نظریۂ ارتقاء اور انکارِ وجودِ باری تعالیٰ: ریچرڈ ڈاکنز کے حیاتیاتی استدلالات کا اسلامی تناظر میں تنقیدی جائزہ

Theory of Evolution and the Denial of the Existence of God: A Critical Review of Richard Dawkins' Biological Arguments in an Islamic Perspective

Abstract

In the early twenty-first century, New Atheism emerged as a significant logical movement. Unlike traditional philosophical uncertainty, it placed greater emphasis on experiential science. Evolutionary biology, in particular, became an important basis for challenging belief in God and religious doctrines. Among the leading figures of this movement is the British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. Dawkins argues that Darwinian evolution and natural selection can explain the difficulty of life without the need for an Intelligent Designer. In his view, evolutionary theory provides a sufficient material explanation for the multiplicity and complexity found in living organisms. Therefore, he sees no need to invoke a divine creator to account for biological complexity. This study critically examines Dawkins’s biological and metaphysical arguments. It evaluates them from the perspectives of Islamic theology (ʿIlm al-Kalām) and modern philosophy of science. The central argument of this study is that biological evolution is a scientific mechanism. It explains how life develops within a material system. It does not, by itself, answer questions about why the universe exists or whether there is a primary cause behind existence. The study further argues that Dawkins moves further than the scientific scope of evolutionary theory. He extends a biological explanation into the broader philosophical position of ontological naturalism. This extension raises an important methodological problem. Scientific explanations of physical processes cannot automatically settle metaphysical questions. Treating them as equivalent involves a category mistake and reflects the broader tendency known as scientism. Dawkins’s well-known “Ultimate Boeing 747 Gambit” is also examined in this study. The argument is considered in relation to the classical Islamic conception of God as the Necessary existing (Wājib al-Wujūd) and as a simple, non-composite being. The study suggests that Dawkins’s argument does not sufficiently address this classical theological understanding of divine simplicity. The discussion also draws upon the Ashʿarite and Maturidite traditions of Islamic theology. Particular attention is given to Imam al-Ghazālī’s understanding of causation and his theory of occasionalism, especially the concept of renewal of creation (tajaddud al-khalq).Modern theological discussions relating to the exceptional creation of Adam and the idea of dual creation are also considered. From this viewpoint, biological laws and evolutionary mechanisms need not be viewed as alternatives to divine creation. They can instead be understood as part of the material order through which divine creative activity operates. In this sense, natural laws may be regarded as manifestations of the divine expected order (ʿādah ilāhiyyah) rather than independent forces that eliminate the need for a Creator. Methodologically, the study employs narrative, analytical, comparative, and critical approaches. It examines Dawkins’s arguments from multiple perspectives while maintaining scholarly harshness and intellectual fairness. The purpose is not to dismiss evolutionary biology as a scientific theory. Rather, the study seeks to differentiate between the scientific explanation of evolutionary processes and the broader metaphysical conclusions that are drawn from them.