The Prophet Adam (pbuh) and All Mankind Existed in the Spiritual Realm Before the Universe Was Created

In the Qur'an, God informs us He created mankind in the spiritual realm even before the creation of the Universe and called everyone to testify:

When your Lord took out all their descendants from the loins of the children of Adam and made them testify against themselves 'Am I not your Lord?' they said, 'We testify that indeed You are!' Lest you say on the Day of Rising, 'We knew nothing of this.' (Qur'an, 7:172)

As it is seen, God informs us in the verse that mankind was brought into being before the universe, that they were created flawlessly and were fully developed, and that they testified and promised that God is their Lord. According to the information imparted by the verse, fully developed, talking, hearing, promising, testifying human beings existed with all their organs and all their physical characteristics even before the universe was created.

The original Arabic verse is as below:

Wa iz akhaza rabbuka mim bani a_dama min zuhu_rihim zurriyyatahum wa asyhadahum 'ala_ anfusihim, alastu bi rabbikum, qa_lu_ bala_ - syahidna_ - an taqu_lu_ yaumal qiya_mati inna_ kunna_ 'an ha_za_ ga_filin(a).

Wa iz akhaza: And when (He) took out

(iz: you know, remember, then, at that time, … when… because, as, hence)

rabbuka: your Lord

mim bani a_dama: from the children of Adam

min zuhu_rihim: from their loins

zurriyyatahum: their descendant, their lines, their lineage

wa asyhadahum: and made them testify

'ala_ anfusihim: against themselves

alastu: am I not?

bi rabbikum: your Lord

qa_lu: they said

bala: yes

syahidna: we testify

an taqu_lu: lest, so that you say not

yaumal qiya_mati: the Day of Rising

inna: certainly we, genuinely we

kunna: we are, … we were

'an ha_za: of this

ga_filin(a): unaware, knew nothing

The Arabic word 'zurriyyat' (descendant) used in the verse, is used 18 more times in the Qur'an. The meaning of this word in all the verses it is used in is 'mankind' or 'human generation' as all the Islamic scholars unanimously agree. In this verse, there is a reference to the descendants of Adam - the line of the Prophet Adam (pbuh)- meaning all human beings that have lived and will live on Earth. That is because, had that been a promise taken only from the person of the Prophet Adam (pbuh), the verse would have read 'When your Lord made Adam testify." As the verse states 'When your Lord took out all their descendants from the loins of the children of Adam', there is a reference to all the descendants of the Prophet Adam (pbuh), meaning all mankind.

The Arabic word 'iz' (meaning; remember that time, when) refers to the time when this address was made to the descendants of the Prophet Adam (pbuh), meaning to all mankind. The word 'iz' is a preposition used while talking about an incident that took place in the past. It means 'remember this incident that took place in the past'. What is meant here is the testimony, the promise all humankind gave in the past, even before the universe was created.

In another verse of the Qur'an, it is stated that people will die twice and will be given life twice:

They will say, 'Our Lord, twice You caused us to die and twice You gave us life. We admit our wrong actions. Is there no way out?' (Qur'an, 40:11)

The first death and life mentioned in this verse is the way people -in a sense- die after they gave this promise in the spiritual realm, and then are given life by God using their parents as instruments and are sent to this world. The second death is the physical death that we know of in this world. After that, people will be given life for the second time in the Hereafter.

When this is the case, the 'gradual formation of mankind' claims of those who assert that creation through evolution is mentioned in the Qur'an become utterly invalid. Humans did not come into existence in a gradual manner. The whole of mankind, the Prophet Adam (pbuh), and all the other prophets existed in the spiritual realm even before the whole universe was created. The claim that the Prophet Adam (pbuh) and the rest of mankind turned into modern man through a set of evolutionary processes does not hold any truth.

The Prophet Adam (pbuh), just like the rest of humanity, existed in the spiritual realm even before the universe was created, and then was created in Heaven, later to be sent to the Earth:

Your Lord said to the angels, 'I am going to create a human being out of clay. When I have formed him and breathed My Soul into him, fall down in prostration to him!' (Qur'an, 38:71-72)

But satan made them slip up by means of it, expelling them from where they were. We said, 'Go down from here as enemies to each other! You will have residence on the earth and enjoyment for a time.' (Qur'an, 2:36)

In another verse of the Qur'an, God informs us about the promise given by all mankind in the spiritual realm as follows:

Remember God's blessing to you and the covenant He made with you when you said, 'We hear and we obey.' Have fear of God. God knows what the heart contains. (Qur'an, 5:7)

Those who gave their promises to God in the spiritual realm were not part human and part other creatures, with incomplete forms and undeveloped limbs. They were complete and conscious humans. This is a clear proof that creation through evolution does not exist in the Qur'an.