Page 220 - Jannah: The Garden from the Qur'an and Hadith

JANNAH:
The Garden from
the Qur’an and Hadith

Natural selection holds that those living things that are stronger

and more suited to the natural conditions of their habitats will survive
in the struggle for life. For example, in a deer herd under the threat of at-
tack by wild animals, those that can run faster will survive. Therefore,
the deer herd will be comprised of faster and stronger individuals.
However, unquestionably, this mechanism will not cause deer to evolve
and transform themselves into another living species, for instance, hors-
es.
Therefore, the mechanism of natural selection has no evolution-
ary power. Darwin was also aware of this fact and had to state this in
his book The Origin of Species:

Natural selection can do nothing until favourable individual differences or
variations occur. 7

Lamarck's Impact
So, how could these "favorable varia-
tions" occur? Darwin tried to answer this
question from the standpoint of the primitive
understanding of science at that time.
According to the French biologist Chevalier
de Lamarck (1744-1829), who lived before
Darwin, living creatures passed on the traits
they acquired during their lifetime to the next
generation. He asserted that these traits, French naturalist Lamarck

which accumulated from one generation to
another, caused new species to be formed. For instance, he claimed that
giraffes evolved from antelopes; as they struggled to eat the leaves of
high trees, their necks were extended from generation to generation.
Darwin also gave similar examples. In his book The Origin of Species,

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