Your Lord said to the angels, "I am going to create a human being out of clay." (Surah Sâd, 71)
Another error in evolutionary creation stems from the faulty interpretation of the above verse. Evolutionists claim that the underlined phrase above indicates a supposed slow creation over time. However, the original Arabic makes it clear that this is a purely subjective view and entirely contradictory:
"inni khaliqun basharan min tinin" means "I am He Who created a human being out of clay."
The verse says nothing like "I am creating." In fact, the verse continues, "When I have formed him and breathed My Spirit into him, fall down in prostration to him!" It is clear from this that the verb create here takes place in a single instant.
Indeed, no Qur'anic scholar translates it as "I am creating." For instance, a Turkish Muslim scholar, Suleyman Ates's commentary reads:
Your Lord told the angels "I am going to create a human being out of clay."
Allah told the angels He was going to create a human being out of putrid clay. After giving the clay human form and breathing His Own Spirit into him, he told the angels to prostrate before him. They all did so. Only satan did not prostrate himself to man's ancestor, saying that he who was created from fire was better than a human being created from clay.
Imam al-Tabari translates the same verse as, "I am going to create a human being out of clay," and provides this commentary:
… The Lord once told the angels, "I am going to create a human being out of clay. When I create him, order his form, and breathe My Spirit into him, you will prostrate before him."56
Those who defend the deceit of evolutionary creation also cite the following verse to support the thesis that human beings were created through a process:
He Who has created all things in the best possible way. He commenced the creation of man from clay. (Surat as-Sajda, 7)
According to such peoples' faulty interpretations, the underlined expression refers to a so-called process, in this case an evolutionary process. Yet it does not actually refer to such a thing at all. As we have stressed throughout this book, a great many verses describe in detail Allah's creation from nothing, and none of them can be interpreted to mean an evolutionary process. The following verses stress that Allah is in a constant state of creation.
He Who originates creation and then regenerates it and provides for you from out of heaven and Earth. Is there another god besides Allah? Say: "Bring your proof if you are being truthful." (Surat an-Naml, 64)
Have they not seen how Allah brings creation out of nothing, then reproduces it? That is easy for Allah. (Surat al-'Ankabut, 19)
Allah originates creation, then will regenerate it, and then you will be returned to Him. (Surat ar-Rum, 11)
Allah's constant creation of every detail in the universe does not imply evolution. Like the other such interpretations, this one is very forced. Moreover, when the Qur'an is taken as a whole, such an assertion is found to have no true basis. Omer Nasuhi Bilmen interprets the verse to mean "… He created the Prophet Adam (pbuh) from earth,"57 and Imam al-Tabari as "He commenced the creation of the Prophet Adam (pbuh) from clay."58
Some Muslims who have been deceived by evolution cite the verses below, especially the underlined part, to support their case:
O man! What has deluded you in respect of your Noble Lord? He Who created you and formed you and proportioned you and assembled you in whatever way He willed. (Surat al-Intifar, 6-8)
Yet it would be forcing the verse's meaning to say that it refers to an evolutionary process. In fact, Hamdi Yazir of Elmali interprets the verse as follows:
"The Lord created you. It is clear that creation here means bringing into being prior to ordering the body and the organs, giving measure and form and bringing the parts together. We are also told that existence, the essence of every blessing, is the most important Divine Favor and Kindness.
He then ordered your body and organs. It is stated that "He created you from dust, then from a drop of sperm, then formed you as a man" (Surat al-Kahf, 37) and, as in many other verses, that man was brought to the stage at which he could have the soul breathed into him in stages; He ordered your body, organs, and powers, and gave you harmony and moderation. There are two interpretations here, one originating from 'adl and the other from ta'dil. Since they both mean "balancing" and "normalizing," several interpretations have been made stating that the "creation in order" has been made perfect.
According to the account by Muqatil, the expression in Surat at-Qiyama, 4 that "We are well able to reshape his fingers," means that the body is well-proportioned and orderly, as the matching and details of the twin organs (e.g., the eyes, ears, hands, and feet) is known from anatomy.59
According to Abu Ali Farisi, the expression "He proportioned you" actually means "He shaped you in the most beautiful form, and with this proportion gave you the capacity to perceive reason, ideas and might, and gave you dominion over plants and other living things. He brought you forth in a state of maturity far exceeding that of the other beings in the world." This is compatible with the meanings of "When I have formed him and breathed My Spirit into him" (Surat al-Hijr, 29) and "favored them greatly over many We have created" (Surat al-Isra', 70). All of these are a blessing and kindness from Allah.60
Omer Nasuhi Bilmen interprets the verse in these terms:
Yes. Your Lord (Who created you) gave you form from nothingness (then shaped you), gave you sound and perfect organs (and proportioned you). He proportioned your organs, with a pleasing beauty and natural disposition.61
Imam al-Tabari states that Surat al-Infitar: 7 refers to man being created within an order:
Oh Man, the Lord Who created you made that creation ordered and produced you in a healthy, ordered and correct form. (In other words he created a complete human being with ordered height, sound dimensions and in the best possible form and appearance.) Allah produced you with the beauty or ugliness He saw fit.62
As can be seen from the above accounts, the statements are very clear; they point to Allah's sound, ordered, and complete creation of the first man. Similar statements are in fact to be found in many other verses. For instance, Surat as-Sajda, 7-9 says:
He Who has created all things in the best possible way. He commenced the creation of man from clay; then produced his seed from an extract of base fluid; then (He) formed him and breathed His Spirit into him and gave you hearing, sight and hearts. What little thanks you show! (Surat as-Sajda, 7-9)
The word "creation" was first used in these verses, which then went on to say that He created eyes, ears, and hearts. Thus, we are being told that all of these stages happened at the same time; in other words, that the first man's eyes, ears, and hearts were created together and that he was created in a single moment. It is a grave error to interpret these verses as referring to the fallacy of human evolution. In fact, the great Islamic scholars all agree about this verse's interpretation. For instance, Imam al-Tabari says:
… He then brought forth man as a complete being in an ordered form, then breathed his soul into him, and thus made him a speaking creature … He gave the ears with which you hear, the eyes with which you see, and the hearts with which you distinguish between right and wrong, and you must give thanks for these gifts …63
Omer Nasuhi Bilmen's interpretation reads: "The Lord ordered man who started to take form, completed his body while it was still in his mother's womb, and formed it in the appropriate manner (and then breathed His Spirit into it). In other words, He gave him life and inspired the vital force in his soul … The Lord gave you such beneficial powers (hearing) that thanks to these you hear the words spoken to you, and created your eyes and hearts with which you see what is around you and distinguish between what is beneficial and what is not. Each of these is a great divine blessing."64
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