DOES THE FOSSIL RECORD SUPPORT EVOLUTION?
Another popular example of living fossils is the coelacanth. This species has existed for 410 million years, yet it is impossible to discern a visible difference between its 410 million-year-old fossils and its present form.
[1] Colin Barras. "Why Early Humans Reshaped Their Children's Skulls." BBC. N.p., 14 Oct. 2014. Web. 03 July 2016.
[2] Desk, Express Web. “Newly-Discovered Fossil Footprints in Greece May Challenge Theory of Human Evolution.” The Indian Express, 2 Sept. 2017.
[3] "Skull of Homo Erectus Throws Story of Human Evolution into Disarray."Theguardian. N.p., 18 Oct. 2013. Web. 1 Feb. 2015.
The subject of fossils is one that both evolutionists and creationists lay claim to and bring up as evidence for their side. I neither find the argument of “there is no transitional fossil that demonstrates evolution” of creationists nor the argument of “fossils prove evolution” of evolutionists sensible. Fossils are like concrete dots, and how to abstractly connect these concrete dots is up to us. Even evolutionists differ in connecting these dots and they propose different stories of evolution. For example, today there are fishes at the bottom of seas that have legs on which they walk. A distant-future paleontologist that will research our century and find the fossils of these legged-fishes may come to the false conclusion that all land animals evolved from legged-fishes in the 21st century. Today, there is a species called “flying fish” which has wings that it can use to fly for short distances. A distant-future paleontologist that will research our century and find the fossils of these winged-fishes may come to the false conclusion that all birds evolved from winged-fishes in the 21st century. There would be no evidence disproving these conclusions although they both are incorrect. A distant-future paleontologist that will research our century and find the bones of a man buried along with the bones of his pet –let’s say a dog- due to an earthquake may not differentiate between their bones and think that humans had doggy features back in the 21st century. If a distant-future archaeologist were to dig and find the remains of New York, he would think that humans had an advanced civilization in the 21st century; but if he were to dig and find the remnants of an African tribe, he would think that humans were quite primitive in the 21st century. As these examples illustrate, it is impossible to make certain deductions from fossils and archeological findings.
God doesn’t specify in the Quran the sequence in which he created the living creatures, therefore it is not possible for fossils to contradict the Quran. If a human fossil belonging to 500 million years ago were to be discovered, if a dinosaur fossil belonging to three centuries ago were to be discovered, or if we found a fossil of a dragon under the ground, none of these would contradict the teachings of creation. However this is not the case for the theory of evolution, even the existence of a single fossil contradicting evolution is sufficient to destroy its credibility. Evolutionists have to have an explanation for everything as they do not believe in any supernatural power. Despite this, we can evaluate the fossil record in light of the fact that God doesn’t do anything in vain and without purpose as his name “al-Hakim” implies:
a-) “[He] who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed - and He is the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving – (Qur’an 67:2)” This life is a life of test and this world is created perfectly for test as the verse states. Belief and disbelief must exist in every age for this test to be meaningful. If there was no disbelief and all people believed in God, there would be no significance of testing. This would clearly go against the purpose of the world’s creation. We can say in consideration of this fact that the creation of living beings is in line with the nature of the test. If all organisms were created at the same time within a short duration, there would be no justifiability of evolution and everybody would believe in God. This would be equivalent to God’s showing himself in the sky and definitely contradict the nature of the test. In other words, the way in which God created living beings made evolution “defensible”. God encourages people in numerous verses to ponder over the creation and to confirm his existence and oneness by using their reason. For instance in one verse God says: “Those who remember God while standing or sitting or [lying] on their sides and give thought to the creation of the heavens and the earth, [saying], "Our Lord, You did not create this aimlessly; exalted are You [above such a thing]; then protect us from the punishment of the Fire. (Qur’an 3:191)” If living beings were created in a way that makes evolution (atheism) indefensible, everybody would believe in God and there would be no reason for thinking and reflection. I refer you to my previous writing about Dajjal (the Antichrist) in regards to this matter, where I associated the arguments that Darwinists use with the miracles that God promised to give Dajjal for testing mankind in the End Times.
b) There is nothing unwise in the creation of living beings. All creatures appeared suddenly and perfectly with organs that fit them according to their environments and disappeared suddenly. We do not see any defective creature when we look at the fossil record. Organisms have the organs, systems, and the complexity level that are most suitable for them. For example, the size of a bacterium is equivalent to the size of a mitochondrion in eukaryotic cells. Bacteria do not need the complexity of protists (eukaryotic cells); in fact, having a simple structure is an advantage for them since it allows them to divide and reproduce quickly. The order in which creatures are created has wisdom too. If multicellular organisms were created first, how could they find food to feed on? When there were no microorganisms in the soil, how could flowers survive? What could sheep eat when there was no grass on soil? What could we humans eat if we were created before animals and plants? Just like God prepares milk inside the mother of a baby before he comes to the world, in the first creation, God created species when the conditions of their existence were in place. God's creation of huge creatures like dinosaurs in the past permitted the formation of fossil fuels such as petroleum and natural gas for us to use now. Fossil fuels would not have benefited us significantly if the ancient creatures had been as small in size as those of today. On the other side, If there were a species as huge and wild as dinosaurs in this age, it would turn the balance of nature upside down and wouldn’t let other species such as humans to inhabit the Earth. This illustrates how God creates everything in the most proper time. There has never been a species completely destroying/dominating other species in history, the balances in nature that God put in have never allowed it. It is possible that we recreate the extinct creatures in the future by copying their DNAs thanks to the advances in genetic engineering, this might be another wisdom behind the extinct creatures.
c) Humans have not witnessed the vast majority of world history, and they have not seen the vast majority of the universe. Does that mean these are created in vain? Of course not. Humans are not the only creatures that can reason. There have always been angels with reason all around the universe who constantly praise God’s creation and exalt God. Apart from them, there are jinns who can reason like humans do. Jinns are created before humans and are much more crowded in number than humans. The Quran also contains ambiguous signs about the existence of intelligent extra-terrestrials. In summary, this universe has never been short of reasonable creatures nor will it ever be, therefore nothing in this universe is created in vain.
Paradise is so huge that God promises property equivalent to a couple of times the size of the Earth for those who manage to enter it. This mind-blowing size could not have been conceived by someone living 1400 years ago, but we can somehow envision this size since we now know how great the universe is. In another narration, we are informed that the fire of hell is seventy times severer than the fire on earth. This incredible heat could not have been conceived by someone living 1400 years ago but we now have discovered stars that contain this much powerful fire. Even if we assumed that we are alone in this universe, the things the universe teaches us, its display of God’s attribute of “al-Aziz (The Mighty)” for us, and its causing us to get rid of our arrogance by feeling soooo small are enough reasons for it to be created so huge and sumptuous.
Another point to keep in mind is that we can attain myriad of information about the past through science even if we don’t directly witness it. Although we have never seen dinosaurs –they wouldn’t allow us to survive if we lived in the same time period anyway-, we can witness their incredible designs thanks to fossil records and praise the greatness of their designs. We become as if we have witnessed those ages by looking at the remnant left of them. God created the creatures that couldn’t have lived together with us long before us and has preserved their fossils for us to see, and he encourages us to explore them: “Say, [O Muhammad], ‘Travel through the land and observe how He began creation. Then God will produce the final creation. Indeed God, over all things, is competent.’(Qur’an 29:20)” This world is actually like a book that is waiting to be read, it has no value unless we explore it.
d-) The question of whether fossils have been altered and reshaped by external factors or not is another problem in their interpretation, fossils do not reflect the genetics of the organism very accurately. Scientists tell that some ancient human skulls were reshaped by external factors when they were babies.[1] For example, Huns would taper the heads of their infants and let them grow in that way so as to look more frightening. Chinese would bend the feet of their women by getting them to wear very small shoes, and this had been a social norm for a millennium. Also in many instances, diseases that affect bones which were quite popular in the past belie what is actually encoded in the DNA by deforming the skeleton. It is possible for fossils to be misshapen by underground pressure as well. Fossils cannot give us reliable information in the face of all the possibilities surrounding external factors.
e) The mere fact that evolutionists classify species is a confession that there are leaps between the fossil records of different species. A statement like “the species X existed between these years” has the implicit assumption that there are significant physical differences distinguishing that species from its predecessors and successors. Evolution claims that species develop slowly and gradually. If that is the case, how can it be possible to determine the exact life periods of each species? It wouldn’t be possible to assign exact time periods to extinct species if they all gradually came from a distinct species and gradually evolved into another distinct species. If we were to ask the question “Which of the numbers ‘1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6’ are great?” to everyone, everybody would give a different answer because there is no certain boundary that defines the greatness of a number. Some people would answer “6”, some would answer “5 and 6” and some would answer “4, 5 and 6”. On the other hand, if we asked “Which of the numbers ‘1, 2, 3, 60, 61, 62’ are great?”, almost everybody would respond “60, 61 and 62”. It is easier to classify in the latter case since there is a leap between the numbers; but in the former case, slow and gradual changes make classification difficult and pointless. Biologists and evolutionists unintentionally confess the leaps between fossil records by classifying ancient species.
Would you trust a world history book written by French historians only? Especially if the authors are sure that the French nation is supreme in every aspect. Investigating prehistory is also a historiography. Those who write prehistory are unfortunately very subjective authors because they unquestioningly believe in the theory of evolution. Whenever evolutionists find a fossil that obliterates their evolutionary tree, they try to keep the theory alive by making up a brand new fairy tale which is usually utterly nonsense. Recently, a fossil that was found in Cretan shook the long-held opinion that humans originated from Africa, it is discovered that the species that is claimed to be our ancestor lived in Cretan before Africa.[2] No doubt that they will soon make up a new fairy tale to account for this. Evolutionists frequently propagate evolution to ordinary people by means of bogus drawings and documentaries, and they present unfounded subjective opinions as scientific facts. Those who have no knowledge are thus deceived into thinking that evolution can explain everything. We have witnessed many people adamantly supporting evolution despite not even having rudimentary knowledge in biology. Here are some of the popular frauds of evolutionists in regards to fossils:
Piltdown Man
The fossil of Piltdown man gained incredible fame when it was found in 1913 and scientists endorsed that it is a missing link in human evolution. In 1953, Piltdown man was proved to be a hoax: its skull belonged to a human being and its jaw belonged to an orangutan. These two parts were stained with chromium and acid iron sulfate solution in order to give the impression of ancientness. This incident is regarded as one of the most successful hoaxes in the history of science.
Nebraska Man
Evolutionists fabricated a new species called Nebraska Man depending solely on a tooth that was discovered in 1922. Numerous drawings were made depending merely on this tooth and it was presented as the ancestor of modern humans for years. The result turned out to be a horrible fiasco on the side of evolutionists: The tooth that was discovered was the tooth of a pig and it had nothing to do with human beings. There is nothing wrong with scientists reaching a false conclusion about a matter but making up plenty of drawings and propaganda depending solely on a single tooth is a deliberate deception, not a mistake.
Ulas Family
In 2005, a family that walks on all fours was discovered in Turkey. This family excited evolutionists so much, evolutionists claimed that this family is an example of reverse evolution and they expose the hidden apelike genes that we store to this day. Evolutionists introduced this family as strong evidence for evolution, and the BBC made a documentary on this family in which they propagated evolution. However, it was later understood that the members of this family have a disease in their brains which affect their balance systems and the claims of reverse evolution were totally irrelevant. The walking style of the family doesn’t resemble that of monkeys anyway; their posture and placement of hands on the ground are starkly different from that of monkeys. This family had adopted this type of walking in order to compensate for the imbalance caused by their defective balance systems.
Homo (genus)
Do not ever think that these deceptions were things of the past. A recently-found Homo erectus fossil once more shocked evolutionists. This fossil dates back to 1.8 million years ago and it showed that all Homos living at that time were actually Homo Erectus. The species Homo rudolfensis, Homo gautengensis, Homo ergaster, and Homo habilis were supposed to live at that time according to the human-evolution timeline proposed by evolutionists. However, the difference between this new Homo erectus fossil and an average Homo erectus was more than the difference between the above-mentioned four species and an average Homo erectus.[3] The result is crystal clear: In order to close out the missing links in the scenario of human evolution and to make the huge leap between the genus Australopithecus and the genus Homo easier to explain, evolutionists have made up the species Homo rudolfensis, Homo gautengensis, Homo ergaster and Homo habilis that are assumed to have lived between these two genuses, whereas indeed the fossils assigned to these four species are all Homo erectus fossils. Today, all humans are considered Homo sapiens although we have significant differences with each other (for example, African pygmies have an average male height of 1.5 meters while there are nations with an average male height of 1.9 meters). Intra-species variation is often misinterpreted by evolutionists in the sense that they classify the individuals of the same species that have different characteristics as different species. There are significant physical differences (including the skull shape) between different human races living today. If the fossil of the Russian boxer Nikolai Valuev were found today, evolutionists would liken it to Neanderthals and classify him as a different species although he is Homo sapiens as much as we are.
We should also keep in mind that the human gene pool was reduced to only a few people in Noah(pbuh)’s flood and much of our variation was lost. It is possible that there were people with very unusual physical characteristics before the flood but these features disappeared completely with the flood for not being passed onto future generations. The Quran tells us that the nation that came after the nation of Noah was physically superior to its predecessor. Although we do not know the type of this superiority, we can say that Noah’s flood had a significant impact on the human gene pool. “Then do you wonder that there has come to you a reminder from your Lord through a man from among you, that he may warn you? And remember when He made you successors after the people of Noah and increased you in stature extensively. (Quran 7:69)”
Iwo Eleru
The human fossils that were found in Nigeria are quite ancient-looking despite being only 13,000 years old. Homo erectus is claimed to have died out 200,000 years ago but these fossils resemble Homo erectus more than they resemble modern humans despite being only 13,000 years old. These fossils are usually swept under the carpet for not conforming to the timeline of evolutionists.
Neanderthals
Neanderthals have been the topic of an infinite number of fairy tales written by evolutionists. At first, they were depicted very primitively, with intelligence matching that of monkeys and with hairs all around their bodies. They were thus propagated to ignorant people by every means possible. They later realized that Neanderthals were not as stupid as they thought them to be but still, they considered them less intelligent than Homo sapiens. Now, evolutionists admit that there is no difference between Homo sapiens and Neanderthals in terms of intelligence and skills. Moreover, they now admit that Homo sapiens and Neanderthals interbred, even though the definition of “species” rules out the possibility of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring with another species. This leads us to the conclusion that Neanderthals are not a discrete species; they should be regarded as a race within Homo sapiens. We do not criticize the update of scientific knowledge, what we criticize is making unfounded speculations out of pure imagination and presenting these as scientific facts. Why were Neanderthals presented as primitive and unintelligent in the first place when they had larger brains than Homo sapiens on average?
Cambrian Explosion
Since the theory of evolution proposes a gradual change and diversification of organisms, sudden increases in the number of species pose a great challenge to this theory. Cambrian Explosion is the period signaling a sudden increase in the number of species and it began around 542 million years ago. During the 3 billion years between the emergence of first organisms around 3.6 billion years ago and the beginning of the Cambrian Period around 542 million years ago (approximately 67% of Earth’s history), only unicellular and very primitive multicellular organisms had appeared. From 542 million years ago on, biodiversity increased dramatically. Within 50 million years after the inception of the Cambrian Period (1.1% of Earth’s history), almost all phyla that we have today emerged swiftly. These highly complex creatures appeared in a short time out of thin air and with no ancestors. It is manifest that this fast diversification is not compatible with the idea of evolution.
Living Fossils
Living fossils are the fossils of species that have not died out to this day and they are not different from their present forms despite being millions of years old. Evolutionists pay the utmost attention to avoid mentioning these fossils. Although we can show a lot of examples to these fossils, we will make do with a few of them for the time being. On the left is a 450 million-year-old horseshoe crab fossil, and on the right is a contemporary horseshoe crab. Evolutionists claim that human evolution from ape-like creatures took place in a few million years. If a few million years can create such a dramatic evolutionary change, evolutionists have to account for how come this creature has not gone through any visible change during the course of 450 million years.
