Islam and Peace
Faith and Reason
~ 17 ~
separate creations but had changed from one
species into separate species over a prolonged
period of evolution by a process of natural selection.
It is obvious that this theory is not related to the
existence or non-existence of God. It deals with the
process of Creation instead of the Creator. That is to
say, if it was hitherto believed that God created
each species separately, now after accepting the
theory of evolution it has to be believed that God
originally created an initial species which was
invested with the capability of multiplying into
numerous species. And then He set in motion a
natural process in the universe favourable to such
multiplication. In this way, over a long period of
time this primary species fulfilled its potential by
changing into innumerable species. To put it
another way, the theory of evolution is not a study
of the existence of God, but simply of how God has
displayed in the universe his power of creation.
That is why Darwin himself has concluded his
famous book
The Origin of Species
with these words:
There is grandeur in this view of life, that having
been originally breathed by the Creator into a few
