Regarding the statement on this page that:
Instead, the Holy Qur’an supports the view that the human species evolved from the single cell stage as a separate species.
Can you elaborate on that position? Specifically, I’m reading it to mean that a single cell organism evolved down an independent branch of species that led to hominids of various, successive types.
So, although Ahmadiyyat takes the view that we didn’t evolve through a chain that includes apes, does that mean that the earliest common ancestor between homo sapiens and apes is that single cell organism? Or was even that single cell starting point different for humans vs other life forms?
If instead, the Ahmadiyya Islamic view is that apes and humans do share a common ancestor that is some “ape”-like mammal, how do you reconcile that with the statement earlier in the referenced article, about the ‘single cell stage’?
Do not hominids like Lucy the Australopithecus resemble apes of some kind? Are they not part of that unique line of evolution that led to modern humans? What of the DNA kinship humans have with say, the oak tree, in our common machinery to metabolize glucose?
Wouldn’t a pre-Lucy like species further back look like smaller animals down this unique evolutionary chain back to a single cell? Did Allah kick-off abiogenesis independently at least twice, but endow both lines with such similar rules of genetic grammar and vocabulary (DNA), thus side-stepping Ockham’s razor?
Please feel free to point me to any material that covers the scientific implications of these positions. I’ve read lots on the spiritual implications and uniqueness of humanity, but haven’t found much in the way of discussing the physical implications of the Ahmadiyya view.
By the way, I do hope other Muslims follow your lead in supporting some notion of evolution, even if we disagree on the mechanisms and reconciliation with religious texts on these same subjects. Peace.