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One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

asalam o alikum,

my question is that what is darwinism?

is it considered a shirk?

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Answer:

What is darwinism

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person,  no grave, no prophet,  no imam,  no dai,  nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Question: what is darwinism?

Dear and beloved Sister in Islam, the truth is that it would be almost impossible for us to relate all the manifestations and refutations of the theory of ‘Darwin-ism’ in this article, but what we can do for you here is present a short synopsis of this theory.  If you require to study this subject and theory with all its manifestations in detail, then

we suggest you read the book called ‘Evolution Deceipt’ by the eminent scholar and author Brother Harun Yahya published by Ta-Ha Publishers Ltd., 1 Wynne Road, London SW9 0BB, UK.

The person who put forward the theory of evolution was an amateur naturalist from England by the name of Charles Robert Darwin.  Darwin had never undergone a formal education in the science of biology, and he took only an amateur interest in the subject of nature and living things.  His interest spurred him to voluntarily join an expedition on board a ship named H.M.S. Beagle that set out from England in 1832 and traveled around different regions of the world for five years.  Young Darwin was greatly impressed by various living species, especially by certain flinches that he saw in the Galapagos Islands.  He thought that the variations in their beaks were caused by their adaptation to their habitat.  With this idea in mind, he supposed that the origin of life and species lay in the concept of ‘adaptation to the environment’.  According to Darwin, different living species were not created separately by One Supreme Power or Being by Design, but rather came from a common ancestor and became differentiated from each other only as a result of natural conditions.

Darwin’s fantastic hypothesis was not based on any scientific discovery or experiment, but in time it was turned into a pretentious ‘theory’ which found ready acceptance amongst those scientists and people who ardently disbelieved in ‘creation by design’.    Darwin assumed and propagated that each species was adapted to the habitat and in the best way transferred their qualities to subsequent generations; these advantageous qualities accumulated in time and transformed the individual into a species totally different from its supposed ‘ancestors’.  And according to Darwin, man was the most developed outcome of this mechanism, with the ‘white Europeans’ being most advanced amongst other human races!

Darwin called his summation of the process ‘evolution by natural selection’ and he assumed to have found the ‘origin of species’.  He published his views on the theory of Darwin-ism in his book titled: ‘The origin of species, by means of natural selection’ in 1859.

The scientists who ardently refused to believe in the truth of ‘creation by design’ unashamedly latched on the fantastic theory of Charles Darwin in spite of its many manifest and visible flaws…and in time added and subtracted and altered Darwin’s original theory of evolution and devised what is known today as the ‘Neo-Darwin’ theory!

is it considered a shirk?

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 21 Surah Anbiyaa verse 30:

30      Do not the unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one mass) before We (Allah) clove them asunder? We made from water every living thing.  Will they not then believe?

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 32 Surah Sajdah verse 4:

4        It is Allah Who has created the heavens and the earth and all between them in six Days and is firmly established on the Throne (of Authority).

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisaa verse 1:

1        O mankind! Reverence your Guardian-Lord Who created you from a single person, created of like nature his mate, and from them twain scattered (like seeds) countless men and women.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 25 Surah Furqaan verse 2:

2        He (Allah) to Whom belongs the Dominion of the heavens and the earth: no son has He begotten, nor has He a partner in His Dominion: it is He Who created all things and ordered them in due proportions.

Allah Subhanah declares time and time again in His Glorious Book of Guidance, the Al-Quran that it is He Alone Who has brought into existence everything that exists in creation by perfect design and plan based on His Perfect and Absolute Knowledge, Wisdom and Power. 

Thus as much as some of Darwin’s theories may be considered as ‘shirk’; without an iota of a doubt the theory of evolution where everything came into existence by mere chance, accident, and/or evolution goes directly against the Truth of ‘creation by perfect design’ by the One Who is the Creator of everything in existence…and the belief in the theory of Darwin would thus constitute pure and manifest ‘kufr’ or disbelief.

If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws),   one can be assured of never ever being misled;   but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led astray.  

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone.  Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan