Fossil records show us that many animals, like dinosaurs, used to live on Earth but are now gone. Before humans appeared, there was a long time. In the Qur’an, it says:
There did pass over mankind a period of time when he was not a thing worth mentioning. (Qur’an, Surah al-Insan, 76:1).
So, before modern humans, who lived on Earth? Were there other advanced beings? And where did humans come from?
According to the Qur’an and what the family of Prophet Muhammad (S) said, there were two other beings before humans – they were called “jinns” and “nusnas”.
To know more about creatures before Adam read this blog:
For example, the existence of jinns has been mentioned in the Qur’an multiple times:
خَلَقَ الْإِنْسَانَ مِنْ صَلْصَالٍ كَالْفَخَّارِ وَخَلَقَ الْجَانَّ مِنْ مَارِجٍ مِنْ نَارٍ
He (God) created human being from the essence extracted from dry ringing clay like a piece of baked pottery (with the faculty of speech and possessing pliant and submissive nature). And He created the jinn from a flame of fire (possessing fiery nature). (Qur’an, Surah al-Rahman, 55:14-15).
So then how did humans emerge? Did they evolve from the nusnas or do they have a separate origin? According to the Qur’an, the first human to be created was Adam (‘a) (In Arabic, the name of the first creation, Adam, comes from the phrase adim al-ardh which literally means dust from the surface of the earth, and this was them summarized into the one word, Adam) and then his wife Eve (‘a). The Qur’an clearly refutes any claim that Adam (‘a) evolved from earlier life forms as he had no father or mother:
إِنَّ مَثَلَ عِيسَىٰ عِنْدَ اللّٰهِ كَمَثَلِ آدَمَ خَلَقَهُ مِنْ تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ قَالَ لَهُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ
Verily, the case of Jesus is as the case of Adam in the sight of God. He fashioned him out of dust, then He said to him: Be, and he came to be. (Qur’an, Surah Ale ʿImran, 3:59).
Thus, the origin of Adam (‘a) is from “dust” or “adim al-ardh” and it means that the structural or material aspect of Adam’s existence is from dust originating from the earth. The other main ingredient of material aspect of our existence is water:
وَهُــوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ مِنَ الْمَاءِ بَشَرًا فَجَعَلَهُ نَسَبًا وَصِهْرًا وَكَانَ رَبُّكَ قَدِيرًا
And it is He (God) Who created the human being from water and has given him relations by descent and (kindred) by marriage (and thus sought to establish a civilization and social life based on oneness of humanity under oneness of God). And your Lord is All-Powerful. (Qur’an, Surah al-Furqan, 25:54).
Nearly two-thirds of the adult human body is made up of water molecules, and the other one-third contains oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and many trace elements including iron. These elements exist on the earth and the atmosphere surrounding the earth.
The next question that comes to mind is that if Adam (‘a) was a special creation without a father and a mother then how or where was he created? There are two possibilities – either Adam (‘a) was created on earth just like the other life forms are created through a combination of khalq and amr – Divine Creation and Command; or that Adam (‘a) was created somewhere else and then transported to the earth.
Although it is hard to definitely say, but based on the interpretation of the verses of the Qur’an and statements of Prophet Muhammad (S) and his family, in our understanding, Adam (‘a) was most likely created somewhere else and then moved to the earth. This is also the view of a leading contemporary Shi’a scholar, Ayatollah Jawadi Amoli. (Reference: God’s Emissaries, Adam to Jesus.) Again, this is based on our personal opinion of what we have studied and is subject to further investigation.
According to the Qur’an, after creation, Adam (‘a) and his wife were asked to dwell in a “garden” and to eat as they like but not to approach a certain tree:
وَقُلْنَا يَا آدَمُ اسْكُنْ أَنْتَ وَزَوْجُكَ الْجَنَّةَ وَكُلَا مِنْهَا رَغَدًا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمَا وَلَا تَقْرَبَا هَٰذِهِ الشَّجَرَةَ فَتَكُونَا مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ
And We (God) said: O Adam! Dwell you and your wife in this garden and eat freely and plentifully from it as you will. But you shall not go near this tree lest you should be of the unjust. (Qur’an, Surah al-Baqarah, 2:35).
However, due to satanic temptation, they did approach the tree and afterwards were asked to leave the garden and descend to earth:
فَأَزَلَّهُمَا الشَّيْطَانُ عَنْهَا فَأَخْرَجَهُمَا مِمَّا كَانَا فِيهِ وَقُلْنَا اهْبِطُوا بَعْضُكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّ وَلَكُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ مُسْتَقَرٌّ وَمَتَاعٌ إِلَىٰ حِينٍ
After sometime the Satan caused them both to slip from this (order of not going near evil) and thus brought them out of (the happy state) which they were in. And We (God) said (to them): Go forth, some of you are enemies of others and for you there is a sojourn in the earth and a provision for a time. (Qur’an, Surah al-Baqarah, 2:36).
This “garden” was not the paradise that is promised to the believers after death but rather, it was another garden. It was likely in a higher realm of existence, and afterwards they were asked ‘ihbitu’ which means to ‘go down,’ or ‘to float down,” or “come down gradually” towards earth and dwell on the earth for a period of time – until death takes them. After death, God promises that We will return you back to the higher realm of existence.
The same concept is repeated elsewhere in the Qur’an as well suggesting that we are in this world temporarily, and will be returning back to our origin:
قَالَ اهْبِطُوا بَعْضُكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّ وَلَكُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ مُسْتَقَرٌّ وَمَتَاعٌ إِلَىٰ حِينٍ قَالَ فِيهَا تَحْيَوْنَ وَفِيهَا تَمُوتُونَ وَمِنْهَا تُخْرَجُونَ
(God) said: Get down. Some of you are (indeed) enemies of others, and there will be for you on this earth a habitation and (enjoyment of) provision for a while. And (He added): In this you shall live and therein you shall die and from it you shall be brought forth (in the Hereafter). (Qur’an, Surah al-Aʿraf, 7:24-25).
Satan, or as he is known by his Arabic and Qur’anic title of Iblis, came down to earth along with Adam (‘a) and his wife, Eve (‘a). Iblis is not a human being but rather, belongs to another type of creation known as the jinn:
وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لِآدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلَّا إِبْلِيسَ كَانَ مِنَ الْجِنِّ فَفَسَقَ عَنْ أَمْرِ رَبِّهِ أَفَتَتَّخِذُونَهُ وَذُرِّيَّتَهُ أَوْلِيَاءَ مِنْ دُونِي وَهُمْ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ ۚ بِئْسَ لِلظَّالِمِينَ بَدَلًا
And (recall the time) when We (God) said to the angels: Submit to Adam. So they all submitted (bowing), but Iblis (did not); he was one of the jinn, he disobeyed the command of his Lord. (Mankind!) Would you (then) take him and his progeny (and cohorts) for friends rather than Me while they are your enemies? How evil is the substitute (of God) the unjust have chosen! (Qur’an, Surah al-Kahf, 18:50).
Thus, Adam (‘a) and Eve (‘a) were the first couple created by special means. They were most likely made in an extra-terrestrial realm of existence and were then sent down for a specific period of time.
The progeny of Adam (‘a) continued through his son Seth (‘a) for whom a wife was sent from the higher realm of existence also. (Reference: God’s Emissaries, Adam to Jesus.) As the descendants of Adam (‘a), we can maintain consciousness in this realm of existence for only a certain number of hours at a stretch each day and after that our faculties start to fade and sleep overtakes us. During sleep we are disengaged from our earthly life to be returned to it once the period of sleep is over. This process repeats itself until our term on the earth is complete, and then death permanently separates us from this material realm of existence returning us back towards our origin:
إِلَى اللّٰهِ مَرْجِعُكُمْ جَمِيعًا فَيُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ فِيهِ تَخْتَلِفُونَ
To God is the return of you all, then He will inform you as to that wherein you were at variance. (Qur’an, Surah al-Ma’idah, 5:48).
In this Blog We have discussed that evolution, change and adaptation is a self-evident reality in the physical realm of existence. The phenomenon of evolution also takes place in biology at microlevel resulting in adaptive changes in species e.g. (anti-biotic resistance or longer body hair due to colder temperature).
Right now there is insufficient scientific evidence to say that abiogenesis happened on it owns and that complex species have evolved from simpler forms by natural selection. There is no experimental evidence to back these claims.
When we analyze this issue from philosophical and spiritual aspects it becomes clear that origin of complex species by natural selection as described by evolutionary biologists is impossible to be true.
Thankyou for Reading!
If you like what you read, all we ask is for you to share it with others. Your support can help spread this valuable knowledge. You can also choose to support us by donating, and it helps us continue our mission.
Thanks for being part of this journey! Your support makes a difference.
JazakAllah!
