{"id":6762,"date":"2019-08-04T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-08-04T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2019-09-03T16:28:00","modified_gmt":"2019-09-03T15:28:00","slug":"the-problem-of-origin-of-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/6762\/the-problem-of-origin-of-life\/","title":{"rendered":"The Problem of Origin of Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

How did life start in the beginning and through what means? Does every one of these innumerable species end in an individual living creature that is the source of its particular species? If that is the case, how did that first creature come into existence? Ordinarily, when theistic thinkers want to relate the matter of life to God and Divine will, they bring up the problem of origin of life on the earth and the question regarding the cause of the first emergence of life.<\/h4>\n

The Problem of Origin of LifeOrdinarily, when (theistic) thinkers want to relate the matter of life to God
\nand Divine will, they bring up the problem of origin of life on the earth and the question regarding the cause of the first emergence of life. Conclusive scientific evidence indicates that life had a definite begin\u00adning on the surface of the earth, that none of the various types of living creatures, including animals and plants, have always existed since eternity. This is because the earth itself has a limited age. Moreover, it was not in its estimated life of several million years always fit for life. We observe that each individual of a species is always born from another individual belonging to that species. Wheat comes from wheat, barley from barley, horse from horse, camel from camel, and man from man. It is not the practice of nature that an animal or plant, for instance, should come into existence from a mass of sheer dust. Always, the
\norigin of a living creature is traceable to another living creature from which it separates in the form of a seed or sperm and grows in a suitable location.<\/h4>\n

Now, how did life start in the beginning and through what means? Does every one of these innumerable species end in an individual living creature that is the source of its particular species? If that is the case, how did that first creature come into existence, for nature seems to disallow the emergence of a
\nliving creature without a speed, sperm or something that should have separated
\nfrom a living creature? Hence, (they point out), we must admit that an exception
\nto the rule must have occurred. In other words, a miracle had occurred and the
\nDivine hand had emerged from the hidden to create that first living creature.<\/h4>\n

Or is it possible that all these species. have had a single source and root, and
\nare members of a family of species? On the basis of this hypothesis, too, we
\nconfront the same problem. That is, even if we suppose all the species to have
\nbeen derived from a single unicellular organism, the same question emerges as to
\nhow that first living creature came into existence. Isn\u2019t it the case that
\nscience has proved that a living creature cannot come into existence except from
\nanother living creature? Hence, was there an exception to the rule and a
\nmiracle, in that the will of God interfered to create instantaneously a living
\ncell?<\/h4>\n

It is here that the adherents of the materialist outlook are forced to put
\nforward certain hypotheses which are incredible to themselves. The theists, on
\nthe contrary, consider it as an evidence for the existence of a creator and
\nstate that a supranatural power did interfere to create the first living
\ncreature, and that it was the will of God that led to its emergence. Such was
\nthe view of Darwin, who was personally a theist. After having solved the problem
\nof the branching out of species for himself, he arrives at one or several living
\ncreatures who first emerged on the earth\u2019s surface without having been
\nreproduced by another living creature. He says regarding them: `As for these,
\nthey came to life through the Divine breath.\u2019<\/h4>\n

Crissy Morrisen, in the book “The Secret of Man\u2019s Creation”, says in this
\nregard:<\/h4>\n

Some say that the corpuscles of life escaped from one of the planets and after
\nwandering in the atmosphere for ages and consecutive centuries descended on the
\nearth\u2019s surface. Such a belief is not acceptable, because it is impossible that
\nthey should have survived the space\u2019s absolute cold, and even if, supposedly,
\nthey could survive that danger, the cosmic rays that are scattered in space
\nwould have destroyed them. Even if they could pass through this stage, they must
\nhave come down accidentally in a very favour\u00adable point such as oceanic depths,
\nwhere several conditions existed simul\u00adtaneously and a suitable environment was
\ncreated for them. After all these problems, the question still arises about the
\norigin of life and as to how it did emerge in other planets. Today it has been
\nproved for certain that no environment however favourable and conducive to life
\ncan create it. Similarly, no kind of chemical synthesis or combination can
\ncreate a life corpuscle. The problem of life still remains one of the unsolved
\nproblems of science.<\/h4>\n

Some say that a miniscule particle of matter, of a microscopic size, coagulating
\nwith a large number of particles of atomic size, disturbed their equilibrium and
\nassumed the form of life through their inclusion and exclusion. Nonethe\u00adless, no
\none has claimed until now that he has produced life with the means of chemical
\naction and reaction.<\/h4>\n

By this discussion Crissy Morrisen intends to prove that the hand of a creator
\nis involved in the origin and beginning of life, because it cannot be explained
\nby material or natural causes. Concerning the origins of man and the great
\nmetamorphosis that resulted in the emergence of an intelligent creature with an
\nextraordinary capacity for discursive thought and a power that could create the
\nsciences, he says: “The emergence of man as an intelligent and thoughtful
\ncreature is too profound to be considered an effect of material changes in which
\na creator\u2019s hand was not involved.” This was a sample of the mode of thought and
\nargument of this group in relation to life and the Divine will. There is no need
\nto cite more or less similar statements of others that do not differ essentially
\nfrom the passage quoted.<\/h4>\n

As we know, till now man has not been able, despite all his efforts, to produce
\nwith scientific means the substance that makes up the living creatures. For
\ninstance, he has been unable to produce with chemical substances an artificial
\nwheat grain possessing the properties of a living grain, which may grow into a
\nplant when sown and develop ears. Nor has he been able to produce artificially
\nthe sperm of an animal or man with the capacity to develop into an animal or
\nman. Nevertheless, scientists have not ceased in their efforts, and as yet it
\nhas not become conclusively clear for them whether they would be able to do so
\nin the future or if this matter lies beyond man\u2019s scientific and technical
\ncapacities.<\/h4>\n

This topic too, which relates to the future has, like the problem of the origin
\nof life, created a controversy throughout the world. Inevitably, that group of
\ntheists who, with their above-mentioned approach and logic, say that the
\ncreation of life is in the hands of God, are of the opinion that, in this
\nquestion too, man\u2019s efforts in the field are bound to be fruitless. Since man
\nhas no control over life, which is exclusively subject to the Divine will, man
\ncannot create life anytime at his will with the scientific and technical means
\nat his disposal. The prophets who raised the dead were able to do so with the
\nleave of God. It is not possible for anyone to perform such an act without the
\npermission of God. And should anyone want to do such a thing with the leave of
\nGod, it would mean that such a man has joined the ranks of the prophets and
\nperformed a miracle, and, of course, God does not carry out a miracle except at
\nthe hands of His prophets and awliya.<\/h4>\n

This group of theists consider man\u2019s present incapacity in this regard as the
\nproof of their claim. When they observe that man has produced wheat grains that
\ndo not differ in any way in their chemical composition from natural wheat but
\nare devoid of the characteristics of life, they point out that that is because
\nlife depends exclusively on the will of God and the creation of life requires
\nGod\u2019s permission, which He does not give to anyone except His apostles.<\/h4>\n

We said that the Noble Qur\u2019an explicitly affirms that life lies in the hands of
\nGod and that it negates the role of anyone else in the creation of life.
\nHowever, the Qur\u2019an never refers to the matter of the origin of the human
\nspecies or the beginning of life in order to affirm this point. On the contrary,
\nit points as evidence to the present empirical order and considers the current,
\nongoing system of life as the system of creation, becoming and development. But
\nwhen it wishes to describe God\u2019s creatorhood in relation to life, it does not
\nmake recourse to the first day. In this respect, it makes no distinction between
\nthe first day and the subsequent days. Rather, it points to the present orderly
\nchanges of life as the changes of creation. For instance, in the blessed Surat
\nal\u00adMu\u2019minun it states:<\/h4>\n

We created man of an extraction of clay, then We set him, a drop, in a
\nreceptacle secure, then We created of the drop a clot, then We created of the
\nclot a tissue, then We created of the tissue bones, then We garmented the bones
\nin flesh; thereafter We produced him as another creature. So blessed be God, the
\nfairest of creators! (23:12-14)<\/h4>\n

This noble verse mentions the systematic transformation and changes that occur
\nin the embryo and considers these developments as a developing series of
\ncreations. In the Surat Nuh, it states:<\/h4>\n

What ails you, that you look not for majesty in God, seeing He created you by
\nstages? (71:13-14)<\/h4>\n

In the Surat al-Zumar, it states:<\/h4>\n

He creates you in your mothers\u2019 wombs creation after creation in threefold
\nshadows. (39:6)<\/h4>\n

In the Surat al-Baqarah, it is stated:<\/h4>\n

How do you disbelieve in God, seeing you were dead and He gave you life, then
\nHe shall make you dead, then He shall give you life, then unto Him you shall be
\nreturned. (2:28)<\/h4>\n

In the Surat al-Hajj, it states:<\/h4>\n

It is He Who gave you life, then He shall make you dead, then He shall give
\nyou life. (22:66)<\/h4>\n

There are many verses on this theme and all of them consider the present current
\norder as the system of creation. The splitting of the grain and the seed under
\nthe ground, the growth of plants and herbs, the greening of the trees in
\nspring-time \u2013 all of these are mentioned as part of the ever new and perpetual
\nDivine creativity. In no place does the Qur\u2019an consider the role of Divine
\ncreativity and will in the creation of life as relating exclusively to the first
\nman or the first living creature that emerged upon the earth\u2019s surface, or
\nconsider only that organism or grain as the creature of God and the product of
\nthe Divine will.<\/h4>\n

The Noble Qur\u2019an also mentions the creation of Adam, but not for the purpose of
\naffirming monotheism (tawhid), or for the sake of the argument that since Adam
\nwas the first man, that proves that creation did occur and that `God\u2019s hand
\nemerged from its sleeve\u2019 to create human life. God\u2019s hand has never been
\nconcealed within a sleeve.<\/h4>\n

There is a strange point worthy of notice in this regard. The Qur\u2019an makes use
\nof the story of Adam to convey many teachings of a moral and educative
\ncharacter, such as: man\u2019s capacity for attaining to the station of God\u2019s
\nvicegerency; his abundant capacity for knowledge; the angels\u2019 humility in front
\nof knowledge; man\u2019s capacity for attaining superiority over the angels; the harm
\nof greed, the harms of pride, the effects of sin in causing man\u2019s decline from
\nthe sublimest of stations; the role of penitence in man\u2019s salvation and his
\nreturn to the station of proximity to God; warnings against the danger of
\nmisleading satanic insinuations, and the like. But it never relates the special
\nand exceptional situation of Adam in his creation to the subject of tawhid and
\ntheology, for the objective behind its mention of Adam\u2019s story was a moral and
\neducative one. It was not intended as an evidence in favour of tawhid. Moreover,
\nit confines itself to mentioning Adam, and says nothing about how the life of
\nthe other animal species originated on the earth.<\/h4>\n

We have mentioned earlier the customary approach of the theists who when
\nconfronted with the absence of an explanation for the beginning of life in the
\nfirst living creature say, “It was the Divine breath which brought it into
\nexistence.” But the Qur\u2019an considers the life of other human beings also to be
\nthe result of the Divine breath, in the same way as it considers the life of
\nAdam as being due to the Divine breath.<\/h4>\n

In one place the Qur\u2019an relates God as saying to angels regarding Adam:<\/h4>\n

(And when thy Lord said to the angels `See, \u2018I am creating a mortal of clay
\nof mud moulded.) When I have shaped him, and breathed My spirit in him, fall you
\ndown, bowing before him!” (16:28-29)<\/h4>\n

In another place it says:<\/h4>\n

We created you, then We shaped you, then We said to the angels: Bow
\nyourselves to Adam.\u2019 (7:11)<\/h4>\n

It is clear that, in this verse, creation, the blowing of the Divine breath and
\nthe veneration of angels is ascribed to all human beings in general. The Qur\u2019an
\nstates in the Sura Alif lam sajdah:<\/h4>\n

\u2026Who has created all things well and He originated the creation of man out
\nof clay, then He fashioned his progeny of an extraction of mean water, then He
\nshaped it, and breathed His spirit in it. And He appointed for you hearing and
\nsight, and heart; little thanks you show. (32:7-9)<\/h4>\n

As pointed out by the exegetes and as indicated by the context itself, the
\npronoun in sawwahu (he shaped it) relates to sulalah (progeny), not to al-\u2019insan
\n(man).<\/h4>\n

Source:
\nThe
\nQur\u2019an And the Nature Of Life by Shaheed Murtadha Mutahhari<\/h4>\n

http:\/\/shiastudies.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How did life start in the beginning and through what means? Does every one of these innumerable species end in an individual living creature that is the source of its particular species? If that is the case, how did that first creature come into existence? Ordinarily, when theistic thinkers want to relate the matter of life to God and Divine will, they bring up the problem of origin of life on the earth and the question regarding the cause of the first emergence of life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7978,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7453,7762],"tags":[9394,9393,7556],"class_list":["post-6762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bank-of-subjects-of-articles","category-educational-sciences","tag-life","tag-origin","tag-shiastudies"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6762"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6762\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}