An Evolutionary Reading of Adam's Creation in the Qur'an with Emphasis on the Concepts of Creation and Selection

In theological debates about the creation of human and the theory of evolution,“the theory of creation” means the creation of human at once by the creatorof the universe, and “the theory of evolution” means the natural, normal, andgradual creation of human in the evolutionary cycle of life. The question iswhether the Qur’an also views human creation as contradictory to his naturaland evolutionary genesis. This study shows that the Qur’anic concepts ofcreation (khalq) and selection (iṣṭifāʾ) based on the contextual analysis of thesevocabularies allow for an evolutionary reading of human creation. Creationmeans the emergence of phenomena in a natural, time-consuming, step-by-stepprocess with the interference of natural laws supported by God’s command.The meaning of the presence of divine command in all stages of creation isthe consciousness of all the objects and their components which is effective inthe process of creating an organ along with other factors. Also, the concept ofselection of Adam suggests that Adam was chosen among his contemporaries asthe first modern human being because of his physical and mental superiority, andhis creation was not at once, unnatural and unrelated to previous generations.

Keywords:

Adam , Creation (khalq) , Selection (iṣṭifāʾ) , The Theory of Evolution , Scientific Interpretation of the Quran