The
Process of Creation
A Qur'anic Perspective
A Qur'anic Perspective
by
Dr Israr Ahmad
THE PROCESS OF
CREATION
A QUR'ANIC PERSPECTIVE
By
Dr. Israr Ahmad
Founder of
Tanzeem-e-Islami
Translated By
Dr. Absar Ahmad
Lahore
Markazi Anjuman Khuddam-ul-Quran
2013
English Name: THE PROCESS OF CREATION
A QUR'ANIC PERSPECTIVE
Urdu Name: Ejad-oIbda-e-A'alamsay A'alami
Nizam-e-Khilafat tak --- Tanuzzul aur Irtiqa kay Marahil
First Edition: November 2013
Copies: 1100
Published by: Markazi Anjuman Khuddam-ul-Qur’an Lahore
36-K, Model Town, Lahore-54700
Phone: 35869501-3 Fax:
35834000
E-mail: anjuman@tanzeem.org
Webpage: www.tanzeem.org
Printed at: Shirkat Printing Press, Lahore
Price Rs: 120/-
As per the lifelong practice and wishes of our late Founder
Mohtaram Dr.Israr Ahmad we, the legal heirs of Dr. Israr Ahmed grant an open
license, invite and welcome all to reproduce any of his audio, visual and
written material for sale or free distribution without any prior permission. We
ask for no royalties and copyrights. It would be appreciated if a few copies of
the reproduced material are provided to us for our record. We, however, do retain
and reserve the right to take legal action for any malicious or otherwise
alteration, misquotes, out of context quotes or references and or misuse deemed
damaging to his and or our reputation.
CONTENTS
Foreword
1.
Passage from “Necessary Being” to the Contingent
2.
The first stage in the Process of
Descent and the Relevant Quranic Terminology
3.
The Second Stage of Descent: “Khalq”
4.
The Third Stage of Descent
5.
The Idea of Biological Evolution on Earth
6.
Darwin’s Theory and its Flaws
7.
Dr. Rafi-ud-Din’s Characterization of Evolution
8.
Completion of Adam’s Creation - Appointment as Khalifah
9.
The Rebellion of Ibless and The Reason Thereof
10.
Enmity of Satan towards The Human Beings: The Battle between Good
and Evil
11.
The Development of Embryo in Mother’s Womb from Foetus to its
Crowing with Full Adamic Stature - A Microscopic view of the Long Process
12. The
Intellectual and Social Evolution of Humanity
FOREWORD
This
tract is based on the ideas expounded and discussed by late Dr. Israr Ahmad
(1932-2010) in his Urdu booklet titled “Ejad-oIbda-e-A'alamsay A'alami
Nizam-e-Khilafat tak --- Tanuzzul aur Irtiqa kay Marahil”. Adding some
points here and there, e.g. names of scholars and scientists, and a few
explanatory lines, I have tried to keep the translated contents of the subject
very close and faithful to the Urdu booklet.
Given
the specific juncture in human intellectual history at which we stand, we are
in a unique position today to revisit the vexed philosophical issues of
yester years. The tremendous progress in the physical and social sciences today
has put tools at our disposal that can be used to critically evaluate the
hypotheses offered by the great minds of yesterday and to confirm, reject, or
otherwise modify these hypotheses. At the same time, this progressive stride of
human knowledge has provided fresh insights into the Revealed Word itself, just
as it has been illuminated by the very same Revealed Word. The end result of
this two-way hermeneutic is a more sharpened intellect and more precise
analytical tools that can be brought to bear in the study of most acute and
intractable issues that have dogged the human imagination since times
immemorial.
It is with this background in mind that Dr. Israr Ahmad explored
the issues related to the process by which “possibility” emerged out of
“Necessity” and “contingency” emerged out of “Eternity”. As can be easily
appreciated by any thoughtful reader, the contents of the present tract
provide, in the light of the Islamic sources, answers to some of the most
enigmatic questions humanity has ever faced. Thus they have a profoundly
significant message that redefines the whole discourse of Islam and science. In
a complex manner, the ideas presented
reinforce the position of science-religion consonance under the overarching
theistic belief of Divine Causality. The author thus juxtaposes in a
comparative analysis the “hard science” of modern cosmology with theology,
mysticism and philosophy. He believes that science alone can never settle the
problem of the absolute beginning of the universe. The Islamic faith is
grounded in an original protology (a doctrine of first things, including
creation and nature, partly resembling the pre-historical materials in
Genesis), ontology and eschatology.
In
this tract, Dr. Israr Ahmad, by collecting and collating relevant references
primarily from Quran and the Hadith, has endeavored to put forth a theory which
in essence blends “Creation” and “Evolution” together into one harmonious
thread. It has references from other religious scriptures, the famous mystic
poets Iqbal, Rumi and Saadi, as well as scientists and cosmologists. The thrust
of the venture is on presenting the Quranic position on questions pertaining to
the realms of existence as distinct yet overlapping phases of creation and
evolution, all brought into effect by the Omnipotent God the Quran calls Allah.
It synthesizes the theories of cosmology, astronomy, and biology to suggest
that anthropocosmism that exists throughout the known universe. Far from being haphazard,
it is in effect systematic and orderly. Systematic processes that seem random
and destructive from a myopic viewpoint when seen on the wider landscape reveal
a metamorphosis: the end of one realm of existence coinciding with the birth of
the next one, sans any collateral damage or residual trash, all under the
omnipotent authority of the Creator.
The
Cosmogony of the Quran is a typically creation theory. The Quranic account of
creation is distinctive in its thoroughness (creation ex nihilo) and in
its impact upon both philosophy and science. The casual factor throughout the
created cosmic order is the emanant divine word Kun. Change and
evolution is endemic to Quranic worldview. Dr. Israr Ahmad puts in bold relief
the ontological dualism of man by emphasizing the evolutionary process only in
the physical part of man; whereas full Adamic stature is assigned when the
genuinely originated and individuated pre-existent soul is aligned to it.
The monograph is primarily meant to
provide food for thought to students of philosophy and cosmology as well as the
general reader to ponder on the basic message of the Quran, viz., this life,
while earthly, is not eternal in its scope. Out of the numerous realms created
and evolved, this life is meant to function as one which serves as a trial for
its dwellers, whose consequences, pleasant or tormenting, will be borne in a
future realm of existence, eternal in its scope and nature. This eschatological
belief in the Hereafter constitutes the belief in al-Akhirah in which
justice will be dispensed.
Partly
differing with Dr. Rafi-ud-Din’s thought and, in fact extending it, the author
analytically delineates three stages/phases of ideological evolution. At the
apex of first evolutionary stage (of intellectual thought) stands Ibrahim when
he, repudiating all forms of idolatry, affirmed monotheism. After this, it was
the right moment for the kick-off of human social evolution the apogee of which
was achieved by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) by establishing Islam’s socio-political
order in Arabian Peninsula. And now the third and final level of this
evolutionary process will be witnessed when the true faith --- Islam --- reigns
supreme globally.
The
translation first appeared in the quarterly journal Hikmat-e~Quran, in four
installments and then thoroughly amended and reedited. I am greatly in Debt to
Mr. Raza-ul-Haq of English Section at the Quran Academy (Anjuman
Khuddam-ul-Quran) for editing and improving the language of text at many places
and for making it ready for the press.
Dr. Absar Ahmad
President
Anjuman Khuddam-ul-Quran
36-K, Model Town,
Lahore, Pakistan.
****
The
treatise of Dr. Israr Ahmad “Ejad o Ibda-e-Alam say Alami Nizam-e-Khilafat
tak: Tanazzul aur Irtiqa kay Marahil”s English translation “The Process of
Creation: A Qur`anic Perspective” was very much appreciated by a number of
scholars and intellectuals who took the trouble to read it closely and
thoughtfully. Among others, Dr. Munawar A. Anees, an internationally acclaimed
critic and writer, referred to this tract as a major contribution in Cosmology.
In his Iqbal Memorial Lecture given on July 05, 2012 under the auspices of
Department of Philosophy, University of the Punjab, he presented the following
lines to the audience in his published essay: “… one of the eminent students of
Iqbal, Dr. Israr Ahmad made remarkable interpretations of his philosophy with a
unique blend of Quranic teachings and modern knowledge. His short treatise
on the origins and evolution makes him a man way ahead of his times. Perhaps his work could serve as a precursor
for an Islamic cosmology in congruence with the emerging thought as exemplified
by biocentrism and biosemiotics.”
to be continued . . . .
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