Origins and Sanctity of Human Life

Allah as the source of human life

Questions about human origins concern how human beings came to exist. Questions about the value of life concern why people matter and how they should be treated. For Muslims, these questions are connected: human life deserves protection because it comes from Allah.

Muslims believe that Allah created and sustains all life. The Qur’an describes Allah forming Adam from clay and breathing life into him. Adam is understood as the first human being. This account gives humanity a special relationship with its Creator: human existence is purposeful, rather than simply an accident.

The Qur’an is authoritative for Muslims because they believe it is Allah’s revealed word. However, Muslims differ over how its account of creation relates to scientific explanations. Creationist Muslims understand Adam as a direct creation of Allah and reject human evolution where it appears to contradict this account. Other Muslims accept aspects of evolution as natural processes through which Allah’s creation develops, while some distinguish the evolution of other living things from the special creation of humans. Acceptance of a natural process does not necessarily mean rejecting Allah as Creator.

Why human life is sacred

Sanctity of life means that life is sacred because it comes from God. In Islam, human worth is therefore not simply something people earn through wealth, success or usefulness. Life is a gift from Allah, and people have a responsibility to respect and protect it.

Qur’an 6:151 teaches: “Do not take a ˹human˺ life—made sacred by Allah—except with ˹legal˺ right.” The passage explicitly identifies Allah as the source of life’s sacredness. Its prohibition of killing is qualified by a lawful exception, rather than being an absolute ban on taking life in every circumstance.

The same verse commands people not to kill their children because of poverty and states that Allah provides for parents and children. This connects belief with conduct: economic hardship does not remove a child’s value or justify killing them.

Qur’an 5:32 describes a command given to the Children of Israel: whoever kills a person, except as punishment for murder or corruption in the land, is as though they have killed all humanity; whoever saves a life is as though they have saved all humanity. Muslims understand this as a powerful teaching about the seriousness of unlawful killing and the importance of saving life.

The comparison does not mean that saving one person literally saves everyone. It stresses that each individual life matters. These teachings can encourage Muslims to help people in danger, support medical care and treat people of different backgrounds with dignity. Respect for life involves positive care, not merely avoiding harm.

Darwin and evolution by natural selection

Evolution is the scientific explanation of how living populations change over generations and how different species develop over long periods. Charles Darwin set out his explanation of evolution by natural selection in On the Origin of Species, published in 1859.

Individuals within a species have different inherited characteristics. In a particular environment, some characteristics make survival and reproduction more likely. Those individuals are more likely to pass these characteristics to their offspring. Across many generations, advantageous characteristics become more common.

Darwin’s observations of finches on the Galápagos Islands provide a concrete example: different beak shapes were suited to different food sources. A beak useful for obtaining the available food could give a bird an advantage in surviving and reproducing. ‘Survival of the fittest’ therefore means fitness for an environment, not simply physical strength.

Evolution explains the development and diversity of living things. It is distinct from the question of how the very first life began.

Dawkins and non-religious explanations

Humanists and atheists generally accept evolution because it is supported by scientific evidence. They understand the development of life through natural processes without appealing to a divine creator.

Richard Dawkins, a biologist and atheist, argues that natural selection explains why organisms appear designed for their environments. Complex adaptations need not have been planned by God: they can develop through the accumulation of inherited changes over many generations. Although variation can arise by chance, natural selection is not simply random, because some characteristics consistently improve reproductive success in a particular environment.

In The Selfish Gene, Dawkins explains evolution from the perspective of genes being passed on through reproduction. This is an explanation of biological inheritance, not an instruction that people ought to behave selfishly. He also challenges the claim that complexity requires a designer by asking who designed the designer.

Does evolution rule out belief in Allah?

A non-religious argument is that evolution provides an evidence-based explanation of biological complexity without needing divine intervention. Dawkins therefore regards natural selection as a better explanation of apparent design than a creator.

A creationist Muslim might respond that the Qur’an’s account of Adam is authoritative and that human evolution conflicts with his direct creation. A Muslim who accepts aspects of evolution could instead argue that science describes a process while belief in Allah explains its ultimate source and purpose.

A justified conclusion should distinguish these claims. Evolution challenges a literal account of separate, direct creation, but accepting evolution does not by itself prove that no God exists. Equally, rejecting a divine creator does not mean rejecting the value of human life: Humanists can ground respect for people in empathy, reason and human welfare rather than sacredness.