Adam (a.s) & the Origin of Man # (L14)

The book is an academic study that attempts to answer the apparent discrepancies between the modern scientific understanding of the origin of man and its narrative in the Qur’an. According to the Muslim holy scripture, and by extension all revealed religions, the first human being is Prophet Ādam (a.s.). It is found that religious scholars generally agree that he first appeared on earth not more than 10,000 years ago. Modern science, on the other hand, claims that human beings or human-like life forms have existed on earth since more than 4 million years ago. These creatures evolved to become more and more intelligent with body and posture getting closer to today’s human species. Last of the types are modern human beings like us. Labeled as the “Homo Sapiens”, they are said to have existed since 200,000-300,000 years ago.

It is our contention that Prophet Adam (a.s.) could be equated with the first Homo Sapiens. But even if evolution did occur he was not part of the process. As for the huge time gap between the advent of Ādam on earth which many said had happened less than 10,000 years ago and the appearance of the Homo Sapiens more than 200,000 years ago there is a way to mathematically reconcile using the novel concept of linear versus non-linear time. This is based on a Prophetic Hadith which says the days are getting shorter as the end of the world (Qiyamah) draws nearer. By doing so we could also make a DNA study which says the Malays have existed 60,000 years ago become religiously viable. This positions those Malays as descendants of Ādam (a.s.), not offsprings from an earlier type of human or human-like beings outside of the Qur’anic framework.