What does Islam have to say about the theory of evolution?

FROM NON-BEING TO BEING%0D%0A%0D%0AThe questions of how the universe originated, where it leads to, and how the%0D%0Alaws maintaining its order and balance work have always been topics of%0D%0Ainterest. Scientists and thinkers have thought about this subject endlessly%0D%0Aand have produced quite a few theories.%0D%0AThe prevailing thought until the early 20th century was that the universe%0D%0Ahad infinite dimensions, that it had existed since eternity, and that it%0D%0Awould continue to exist forever. According to this view, called the 'static%0D%0Auniverse model', the universe had neither a beginning nor an end.%0D%0ALaying the groundwork for the materialist philosophy, this view denied the%0D%0Aexistence of a Creator while it maintained that the universe is a constant,%0D%0Astable, and unchanging collection of matter.%0D%0AMaterialism is a system of thought that holds matter to be an absolute being%0D%0Aand denies the existence of anything but matter. Having its roots in ancient%0D%0AGreece and gaining ever-increasing acceptance in the 19th century, this%0D%0Asystem of thought became famous in the shape of the dialectical materialism%0D%0Aof Karl Marx.%0D%0AAs we have stated earlier, the static universe model of the 19th century%0D%0Aprepared the grounds for the materialist philosophy. In his book Principes%0D%0AFondamentaux de Philosophie, George Politzer stated concerning the basis of%0D%0Athis universe model that "the universe was not a created object", and added:%0D%0AIf it were, then it would have to be created instantaneously by God and%0D%0Abrought into existence from nothing. To admit creation, one has to admit, in%0D%0Athe first place, the existence of a moment when the universe did not exist,%0D%0Aand that something came out of nothingness. This is something to which%0D%0Ascience cannot accede.%0D%0AWhen Politzer asserted that the universe was not created out of nothingness,%0D%0Ahe was relying on the static universe model of the 19th century, and%0D%0Athinking that he was posing a scientific claim. However, the 20th century's%0D%0Adeveloping science and technology demolished primitive concepts such as the%0D%0Astatic universe model that laid the grounds for the materialists. Today, on%0D%0Athe brink of the 21st century, modern physics has proved with many%0D%0Aexperiments, observations and calculations that the universe had a beginning%0D%0Aand that it was created out of nothing with a big explosion.%0D%0AThat the universe had a beginning means that the cosmos was brought into%0D%0Abeing out of nothing, that is, that it was created. If a created thing%0D%0Aexists (which did not exist beforehand), then it certainly should have a%0D%0ACreator. Being from non-being is something inconceivable by the human mind.%0D%0A(Man cannot practically conceive it since he has no chance of experiencing%0D%0A%0Ait.) Therefore, being from non-being is very different from bringing objects%0D%0Atogether to form a new object (such as works of art or technological%0D%0Ainventions). It is a sign of Allah's creation alone that everything formed%0D%0Aperfectly all at once and in a single moment, when the created things had no%0D%0Aprevious examples and not even time and space existed in which to create%0D%0Athem.%0D%0AThe coming of the universe into being from non-being is the greatest proof%0D%0Apossible that it has been created. Consideration of this fact will change a%0D%0Alot of things. It helps people understand the meaning of life and review%0D%0Atheir attitudes and purposes. This is why many scientific communities have%0D%0Atried to disregard the fact of creation which they could not fully%0D%0Acomprehend, even though its evidence was clear to them. The fact that all%0D%0Ascientific evidence points to the existence of a Creator has compelled them%0D%0Ato invent alternatives to create confusion in the minds of people.%0D%0ANevertheless, the evidence of science itself puts a definite end to these%0D%0Atheories.%0D%0A%0D%0AHarun Yahya%0D%0A%0D%0A