Becoming Bani Adam: Exploring Twelver-Shii Discussions on Human Ancestry - Mizan Institute

This episode continues to discusses the scriptural evidence for the idea that Adam (a) is the forefather of all of humanity today. Various Twelver-Shii scholars opine that the literal meaning of this verse, or its dhuhur, indicates that all of humanity today are the offspring solely of Adam and Eve with no third-parties involved. However, there are some mufassirin who posit that though this is the dhuhur or more likely prima-facie meaning, there is still room for other literal possibilities. As such, even though we know that Adam (a) was created in a miraculous unique process outside of evolution, it is possible that there were other Homo sapiens which his offspring mated with, and this idea would explain the existence of the DNA in the current human population showing genetic markers and indicating that we have a mixed ancestry. This possibility however should only be taken in the case that we have definitive empirical data that shows the impossibility that we are only from Adam and Eve if we are to remain true to the hermeneutical principles that we established earlier. We will also discuss what some possible explanations are for the genetic data that we see in the human population today. References: Ayatullah Nasir Makarim Shirazi, Tafsire Nemune, Volume 3, accessed with NOOR Software: Jami al-Tafasir. ʼAyātullah Jawādī ʼĀmulī , Tafsir Tasnīm, Volume 17, accessed on Nashre Esra CD. Ayatullah Jawadi Amuli, Recorded and Transcribed Lectures of the Commentary of Surah al-Nisa, accessed February 20th, 2015, http://www.portal.esra.ir/Pages/Index.aspx?kind=2&lang=fa&skinid=66&id=Nzk4-nik5IJYu24s%3d. “Punctuated Equilibrium,” www.fossilmuseum.net, accessed April 4, 2020, http://www.fossilmuseum.net/Evolution/punctuated_equilibrium.htm. See Allamah Majlisi, Hayat al-Qulub, v. 1 Q.15:28 وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ إِنِّي خَالِقٌ بَشَرًا مِّن صَلْصَالٍ مِّنْ حَمَإٍ مَّسْنُونٍ ﴿٢٨﴾ “When your Lord said to the angels, ‘Indeed I am going to create a human out of a dry clay [drawn] from an aging mud.”

This episode discusses the scriptural evidence or lack thereof for Adam having biological parents. In other words, is it possible that Prophet Adam (a), though the first full human being with all of humanity’s metaphysical qualities, had biological parents or could have descended from an evolutionary tree? The main evidence against this lies in the discussion about the dhuhur or prima-facie meaning of the Qur’anic verse that compares Prophet Adam (a) to Prophet Isa (a) i.e. Jesus and his miraculous conception. References: Qur’anic References: Q.15:28-30, Q.7:11, Q.3:59, Q.2:117 Dr. Yadullah Sahebi, Quran Majid: Takamol va Khelqat Ensan (Iran: Sherkat Sehami Enteshar, 1387). ʿAllāmah Ṭabātābaʾī trans. Sayyid Saeed Akhtar Rizvi, Tafsir al-Mizan, Volume 6, (Tehran: WOFIS, 1986). 1 ʿAllāmah Ṭabātābaʾī trans. Sayyid Saeed Akhtar Rizvi, Tafsir al-Mizan, Volume 6, (Tehran: WOFIS, 1986), 39. ʼAyātullah Jawādī ʼĀmulī , Tafsir Tasnim, Volume 14, accessed February 20, 2015, http://www.aviny.com/quran/tasnim/jeld-14/tasnim-06.aspx#59. 1 Ayātullah Jawādī ʼĀmulī, Ṣūrat va Sīrat ʼInsān Dar Qur'an, accessed February 20, 2015, http://malakooti313.tebyan.net/post/7. Sayyid Mahmud Taleqani, Portoye az Qur'an, accessed February 20, 2015, http://library.tebyan.net/newindex.aspx?pid=102834&ParentID=0&BookID=78609&MetaDataID=2464&Volume=1&PageIndex=113&PersonalID=0&NavigateMode=CommonLibrary&Content=#p71, Shaykh Al-Ṣadūq aka Muhammad b. Husayn b. Babawayh al-Qummi, Al-Khiṣāl. Edited by Ali Akbar Ghaffari. Vol. 2. Qom: Jami’ah Mudarrisin, 1983 https://hadith.inoor.ir/hadith/316190?SourceID=0&PageType=ViewTranslate&HadithID=316190&FilterGroupID=0

This episode discusses the alleged timeline of Prophet Adam (a) and various pieces of evidence including evidence in the fossil record, the Qur’an, and hadith. There are two plausible timelines for where to place Adam in history and the first is that is he existed more than 200,000 years ago and was the first of the Homo sapiens species. The second, and arguably more like possibility is that he existed 10-12,000 years ago. While exploring lines of evidence for human evolution, we will focus on explanations for the fossil record, and both scriptural and anthropological evidence that may help us navigate these two possibilities. References: Qur’anic References: Q.5:27-31 “What is a fossil?” , Idaho Museum of Natural History, accessed February 20, 2015, http://imnh.isu.edu/digitalatlas/geo/basics/fossil.htm Peppe, D. J. & Deino, A. L. (2013) Dating Rocks and Fossils Using Geologic Methods. Nature Education Knowledge 4(10):1 http://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/dating-rocks-and-fossils-using-geologic-methods-107924044 Michael Benton, “Accuracy of Fossils and Dating Methods” Actionbioscience, modified January 2001, http://www.actionbioscience.org/evolution/benton.html. Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, “Human Evolution Timeline Interactive,” The Smithsonian Institution’s Human Origins Program, March 2010, http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-evolution-timeline-interactive. Thomas Sutikna et al., “Revised Stratigraphy and Chronology for Homo Floresiensis at Liang Bua in Indonesia,” Nature 532, no. 7599 (April 1, 2016): 366–369, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature17179. Fahu Chen et al., “A Late Middle Pleistocene Denisovan Mandible from the Tibetan Plateau,” Nature 569, no. 7756 (May 2019): 409–12, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1139-x. Ker Than, “Oldest Burial Yields DNA Evidence of First Americans,” National Geographic, modified February 12, 2014, http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/02/140212-anzik-skeleton-dna-montana-clovis-culture-first-americans/ Ayātullah Jawādī ʼĀmulī, Ṣūrat va Sīrat ʼInsān Dar Qur'an, accessed February 20, 2015, http://malakooti313.tebyan.net/post/7, 25-31. “Qafzeh: Oldest Intentional Burial” Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, accessed February 20, 2015, http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/behavior/qafzeh-oldest-intentional-burial. Rizwan Arastu, God’s Emissaries: Adam to Jesus, (Dearborn: IMAM, 2014). “The Development of Agriculture” The Genographic Project: National Geographic, accessed February 20, 2015, https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/development-of-agriculture/. Simone Riehl, Mohsen Zeidi and Nicholas J. Conard “Emergence of Agriculture in the Foothills of the Zagros Mountains of Iran,” Science (5 July 2013, vol.341, NO. 61451, P.65-67), http://www.sciencemag.org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/content/341/6141/65.full “The Neolithic Revolution” Khan Academy, accessed February 20, 2015, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/prehistoric-art/neolithic-art/a/the-neolithic-revolution.

In this episode, we will explore both theological and hermeneutical considerations that are relevant to the topic. We will also explore the common misconception that belief in evolution is somehow at odds with belief in God and the logical fallacies that play into this. What are the theological considerations that are relevant to this discussion on human evolutionary ancestry? Moreover, we will introduce in brief the subject of Qur’anic hermeneutics which is essentially the principles by which scholars interpret the Qur’an and the various concerns which they take into consideration, including different pieces of evidence for how to extrapolate meaning. When can we take the Qur’an figuratively vs. literally and what process do scholars follow? References: Verses on the origin of mankind: Q.7:11, Q.3:59, Q.6:98, Q.7:189, Q.18:37, Q.23:12, Q.32:6, Q.38:71-72 , Q.39:6, Q.71:17-18 Āyatullah Jawādī Āmulī, Tafsīre Tasnīm, vol. 14 (Qom: Esra Publications, 2001), 423. See http://toorumer.blogspot.ca/2010/08/evolution-and-islam-talk-with-dr-seyyed.html for a discussion with Seyyed Hossein Nasr on this topic. “Theory, Fact and the Origin of Life,” Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 12, no. 2 (February 2005):101. Denyse O’Leary, “Can We Solve the Mystery of the Origin of Life by Creating Life in the Lab?” Evolution News and Views, last modified March 24, 2014, http://www.evolutionnews.org/2014/03/can_we_solve_th083431.html Mortezā Moṭahharī, “توحید و تکامل” Accessed 2020, www.mortezamotahari.com/fa/ArticleView.html?ArticleID=78893 Shahīd Mortezā Moṭahharī, “God and Evolution” The Causes Responsible for Materialist Tendencies in the West (2 of 4), accessed February 20th, 2014, http://www.al-islam.org/al-tawhid/vol12-vol13/causes-responsible-materialist-tendencies-west-2-4-ayatullah-murtadha/causes#god-and-evolution. Muḥammad Bāqir al-Ṣadr, Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence, translated by Arif Abdulhussein (London: Islamic College for Advanced Studies Press, 2003). Robert Gleave, Scripturalist Islam: the History and Doctrines of the Akhbārī Shīʻī School (Leiden: Brill, 2007). http://tohid.ir/fa/index/book?bookID=425&page=1#11

In episode 1, Ustadha Fatemah Meghji introduces the podcast series which is an audiobook version narrated by Br. Justin Mashouf and titled “Becoming Bani Adam: Exploring Twelver-Shii Discussions on Human Ancestry”. This episode discusses the journey behind the podcast and a brief introduction to its approach and the questions that will be explored about human evolution as well as introduce the format to the podcast and other resources on the topic. References: Ali Safdari, (2021, October 16). The History of Adam and the Case for Prehistoric Humans in the Scripture and Ḥadīth. Mind In Momentum. Retrieved July 7, 2022, from https://mindinmomentum.com/?p=417 Ali Safdari, (Upcoming). Adamic Lineal Exceptionalism: A Twelver-Shīʿī Perspective on Human Evolution, Routledge. Shoaib Ahmed Malik (2021). Islam and Evolution: Al-Ghazālī and the Modern Evolutionary Paradigm (1st ed.). Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-mono/10.4324/9780429345753/islam-evolution-shoaib-ahmed-malik David Solomon Jalajel, “Tawaqquf and Acceptance of Human Evolution,” Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research, accessed July 12, 2022, https://yaqeeninstitute.ca/read/paper/tawaqquf-and-acceptance-of-human-evolution . Ali Paya (2022) Science vs. Religion the Case of a Historical Intellectual Exchange between Two Shi‘i Scholars Regarding Evolution, Theology and Science, DOI: 10.1080/14746700.2022.2084855