A Brief History of Evolution In The Twelver-Shi’i Tradition - Becoming Bani Adam 4/10

"Wa lakad karramna Bani Adama wa hamalnahum fi'l-barri wa 'l-bahri wa razaqnahum min at-taiyyibati wa fadhdhalnahum 'ala kathiri mimman khalaqna tafdhila"(17:70) [Certainly We have honoured the Children of Adam, and carried them over land and sea, and provided them with all the good things, and preferred them with a complete preference over many of those We have created]

'A'udhu bi’l-Lahi, min ash-Shaytan, ar-rajim [I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Shaitan]. Bismi-Llah, Al-Rahmani, Al-Rahim. As-salamu alaykum, and welcome to the fourth episode in this podcast series titled: "Becoming Bani Adam: Exploring Twelver Shi'i Discussions On Human Ancestry". My name is Fatemah Meghji, and I will be introducing each podcast episode, which is an audiobook of a paper that I wrote a few years ago, which will be narrated by brother Justin Mashouf.

Our previous episode, or episode three, summarized the theological and hermeneutical considerations that are pivotal to understand before opening this topic further, especially considering verses of the Qur'an that are not as explicitly clear on the topic of evolution and the creation of human beings and our human ancestry. However, theologically speaking, the theory of evolution does not posit a problem for the existence of God, nor does it negate it, nor does it necessitate a rejection of the Qur'an. However, a full acceptance of the current human evolutionary narrative would require a figurative understanding of some of our scripture, especially our Hadith literature. And this is where it becomes more contentious and important to follow hermeneutical principles as we try to understand what the Qur'an and Hadith discuss on the topic.

This episode begins the more detailed breakdown of the topic and includes a brief introduction to evolution itself and the difference between fact and theory, as well as how various twelver Shi'i scholars have grappled with and discussed these issues since approximately 100 years ago with a surprising amount of openness.

They have given possible explanations and stated that if evolution is proven as a fact, there are no colossal issues for the faith of a Muslim. We also distinguish between empirical data and explanations of this data in order to help our discussion open up further. The aim of this paper and the podcast is to try to look at things and see what possible explanations we have for the empirical data that we have and how we can grapple with it. We will introduce the four main questions that make up the bulk of this podcast series. Namely, one, what is the timeline of Adam? Two, was Adam the first human being or the first Homo sapien? And three, is it possible that Adam had biological parents? And perhaps most importantly, and last but not least, we will go with question four, which is, are we all descendants of Adam? And with that, we will now open our session with Brother Justin.

Most contemporary twelver Shi'i thinkers have contended that if humanity's own evolutionary origins were to be unequivocally proven according to empirical methods, this would not contradict the Qur'an or cause a great crisis of faith for Muslims. However, most also contend that as of now, we have no reason to dismiss what seems to be the more likely apparent literal interpretation of the verses. This is that humans were created independently of an evolutionary process and that they are descendants of Adam and Eve.

Other scholars, like Sayyid Musawi Ardabili, died 2016, and Ayatollah Mishkini, died 2007, have given possible explanations for various verses that could support Adam's evolutionary ancestry. In fact, they explain both of these possibilities as uncontradictory with the apparent nature of the Qur'an, and hold that a believing Muslim could believe in the evolutionary ancestry of mankind without negating the Qur'an. Neither scholar contends that evolutionary ancestry is definitively the case, and they give equal credence to the Qur'an, supporting both the possibility of evolution and otherwise. Others, such as Dr. Muhammad Tawfiq Sadeghi and Abdul Karim Khatib and Dr. Yadullah Sahibi, have contended that the Qur'an actually accepts the theory of evolution. However, scholars like Sahibi do not take into consideration Islamic traditions or history alongside the Qur'an.

When it comes to the notion of humanity's evolutionary ancestry and the Qur'an's compatibility with such a notion, it is important to first understand the empirical evidence that suggests it. Why is evolution so compelling for modern scientists and evolutionary biologists? Understanding the empirical evidence is a key element in understanding the Qur'anic story of the creation of man, which is modestly attempted in the final part of this paper. Twelver Shi'i scholars agree that definitive empirical fact can be used in the Qur'anic exegesis, as it is information that is Qat'i, certain.

In order to unscramble the key pieces of this discussion, we will, one, outline a few discussions on human evolution. Two, discuss the possible areas of conflict with the tradition. Three, enter discussions on the relevant empirical data. And finally, four, explore how the empirical evidence can be understood in line with a Dhahiri, 'prima facie' meaning of the Qur'an.

Evolution as an explanation. According to evolutionary biologist, Richard Linsky, scientific understanding requires both facts and theories that can explain those facts in a coherent manner. Evolution in this context is both a fact and a theory. According to this view, evolution is the most plausible explanation for the empirical evidence that has been observed.

Crucial to note here, and alluded to in part one, is the difference between raw empirical facts and scientifically plausible explanations, i.e., theories for those facts. Empirical facts cannot be denied or changed. However, their explanations can. This is why evolution is often categorised as both fact and theory. Stephen Gold, died 2002, the famous palaeontologists and evolutionary biologist who coined the phrase fact and theory, explains this further.

'Well, evolution is a theory. It is also a fact. And facts and theories are different things, not rungs in a hierarchy of increasing certainty. Facts are the world's data. Theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts. Facts do not go away when scientists debate rival theories to explain them. Einstein's theory of gravitation replaced Newton's, but apples did not suspend themselves in midair, pending the outcome. And humans evolved from ape-like ancestors, whether they did so by Darwin's proposed mechanism or by some other yet to be discovered'.

His explanation of theory and fact is somewhat justified. The force of gravity remained true and could be observed long long before it was completely understood. Similarly, we can observe certain things that have the potential to point towards evolution, and that is the evidence that we will be exploring henceforth.

Empirical evidence is what is observed and cannot be denied, whereas their theories can and should be scrutinized. In relation to evolution, empirical data shows us the existence of the fossil record, various species and genetic sequences. However, it does not tell us how they originated. Gold is, therefore, mistaken in contending evolution is fact. He can only contend that the existence of the fossil record and animals is fact. Evolution is a theory of how they came to be, but it is just one theory. Since our primary area of research is human evolution, we will only explore the evidence used to conclude the origins of today's humans, the Homo sapiens.

The most important pieces of evidence used to argue human evolution include: one, fossil evidence: two, genetic evidence, DNA: and three, behavioral development. These pieces of evidence and their implications in understanding Qur'anic verses, will be explored throughout the rest of this paper. What can be presented in this paper is just a small summary of the wealth of information available, so as to provide a reference point for relevant data. We will bring this empirical data into a conversation with the Qur'anic verses and their commentaries in order to see the feasibility of bringing empirical data together with a prima facie, Dhahiri literal haqiqi, understanding of the Qur'an.

I would like to make a note that careful consideration has been made to the vocabulary used in this paper, attention should be paged to the usage of the following words, 'human-like', 'homospecies', 'synonymous with hominids', 'human', and 'Homo sapiens'. All of these words have different definitions and connotations, and have been used deliberately and intentionally to denote specific categories.

Questions and empirical evidence. Empirical data shows us the fact that various hominid species and anatomically modern Homo sapiens have been roaming the Earth for hundreds of thousands of years. While evolution is arguably one plausible explanation for these facts, it is not the only one. It is undeniable that this empirical data has implications and affects our understanding of the Qur'an, along with the story that it proposes for the creation of Adam. But how?

The questions and considerations that will be explored in-depths are as follows. One, what is the timeline for Adam? Does the Qur'an explicitly state that Adam existed 8 to 10 thousand years ago? The common estimation based on Ahadith and in tracking prophetic genealogy and family trees. If so, what can be said about the existence of Homo sapiens on Earth as early as 250,000 years ago?

Two, was Adam the first human being? Could Homo sapiens, anatomically modern humans, have existed before Adam, or does this go against the story narrated in the Qur'an and the Ahadith?

Three, is it possible that Adam had biological parents? Is it possible that Adam was the offspring of an evolutionary chain of Homo sapiens that existed before him? Or does the apparent Dhahiri, literal haqiqi meaning of the Qur'an, clearly indicate that he was created independently and instantaneously in a miraculous creation?

Four, are we all descendants Adam? Moreover, does the Qur'an state that we are solely his descendants? Is it possible to ascertain a literal reading of the Qur'an that would allow us to be both descendants of Adam and Eve and of other Homo sapiens?