Mohammedan Theory of Evolution

Just ordered it from amazon

Will definitely make for a good read, sad that the Islamic world didn’t carry on this research, they were really onto something

I'm sure scholars and speakers or whatever they call themselves these days will claim that Islam supports microevolution (it is almost impossible to deny it). However I have heard of barely any Muslim that supports evolution of man, mainly because of Adam. The Hadith state very clearly that Allah created Adam from dust.

Oh and by the way, what sort of law are you planning to go into? I've been reading some jurisprudence lately, very interesting subject must be fun to learn. Though the idea of practising of law (as a solicitor) is my idea of absolute torture.

it's not quite right. it's like saying giraffes got long necks because their ancestors stretched their necks. not really true. what's missing is that the offspring of parents have random mutations.... and those most suited to the environment survived.

That's exactly what Lamarck proposed in the inheritance of acquired characteristics. I didn't know a similar theory had been proposed earlier.

Seems pretty advanced given the time, always thought Islam was quite heavily against evolution though

Good day to all, I am definitely willing to join the fun that students of philosophy are having. I am a phD candidate in the faculty of Education at the University of Toronto in Toronto Canada. I happened to be searching the issue of Muslim scientists and thinkers who formulated a full fledged concept of Evolution way before Darwin when I came across your dynamic interactive group and seeing that there is something I can add to your discussion I decided to join. I see some entertaining the idea that the Muslim scientists did not include the evolution of man. Here is a quotation from the book of Ibn Khaldun (14th century, 400 yrs before Darwin) "Al-Muqadimah" i.e. "the Introduction" (p. 75) where he wrote the following after linking minerals to planta to animal in a creative evolutionary chain:

"the animal world then widens, its species become numerous, and, in a gradual process of creation , it finaly leads to man, who is able to think and reflect. The higher stage of man is reached from the world of monkeys.". And by the way this is not the work of one or two prominent thinkers and scientists of their time, it is also the conceptualizations of the following and more: Al-Biruni (973-1048), Ibn Mikawayh (932-1030), Tusi (1201-1274), Ibn Kathir (1301-1373).

Very good find! If you could post some books or private messege me some of your finds, would be greatly appreciated! =)

Seems pretty advanced given the time, always thought Islam was quite heavily against evolution though

Sorry couldnt find a Science area so ill just put this here, this is an intresting thing to look at for people curious about the Evolution of Evolution.

The Muslim scientists ibn Kathir, ibn Khauldun, ibn Arabi, ibn Sina, among other scientists, such as the Ikhwan school of thought, arrived at the same conclusions as Darwin with a convincing amount of evidence. Some westerners, including Darwin’s contemporary, Sir William Draper, called it the Mohammedan Theory of Evolution.

The Mu’tazili scientist and philosopher al-Jahiz (c. 776-869) was the first of the Muslim biologists and philosophers to develop an early theory of evolution. He speculated on the influence of the environment on animals, considered the effects of the environment on the likelihood of an animal to survive, and first described the struggle for existence and an early theory on natural selection. Al-Jahiz wrote the following on the struggle for existence:

“Animals engage in a struggle for existence; for resources, to avoid being eaten and to breed. Environmental factors influence organisms to develop new characteristics to ensure survival, thus transforming into new species. Animals that survive to breed can pass on their successful characteristics to offspring.”

There are clearly things which are simply argument by analogy. For instance: coral has branches like a tree; the date palm “does not wither if all its branches are chopped but it dies when the head is cut off” — so it’s like an animal. And through such analogy they link minerals to plants to animals.

In fact, Hamidullah’s summary reads something like a Great Chain of Being — which was associated with commoners earlier — while al-Jahiz’s description reminds of natural selection.