Islamic Theology & Evolution

157:36

3 Mar 2014

Evolution, History of Science

Nadeem Abdul Wali

In this lecture, presented at Millsaps College on February 28, 2014, Shaykh Nadeem Abdul Wali discusses the coherence of evolution and Qurʾānic theology in Islam.

Topics addressed include:  cosmology, deep time, Einstein, Copernicus, education, indeterminateness, randomness, hominid evolution, intelligent design, extinction, differential reproductive success, minimalism.

Nadeem Abdul Wali is connected to the Sunna Institute in Houston, TX (USA), a program based on Naqshbandiyya-Mujaddidiyya (Sufi) teachings.

Evaluation:

The Islamic material presented here is the bounds of what Muslims have historically understood as acceptable.

The scientific explanations of evolution and the cosmos correspond to scholarly discourse, although the linkages with God would be unusual.

The historical representations of science are slight, but accurate.