Written and collected by Zia H Shah MD, Chief Editor of the Muslim Times

Introduction

The relationship between Islam and Darwinian evolution has often been misunderstood as inherently conflictual. However, a closer reading of the Qur’an – alongside insights from modern Muslim scholars and scientists – suggests that biological evolution can be interpreted as a divinely guided process, fully compatible with Islamic theology. Many Muslims proudly highlight Quranic verses that accord with modern cosmology (such as the expanding universe), yet remain hesitant to embrace well-established biological science themuslimtimes.info. In reality, the Qur’an itself encourages reflection on the natural world, and nowhere does it demand a rejection of empirical science in favor of a purely “creationist” narrative. As one contemporary Muslim author notes, insisting on a literal “statue of mud” creation of Adam in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence “means we are going against a very large body of evidence,” whereas the Qur’an’s text, being the word of the All-Knowing, can accommodate deeper understanding thequran.love. This paper will identify Quranic verses pertinent to life’s origins and development, examine modern interpretations of these verses, and present a coherent academic model of theistic evolution – one that affirms Darwin’s core findings of common ancestry and natural selection as the mechanisms by which Allah brought about the diversity of life, all while upholding fundamental Islamic tenets of God as the purposeful Creator.

Quranic Verses on the Origin and Development of Life

The Qur’an contains numerous verses that, directly or indirectly, touch on themes of creation, the development of species, and natural processes – often in language strikingly amenable to an evolutionary understanding. These verses emphasize gradual creation, the role of water and earth in the origin of life, and the unfolding of living forms in stages. Key examples include:

• All Life Made from Water: “Do not the disbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were a closed-up mass, then We opened them out? And We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?” themuslimtimes.info. This verse (21:30) explicitly states that water is the origin of all life – a statement strongly concordant with modern biology, which holds that life began in Earth’s ancient oceans. Another verse declares “Allah created human kind from water” (25:54) and yet another generalizes that every creature was created from water themuslimtimes.info. The Qur’an even categorizes creatures by their modes of locomotion immediately after asserting their water-origin: “Allah has created every living creature from water. Some crawl on their bellies, some walk on two legs, and some on four. Allah creates whatever He wills, for truly Allah has power over all things.” (24:45) themuslimtimes.info. This taxonomy (animals that creep, walk on two, or four) intriguingly mirrors an evolutionary progression from early crawlers to later bipeds and quadrupeds – at the very least, it affirms a diversity of forms emerging from the same elemental origin, water themuslimtimes.info.
• Creation from Earth/Clay and in Stages: The Qur’an frequently references mankind’s humble physical origin from earthly materials. “He created you from dust” (30:20) and “He created man from an essence of clay” (23:12) are repeated motifs, but they are coupled with descriptions of gradual development. The very next verses describe a stepwise formation: “then We placed him as a drop of fluid…, then We made that drop into a clinging form, then We made that form into a lump of flesh, then We clothed those bones with flesh, and later We made him into other forms. Glory be to God, the best of creators!” thequran.love. While this passage (23:12–14) refers to embryonic development in the womb, modern Muslim commentators see in it a principle of developmental stages that can be analogized to humanity’s development as a species thequran.love. It is notable that the verse concludes by praising God as “the best of creators”, implying the presence of creative processes and stages under His direction thequran.love. Another verse addressed to humanity asks, “What is the matter with you, that you are not conscious of God’s majesty, seeing that He created you stage by stage?” thequran.love. In the same passage (Surah Nūḥ 71:13–17), humans are asked to reflect “how God made you grow from the earth like a plant,” and how one day we will return to the earth and be brought forth again thequran.love. The imagery of growing from the earth like a plant evokes an organic, gradual emergence of human life from the soil – a metaphor remarkably consistent with the idea that humans evolved over time from simpler life forms that arose in earthly matter.
• Human Forms and Transformation: The Qur’an also alludes to the molding of living beings into diverse forms according to divine will: “[God] created you, then perfected you, then proportioned you. He fashioned you in whatever form He pleased” (82:7–8) thequran.love. This emphasis on God’s shaping of form (ṣūrah) at His pleasure can be read as supportive of the idea that the human form was not fixed from the beginning of time – our form is as God willed, and the Qur’an acknowledges His power to give different forms if He so willed thequran.love. Likewise, “You shall surely move from stage to stage (lit. ascend layer upon layer)” (84:19) thequran.love suggests that change and progression are part of the divinely ordained pattern for mankind. Classical exegesis often interprets these “stages” as phases of life or the afterlife, but modern readers note the Quranic comfort with describing human existence as a series of developmental phases, which is harmonious with an evolutionary paradigm of gradual development thequran.love.
• Invitation to Study Origins: Far from discouraging inquiry into life’s beginnings, the Qur’an pointedly invites mankind to investigate how creation began. “Say: Travel throughout the land and observe how He began the creation. Then Allah will produce the final creation (i.e. resurrection). Indeed Allah has power over everything.” (29:20) themuslimtimes.info. Here, Muslims are urged to explore and observe the evidence of the earliest origins of life – essentially a quranic endorsement of fields like paleontology, biology, and geology. Notably, the verse pairs studying the first creation with the concept of a new creation in the hereafter, implying that understanding the natural emergence of life will help comprehend God’s power to raise the dead themuslimtimes.info. In a similar vein, the Qur’an states “There are signs in the creation of you and the creatures scattered (throughout) the earth for people of sure faith” (45:4) themuslimtimes.info. All these verses portray the diversity of life and the process of creation as āyāt (signs) of God – something to contemplate, study, and learn from. The Qur’an thus provides a conceptual framework in which studying biological evolution is not a rebellion against God, but rather a deeper reading of His signs in nature themuslimtimes.info.

In summary, the Qur’anic discourse on creation is highly compatible with the concept of evolution: it asserts that life began in water, that humans (and other creatures) were fashioned gradually and even comparably to plant growth, that living beings appear in a variety of forms by God’s design, and that believers should examine the evidence of how creation unfolded over time. Crucially, nothing in the Qur’an’s creation verses necessitates a young Earth or independent spontaneous creation of each species. The text does not recount a Genesis-like sequence detailing the creation of specific species in their current form. Instead, it often emphasizes natural materials (water, earth) and natural processes (stages of development, “sprouting” from earth) which leave room for – and even seem to point toward – the idea that Allah brought about the tapestry of life via gradual transformations. Any apparent conflict arises not from the Qur’an itself but from certain interpretations of it.

Modern Islamic Perspectives on Evolution

In light of the above verses, a number of modern Muslim thinkers, scientists, and commentators have argued that accepting biological evolution does not undermine Islamic creed, but rather enhances our appreciation of God’s creative wisdom. These contemporary interpretations move away from a strictly literalist reading of scriptural metaphor, and instead seek harmony between established science and Scripture – on the principle that Allah’s Book of Revelation (the Qur’an) and Book of Nature (the created world) should, when properly understood, never fundamentally contradict themuslimtimes.info. As one scholar writes, “The Qur’an should never be interpreted against the laws of nature. What is well known, fundamental and clear (scientifically) should explain what is ambiguous or allegorical (scripturally)” themuslimtimes.info. In practice, this means many verses that pre-modern Muslims might have understood only in supernatural terms are re-examined to uncover natural mechanisms by which God’s will manifests.

One striking example is the Quranic term taqdīr (تقْدير), often translated as God’s decree or determination. Traditionally taqdīr can mean fate or destiny, but Dr. Zia H. Shah argues that in key verses it refers to the laws of nature that God has programmed into the universe. Citing Surah al-Furqān, he points out that after stating God “created everything,” the Qur’an says “fa-qaddarahu taqdīrā”, which he translates as “and made it according to an exact measure, (set by) laws of nature.” In other words, Allah is not an ad hoc tinkerer, but the author of an ordered system: “He … created all things and ordained them with precise measure (according to His laws).” The Qur’an uses the same word when describing phenomena like the cycles of night and day or the orbit of the sun: “The sun runs on its course – that is the taqdīr (determination) of the All-Mighty, All-Knowing” (36:38). These verses strongly imply that natural processes (the Earth’s rotation causing day/night, the sun’s movement in the galaxy, etc.) are unfolding exactly as God decreed them to – seamlessly integrating Divine will with the operation of natural law. By extension, evolution can be viewed as part of that taqdīr: it is a biological law through which Allah brings about new species over time. Just as Muslims readily believe that “Allah sends down water from the sky and revives the earth after its death” (another natural mechanism described as God’s doing) themuslimtimes.info, we can believe that Allah *“sends forth” new life forms from previous ones by means of genetic mutation, selection, and environmental providence. In both cases, God’s creative power works through secondary causes.

Nobel laureate physicist Dr. Abdus Salam captured this harmony when he proclaimed in a famous speech: “In the Holy Book of Islam, Allah says: ‘You will not see in the creation of the All-Merciful any imperfection. Return your gaze, do you see any flaw? Then return your gaze again and again: your gaze comes back to you dazzled and exhausted.’ (67:3–4) This, in effect, is the faith of all physicists; the deeper we seek, the more our wonder is excited…”. Salam’s testimony underscores that the more we learn about the intricacies of the natural world – whether in physics or biology – the more we should be in awe of the Creator’s design. A Muslim scientist sees evolutionary biology as uncovering the sophisticated mechanisms by which Allah’s will for life is implemented, much as astrophysics uncovers the mechanisms of a stable cosmos. Indeed, the Qur’an repeatedly urges us to regard the natural world as an ayat (sign) pointing to God themuslimtimes.info. The modern Muslim approach, therefore, is to take scientific facts as clarifications of scriptural allusions. Since evolution is, as one biologist famously said, “the central paradigm of biology” and “biology does not make sense without it,” Muslims have begun to accept that denying evolution outright would amount to denying the evident sunnat Allah (pattern of God) in creation thequran.love. Instead, it is our understanding of certain Quranic passages that may need refinement in light of scientific knowledge – a process that Islamic scholarship is no stranger to (historically, for example, verses on astronomy or medicine have been reinterpreted as our knowledge grew).

It is important to note that Islam, unlike some interpretations of Christianity, has no fundamental doctrinal stake in the timing or mechanism of how humans were created – only that humans ultimately are the creation of Allah and endowed with a special soul and moral responsibility. There is no concept of “original sin” in Islam hinging on a single couple’s direct formation and fall; thus, Darwin’s theory did not, in principle, pose the same theological catastrophe for Muslim theology as it did for a literalist Christian theology built on Adam’s fall. In fact, as one Muslim writer quipped, if Darwin’s discovery of common ancestry is true, it becomes “an epiphany for the Muslims, but a catastrophe for the Christians.” Why an epiphany? Because it would dramatically unveil the unity of Allah’s creation – that all life is knit together in a single tree – which resonates with the Quranic theme of cosmic unity under one God. The Qur’an does not provide a detailed chronological account of creation that would be upended by evolution; rather, it provides general principles and poetic narratives easily capable of allegorical interpretation. By contrast, some Christian doctrines (e.g. a historical Adam whose sin introduced death into the world) conflict directly with the evolution of species through struggle and death over eons. Muslim scholars point out that even though many ordinary Muslims initially rejected evolution as strongly as creationist Christians did, a careful study shows Islamic theology has the flexibility to accommodate evolution more readily. Over time, an increasing number of Muslim scientists, philosophers, and even theologians have embraced a theistic evolutionary view – among them academics like Dr. Osman Bakar, Dr. Ehab F. Al-Kharouf, and clerics such as Sheikh Suhaib Webb and Javed Ahmed Ghamidi (each offering nuanced approaches to reconcile scripture with science).

Rethinking the Adam Story in Quran: Metaphor, Allegory, and Deeper Meaning

The greatest perceived tension between Quranic accounts and human evolution centers on Adam and Eve – specifically, the story of Adam’s creation and his encounter with God, the angels, and Iblīs (Satan) in the Garden, as described in several places in the Qur’an (e.g. 2:30–39, 7:11–25, 15:26–44, etc. (themuslimtimes.info). A literal reading might suggest that the first human was fashioned miraculously from clay and given life instantly, bypassing any evolutionary ancestry. Modern Islamic scholars have proposed that these passages are among the mutashābihāt (allegorical verses) of the Qur’an – narratives intended to convey profound moral and spiritual truths rather than literal history themuslimtimes.info. This approach is not a departure from Islamic interpretive tradition; the Qur’an itself states that it contains allegorical verses whose true meanings are known only to God and those “firmly grounded in knowledge” (3:7) themuslimtimes.info.

Zia Shah, for example, argues that the entire episode of Adam, the angels, and Iblīs “is best understood only as a metaphor, even if some component of the story were physically true.” themuslimtimes.info He suggests that perhaps “the Prophet Adam may have been given an elaborate vision or revelation of this moral and spiritual paradigm that God wanted to establish for nascent humanity… as [humanity] embarked on a spiritual relationship [with its Creator], some 6000 years ago, having evolved from the apes over the previous 6 million years.” themuslimtimes.info. In this view, Adam is not the first Homo sapiens to walk the Earth, but rather the first human being to whom God revealed moral consciousness and guidance at a level that made him the first Prophet. The Quranic story encapsulates the human condition (free will, temptation, repentance, and divine guidance) in the form of a vivid tableau of Adam in the Garden, rather than a chronological account of biological origins. This interpretation neatly preserves all essential theological points – that humans are chosen by God for moral responsibility, that we have an awareness of good and evil (symbolized by the Tree), and that Satanic impulses seek to lead us astray – without requiring that no humans existed before Adam or that Eve was literally made from Adam’s rib, etc. In fact, certain hadith reports even hint that Adam was not necessarily the very first man; for instance, the Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said “I was already a Prophet while Adam was between soul and body,” which some scholars have taken metaphorically to indicate the pre-existence of prophetic destiny, but which at least shows the Islamic tradition does not view Adam’s creation as the absolute beginning of everything human (since in some sense the Prophet’s reality “predates” Adam) thequran.love.

Support for a non-literal Adam is also drawn from how Islamic thought has handled the concept of the Primordial Covenant (al-mīthāq) mentioned in Qur’an 7:172. In that verse, God “brought forth from the Children of Adam – from their loins – their descendants” and made them testify to His Lordship before they were born. Many early Muslims took this literally, imagining all human souls pre-created and assembled in a plain before God. Yet, as knowledge and theological sophistication grew, “many learned contemporary theologians take these covenants as metaphorical now.” thequran.love In the same way, the idea of Adam’s meeting with God and angels can be seen as a visionary lesson or a symbolic teaching story, rather than a physical event “somewhere on planet Earth” involving “billions of angels” in one location themuslimtimes.info. Classical scholars like Al-Ghazālī already emphasized that where texts conflict with demonstrable fact, those texts have an inner meaning (ḥikmah) to be understood rather than a literal sense to be stubbornly defended themuslimtimes.info. Therefore, reinterpreting Adam’s story in light of evolution is not an act of impiety or a concession to Western ideas; it is part of a long Islamic tradition of ta’wīl (interpretation) that seeks the most coherent understanding of scripture in light of reason and evidence. The result of such reinterpretation is a model in which Adam and Eve were real – but real in the sense of being chosen representatives (perhaps a real pair of ancient humans endowed with revelation), and their “Garden” experience and temptation by Iblīs impart paradigmatic lessons about human nature rather than natural history. This approach preserves the spiritual teachings of those Quranic passages and strengthens the case for Islam’s truth, by removing an unnecessary point of contention between scripture and science. As the Qur’an cautions: “None knows the true meaning (ta’wīl) [of ambiguous verses] except Allah and those firm in knowledge” themuslimtimes.info – humility and scholarship together can yield new insights into verses once thought to oppose evolution.

Guided Evolution: Allah’s Design and Providence in Natural Selection

A theistic evolution model posits that random mutation and natural selection are secondary causes operating under God’s primary causation. To the atheist, evolution appears “blind” or unguided; to the believer, every roll of the dice occurs within Allah’s knowledge and permission. The Qur’an repeatedly reminds us that Allah’s power and knowledge encompass everything in existence, at every moment: “He is the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden, and He has knowledge of all things” (57:3) thequran.love. Muslim thinkers leverage such verses to assert that God’s creative action is not confined to a one-time event in the past, but is continuous. In the words of one scholar, “If Allah can create miracles to grant our prayers, similar miracles over billions of years become the basis of theistic or guided evolution” themuslimtimes.info. In other words, God’s Providence can work through subtle cues and probabilistic events over geological time just as it can through an answered prayer in an individual’s life. We need not pinpoint a dramatic divine intervention for each new species; it is more coherent to present a holistic, cumulative case that God was “behind the scenes” throughout the evolutionary drama themuslimtimes.info.

Contemporary scholars who are also scientists have offered models for how God might guide evolution without contradicting natural laws. One proposal highlights the role of quantum indeterminacy and chaos theory in nature. Physicist-turned-theologian John Polkinghorne (frequently cited by Muslim authors) notes that on the quantum level, outcomes are not strictly determined – a particle can behave unpredictably within probabilistic bounds themuslimtimes.info. Likewise, chaotic systems (like weather patterns) amplify small changes into big effects. These scientific realities leave room for what Polkinghorne calls a “causal joint,” where divine will can influence events subtly without violating physical laws. For example, the exact mutation that occurs in a strand of DNA might be undetectably guided by divine intent at the quantum level. Over millions of such “coincidences,” evolution would still appear random to us, but would in fact be steered toward meaningful outcomes (such as the emergence of humans with advanced intelligence and moral aptitude). The Qur’an itself hints that guidance (hudā) is not only for sentient beings but built into the fabric of nature: “Our Lord is He who gave everything its form and then guided it (to its purpose).” (20:50) islamicstudies.info. Classical commentators understood this to mean that God endowed each creature with instincts and natural patterns of growth. Today, one might extend it to say each species’ genetic and evolutionary trajectory is guided toward the form suited for its role, even as it follows natural laws. Similarly, Surah A‘lā (87:2–3) says Allah “creates and proportions, and Who measures (qaddara) and then guides.” The sequence – create, give a measured destiny, then guide to fulfill it – beautifully encapsulates a theistic evolution view: Allah created life, imbued it with a destiny encoded in natural law (DNA, selection pressures, etc.), and guides the unfolding of that destiny toward His intended outcomes themuslimtimes.info.

An illustrative analogy used by some scholars is that of embryological development versus birth. When a child is born, we witness the event and might describe it simply as “a baby was born.” But science reveals that the baby’s creation was a nine-month evolutionary process – a single cell dividing and differentiating, responding to environmental signals in utero, etc. At no point in that process did “nature” operate independently of Allah; yet Allah’s will was manifested through cell biology, not by instant fiat. Likewise, the “birth” of humankind as God’s vicegerent (khalīfah) on Earth could have been the culmination of a long developmental process (evolution), which the Qur’an compresses into the image of Adam’s formation to communicate ultimate divine agency. In both cases, the fact that we can scientifically explain the process does not negate God’s role – it merely tells us how God chose to act. The Qur’an often says to Allah “Kun fayakūn” (“Be! and it is”) thequran.love – but this command “Be” need not imply immediate materialization. It can just as well mean that when God decrees something, it will unfailingly come to pass according to the natural schedule He has set. As an analogy: if Allah says “Be, O human!”, the command could set in motion a chain of events spanning eons, from single-celled life all the way to Homo sapiens – and at the end of that chain, here we are, exactly as He intended, “in whatever form He pleased” thequran.love. From the divine perspective, the result is instant and certain; from our perspective within time, it is gradual and unfolding.

Thus, in the theistic evolutionary model, natural selection is simply the tool of Allah’s creative wisdom. It operates on random genetic variation, but that randomness is only apparent; in reality, each mutation, each environmental pressure, occurs under the sight of the All-Seeing, All-Knowing. The Qur’an assures us that not even a leaf falls without God’s knowledge (6:59), and that “eyes cannot perceive Him, but He perceives all” (6:103) thequran.love. Evolutionary history, with all its extinctions and novelties, has been fully known to God and guided toward the emergence of creatures capable of recognizing Him. From this angle, Darwinian evolution becomes not a blind, purposeless process, but a spectacular manifestation of Allah’s hidden hand in creation. As the Qur’an states, “He is the Apparent and the Hidden” (57:3) – God’s creative action is manifest in the grandeur of biodiversity, yet hidden in the sense that it works through natural processes that to a casual observer conceal the Divine agency. This is why a believer can study evolutionary science and constantly whisper “Subḥān Allāh” (Glory be to God) at the elegance of each genetic mechanism or fossil transition, whereas an atheist might study the same and see “no need for God.” The difference lies not in the data but in the interpretation: the Quranic worldview illuminates the data of nature as signs of God’s artistry.

Conclusion

Modern Islamic thought is increasingly comfortable with a theistic evolution paradigm, in which Allah is affirmed as the Creator and evolution is accepted as the divinely chosen method of creation. All Quranic verses dealing with the origin and development of life can be understood in ways that complement evolutionary theory, once we recognize metaphor where it is intended and appreciate the Quran’s rich use of symbolic language. The Qur’an describes life emerging from water, being formed from earth, developing in stages, and diversifying into many forms – a narrative consistent with the findings of biology when read thoughtfully. Contemporary Muslim scholars emphasize that Islam does not require belief in “creationism” as opposed to evolution; rather, it requires belief in God as opposed to randomness. By viewing evolution as guided, Muslims can resolve the false dichotomy between science and faith. In this model, Adam’s story becomes a spiritual lesson about humanity’s relationship with God, not a scientific account to be pitted against anthropology. Allah’s creative power (Al-Khāliq) and organizing wisdom (Al-Ḥakīm) are seen in the elegant laws of nature He established – laws that include gravity governing the stars and natural selection shaping the tree of life themuslimtimes.info.

Ultimately, the Islamic theistic evolution model upholds that there is no creator but God (tawḥīd in creation) even if the process of creation is gradual. As the Qur’an says: “He is Allah, the Creator, the Maker, the Shaper of forms… to Him belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth” (59:24) thequran.love. The “shaping of forms” did not all happen in an instant – it has been an ongoing act of God over billions of years, and humanity is one glorious result of it. A Muslim who accepts this view can both embrace modern science and deepen their understanding of scripture. Rather than reading the Qur’an in conflict with evolution, we read the Qur’an as illuminating evolution’s significance: it is the mode by which the Almighty chose to populate the earth and gradually prepare a creature endowed with ruh (spirit) and intellect. This perspective transforms evolution from a threat into a profound sign of God’s creative majesty. As the Quranic verse often quoted in this context beautifully asks: “What is the matter with you, that you are not in awe of God’s majesty, seeing that He created you in stages?” thequran.love. In the 21st century, those “stages” can be understood as the epochs of evolutionary development willed by our Lord. The more we “travel in the land” and study fossils, genetics, and the diversity of creatures, the more we “see how He began the creation”, and the more our faith can increase themuslimtimes.info. In the end, guided evolution as presented here is both Quranically sound and intellectually satisfying – affirming that Darwin’s theory, far from diminishing the glory of God, has unveiled the extraordinary elegance with which Allah’s command “Be!” operated over the canvas of time to fulfill His creative plan.

Sources:

1. The Glorious Quran, verses as cited (translation by Z.H. Shah et al.).
2. Zia H. Shah, The Quran and the Biological Evolution – various chapters thequran.lovethemuslimtimes.infothequran.love.
3. Abdus Salam, Nobel Banquet Speech 1979 – quoted in themuslimtimes.info.
4. John Polkinghorne and others on Divine action – analysis in The Muslim Times themuslimtimes.info.
5. The Study Quran, S.H. Nasr et al., commentary on 7:11–27 (for traditional views on Adam’s story).
6. Al-Ghazali’s approach to causality – discussed in The Muslim Times themuslimtimes.info. (And Allah knows best).