interested in Islam and Evolution, I'll say you should read this. To experience a well written work firstly, and secondly, there are many sub-topics which are of general interest e.g. theology and Hadith, when is it possible to interpret the Quran metaphorically, what should the position of a Muslim be between reason and revelation. Of course you should be reminded that everything has been explained using Ghazali, and these are not complete overviews of Islamic intellectual tradition (as the subtitle of the book suggests, you should notice).
One point I wanted to note is, when traditional minded Muslims usually criticize modernists, they don't do it to convince modernists rather they do it only to defend their version of traditionalism. So whatever critique they write, it almost always has some aspects using which proponents of Islamic modernism can push it away i.e. arguments are not ironclad. They may call it 'intolerant' or something, and often there is an amount of truth in the accusation, even if little. But in this book, Dr Malik has criticized the proponents of no exceptions camp (most of which are liberal minded, if not explicit modernists) in such a way that they'll have to rethink they're proposals. Dr Malik has pointed out the blind spots in the best way possible. Well, everything in this book is so perfect (except typo mistakes though, lots of them here and there. But I don't consider them much at all, rather concerned with the overall content)!
The end result is: Ghazali would agree with creationism, human exceptionalism and Adamic exceptionalism but not with the no exceptions camp (specifically because of their belief that there can't be miracles).
July 2, 2021
An excellent discussion on the various opinions of Muslim scholars regarding evolution.
March 15, 2023
An absolutely essential book for any believer in Adam & Eve, this book is the pinnacle of the Islamic discourse with Evolution (and it’s many “problems”). Not the easiest read but free on Kindle & I can’t recommend highly enough.
June 2, 2022
This is an incredibly stellar book, aiming for an amelioration between Islam and evolution. Reactionary response towards the West has unfortunately created an excessive whiplash, to a point of backwardness and rigidity. Science has slowly been removed into the periphery as an agent of the West, rather than an essential tool to appreciate the wonder and complexity of Nature. This book has masterfully ended the bitterest sore between Islam and science: evolution.
We mostly knows nothing more about evolution other than the caricature of chimps turning into man. It is something more than that. First of all, we must distinguish between Darwinism and evolution. Evolution is a belief of gradual change and distinguished by three cardinal features; deep time (that the universe has existed for millions of years), common ancestry and natural selection and random mutation. Darwinism or more accurately its inheritor Neo-Darwinism, added a reactionary flavor to the idea of evolution: radical naturalism.
Islam has no problem in accepting the tenets of evolution, only the second point are still inconclusive among scholars. Islam accepted that the world is indeed old by millions of years, because the phrase "created the world in 6 days" are interpreted as 6 epochs, not literally as three years. While the Quran is indeed not a book of science, but it is a book that elucidates the working of God. And if the works of God as presented empirically shows that the world is indeed ancient, then surely the sentence should not be interpreted literally, if not then God's actions and his Words would conflict.
Natural selection and its component random selection are not an issue in Islamic worldview because it simply describes the actions of adaptation and specification. Random does not mean haphazard and independent process, but simply the outcome relies on the specific conditions an organism is subjected too.
The second point, common ancestry, on the other hand is interpreted in few ways. There are generally 4 schools of thoughts in Islam regarding the position of man in the evolutionary schemes; creationism, human exceptionalism, Adamic exceptionalism and no exceptions. Creationism describes man as miraculously created and with no need for gradual change. Human exceptionalism believes that pro-hominids does exists but only the sons of Adam that emerged as homo sapiens, that is only sons of Adams that should rightly be called as humans. Adamic exceptionalism believes that there are hominids that branched into modern humans, but only sons of Adam that triumphed across the ages. No exceptions school believes that Adam is directly descended from apes, that with God's will intelligence arise from Adam the first human via direct process of evolution, thus the Garden of Eden and Adam's descent is merely a metaphor.
Orthodox Islam has no problem whatsoever with the first 3 ideas, but only marginally with the 4th ideas. Miracles can be defined as direct divine interventions, usually related with a breach of laws of nature. But we must realize that what science provides is mere description on the laws of phenomenon, restricted cognitively and temporally. Science derives its rigor from laws of induction, but never a priori. On the other hand, science derives its conclusion from the regularity of effects, not the establishment of laws sub specie aeternitis. Thus, its conclusions are contingent and it does not contradictory because God "breached" the laws of phenomenon, but not the laws of Nature as He understood it. If He wills so, He could create universes which our current laws of physics and chemicals does not hold. Interpretation of Quranic verses should not be done so it could fit "current" scientific explanation, only when it approximates to apparent contradictory to logically necessary axioms, and this is only because our lack of cognitive apparatus to understand those verses. When God mentioned of His Hands, it is clear that He does not have any inkling resemblances to anything that we understood as hands as this is logically impossible, so it is here permissible to interpret it as "His Power". But not in the case of mentions of miracles where while it is phenomenally impossible, it is not logically impossible for an omnipotent God.
Islam generally have the inherent metaphysical capability in accepting evolution (not Darwinism) because of pure occasionalism adhered by the majority Asharites and also the Sufis. Islam primarily believes that God is the fountain of absolutely everything, and is under His complete Power and Will. What does this means is that the contingency of the created is that of par excellence; till it cannot be conceived that everything existing could even persistently exists even between two iota of unit-time; everything is ever-annihilated and ever-created by God's Will and Power. Thus, it is not that far of a stretch to conceive of a constantly adapting and revolving world. The world is at total flux that the only thing that is persistently and absolutely in existing is God's Revelation.
To summarize, Islam describes a perfect median of a relationship with science. It does not accept science under the lens of metaphysical naturalism; the belief that nature is all there is, but only accept methodological naturalism, that the world could be described in so far as it is presented to ourselves under the name of law of phenomenon, but not the things-themselves under the law of Nature. Islam readily accepted the notion of evolution exactly because of its occasionalism.
We mostly knows nothing more about evolution other than the caricature of chimps turning into man. It is something more than that. First of all, we must distinguish between Darwinism and evolution. Evolution is a belief of gradual change and distinguished by three cardinal features; deep time (that the universe has existed for millions of years), common ancestry and natural selection and random mutation. Darwinism or more accurately its inheritor Neo-Darwinism, added a reactionary flavor to the idea of evolution: radical naturalism.
Islam has no problem in accepting the tenets of evolution, only the second point are still inconclusive among scholars. Islam accepted that the world is indeed old by millions of years, because the phrase "created the world in 6 days" are interpreted as 6 epochs, not literally as three years. While the Quran is indeed not a book of science, but it is a book that elucidates the working of God. And if the works of God as presented empirically shows that the world is indeed ancient, then surely the sentence should not be interpreted literally, if not then God's actions and his Words would conflict.
Natural selection and its component random selection are not an issue in Islamic worldview because it simply describes the actions of adaptation and specification. Random does not mean haphazard and independent process, but simply the outcome relies on the specific conditions an organism is subjected too.
The second point, common ancestry, on the other hand is interpreted in few ways. There are generally 4 schools of thoughts in Islam regarding the position of man in the evolutionary schemes; creationism, human exceptionalism, Adamic exceptionalism and no exceptions. Creationism describes man as miraculously created and with no need for gradual change. Human exceptionalism believes that pro-hominids does exists but only the sons of Adam that emerged as homo sapiens, that is only sons of Adams that should rightly be called as humans. Adamic exceptionalism believes that there are hominids that branched into modern humans, but only sons of Adam that triumphed across the ages. No exceptions school believes that Adam is directly descended from apes, that with God's will intelligence arise from Adam the first human via direct process of evolution, thus the Garden of Eden and Adam's descent is merely a metaphor.
Orthodox Islam has no problem whatsoever with the first 3 ideas, but only marginally with the 4th ideas. Miracles can be defined as direct divine interventions, usually related with a breach of laws of nature. But we must realize that what science provides is mere description on the laws of phenomenon, restricted cognitively and temporally. Science derives its rigor from laws of induction, but never a priori. On the other hand, science derives its conclusion from the regularity of effects, not the establishment of laws sub specie aeternitis. Thus, its conclusions are contingent and it does not contradictory because God "breached" the laws of phenomenon, but not the laws of Nature as He understood it. If He wills so, He could create universes which our current laws of physics and chemicals does not hold. Interpretation of Quranic verses should not be done so it could fit "current" scientific explanation, only when it approximates to apparent contradictory to logically necessary axioms, and this is only because our lack of cognitive apparatus to understand those verses. When God mentioned of His Hands, it is clear that He does not have any inkling resemblances to anything that we understood as hands as this is logically impossible, so it is here permissible to interpret it as "His Power". But not in the case of mentions of miracles where while it is phenomenally impossible, it is not logically impossible for an omnipotent God.
Islam generally have the inherent metaphysical capability in accepting evolution (not Darwinism) because of pure occasionalism adhered by the majority Asharites and also the Sufis. Islam primarily believes that God is the fountain of absolutely everything, and is under His complete Power and Will. What does this means is that the contingency of the created is that of par excellence; till it cannot be conceived that everything existing could even persistently exists even between two iota of unit-time; everything is ever-annihilated and ever-created by God's Will and Power. Thus, it is not that far of a stretch to conceive of a constantly adapting and revolving world. The world is at total flux that the only thing that is persistently and absolutely in existing is God's Revelation.
To summarize, Islam describes a perfect median of a relationship with science. It does not accept science under the lens of metaphysical naturalism; the belief that nature is all there is, but only accept methodological naturalism, that the world could be described in so far as it is presented to ourselves under the name of law of phenomenon, but not the things-themselves under the law of Nature. Islam readily accepted the notion of evolution exactly because of its occasionalism.
July 17, 2021
I was excited to read this book, given the fact that evolution is a topic that has long captured intense attention from the muslim community. Unfortunately though, it appears that Dr Shoaib Malik resorts to a defense of the mechanistic neo-Darwinian view of the natural world. The most concerning is the issue of random mutation and the concept of "chance". He concludes the following in his book:
"chance is not an issue because physical processes that are either deterministic or indeterministic can be happily aligned with the Ashʿarite worldview. Concerning this point, chance-like mechanics in creation don’t undermine ultimate teleology, which is revelation-dependent in the Ashʿarite perspective"
Dr Malik can only reach a conclusion like this if he starts playing with the definition of what the word "chance" entails. In the common sense usage of the term, chance is basically randomness, something that can happen without any particular intention or planning, an accident, a coincidence, and so forth. These are the things that the word evokes, but it appears that Dr Malik wants to play with the meaning of this word and it comes across as rather confusing. What I think he is really trying to say that behind "chance" there is some form of deterministic naturalistic process at play that APPEARS to be "chance" to us:
"It is possible to look at chance from two philosophical perspectives. The first is epistemic chance, which reflects our lack of knowledge of a system, and so it seems chance-based to us. "
So this raises the issue of "chaos" or the idea that order can emerge from disorder. Again, this makes me wonder: WHERE is there room here for continuous purposeful, intention-derived, intelligent creation, modification, control, design, etc?
It appears that Dr Malik agrees with the secular view that evolution is a system inherent in nature and thus mechanistic and needs no input from beyond the matrix of causes. There is NO need for a God who is constantly moderating, correcting, fixing, desigining, etc the phenomenon of life because Neo-Darwinism can function without one. So if it can function without one, why the need to force-fit a God who merely KNOWS about this mechanistic systematic-process? That's the impression I get from reading this book.
Dr Malik continues:
"We have stochastic laws alongside chaos theory which are indications of our limited capabilities in understanding any given system in toto (Polkinghorne 1995; Polkinghorne 2001; Briggs 2016). So when a mutation occurs, evolutionists don’t necessarily know why it occurred or when it occurred on a specific occasion. Still, they usually have a range of possible explanations, e.g. copying error in the genes. The main area of contention seems to be when evolutionists claim that a mutation can be advantageous, disadvantageous, or neutral, and it could be open to any direction depending on the dialectics between genes, species, and their environments through extensive periods of time"
Notice the language here. There is the techno-rational reductionism of living organisms as mere nodes in a system. Where is the room for planning, foresight, intelligence, organismic consciousness, etc? None.
Dr Malik writes:
"So while the process of evolution seems like chance to humans, it doesn’t entail God doesn’t know what He is doing. It could easily be that God orchestrates the entire process, i.e. has complete knowledge and control over it, but executes it in a way that appears indeterministic to us."
I don't know about you, but it doesn't seem to me that we need to "orchestrate" the process of evolution. It seems remarkably intelligent and capable of keeping the balance and stability of organsism for generations, far more than any computer program or designed entity that humans create. I'm currently using an operating system that has experienced several patches and updates, all carefully designed to try and maintain the coherence and functioning of the system. But these patches can sometimes create even more problems than they were invented to solve. Computers are complicated devices that involve many different types of code working together. This is because when you introduce changes to one part of that mass of code, it’s very easy to break the way it works in conjunction with the rest. So with "mutations" we cannot understand them as being distinct from a constant process of intelligent maintenance and development. The words "chance" and "randomness" should no longer be part of our vocabulary.
Another problem is that Dr Malik tries to equate the study of organisms and life itself to general physical processes (e.g. the law of gravity, etc). This is a reductionist view and seems to tally with the modernist movement to separate human consciousness from the rest of the living world. This view should be questionned, because for most of human history we had a more vitalistic perspective of life.
Dr Malik's treatment of the Intelligent Design movement is actually quite fair. However, I do not buy his problematizing of their arguments given that their main objection is that evolution clearly cannot be reduced to a mechanistic and blind system of law-derived causes and chaotic interactions. One problem I do have with some intelligent designers is that they too can be guilty of an overly-mechanistic view of life.
What is really missing here is that there are serious challenges to the dominant Neo-Darwinian paradigm. Thankfully a molecular biologist by the name of James Shapiro did just that when he published a book in 2011, titled “Evolution: A View From the 21st Century”. Though he is not against the official doctrine of "evolution" per se, he still challenges the efficacy of the conventional Neo-Darwinian paradigm of random mutations working under the mediation of natural selection and other such unguided forces. Though he understands that natural selection is not an entirely random process, it is still clearly an unguided one. Instead, he cites the development of crucial work by biologists demonstrating that cells practice “natural genetic engineering” and “reprogram” themselves in novel and purposeful ways when they encounter new conditions and environments. He cites the work of Nobel Prize winner Barbara McClintlock, a biologist who was the first person to demonstrate how living cells actually repair their own genomes. In other words, cells self-edit the information within them. Not only that, McClintock realised that the cell needed to have quite sophisticated senses when repairing damage:
“The conclusion seems inescapable that cells are able to sense the presence in their nuclei of ruptured ends of chromosomes and then to activate a mechanism that will bring together and then unite these ends, one with another … The ability of a cell to sense these broken ends, to direct them toward each other, and then to unite them so that the union of the two DNA strands is correctly oriented, is a particularly revealing example of the sensitivity of cells to all that is going on within them”
She wrote further:
“There must be numerous homeostatic adjustments required of cells. The sensing devices and the signals that initiate these adjustments are beyond our present ability to fathom. A goal for the future would be to determine the extent of knowledge the cell has of itself and how it utilizes this knowledge in a “thoughtful” manner when challenged” (McClintock 1984).
In other words, McClintock pointed the way towards the recognition that cells are cognitive and act with purpose. Shapiro views her as a pioneer of biology largely because of this insight. McClintock’s views were neither mainstream during her time nor popular today. However, Shapiro has attempted to push forward this “thoughtful” view to the ire of mainstream Neo-Darwinists. In his book, he is quite blatant in his views stating that:
“Living cells and organisms are cognitive (sentient) entities that act and interact purposefully to ensure survival, growth, and proliferation. They possess corresponding sensory, communication, information-processing, and decision-making capabilities.”(p. 143)
Shapiro does not appeal to outside forms of intelligence like the ID movement does but instead seems to almost imply a “vitalist” conception of the living world. In other words, such seemingly intelligent abilities of cells to re-edit their own DNA , repair themselves in a myriad of different ways and choose how to respond to differing or conflicting chemical or environmental signals are innate attributes belonging to the biosphere.
Another leading scientist (who is not affiliated with ID) has used the word "intelligent" to describe cell behaviour:
“Individual cells show a surprising array of intelligent behaviors that are hard to explain. Cells are able to signal back and forth to each other for many purposes even at great distance and to totally different kinds of cells. Cells know exactly where they are in the body and in the brain. They can travel long distances along varied terrain with many different techniques to arrive at a very specific place. They know how large they should be.”
http://jonlieffmd.com/blog/maintainin...
Thus until we acknowledge that either nature itself has infinite intelligence or that the intelligence is constantly directing things from behind a veil, we will continue to be hoodwinked by the mainstream cult of Neo-Darwinism.
A final point I would like to make concerns purpose. Why seek to align muslim thought with neo-Darwinism in the first place? And what does Dr Malik really mean when he uses the word "evolution"? In the religion of Islam, words are very important. Words matter. They have serious implications and should not be played around with. Yet our secular age treats language with the kind of humiliation that divorces it from its center and renders everything plastic, technicized and (to quote Foucault) as "functions ceaselessly modified". A real critique of this book is that it essentially subscribes to what Jacques Ellul called "technique": or the creation of a whole civilization of means that are more important than ends, where efficiency and power are transformed into values, and where language itself becomes unrooted and ultimately plastic. Words matter. In the Quran, the Jews are warned for using terms like "son of God" even though the Jews make the defense that they don't literally mean that these prophets are the son of God. Their defense is not accepted in the Qur'an. So in the same way we should not resort to using words like "mutation" to describe how the corona-virus has changed and developed, and we should not simply bandy around words like "chance" and "determinate" without thinking of the eternal implications of doing so.
Wa Salaam,
Hossein Turner.
"chance is not an issue because physical processes that are either deterministic or indeterministic can be happily aligned with the Ashʿarite worldview. Concerning this point, chance-like mechanics in creation don’t undermine ultimate teleology, which is revelation-dependent in the Ashʿarite perspective"
Dr Malik can only reach a conclusion like this if he starts playing with the definition of what the word "chance" entails. In the common sense usage of the term, chance is basically randomness, something that can happen without any particular intention or planning, an accident, a coincidence, and so forth. These are the things that the word evokes, but it appears that Dr Malik wants to play with the meaning of this word and it comes across as rather confusing. What I think he is really trying to say that behind "chance" there is some form of deterministic naturalistic process at play that APPEARS to be "chance" to us:
"It is possible to look at chance from two philosophical perspectives. The first is epistemic chance, which reflects our lack of knowledge of a system, and so it seems chance-based to us. "
So this raises the issue of "chaos" or the idea that order can emerge from disorder. Again, this makes me wonder: WHERE is there room here for continuous purposeful, intention-derived, intelligent creation, modification, control, design, etc?
It appears that Dr Malik agrees with the secular view that evolution is a system inherent in nature and thus mechanistic and needs no input from beyond the matrix of causes. There is NO need for a God who is constantly moderating, correcting, fixing, desigining, etc the phenomenon of life because Neo-Darwinism can function without one. So if it can function without one, why the need to force-fit a God who merely KNOWS about this mechanistic systematic-process? That's the impression I get from reading this book.
Dr Malik continues:
"We have stochastic laws alongside chaos theory which are indications of our limited capabilities in understanding any given system in toto (Polkinghorne 1995; Polkinghorne 2001; Briggs 2016). So when a mutation occurs, evolutionists don’t necessarily know why it occurred or when it occurred on a specific occasion. Still, they usually have a range of possible explanations, e.g. copying error in the genes. The main area of contention seems to be when evolutionists claim that a mutation can be advantageous, disadvantageous, or neutral, and it could be open to any direction depending on the dialectics between genes, species, and their environments through extensive periods of time"
Notice the language here. There is the techno-rational reductionism of living organisms as mere nodes in a system. Where is the room for planning, foresight, intelligence, organismic consciousness, etc? None.
Dr Malik writes:
"So while the process of evolution seems like chance to humans, it doesn’t entail God doesn’t know what He is doing. It could easily be that God orchestrates the entire process, i.e. has complete knowledge and control over it, but executes it in a way that appears indeterministic to us."
I don't know about you, but it doesn't seem to me that we need to "orchestrate" the process of evolution. It seems remarkably intelligent and capable of keeping the balance and stability of organsism for generations, far more than any computer program or designed entity that humans create. I'm currently using an operating system that has experienced several patches and updates, all carefully designed to try and maintain the coherence and functioning of the system. But these patches can sometimes create even more problems than they were invented to solve. Computers are complicated devices that involve many different types of code working together. This is because when you introduce changes to one part of that mass of code, it’s very easy to break the way it works in conjunction with the rest. So with "mutations" we cannot understand them as being distinct from a constant process of intelligent maintenance and development. The words "chance" and "randomness" should no longer be part of our vocabulary.
Another problem is that Dr Malik tries to equate the study of organisms and life itself to general physical processes (e.g. the law of gravity, etc). This is a reductionist view and seems to tally with the modernist movement to separate human consciousness from the rest of the living world. This view should be questionned, because for most of human history we had a more vitalistic perspective of life.
Dr Malik's treatment of the Intelligent Design movement is actually quite fair. However, I do not buy his problematizing of their arguments given that their main objection is that evolution clearly cannot be reduced to a mechanistic and blind system of law-derived causes and chaotic interactions. One problem I do have with some intelligent designers is that they too can be guilty of an overly-mechanistic view of life.
What is really missing here is that there are serious challenges to the dominant Neo-Darwinian paradigm. Thankfully a molecular biologist by the name of James Shapiro did just that when he published a book in 2011, titled “Evolution: A View From the 21st Century”. Though he is not against the official doctrine of "evolution" per se, he still challenges the efficacy of the conventional Neo-Darwinian paradigm of random mutations working under the mediation of natural selection and other such unguided forces. Though he understands that natural selection is not an entirely random process, it is still clearly an unguided one. Instead, he cites the development of crucial work by biologists demonstrating that cells practice “natural genetic engineering” and “reprogram” themselves in novel and purposeful ways when they encounter new conditions and environments. He cites the work of Nobel Prize winner Barbara McClintlock, a biologist who was the first person to demonstrate how living cells actually repair their own genomes. In other words, cells self-edit the information within them. Not only that, McClintock realised that the cell needed to have quite sophisticated senses when repairing damage:
“The conclusion seems inescapable that cells are able to sense the presence in their nuclei of ruptured ends of chromosomes and then to activate a mechanism that will bring together and then unite these ends, one with another … The ability of a cell to sense these broken ends, to direct them toward each other, and then to unite them so that the union of the two DNA strands is correctly oriented, is a particularly revealing example of the sensitivity of cells to all that is going on within them”
She wrote further:
“There must be numerous homeostatic adjustments required of cells. The sensing devices and the signals that initiate these adjustments are beyond our present ability to fathom. A goal for the future would be to determine the extent of knowledge the cell has of itself and how it utilizes this knowledge in a “thoughtful” manner when challenged” (McClintock 1984).
In other words, McClintock pointed the way towards the recognition that cells are cognitive and act with purpose. Shapiro views her as a pioneer of biology largely because of this insight. McClintock’s views were neither mainstream during her time nor popular today. However, Shapiro has attempted to push forward this “thoughtful” view to the ire of mainstream Neo-Darwinists. In his book, he is quite blatant in his views stating that:
“Living cells and organisms are cognitive (sentient) entities that act and interact purposefully to ensure survival, growth, and proliferation. They possess corresponding sensory, communication, information-processing, and decision-making capabilities.”(p. 143)
Shapiro does not appeal to outside forms of intelligence like the ID movement does but instead seems to almost imply a “vitalist” conception of the living world. In other words, such seemingly intelligent abilities of cells to re-edit their own DNA , repair themselves in a myriad of different ways and choose how to respond to differing or conflicting chemical or environmental signals are innate attributes belonging to the biosphere.
Another leading scientist (who is not affiliated with ID) has used the word "intelligent" to describe cell behaviour:
“Individual cells show a surprising array of intelligent behaviors that are hard to explain. Cells are able to signal back and forth to each other for many purposes even at great distance and to totally different kinds of cells. Cells know exactly where they are in the body and in the brain. They can travel long distances along varied terrain with many different techniques to arrive at a very specific place. They know how large they should be.”
http://jonlieffmd.com/blog/maintainin...
Thus until we acknowledge that either nature itself has infinite intelligence or that the intelligence is constantly directing things from behind a veil, we will continue to be hoodwinked by the mainstream cult of Neo-Darwinism.
A final point I would like to make concerns purpose. Why seek to align muslim thought with neo-Darwinism in the first place? And what does Dr Malik really mean when he uses the word "evolution"? In the religion of Islam, words are very important. Words matter. They have serious implications and should not be played around with. Yet our secular age treats language with the kind of humiliation that divorces it from its center and renders everything plastic, technicized and (to quote Foucault) as "functions ceaselessly modified". A real critique of this book is that it essentially subscribes to what Jacques Ellul called "technique": or the creation of a whole civilization of means that are more important than ends, where efficiency and power are transformed into values, and where language itself becomes unrooted and ultimately plastic. Words matter. In the Quran, the Jews are warned for using terms like "son of God" even though the Jews make the defense that they don't literally mean that these prophets are the son of God. Their defense is not accepted in the Qur'an. So in the same way we should not resort to using words like "mutation" to describe how the corona-virus has changed and developed, and we should not simply bandy around words like "chance" and "determinate" without thinking of the eternal implications of doing so.
Wa Salaam,
Hossein Turner.
March 8, 2024
The relationship between Islam and the theory of evolution is a topic that has generated significant discussion and debate within Islamic communities. Like other major religions, Islam has a diverse range of perspectives on this issue, ranging from literal interpretations of creation stories to more metaphorical or symbolic interpretations that accommodate scientific theories like evolution.
Some Muslims adhere to a literal interpretation of the creation story found in the Quran, believing that humans were created directly by Allah (God) in their present form, without any evolutionary process. This perspective often leads to a rejection or skepticism of the theory of evolution.
However, many Muslims, particularly those who are more open to integrating modern scientific knowledge with their religious beliefs, have found ways to reconcile Islam with the theory of evolution.
They interpret the creation narratives in the Quran more metaphorically, understanding them as conveying spiritual truths rather than literal historical accounts. They may also argue that the Quranic verses about creation are compatible with the idea of God guiding the process of evolution.
One key concept that some Muslim scholars emphasize is the idea of "tawhid," which refers to the oneness of God and the unity of knowledge. From this perspective, they argue that scientific discoveries, including evolution, can be seen as manifestations of Allah's will and part of the natural order that God has created.
Additionally, there are Muslim scientists and scholars who actively engage with evolutionary biology and seek to harmonize it with Islamic theology. They may interpret Quranic verses in light of scientific evidence and incorporate evolutionary concepts into their understanding of creation.
It's important to note that there is no single monolithic Islamic perspective on evolution, and interpretations vary among individuals and communities within the Muslim world. The relationship between Islam and evolution continues to be a topic of ongoing exploration and debate, reflecting the dynamic interaction between religion, culture, and science within Muslim societies.
Some Muslims adhere to a literal interpretation of the creation story found in the Quran, believing that humans were created directly by Allah (God) in their present form, without any evolutionary process. This perspective often leads to a rejection or skepticism of the theory of evolution.
However, many Muslims, particularly those who are more open to integrating modern scientific knowledge with their religious beliefs, have found ways to reconcile Islam with the theory of evolution.
They interpret the creation narratives in the Quran more metaphorically, understanding them as conveying spiritual truths rather than literal historical accounts. They may also argue that the Quranic verses about creation are compatible with the idea of God guiding the process of evolution.
One key concept that some Muslim scholars emphasize is the idea of "tawhid," which refers to the oneness of God and the unity of knowledge. From this perspective, they argue that scientific discoveries, including evolution, can be seen as manifestations of Allah's will and part of the natural order that God has created.
Additionally, there are Muslim scientists and scholars who actively engage with evolutionary biology and seek to harmonize it with Islamic theology. They may interpret Quranic verses in light of scientific evidence and incorporate evolutionary concepts into their understanding of creation.
It's important to note that there is no single monolithic Islamic perspective on evolution, and interpretations vary among individuals and communities within the Muslim world. The relationship between Islam and evolution continues to be a topic of ongoing exploration and debate, reflecting the dynamic interaction between religion, culture, and science within Muslim societies.
September 2, 2023
Saya akan membagi ulasan buku ini menjadi dua bagian berdasarkan gambaran yang saya proyeksikan dari pemahaman saya atas buku ini. Bagian pertama ini akan fokus pada kekaguman saya terhadap buku ini, yang tidak hanya mengisi celah kosong literatur terkait evolusi dan Islam, tetapi juga berusaha mengonsolidasikan argumentasi-argumentasi pemikir-pemikir muslim yang pernah mengemuka. Objektivitas pembahasan dalam buku ini yang menurut saya akan menciptakan dialektika, dan yang saya suka juga adalah, tahap sintesisnya diserahkan kepada masing-masing pembaca.
Diskursus Islam dan evolusi yang ada ternyata terlalu disederhanakan. Selama ini kita ternyata dihadapkan hanya pada pilihan biner simplistis, antara menerima di satu sisi dan menolak di sisi lain. Sementara teori evolusi itu memiliki beberapa preposisi (deep time, leluhur bersama, mekanisme penyebab), kita seringkali terjebak dalam melakukan generalisasi. Ketika kita menerima atau menolak, preposisi apa yang kita tanggapi?
Pada akhirnya, kita hanya mengenal dua sisi bertolakbelakang argumentasi pemikir muslim terhadap evolusi: kreasionisme dan tanpa pengecualian. Padahal, ternyata tidak sedikit mereka yang memiliki pandangan "moderat" (menerima sebagian preposisi dan menolak preposisi yang lain) yang mendasarkan argumentasinya juga pada aspek metafisika, teologi Islam, filsafat Islam, dan sains. Saya sangat berterima kasih kepada pengetengahan dialektika seperti yang dilakukan penulis di dalam buku ini. Pembahasan tentangnya pun gak hanya menyentuh permukaannya saja, tetapi dibahas secara mendalam, seperti bagaimana mereka membangun agumentasi dan atas dasar apa argumentasi tersebut dikembangkan.
Sebelum membaca buku ini, saya sudah baca argumentasi pemikir-pemikir muslim lainnya terkait Islam dan evolusi seperti karya Seyyed Hossein Nasr dalam kumpulan esainya, ISLAM, SAINS, DAN MUSLIM : Pergulatan Spiritualitas dan Rasionalitas dan Nidhal Guessoum dalam bukunya Islam dan Sains Modern. Dibandingkan keduanya, buku karya Shoaib Ahmed Malik ini lebih objektif dan terstruktur serta alur berpikirnya lebih mudah dipahami.
Diskursus Islam dan evolusi yang ada ternyata terlalu disederhanakan. Selama ini kita ternyata dihadapkan hanya pada pilihan biner simplistis, antara menerima di satu sisi dan menolak di sisi lain. Sementara teori evolusi itu memiliki beberapa preposisi (deep time, leluhur bersama, mekanisme penyebab), kita seringkali terjebak dalam melakukan generalisasi. Ketika kita menerima atau menolak, preposisi apa yang kita tanggapi?
Pada akhirnya, kita hanya mengenal dua sisi bertolakbelakang argumentasi pemikir muslim terhadap evolusi: kreasionisme dan tanpa pengecualian. Padahal, ternyata tidak sedikit mereka yang memiliki pandangan "moderat" (menerima sebagian preposisi dan menolak preposisi yang lain) yang mendasarkan argumentasinya juga pada aspek metafisika, teologi Islam, filsafat Islam, dan sains. Saya sangat berterima kasih kepada pengetengahan dialektika seperti yang dilakukan penulis di dalam buku ini. Pembahasan tentangnya pun gak hanya menyentuh permukaannya saja, tetapi dibahas secara mendalam, seperti bagaimana mereka membangun agumentasi dan atas dasar apa argumentasi tersebut dikembangkan.
Sebelum membaca buku ini, saya sudah baca argumentasi pemikir-pemikir muslim lainnya terkait Islam dan evolusi seperti karya Seyyed Hossein Nasr dalam kumpulan esainya, ISLAM, SAINS, DAN MUSLIM : Pergulatan Spiritualitas dan Rasionalitas dan Nidhal Guessoum dalam bukunya Islam dan Sains Modern. Dibandingkan keduanya, buku karya Shoaib Ahmed Malik ini lebih objektif dan terstruktur serta alur berpikirnya lebih mudah dipahami.
September 2, 2021
This book is a must-read for any Muslim who wants to understand what Islamic texts say about evolution academically.
After reading this book you (Muslim) will probably come to a conclusion of why evolution concepts don't pose any danger to Islamic religion and also why Islamic teachings can't pose any danger to proposed evolution theory (theories). All what is needed is to read both sides with an open mindset...a mindset of eager to learn.
For me this was a good adventure
After reading this book you (Muslim) will probably come to a conclusion of why evolution concepts don't pose any danger to Islamic religion and also why Islamic teachings can't pose any danger to proposed evolution theory (theories). All what is needed is to read both sides with an open mindset...a mindset of eager to learn.
For me this was a good adventure
September 2, 2021
Given that this is an ACADEMIC text, there were three audiences in front of Dr Shoaib: layperson, 'ulama, and academics. I personally believe he has done an exceptional job in making sure that this book is accessible to all 3 audiences.
He starts off by defining what the problem of Islam and evolution is. The problem ranges from struggling to accept evolution based on what the scientific evidence is presented to Muslims to ending up leaving Islam because the standard narrative that has existed over the years is that Adam (as) and Hawwa (as) were directly created beings from Allah, and evolution was nowhere to be found.
There have been many misconceptions on this topic. e.g. "EVOLUTION MEANS THAT OUR PARENTS ARE MONKEYS! ASTAGHFIRULLAH" . Specially created by Muslim apologists such as Dr Zakir Naik and Harun Yahya. Personally, i believe that the science Zakir Naik refers to is the worst anywhere on the internet, but he can be seen as a good person in terms of comparative religion and fiqh. Dr Shoaib does mention them too and what has been the trouble caused by their narratives. But he also does mention how the new atheism movement has also polarized this issue too.
He's coming from the Ash'ari school of thought. Dr Shoaib makes it clear that according to his work, Ash'ari school of thought is problem-free as far as the particular issue of Islam and evolution is concerned.
He does admit in the introduction itself that it's a challenge itself because he is actually juxtaposing Al-Ghazali's ideas to a modern issue but it is to say that you can still use Al-Ghazali's treatment of Ash'ari Islamic philosophy to say that (to the best of his knowledge) those ideas would show that there is nothing wrong in creating a narrative of Islam and evolution. He'll go into great details of how is that possible in the following chapters.
Chapter 1 is basically about what evolution is and what it isn't. He starts off by commenting on the famous image where a chimp like creature changes to a human by saying that the image is erroneous because the diagram has played an important role in giving way to the misconception the humans are descendants of monkeys. Next he moves on to explain the basics of evolution from a scientific perspective and their evidences. He explains some terms such as genomes, genotypes, phenotypes, and more.
Chapter 2 discusses Christian responses to evolution. This includes people like of Young Earth Creationists, Old Earth Creationists, Intelligent Design and Theistic evolution. Now you might be wondering why is it being discussed in a book which has an Islamic message at the centre? The truth of the matter is that evolution was fiercely criticized and even accepted in a variety of different ways in the Christian world. That's why it was necessary to discuss the history of how evolution has been seen throughout the course of theological history. Different approaches on how evolution was reconciled with theology started off in the Christian world. It's fair enough to see that some Muslims have also adopted these views, but Dr Shoaib does the right thing in discussing what problems and fallacies these views suffering from. A necessary chapter to set up a ground on why Christian theology isn't the same as Islamic theology. This will be clearer later in the book too.
Chapter 3 is about Islamic perspectives on evolution. So setting aside the problems in the Christian world I feel was the very right thing to do for 2 reasons:
1. Because Christian theology has some presuppositions that can clash with Islam such as original sin. So any Islamic viewpoint that arises for reconciling evolution and Islam should be free from the fallacies these viewpoints had.
2. If any critic of Islam is reading this book, it should be clear that projecting the criticism of Christian positions on the Islamic positions is a wrong approach, clearly because even though both religions do share a lot in common, they shouldn't be criticized from the same lens.
We need to keep Christian problems away from Islam. There will be a focus on that in later chapters too. What I like about this chapter is how it academically goes into classic Arabic contexts, and it also shows that the Qur'an and Hadith doesn't explicate any strictness in terms of chronology. It also shows that there is no reading of the Qur'an and Hadith which forces any historical chronology or time frame, rather there is quite a lot of room for interpretation based on the elasticity of the texts of classical Arabic. With regards to the subject of evolution when seen in the light of Qur'anic or classical Arabic, interpretations can be valid and can show a sense of possibility, but it's not possible to argue that they bring a conclusive chronology. Many verses in the Qur'an show no problem when viewed through an evolutionary lens. But WE ARE NOT READING EVOLUTION INTO THE QUR'AN but rather this chapter starts a narrative of saying that Islam has nothing against an evolutionary view of plant and animal species. The book touches on the issue of Adam (as) and gets into detail about the particular issues of Adam (as) in this chapter and in more specific details in chapter 4,6,10 because that is where the real problems in Islamic perspectives of evolution lie.
Chapter 4 is the point in the book where it now assumes that you have read the first three chapters, because there will be some technical terms which would likely require you to go back and revise what was said earlier. Chapter 4 introduces us to Muslim opinions on evolution, and also why there needs to be some sense of classification of ideas in the Islam and evolution area. I would say that table 4.3 is among the most important parts of this book. It very nicely summarizes different scholars opinions on evolution.
The classification table is great. However, for those who just want to read for the sake of reading Islam and evolution from a classical perspective, I would strongly recommend going through "Human exceptionalism" in much detail, because it briefly explains how classical frameworks of Al Ghazali, Ibn Sina, and Ibn Taimiyyah could be used for logical reasoning. Even though I'm more in favor of Adamic exceptionalism, I feel that the reading of the contents of human exceptionalism provided by Dr Shoaib is brilliant work. Adamic exceptionalism relies on tawaqquf, i.e. to refrain making a judgement due to conflicting evidence or lack of available evidence. It uses references to the consensus that scholars have believed that Adam (as) was created without parents. In a way, the position of Adamic exceptionalism goes away from the idea that Adam (as) was the start of humanity, because the Qur'an doesn't affirm or negate the idea of there already existing some form of humans before Adam (as), and they would have been a product of evolution. The last case is of "No exceptions" which states that non-humans, humans, and Adam (as) are part and parcel of the evolutionary process but Adam (as) was still created miraculously. There is a lot of detail distinguishing between bashr and insaan as used in the Qur'an, a tool which has been presented in this book as Dr Israr Ahmed, a famous Pakistani scholar. The point of this chapter is that all of these approaches believed that Adam (as) was created miraculously by Allah.
The understanding of miracles and occasionalism in the Al Ghazali paradigm is extremely important if you want a deeper understanding of how Ash'ari framework is problem-free for the issue of evolution.
Chapter 5 is basically about how people have somehow managed to read evolution onto Islamic texts such as those of Ibn Khaldun, Jalal ud-Din al Rumi, al-Jahiz, and more. To be more precise, it's about how they have misread evolution onto those texts. Dr Shoaib calls them "decontextualized interpretations". I found this chapter very useful because many people have quoted that these Islamic texts were the first to talk about biological evolution, and this chapter does a great job of debunking some narratives that have been wrongly attributed to Islamic texts.
I think the reason why Dr. Shoaib did this is because we saw in Chapter 4 that evolution has been seen by many to be associated with atheism and hardline naturalism. To contrast that, this chapter was written in light of Muslim perspectives on evolution as a more specific historical inquiry. Because apparently, one of the Muslim perspectives out there is the idea that old Muslim scholars used to think about evolution, the idea of chapter 5 was to debunk this incorrect idea.
Chapter 6 is WITHOUT A DOUBT my favorite chapter of the entire book! You can also think of this chapter as an introduction to Ash'ari philosophy and the Divine Action Plan. Chapters 6,7 and 8 are very philosophical in their content. You might want to read these chapters a few times to make complete sense of what's being discussed. Of course, philosophy isn't everyone's cup of tea. It definitely isn't mine, so I did struggle to get some concepts. The specific problems that will be dealt in this chapter are problem of naturalism (PON), the problem of chance (POC), and the problem of inefficiency (POI), and all from the perspective of Al Ghazali, who belonged from the Ash'ari school of thought. It will also deal with occasionalism, atomism, free will, laws of nature, creation, necessity, and more in the Ash'ari school of thought. Also, how the Ash'ari school of thought deals with Allah's will, knowledge, and power, and also the contingency of creation. For those who are aware of the contingency argument in favor of God and other philosophical concepts, they could grasp this chapter easily, but in my opinion, this is not an easy chapter, but if you really want to know which philosophical position is Dr. Shoaib coming from, and what would be the safest Ash'ari or philosophical position to take when believing in evolution, this chapter is a must read.
Consider this chapter as an introduction to the Ash'ari school of thought. My favorite parts about this chapter are the headings of "Laws of nature" and "Chance and God", so if you are struggling to understand the entire chapter, I would suggest giving these headings some extra time and effort, because to understand why the Ash'ari school is problem free in the light of Islam and evolution, a base level understanding of these two topics is required. These part talk about miracles and divine power are seen in the Ash'ari school. This will be extremely important in the rest of the book.
Whichever framework you adopt, whether it's creationism, human exceptionalism, Adamic exceptionalism, or no exceptions, the Ash'ari school of thought has no issues at all.
Chapter 6 is in my opinion, the best chapter of the entire book. The message by now would be to "know your theology!" You don't want to end up arguing for Christian theology while arguing in favor of Islam, because unknowingly many Muslims do that. People who raise problems of chance, inefficiency, and naturalism with regards to theology are actually bringing Christian problems into Islam.
Chapter 7 is about Intelligent Design (ID), or should I say a critique on intelligent design. This has been a very famous argument in Christian theology, and has been used by many, if not the majority, Muslim thinkers too. It was briefly discussed in Chapter 2, but here it's discussed in detail. In short, Dr Shoaib throws ID under the bus and argues that in the Ash'ari school, intelligent design is irrelevant. For example, one of the many ways the Ash'ari school of thought is critiquing ID is by saying, "OK, why are you restricting God to only the complex characteristics?"
If you hold on to the ID narrative, I suggest reading the chapter with an extremely open mind, because you'll end up feeling that you were either arguing for a non-Islamic theology the whole time or you'll feel that Al Ghazali basically shattered your previous arguments in favor of something theologically better. ID has been instrumentalized as a God-friendly argument against evolution in many cases, but the Ash'ari worldview is not friendly to it. Contingency matters a lot more. Randomness and lack of design is NOT an issue in Ash'ari theology. You don't want to end up defending Christian theology. Nobody is denying design because there is complexity in nature, but relying just on design without focusing on contingency is useless in the Ash'ari paradigm.
Chapter 8 is really the hardest chapter of the entire book. It talks about morality and evolution. It speaks about how morals have been shaped in the light of evolution and what are technicalities associated with it. It includes descriptive, normative, and metaethics. What can be classified as good and how do we see altruism biologically, psychologically, philosophically? Whether humans and other species are born with morals? I'll admit that this is one chapter which I still haven't gotten the full grasp of it, may be because moral philosophy isn't my thing? I don't know, but I found this chapter, extremely tough. But DON'T SKIP THIS CHAPTER. Clearly because while reading about evolution and other topics related to it, you will ask that how are animal species helping each other? Do morals have an evolutionary function too? This can be a very essential discussion for some, but not everyone would be able to grasp it. I personally had that question too that can evolution dictate ethics? This chapter has given me a better understanding of evolutionary ethics than what I previously had. However, as compared to the rest of the chapter, Al Ghazali's framework of morals is relatively straightforward and easy to understand. Even the part where the problem of evil is discussed in the Ash'ari school is easy to read.
"If animals have evolved from previous beings, then how could good and bad be described?"
"Where does Allah come in to describe good and bad?"
"Is there any evolutionary function of good and bad?"
"What if evolution is true but our senses of good and bad aren't?"
This chapter will answer many of those questions for you. In short, what Allah wills is what He reveals. What Allah considers moral is what He reveals as moral. This does end up arguing for the Ahl E Sunnah position that Allah is the Creator of good and ALSO the Creator of evil, but that's because the definitions are coming intrinsically. Allah transcends all those definitions and Allah isn't bound by intrinsic definitions. So whether or not Allah is seen as the Creator of good and evil, the Ash'ari school has no problems with it. At the end of this chapter, you might end up being disappointed knowing that moral arguments in favor of God or God's existence are either irrelevant or baseless or senseless in the Ash'ari school, but again this might be a reminder to KNOW YOUR THEOLOGY. Most of the moral arguments in favor of God come from Christian apologists, such as William Lane Craig. So make sure that you're not adapting a Christian theological worldview when arguing for God. For more details, please read this important chapter.
Chapter 9 basically sets the ground for hermeneutics and tafseers in light of how Al Ghazali thinks of it. The focus of Chapter 9 is to see Al Ghazali as a theologian, and not as a jurist or sufi. This chapter will ask "If we are deriving principles of reading texts from Al Ghazali's perspective, how is evolution compatible with Islamic scripture? What are the limits of interpreting those texts which prevent them from being problematic?". The discussions of "reason and revelation" and "science and hermeneutics" is a key highlight of this chapter. Don't go into this chapter any further if you haven't read this heading thoroughly, because if you skip or even skim this heading, you'll miss out on all the details of where Al Ghazali is coming from. Just take a look at the discussion about what makes Al Ghazali so scientific. This part shows that Al Ghazali can be in favor of saying that there might be some correlation between Islamic scripture and natural sciences but they shouldn't be seen as definitive, but also when someone talks of "scientific miracles" in the Qur'an as a method of seeing that scientific ideas are readily available in the Qur'an, but because this is something what Al Ghazali would definitely not approve of. Why would he not approve of this? To answer that question, please read the book.
Al Ghazali sees the Qur'an as a guiding lens rather than the source of definitive naturalistic knowledge. Al Ghazali focuses on striking the right balance between reason and revelation. Why is it necessary to discuss this part? Because there have been some aspects of evolution which say that belief in evolution has taken one out of the fold of Islam. You will not be able to fully appreciate Al Ghazali's thoughts and flexibility, if you haven't given much time and attention to these two headings i.e. "reason and revelation" and "science and hermeneutics". Only then you would be able to understand Al Ghazali's 5 layers' methodology for figurative reading of scripture. The last part about Hadith and its evaluations is also an easy read. You'll realize at the end of this chapter that Al Ghazali is a person who strikes a great balance between reason and revelation, unlike the absolutists of both. This chapter was easier than chapter 8 to read though.
Chapter 10 is the penultimate chapter that finally asks the question: Is there creationism in the Qur'an or is there evolution? Some of you might have answered evolution by now, but some of you may have answered creationism. This chapter will be an in-depth analysis of different viewpoints that might be relevant to Islam and evolution from a scriptural perspective. This chapter mostly revolves around the positives and negatives of different views on evolution and Islam and how they can be seen from the Al Ghazali's Qur'anic lens. There are some positions that don't accept miracles and they tend to be positions of scientism. DEFINITELY NOT Islamic positions. Even the Mu'tazilites accepted miracles.
Conclusion:
I dare say that THIS BOOK IS THE HURF E AAKHIR on the topic of Islam and evolution. My favorite chapter is chapter 6, other honorable mentions would be 9,10 and 4. This book is a must read for anyone who has an interest in topics of science and religion. This should also be a must read for Muslims who are troubled with atheistic narratives which see evolution as anti-theistic when the truth is that it actually isn't. May Allah bless Dr Shoaib for his effort of writing this book and making a lot of problems easier. Make tons of duas for him.
He starts off by defining what the problem of Islam and evolution is. The problem ranges from struggling to accept evolution based on what the scientific evidence is presented to Muslims to ending up leaving Islam because the standard narrative that has existed over the years is that Adam (as) and Hawwa (as) were directly created beings from Allah, and evolution was nowhere to be found.
There have been many misconceptions on this topic. e.g. "EVOLUTION MEANS THAT OUR PARENTS ARE MONKEYS! ASTAGHFIRULLAH" . Specially created by Muslim apologists such as Dr Zakir Naik and Harun Yahya. Personally, i believe that the science Zakir Naik refers to is the worst anywhere on the internet, but he can be seen as a good person in terms of comparative religion and fiqh. Dr Shoaib does mention them too and what has been the trouble caused by their narratives. But he also does mention how the new atheism movement has also polarized this issue too.
He's coming from the Ash'ari school of thought. Dr Shoaib makes it clear that according to his work, Ash'ari school of thought is problem-free as far as the particular issue of Islam and evolution is concerned.
He does admit in the introduction itself that it's a challenge itself because he is actually juxtaposing Al-Ghazali's ideas to a modern issue but it is to say that you can still use Al-Ghazali's treatment of Ash'ari Islamic philosophy to say that (to the best of his knowledge) those ideas would show that there is nothing wrong in creating a narrative of Islam and evolution. He'll go into great details of how is that possible in the following chapters.
Chapter 1 is basically about what evolution is and what it isn't. He starts off by commenting on the famous image where a chimp like creature changes to a human by saying that the image is erroneous because the diagram has played an important role in giving way to the misconception the humans are descendants of monkeys. Next he moves on to explain the basics of evolution from a scientific perspective and their evidences. He explains some terms such as genomes, genotypes, phenotypes, and more.
Chapter 2 discusses Christian responses to evolution. This includes people like of Young Earth Creationists, Old Earth Creationists, Intelligent Design and Theistic evolution. Now you might be wondering why is it being discussed in a book which has an Islamic message at the centre? The truth of the matter is that evolution was fiercely criticized and even accepted in a variety of different ways in the Christian world. That's why it was necessary to discuss the history of how evolution has been seen throughout the course of theological history. Different approaches on how evolution was reconciled with theology started off in the Christian world. It's fair enough to see that some Muslims have also adopted these views, but Dr Shoaib does the right thing in discussing what problems and fallacies these views suffering from. A necessary chapter to set up a ground on why Christian theology isn't the same as Islamic theology. This will be clearer later in the book too.
Chapter 3 is about Islamic perspectives on evolution. So setting aside the problems in the Christian world I feel was the very right thing to do for 2 reasons:
1. Because Christian theology has some presuppositions that can clash with Islam such as original sin. So any Islamic viewpoint that arises for reconciling evolution and Islam should be free from the fallacies these viewpoints had.
2. If any critic of Islam is reading this book, it should be clear that projecting the criticism of Christian positions on the Islamic positions is a wrong approach, clearly because even though both religions do share a lot in common, they shouldn't be criticized from the same lens.
We need to keep Christian problems away from Islam. There will be a focus on that in later chapters too. What I like about this chapter is how it academically goes into classic Arabic contexts, and it also shows that the Qur'an and Hadith doesn't explicate any strictness in terms of chronology. It also shows that there is no reading of the Qur'an and Hadith which forces any historical chronology or time frame, rather there is quite a lot of room for interpretation based on the elasticity of the texts of classical Arabic. With regards to the subject of evolution when seen in the light of Qur'anic or classical Arabic, interpretations can be valid and can show a sense of possibility, but it's not possible to argue that they bring a conclusive chronology. Many verses in the Qur'an show no problem when viewed through an evolutionary lens. But WE ARE NOT READING EVOLUTION INTO THE QUR'AN but rather this chapter starts a narrative of saying that Islam has nothing against an evolutionary view of plant and animal species. The book touches on the issue of Adam (as) and gets into detail about the particular issues of Adam (as) in this chapter and in more specific details in chapter 4,6,10 because that is where the real problems in Islamic perspectives of evolution lie.
Chapter 4 is the point in the book where it now assumes that you have read the first three chapters, because there will be some technical terms which would likely require you to go back and revise what was said earlier. Chapter 4 introduces us to Muslim opinions on evolution, and also why there needs to be some sense of classification of ideas in the Islam and evolution area. I would say that table 4.3 is among the most important parts of this book. It very nicely summarizes different scholars opinions on evolution.
The classification table is great. However, for those who just want to read for the sake of reading Islam and evolution from a classical perspective, I would strongly recommend going through "Human exceptionalism" in much detail, because it briefly explains how classical frameworks of Al Ghazali, Ibn Sina, and Ibn Taimiyyah could be used for logical reasoning. Even though I'm more in favor of Adamic exceptionalism, I feel that the reading of the contents of human exceptionalism provided by Dr Shoaib is brilliant work. Adamic exceptionalism relies on tawaqquf, i.e. to refrain making a judgement due to conflicting evidence or lack of available evidence. It uses references to the consensus that scholars have believed that Adam (as) was created without parents. In a way, the position of Adamic exceptionalism goes away from the idea that Adam (as) was the start of humanity, because the Qur'an doesn't affirm or negate the idea of there already existing some form of humans before Adam (as), and they would have been a product of evolution. The last case is of "No exceptions" which states that non-humans, humans, and Adam (as) are part and parcel of the evolutionary process but Adam (as) was still created miraculously. There is a lot of detail distinguishing between bashr and insaan as used in the Qur'an, a tool which has been presented in this book as Dr Israr Ahmed, a famous Pakistani scholar. The point of this chapter is that all of these approaches believed that Adam (as) was created miraculously by Allah.
The understanding of miracles and occasionalism in the Al Ghazali paradigm is extremely important if you want a deeper understanding of how Ash'ari framework is problem-free for the issue of evolution.
Chapter 5 is basically about how people have somehow managed to read evolution onto Islamic texts such as those of Ibn Khaldun, Jalal ud-Din al Rumi, al-Jahiz, and more. To be more precise, it's about how they have misread evolution onto those texts. Dr Shoaib calls them "decontextualized interpretations". I found this chapter very useful because many people have quoted that these Islamic texts were the first to talk about biological evolution, and this chapter does a great job of debunking some narratives that have been wrongly attributed to Islamic texts.
I think the reason why Dr. Shoaib did this is because we saw in Chapter 4 that evolution has been seen by many to be associated with atheism and hardline naturalism. To contrast that, this chapter was written in light of Muslim perspectives on evolution as a more specific historical inquiry. Because apparently, one of the Muslim perspectives out there is the idea that old Muslim scholars used to think about evolution, the idea of chapter 5 was to debunk this incorrect idea.
Chapter 6 is WITHOUT A DOUBT my favorite chapter of the entire book! You can also think of this chapter as an introduction to Ash'ari philosophy and the Divine Action Plan. Chapters 6,7 and 8 are very philosophical in their content. You might want to read these chapters a few times to make complete sense of what's being discussed. Of course, philosophy isn't everyone's cup of tea. It definitely isn't mine, so I did struggle to get some concepts. The specific problems that will be dealt in this chapter are problem of naturalism (PON), the problem of chance (POC), and the problem of inefficiency (POI), and all from the perspective of Al Ghazali, who belonged from the Ash'ari school of thought. It will also deal with occasionalism, atomism, free will, laws of nature, creation, necessity, and more in the Ash'ari school of thought. Also, how the Ash'ari school of thought deals with Allah's will, knowledge, and power, and also the contingency of creation. For those who are aware of the contingency argument in favor of God and other philosophical concepts, they could grasp this chapter easily, but in my opinion, this is not an easy chapter, but if you really want to know which philosophical position is Dr. Shoaib coming from, and what would be the safest Ash'ari or philosophical position to take when believing in evolution, this chapter is a must read.
Consider this chapter as an introduction to the Ash'ari school of thought. My favorite parts about this chapter are the headings of "Laws of nature" and "Chance and God", so if you are struggling to understand the entire chapter, I would suggest giving these headings some extra time and effort, because to understand why the Ash'ari school is problem free in the light of Islam and evolution, a base level understanding of these two topics is required. These part talk about miracles and divine power are seen in the Ash'ari school. This will be extremely important in the rest of the book.
Whichever framework you adopt, whether it's creationism, human exceptionalism, Adamic exceptionalism, or no exceptions, the Ash'ari school of thought has no issues at all.
Chapter 6 is in my opinion, the best chapter of the entire book. The message by now would be to "know your theology!" You don't want to end up arguing for Christian theology while arguing in favor of Islam, because unknowingly many Muslims do that. People who raise problems of chance, inefficiency, and naturalism with regards to theology are actually bringing Christian problems into Islam.
Chapter 7 is about Intelligent Design (ID), or should I say a critique on intelligent design. This has been a very famous argument in Christian theology, and has been used by many, if not the majority, Muslim thinkers too. It was briefly discussed in Chapter 2, but here it's discussed in detail. In short, Dr Shoaib throws ID under the bus and argues that in the Ash'ari school, intelligent design is irrelevant. For example, one of the many ways the Ash'ari school of thought is critiquing ID is by saying, "OK, why are you restricting God to only the complex characteristics?"
If you hold on to the ID narrative, I suggest reading the chapter with an extremely open mind, because you'll end up feeling that you were either arguing for a non-Islamic theology the whole time or you'll feel that Al Ghazali basically shattered your previous arguments in favor of something theologically better. ID has been instrumentalized as a God-friendly argument against evolution in many cases, but the Ash'ari worldview is not friendly to it. Contingency matters a lot more. Randomness and lack of design is NOT an issue in Ash'ari theology. You don't want to end up defending Christian theology. Nobody is denying design because there is complexity in nature, but relying just on design without focusing on contingency is useless in the Ash'ari paradigm.
Chapter 8 is really the hardest chapter of the entire book. It talks about morality and evolution. It speaks about how morals have been shaped in the light of evolution and what are technicalities associated with it. It includes descriptive, normative, and metaethics. What can be classified as good and how do we see altruism biologically, psychologically, philosophically? Whether humans and other species are born with morals? I'll admit that this is one chapter which I still haven't gotten the full grasp of it, may be because moral philosophy isn't my thing? I don't know, but I found this chapter, extremely tough. But DON'T SKIP THIS CHAPTER. Clearly because while reading about evolution and other topics related to it, you will ask that how are animal species helping each other? Do morals have an evolutionary function too? This can be a very essential discussion for some, but not everyone would be able to grasp it. I personally had that question too that can evolution dictate ethics? This chapter has given me a better understanding of evolutionary ethics than what I previously had. However, as compared to the rest of the chapter, Al Ghazali's framework of morals is relatively straightforward and easy to understand. Even the part where the problem of evil is discussed in the Ash'ari school is easy to read.
"If animals have evolved from previous beings, then how could good and bad be described?"
"Where does Allah come in to describe good and bad?"
"Is there any evolutionary function of good and bad?"
"What if evolution is true but our senses of good and bad aren't?"
This chapter will answer many of those questions for you. In short, what Allah wills is what He reveals. What Allah considers moral is what He reveals as moral. This does end up arguing for the Ahl E Sunnah position that Allah is the Creator of good and ALSO the Creator of evil, but that's because the definitions are coming intrinsically. Allah transcends all those definitions and Allah isn't bound by intrinsic definitions. So whether or not Allah is seen as the Creator of good and evil, the Ash'ari school has no problems with it. At the end of this chapter, you might end up being disappointed knowing that moral arguments in favor of God or God's existence are either irrelevant or baseless or senseless in the Ash'ari school, but again this might be a reminder to KNOW YOUR THEOLOGY. Most of the moral arguments in favor of God come from Christian apologists, such as William Lane Craig. So make sure that you're not adapting a Christian theological worldview when arguing for God. For more details, please read this important chapter.
Chapter 9 basically sets the ground for hermeneutics and tafseers in light of how Al Ghazali thinks of it. The focus of Chapter 9 is to see Al Ghazali as a theologian, and not as a jurist or sufi. This chapter will ask "If we are deriving principles of reading texts from Al Ghazali's perspective, how is evolution compatible with Islamic scripture? What are the limits of interpreting those texts which prevent them from being problematic?". The discussions of "reason and revelation" and "science and hermeneutics" is a key highlight of this chapter. Don't go into this chapter any further if you haven't read this heading thoroughly, because if you skip or even skim this heading, you'll miss out on all the details of where Al Ghazali is coming from. Just take a look at the discussion about what makes Al Ghazali so scientific. This part shows that Al Ghazali can be in favor of saying that there might be some correlation between Islamic scripture and natural sciences but they shouldn't be seen as definitive, but also when someone talks of "scientific miracles" in the Qur'an as a method of seeing that scientific ideas are readily available in the Qur'an, but because this is something what Al Ghazali would definitely not approve of. Why would he not approve of this? To answer that question, please read the book.
Al Ghazali sees the Qur'an as a guiding lens rather than the source of definitive naturalistic knowledge. Al Ghazali focuses on striking the right balance between reason and revelation. Why is it necessary to discuss this part? Because there have been some aspects of evolution which say that belief in evolution has taken one out of the fold of Islam. You will not be able to fully appreciate Al Ghazali's thoughts and flexibility, if you haven't given much time and attention to these two headings i.e. "reason and revelation" and "science and hermeneutics". Only then you would be able to understand Al Ghazali's 5 layers' methodology for figurative reading of scripture. The last part about Hadith and its evaluations is also an easy read. You'll realize at the end of this chapter that Al Ghazali is a person who strikes a great balance between reason and revelation, unlike the absolutists of both. This chapter was easier than chapter 8 to read though.
Chapter 10 is the penultimate chapter that finally asks the question: Is there creationism in the Qur'an or is there evolution? Some of you might have answered evolution by now, but some of you may have answered creationism. This chapter will be an in-depth analysis of different viewpoints that might be relevant to Islam and evolution from a scriptural perspective. This chapter mostly revolves around the positives and negatives of different views on evolution and Islam and how they can be seen from the Al Ghazali's Qur'anic lens. There are some positions that don't accept miracles and they tend to be positions of scientism. DEFINITELY NOT Islamic positions. Even the Mu'tazilites accepted miracles.
Conclusion:
I dare say that THIS BOOK IS THE HURF E AAKHIR on the topic of Islam and evolution. My favorite chapter is chapter 6, other honorable mentions would be 9,10 and 4. This book is a must read for anyone who has an interest in topics of science and religion. This should also be a must read for Muslims who are troubled with atheistic narratives which see evolution as anti-theistic when the truth is that it actually isn't. May Allah bless Dr Shoaib for his effort of writing this book and making a lot of problems easier. Make tons of duas for him.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 5, 2021
سيكون لي مراجعة فيما بعد
April 28, 2025
This work looks at the acceptance of evolution from an Ash'arite (Sunni) perspective. In my opinion, the most interesting contribution is the classification of evolution acceptance from an Islamic viewpoint. Adding Adamic exceptionalism is certainly befitting. Nonetheless, the book is repetitive and engagement with the science is quite limited.
April 19, 2022
A fresh look at theological discussion of the compatibility evolution in islamic theology. Shoaib takes the metaphysical principle of Al-Ghazali (as'arites) that focuses on the principle of occasionalism which means the entire cosmos existence is contingent on the action of God as a main tool in answering several questions of incompatibility between Islam (or religion in general) with evolution. He analysis is done to 4 positions taken by islamic scholars regarding evolution :
1. The no-evolution camp : those who believe that God created all organisms (especially human) with miraculous means. No evolution is needed.
2. The human-exception camp : those who do not mind evolution as the mean of God in creating all organisms other than humans. Cause the interpretation of the scripture about human descended from Adam and Adam is created by God directly.
3. The Adamic-exception camp : those who are in agreement with no 2 but extended the evolution up to all hominins and homo sapiens itself. However Adam is the exception. He is the one created miraculously by God.
4. The full-evolution camp : those who believe that evolution is the sole mean by God in creating every organisms including humans in this world.
His conclusion shows that al-Ghazali metaphysical stance in as'arites can accept all camps. So any muslims who believe any of the four is consistent with God's omnipotence property in al-Ghazali's as'arites metaphysics.
Part 2 of the book deals with the same problem but now focusing on al-Ghazali's hermeneutic principles in understanding the islamic holy scripture and sources such as the hadith the prophet (collections of propher Muhammad's saying and doing) especially dealing with the creation of Adam. I will not go detailing this principles but the conclusion is al-Ghazali's hermeneutics work perfectly with camp 1-3 but not camp 4 (full evolution stance). Based on this, if a muslim wants to really compromise between islamic teachings and evolution principle he could take the no 3 stance. This position does not negate the homo sapiens being product of evolution while maintaining that Adam's creation is a God's miracle.
In my opinion this books is a fresh look at a healthy discussions between religion and science. Shoaib gives a fair explanations to evolution which usually down graded and negatively argued by religious scholars. It is surprising because his understanding to the principle of evolutions is actually inline with the mainstream evolutionary biologists. I my self am a scientist so I know how religious scholars have misunderstood this topic as far as I can remember.
1. The no-evolution camp : those who believe that God created all organisms (especially human) with miraculous means. No evolution is needed.
2. The human-exception camp : those who do not mind evolution as the mean of God in creating all organisms other than humans. Cause the interpretation of the scripture about human descended from Adam and Adam is created by God directly.
3. The Adamic-exception camp : those who are in agreement with no 2 but extended the evolution up to all hominins and homo sapiens itself. However Adam is the exception. He is the one created miraculously by God.
4. The full-evolution camp : those who believe that evolution is the sole mean by God in creating every organisms including humans in this world.
His conclusion shows that al-Ghazali metaphysical stance in as'arites can accept all camps. So any muslims who believe any of the four is consistent with God's omnipotence property in al-Ghazali's as'arites metaphysics.
Part 2 of the book deals with the same problem but now focusing on al-Ghazali's hermeneutic principles in understanding the islamic holy scripture and sources such as the hadith the prophet (collections of propher Muhammad's saying and doing) especially dealing with the creation of Adam. I will not go detailing this principles but the conclusion is al-Ghazali's hermeneutics work perfectly with camp 1-3 but not camp 4 (full evolution stance). Based on this, if a muslim wants to really compromise between islamic teachings and evolution principle he could take the no 3 stance. This position does not negate the homo sapiens being product of evolution while maintaining that Adam's creation is a God's miracle.
In my opinion this books is a fresh look at a healthy discussions between religion and science. Shoaib gives a fair explanations to evolution which usually down graded and negatively argued by religious scholars. It is surprising because his understanding to the principle of evolutions is actually inline with the mainstream evolutionary biologists. I my self am a scientist so I know how religious scholars have misunderstood this topic as far as I can remember.
March 23, 2024
The book has a lot of useful information and references. However, one cannot fail to notice that the main premise that the whole book is based on takes for granted evolution as dictated by the neo-Darwinian narrative, in which life evolves through natural selection and guided by random genetic mutations...
That this is the narrative found in most school text books in the English speaking world that is true, but it's been decades that it has been seriously questioned by biologists. The last two decades have been even more challenging and one senses a major shift in biological sciences if one sees in the most prestigious science journal, Nature, just to give an example, articles with title 'Does Evolutionary Theory need a rethink?' (2014).
The point is that the author seems to take a version of evolution which is being questioned as unquestionable and then attempts to shoehorn the theology of Ghazzali into it.
For Muslim scholars and theologians, including Ghazzali, the point of departure for their works has always been God as the Ultimate Reality, compared to which all are but shadows in Plato's cave. This author must be an exception since his point of departure is evolution guided by random mutations and then it is the scriptures and their description of the world and how it came to be that must fit this narrative.
Then there are some interesting descriptions of scholars and scientist. For example, Michael Behe is described as a scientist with a Christian background but somehow he refers to Richard Dawkins simply as a biologist, ignoring the fact that he has made his name more as a crusader for atheism using the prestige that science affords as a support. If Behe is a biochemist who is Christian then it should be mentioned that Dawkins is a biologist who is an atheist.
The premises of the work and some of the interpretations are difficult to defend intellectually, in my opinion. The good thing, perhaps, is that it may trigger some discussions.
That this is the narrative found in most school text books in the English speaking world that is true, but it's been decades that it has been seriously questioned by biologists. The last two decades have been even more challenging and one senses a major shift in biological sciences if one sees in the most prestigious science journal, Nature, just to give an example, articles with title 'Does Evolutionary Theory need a rethink?' (2014).
The point is that the author seems to take a version of evolution which is being questioned as unquestionable and then attempts to shoehorn the theology of Ghazzali into it.
For Muslim scholars and theologians, including Ghazzali, the point of departure for their works has always been God as the Ultimate Reality, compared to which all are but shadows in Plato's cave. This author must be an exception since his point of departure is evolution guided by random mutations and then it is the scriptures and their description of the world and how it came to be that must fit this narrative.
Then there are some interesting descriptions of scholars and scientist. For example, Michael Behe is described as a scientist with a Christian background but somehow he refers to Richard Dawkins simply as a biologist, ignoring the fact that he has made his name more as a crusader for atheism using the prestige that science affords as a support. If Behe is a biochemist who is Christian then it should be mentioned that Dawkins is a biologist who is an atheist.
The premises of the work and some of the interpretations are difficult to defend intellectually, in my opinion. The good thing, perhaps, is that it may trigger some discussions.
June 6, 2021
This book is an academic research book written in a very academic language, but still easy to comprehend. Extensive use of acronyms can confuse the reader and it can force the reader to flip the pages back and forth in order to grasp the meaning of a certain acronym.
The structure of the book is easy to follow and helps you build up the narrative model of the book in your mind where you can freely navigate and find your way. The author tackles the problem of collision between theological and scientific perspectives on the story of biological genesis: in doing so he outlines main theological and hermeneutical rules that can help readers to understand the modern islamic discussions revolving around the topic.
I particularly enjoyed reading those parts of the book that deal with issues of ethics, moral values, the problem of evil and Gods omnipotence.
But to my disappointment I could not find a detailed discussion dealing with specific arguments from genetics, paleontology: for instance could you make a case for human exceptionalism in light of recent genetical evidence for contuniuty between prehumans and humans? Could horisontal gene transfer be enough to explain common genetic traits between humans and animals? Unfortunately the book does not cover these discussions and to be honest the book does not claim to answer this kind of questions. The book is clear from the beginning about its goal: it is dealing with general outlines from an ashari theological paradigm. The author never intended to dive into specific evolutionary arguments.
The result of the book is that out of different modern approaches to the evolution, David Jalajels adamic exceptionalism comes closest to al-Ghazalis understanding.
The structure of the book is easy to follow and helps you build up the narrative model of the book in your mind where you can freely navigate and find your way. The author tackles the problem of collision between theological and scientific perspectives on the story of biological genesis: in doing so he outlines main theological and hermeneutical rules that can help readers to understand the modern islamic discussions revolving around the topic.
I particularly enjoyed reading those parts of the book that deal with issues of ethics, moral values, the problem of evil and Gods omnipotence.
But to my disappointment I could not find a detailed discussion dealing with specific arguments from genetics, paleontology: for instance could you make a case for human exceptionalism in light of recent genetical evidence for contuniuty between prehumans and humans? Could horisontal gene transfer be enough to explain common genetic traits between humans and animals? Unfortunately the book does not cover these discussions and to be honest the book does not claim to answer this kind of questions. The book is clear from the beginning about its goal: it is dealing with general outlines from an ashari theological paradigm. The author never intended to dive into specific evolutionary arguments.
The result of the book is that out of different modern approaches to the evolution, David Jalajels adamic exceptionalism comes closest to al-Ghazalis understanding.
October 8, 2023
“Sungguh, Kami benar-benar telah menciptakan manusia dalam bentuk yg sebaik-baiknya.” (Q.S. at-Tin [95]: 4)
#lintangbookreview
Aku butuh waktu 2 pekan utk menyelesaikan buku ini. Terhitung slow reading ya, tp memang buku ini tdk bisa dibaca hanya sepintas lalu. Dikemas dgn runtut dan mendetail, buku ini menyuguhkan penjelasan yg teologis dan saintifik mendalam. Bagiku yg awam dgn dunia sains, perlu mencernanya baik2. Walau begitu, pembahasan yg disajikan sungguh menarik.
Tak dapat dipungkiri, teori evolusi senantiasa menjadi perdebatan hingga sekarang. Meski telah banyak informasi yg disuguhkan oleh evolusi seperti penemuan fosil dan bukti genetika, teori ini tetap dianggap ‘sesat’ krn bertentangan dgn agama, khususnya pada narasi penciptaan Adam & Hawa yg selama ini kita percayai.
Di bagian awal buku ini membahas tentang perspektif saintifik mengenai teori evolusi. Dilanjutkan dgn respons beberapa aliran besar umat Kristen dalam menyikapi evolusi yg tentu penuh dgn pro kontra. Di bagian kedua, penulis menyuguhkan penjelasan yg komprehensif mengenai ayat al-Quran dan hadis yg relevan dgn narasi penciptaan, pun dgn hasil pemikiran para cendekia Muslim abad pertengahan beserta kritiknya terhadap teori evolusi. Lalu terakhir, penulis menyajikan bagaimana pertimbangan metafisika (studi realitas) dan hermeneutika (interpretasi makna) dalam perspektif Asy’ariyah dan kerangka pemikiran al-Ghazali.
(Poin2 penting dalam buku silakan slide pada foto)
Membaca buku ini memperluas cara pandang kita terhadap teori evolusi dalam kacamata teologi & bagaimana pandangan Islam menyikapi teori tersebut. Strategi penafsiran (dalam hal ini asal-usul penciptaan) oleh al-Ghazali dibagi menjadi 5 skema yg menandakan bahwa ayat-ayat al-Quran & hadis tdk boleh dimaknai secara asal-asalan & seenaknya sendiri.
Pada akhirnya, sesuai dgn konsep pemikiran al-Ghazali, sains & agama bukanlah suatu hal yg bertentangan, tetapi saling mengisi.
Walaupun tdk bisa dijadikan referensi tunggal, buku ini cocok dibaca untuk semua kalangan, khususnya yg ingin memaknai evolusi dlm sudut pandang Islam. Semoga dgn mempelajari sains dan teologi semacam ini dapat menambah keimanan kita. Aamiin.
#lintangbookreview
Aku butuh waktu 2 pekan utk menyelesaikan buku ini. Terhitung slow reading ya, tp memang buku ini tdk bisa dibaca hanya sepintas lalu. Dikemas dgn runtut dan mendetail, buku ini menyuguhkan penjelasan yg teologis dan saintifik mendalam. Bagiku yg awam dgn dunia sains, perlu mencernanya baik2. Walau begitu, pembahasan yg disajikan sungguh menarik.
Tak dapat dipungkiri, teori evolusi senantiasa menjadi perdebatan hingga sekarang. Meski telah banyak informasi yg disuguhkan oleh evolusi seperti penemuan fosil dan bukti genetika, teori ini tetap dianggap ‘sesat’ krn bertentangan dgn agama, khususnya pada narasi penciptaan Adam & Hawa yg selama ini kita percayai.
Di bagian awal buku ini membahas tentang perspektif saintifik mengenai teori evolusi. Dilanjutkan dgn respons beberapa aliran besar umat Kristen dalam menyikapi evolusi yg tentu penuh dgn pro kontra. Di bagian kedua, penulis menyuguhkan penjelasan yg komprehensif mengenai ayat al-Quran dan hadis yg relevan dgn narasi penciptaan, pun dgn hasil pemikiran para cendekia Muslim abad pertengahan beserta kritiknya terhadap teori evolusi. Lalu terakhir, penulis menyajikan bagaimana pertimbangan metafisika (studi realitas) dan hermeneutika (interpretasi makna) dalam perspektif Asy’ariyah dan kerangka pemikiran al-Ghazali.
(Poin2 penting dalam buku silakan slide pada foto)
Membaca buku ini memperluas cara pandang kita terhadap teori evolusi dalam kacamata teologi & bagaimana pandangan Islam menyikapi teori tersebut. Strategi penafsiran (dalam hal ini asal-usul penciptaan) oleh al-Ghazali dibagi menjadi 5 skema yg menandakan bahwa ayat-ayat al-Quran & hadis tdk boleh dimaknai secara asal-asalan & seenaknya sendiri.
Pada akhirnya, sesuai dgn konsep pemikiran al-Ghazali, sains & agama bukanlah suatu hal yg bertentangan, tetapi saling mengisi.
Walaupun tdk bisa dijadikan referensi tunggal, buku ini cocok dibaca untuk semua kalangan, khususnya yg ingin memaknai evolusi dlm sudut pandang Islam. Semoga dgn mempelajari sains dan teologi semacam ini dapat menambah keimanan kita. Aamiin.
March 2, 2025
4,5/5 dari saya!
Pembahasan yang sangat menarik. Lewat buku ini, pembaca diajak mengikuti pemikiran beragam tokoh dan cendikiawan muslim maupun non-muslim mengenai Teori Evolusi dan teologi. Karna pemikiran dan pendapat yang disajikan berasal dari beberapa orang, pembaca tidak "dicekoki" untuk hanya percaya pada satu kerangka pemikiran saja, melainkan diajak untuk ikut berpikir dan membentuk pemikiran/simpulannya sendiri.
Salah satu hal penting yang saya dapat dari buku ini adalah, Teori Evolusi dan islam tidak sehitam-putih itu. Teori Evolusi yang selama ini disalahkaprahi banyak orang pun tidak sesederhana "nenek moyang manusia adalah kera". Banyak aspek yang perlu dilihat dan dipertimbangkan, dan buku ini berhasil merangkum dan menjelaskan semua aspek-aspek itu dengan baik.
Apa yang disajikan dalam buku ini tentulah bukan akhir dari pemikiran soal Teori Evolusi dan penafsiran islam mengenainya. Sebagaimana ilmu pengetahuan yang terus berkembang, upaya penafsiran Al-Qur'an pun juga akan terus berkembang. Mengutip perkataan Ust. Nourman Ali Khan yang baru-baru ini saya dengar, "Bahkan jika semua umat manusia dikerahkan untuk mempelajari isi Al-Quran, kita tidak akan pernah selesai".
Pembahasan yang sangat menarik. Lewat buku ini, pembaca diajak mengikuti pemikiran beragam tokoh dan cendikiawan muslim maupun non-muslim mengenai Teori Evolusi dan teologi. Karna pemikiran dan pendapat yang disajikan berasal dari beberapa orang, pembaca tidak "dicekoki" untuk hanya percaya pada satu kerangka pemikiran saja, melainkan diajak untuk ikut berpikir dan membentuk pemikiran/simpulannya sendiri.
Salah satu hal penting yang saya dapat dari buku ini adalah, Teori Evolusi dan islam tidak sehitam-putih itu. Teori Evolusi yang selama ini disalahkaprahi banyak orang pun tidak sesederhana "nenek moyang manusia adalah kera". Banyak aspek yang perlu dilihat dan dipertimbangkan, dan buku ini berhasil merangkum dan menjelaskan semua aspek-aspek itu dengan baik.
Apa yang disajikan dalam buku ini tentulah bukan akhir dari pemikiran soal Teori Evolusi dan penafsiran islam mengenainya. Sebagaimana ilmu pengetahuan yang terus berkembang, upaya penafsiran Al-Qur'an pun juga akan terus berkembang. Mengutip perkataan Ust. Nourman Ali Khan yang baru-baru ini saya dengar, "Bahkan jika semua umat manusia dikerahkan untuk mempelajari isi Al-Quran, kita tidak akan pernah selesai".
May 27, 2026
The issue of Islam and evolution is a highly contested issue with a multitude of misconceptions and misreadings existing.
From outright allegations of disbelief to a seeming abandonement of Islamic scripture, the range of issues this biological advancement has brought is astounding. And the lack of scholarly work is lacking.
This book fills in that gaping hole splendidly by tackling the topic very academically.
It introduces evolution and the science around it to a good level. It then points out the points of contention identified by Christians and Muslim in the theory.
It introduces us to the Christian criticisms such as the age of the universe and Original Sin, and how they dealt with it.
It then introduces the Muslim paradigm and how they saw issues such as Adam's creation and chance mechanisms in evolution.
It provides the framework for Muslims to understand a deep angle of evolution using theology and proceeds to unpack the matter to give a direction of thought that is compatible with Islam.
A great read for someone versed in science and theology. Not a beginner's read
From outright allegations of disbelief to a seeming abandonement of Islamic scripture, the range of issues this biological advancement has brought is astounding. And the lack of scholarly work is lacking.
This book fills in that gaping hole splendidly by tackling the topic very academically.
It introduces evolution and the science around it to a good level. It then points out the points of contention identified by Christians and Muslim in the theory.
It introduces us to the Christian criticisms such as the age of the universe and Original Sin, and how they dealt with it.
It then introduces the Muslim paradigm and how they saw issues such as Adam's creation and chance mechanisms in evolution.
It provides the framework for Muslims to understand a deep angle of evolution using theology and proceeds to unpack the matter to give a direction of thought that is compatible with Islam.
A great read for someone versed in science and theology. Not a beginner's read
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July 4, 2023Kita kerap menemukan nama al-Ghazali dalam perbincangan filsafat dan agama, yakni kritiknya terhapaf para filsuf dan pemikiran keberagamaannya yang kini cukup dominan dianut. Tetapi penyandingan al-Ghazali dengan perbincangan sains, yakni evolusi, merupakan sesuatu yang baru dan menyegarkan. Menarik.
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August 14, 2021
Long, repetitive, with some brilliant moments pages spattered throughout.
January 30, 2024
Kajian yang agak menyeluruh dan mencakupi dalam topik ni. Menarik untuk dibaca.
August 11, 2026
One of the best book I have read in 2026. Especially for those who are curious about Adam & Eve in Islamic theology.
August 29, 2021
Great book on the topic of Islam and Evolution. A foundational book that explores the previous attempts to address this pertinent topic and provides an explanation into the perspective of Imam al-Ghazali using his hermeneutics. Highly recommend to everyone!
May 29, 2021
Very interesting and valuable contribution from Dr.Shoaib to this very important topic. Highly appreciated!
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