This is part 1 of the response by Ahmed Alhasan to Sayyid Ali Sistani about evolution. This excerpt is taken from the book Atheism Delusion.
I found the following statement on Sayyid Ali Sistani’s¹ ideological website². If it doesn’t represent his opinion, he can say so and give his own. Otherwise, the opinions are his, and he is bound by this response.
From Sistani’s Center of Belief Researches website:
It has been scientifically proven that this theory is false. Perhaps the simplest thing refuting this theory is that, based on the calculation of probabilities, it would take millions of years for a simple cell to transform into a more complex one. This is the case for a single cell, so what would it be for one animal transforming into another?!! It would take billions of years, and this has been proven to be false. (Sistani 2011, translated)
Response:
What is mentioned above represents Sistani’s opinion and response regarding the theory of evolution, or at the very least, a response that Sistani is satisfied with. There is no problem with making its value and quality clear.
He states here that the theory of evolution has been proven to be scientifically false. I truly don’t know where this has ever happened! Perhaps only in their delusions. In fact, the theory of evolution has been proven to be scientifically correct, especially with the advent of genetics and the advancements in this field. It is currently being taught in the schools of developed countries and in all well-established universities worldwide. In addition to that, many vaccines and medical treatments are being produced and developed based on this theory.
He then presented his scientific evidence, essentially just superficial words that reveal the author’s ignorance of the theory of evolution. This theory does not state that a mutation will transform one animal or species into another. It also doesn’t state that the emergence of complex organs occurs suddenly (for example, that an animal without eyes will suddenly have eyes, and so on), which would create a problem with mathematical probabilities that would stand in the way of the theory of evolution. Actually, evolution occurs through a tremendous number of very slow steps. Since they are cumulative, the probability associated with each evolutionary step occurring individually isn’t mathematically problematic. Moreover, the probability of each step following the previous one is very high due to the presence of variation, reproduction, and natural selection at every stage. If all three of these factors are present, evolution will definitely be present as well. This is a scientific fact denied only by people who don’t understand variation, reproduction and selection, and their implications. I advise Sayyid Sistani and the Center of Belief Researches to read what evolution scientists have written, so they can understand the theory of evolution before issuing such statements that only demonstrate their ignorance of the theory and its mechanisms.
From Sistani’s Center of Belief Researches website:
Furthermore, in our Islamic doctrine, we have a clear opinion about how the creation of man began. The Holy Quran states it here as the Almighty says: {[He] Who perfected everything He created, and began the creation of man from wet clay} Chapter “The Prostration” 32:7. Thus, the creation of man began from wet clay, and not from another animal as evolutionists say. The Almighty says: {He created man from dry clay that is like pottery} Chapter ”The Abundantly Merciful” 55:14. He also says: {We created you, then We formed you, then We said to the angels, “Prostrate to Adam.” So they prostrated, except for Iblis. He was not of the prostrating ones} Chapter “The Heights” 7:11. And the Almighty says: {Indeed, We created them from sticky clay} Chapter “Those Who Set the Ranks” 37:11. The Almighty also says: {When your Lord said to the angels, “Indeed, I will create a human being from the dry clay of formed mud. ✶ So, when I have fashioned him and breathed into him of My Spirit, then fall down to him, prostrating”} Chapter “The Rocky Tract” 15:[28]-29. In addition, there are narrations from the prophets and successors pbut that explain how Adam, the father of humankind, was created.
Therefore, the theory of evolution is incompatible with the above. May you remain under the protection of God.
Response:
Their use of ambiguous Quranic verses to refute a proven scientific theory has no scientific value for biologists, and it doesn’t have any religious value either. None of these verses oppose the theory of evolution conclusively so that someone can say, for example, that religion and evolution can’t both be true at the same time. Their statement that the creation of man began with clay, and their use of relevant Quranic verses, can be responded to by simply saying that these verses pertain to the creation of the soul. The clay creation occurred in heaven, as stated by the same Quranic verses that mention the story of creation. This has been mentioned in narrations as well. Heaven is a world of souls, not a physical, material world like this one as we’ll clarify later, God willing. Another response is that the creation of man began when God created the first “gene map”, or the first replicable protein, since this protein was created from the chemical substances available on this Earth, in its soil, or from clay particles. It is true that in this way, God has created man from mud, soil, clay, and earth, because man is the goal intended to be reached from creation. So the verses about the creation of Adam from clay and soil can be understood to be in complete agreement with evolution.
At the same time, we find other verses that clearly support the theory of evolution. The Almighty said,{While He has created you in stages ✶ Do you not see how God has created the seven heavens in layers ✶ And made the moon a light therein and the sun a burning lamp? And God has caused you to grow from the earth as a plant} Quran Chapter “Noah” 71:14-17. The verses are clear: {He has created you in stages . . . And God has caused you to grow from the earth as a plant}. A detailed explanation of these verses will come later.
¹ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_al-Sistani
² https://www.sistani.org/
Part 2: Click here
The excerpt is taken from Atheism Delusion by Ahmed Alhasan احمد الحسن
Click here to read similar glaring delusions of men of religion.
