Islam and Evolution

Shoaib Ahmed Malik is an Assistant Professor of the Natural Sciences at Zayed University, Dubai. He researches exclusively on the topics of science and religion, atheism, and Islamic theology. He is the author of Atheism and Islam: A Contemporary Discourse (2018), and has book chapters and articles with various publishers and journals.

• Introduction; Part 1 – Setting the Context; 1 What Evolution Is and Isn’t; 2 Christian Responses to Evolution; Part 2 – Islamic Perspectives on Evolution; 3 Islamic Scripture and Evolution; 4 Muslim Opinions on Evolution; 5 Old Texts, New Masks: Misreading Evolution onto Historical Islamic Texts; Part 3 – Metaphysical Considerations; 6 Naturalism, Chance, and Inefficiency; 7 Intelligent Design; 8 Morality and Evolution; Part 4 – Hermeneutic Considerations; 9 Al-Ghazālī’s Hermeneutics; 10 Creationism or Evolution in Islamic Scripture?; Conclusion

The topic of evolution and its potential clash with the mainstream teachings of Islam is one of the most contentious and charged issues of our times. How does a person of faith who also respects science reconcile between what science has almost definitively concluded as a fact with the claims of truth made by the Quran? In this comprehensive and highly readable monograph, Shoaib Ahmed Malik has done a commendable job of summarizing the various approaches taken by modern Muslim thinkers. The text is accessible to even non-specialists and has enough in-depth analysis to be of interest to specialists in science and religion, theology, and philosophy. I believe this work is essential reading for anyone interested in the topic of Islam and evolution. Dr. Yasir Qadhi, The Islamic Seminary of America, USAEvolution has presented a serious challenge to traditional Abrahamic faiths. The responses have too often fallen short of the rigours exhibited by modern science and the resulting assertions of evolutionists. Here is a serious Muslim response by Shoaib Ahmed Malik who understands the science of evolution and the faith of Islam and has no difficulty straddling both worlds without losing his faith in either.Dr. Hamza Yusuf, Zaytuna College, USA Shoaib Ahmed Malik’s work is timely, thought-provoking and stimulating. He marries the classical, theological framework of Ash’arism and modern evolution. The book’s focus on the metaphysical and hermeneutic approaches of al-Ghazālī, a globally-known Muslim figure, will fill a huge gap in the literature and answer the many questions in the public’s mind and academia on the status of evolutionary thought in Islam. Malik’s book is a well-written, exemplary work for scholars from a wide range of disciplines who wish to explore evolution in other Sunni, Shi’i and Ismaili theological schools, among others.Dr. Majid Daneshgar, University of Freiburg, Germany Evolution is one of the most discussed and misrepresented theories among Muslims today. The discussions are usually motivated by emotional reactions, which only obscures the debate’s multi-faceted nature and prevents us from seeing what the problem really is. To analyze the link between evolution and Islam carefully, one must differentiate the scientific foundation of evolution from its various philosophical glosses and have a consistent methodology for interpreting religious texts. Only with such sensitivity can one discuss to what extent evolution and Islam are compatible. Shoaib Ahmed Malik’s book is an outstanding contribution to this debate/question while exemplifying the required sensitivity. He takes one of the giants of Islamic intellectual history, al-Ghazālī, and analyses the issue in terms of his commitments in metaphysics and hermeneutics. Thus, he gives life to a medieval thinker’s ideas and brings him into dialogue with a contemporary problem. The result is a text that is a rare example of multi-faceted, critical, and innovative thinking.Dr. Nazif Muhtaroğlu, Bahcesehir University, TurkeyThis fascinating book is a pivotal source for anyone interested in Islam and evolution debate. Shoaib Ahmed Malik, first, provides careful, nuanced, and comprehensive examination of contemporary landscape of ideas on this important debate. Then, he presents his own fresh and thought-provoking perspective on whether a reconciliation between Islam and evolution can be reached by starting from the general principles of Ash’arite school al-Ghazālī’s thought. Tracing the implications of medieval Islamic thought for a contemporary discussion is difficult and complex. Malik’s book masterfully navigates the challenges and demands of this task.Dr. Özgür Koca, Claremont School of Theology, USAShoaib Ahmed Malik’s book is one of the very rare works that takes an accurate understanding of evolutionary biology and engages with is it according to the terms of the Islamic tradition (in this case, the Ash`arite theology of al-Ghazālī) to determine what a viable faith-based stance could be. Rigorously researched, it explores with sensitivity the genuine theological issues that are confronted when biological evolution is considered in a religious light. It is indispensable reading on the subject.Dr. David Solomon Jalajel, Prince Sultan Research Institute, Saudi ArabiaEvolution has been dynamite in the science-and-religion debate since the time of Darwin, in spite of many serious and intelligent proposals to resolve the problems. Here is one of the most serious and intelligent yet. Shoaib Ahmed Malik makes a highly original case for peace by examining the foundational Muslim thinker, al-Ghazālī, and showing how his thought can shed light where so far there has been much heat. This is a book which all theists who are worried about the evolution wars need to read.Prof. Mark Harris, University of Edinburgh, UKSometimes a book is a total revelation. You realize just how very much you did not know. Those of us who work on the science-religion discourse too often assume that all of the Abrahamic religions – Judaism, Christianity, Islam – present the same challenges and opportunities. Shoaib Ahmed Malik’s remarkable book, Islam and Evolution: Al-Ghazālī and the Modern Evolutionary Paradigm, shows how very wrong we have been. In clear, careful, non-condescending language, Malik teaches us about Islam and its varieties, and the challenges posed by modern evolutionary science. He writes in a constructive and confident manner, not avoiding problems, but showing how there is much for all of us to learn, and leads us from the narrow, Eurocentric vision that restricts so much of our thinking.Prof. Michael Ruse, Florida State University, USA