10. These verses should he read in conjunction with (al-Baqarah 2: 30-9). The
words in which the command to prostrate before Adam is mentioned may give rise
to the misapprehension that it was Adam as such who is the object of prostration.
This misapprehension should be removed by what has been said here. The text
makes it very clear that prostration before Adam was in his capacity, as the
representative of all mankind and not in his personal capacity.
The successive stages of man's creation mentioned in the present verse ('We
initiated your creation, then We gave you each a shape'), means that God first
planned the creation of man, made ready the necessary materials for it, and
then gave those materials a human form. Then, when man had assumed the status
of a living being, God asked the angels to prostrate before him. The Qur'an
says: And recall when your Lord said to the angels: 'I am about to create man
from clay. When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him
of My spirit then fall You down in prostration before him' (Sad 38: 71-2).
Mention has been made in these verses, though in a difterent way, of the same
three stages of creation: man's creation from clay; giving him a proportionate
human shape; and bringing Adam into existence by breathing into him God's spirit.
The following verses also have the same import:
And recall when your Lord said to the angels: 'I am about to create man, from
sounding clay moulded into shape from black mud. When I have fashioned him (in
due proportion) and breathed into him of My spirit, fall you all down in prostration
before him'
(al-Hijr 15: 28-9).
It is quite difficult for one to appreciate fully the details of the origin
of man's creation. We cannot fully grasp how man was created out of the elements
drawn from the earth; how he was given a form and a well-proportioned one at
that and how God's Spirit was breathed into him. It is quite obvious, though,
that the Qur'anic version of man's creation is sharply at odds with the theory,
of creation propounded by Darwin and his followers in our time. Darwinism explains
man's creation in terms of his evolution from a variety of non-human and sub-human
stages culminating in homo sapiens. It draws no clear demarcation line that
would mark the end of the non-human stage of evolution and the beginning of
the species called 'man'. Opposed to this is the Qur'anic version of man's creation
where man starts his career from the very beginning as an independent species,
having in his entire history no essential relationship at all with any non-human
species. Also, man is conceived as having been invested by God with full consciousness
and enlightenment from the very start of his life.
These are two different doctrines regarding the past of the human species. Both
these doctrines give rise to two variant conceptions about man. If one were
to adopt the Darwinian doctrine, man is conceived as essentially a species of
the animal genre. Acceptance of this doctrine leads man to derive the guiding
principles of his life, including moral principles, from the laws governing
animal life. Given the basic premises of such a doctrine, animal-like behaviour
is to be considered quite natural for man. The only, difference between man
and animal lies in the fact that animals act without the help of the tools and
instruments used by humans, and their behaviour is devoid of culture.
Were one to accept the other doctrine, man would be conceived as a totally,
distinct category. Man is no longer viewed simply as a talking or gregarious
animal. He is rather seen as God's Vicegerent on earth. What distinguishes man
from other animals, according to this doctrine, is not his capacity to speak
or his gregariousness but the moral responsibility and trust with which he has
been invested. Thus, one's whole perspective with regard to man and everything
relating to him is changed. Rather than looking downwards to species of being
lower than the human, man will turn his gaze upwards. It is claimed by some
that however dignified the Qur'anic doctrine might be from a moral and psychological
point of view, Darwinism should still be preferred on the basis of its being
scientifically established. However, the very claim that Darwinism has been
scientificaly established is itself questionable. Only those who have a very
superficial acquaintance with modern science can entertain the misconception
that the Darwinian theory of evolution has been scientifically, established.
Those who know better are fully, aware that despite the vast paraphernalia of
evidence in its support, it remains merely a hypothesis. The arguments marshalled
in support of this theory at best succeed in establishing it as a possibility,
but certainly not as an incontrovertible fact. Hence at the most what can he
said is that the evolution of the species is as much a possibility as its direct
creation.