Adam is generally taken to be the first man, but nowhere does the Quran say so, or that there were no creations before him. It only says he was the first human entrusted to be a vicegerent on Earth. In fact when citing names and lineages in the history of mankind that were chosen for prophethood above other nations, Adam is included in the list 3:33.
When the Quran speaks of the creation of the human race, it consistently implies the action of fashioning, molding, forming, perfecting 40:64,64:3,87:2 starting with an extract/sulala of various inorganic, earthly elements 15:26,23:12,32:7,37:11,55:14 and water 21:30,24:45,25:54. Obviously the absence of organic life entails it originated from inorganic compounds. In some of these verses it speaks of dust, dry clay at others of muddy, sticky clay, indicating that a combination of elements (the aforementionned water and dry matter) was involved at the beginning of the process.
All languages inherently accept exceptions unless the statement is clearly absolute, or that no other statements from the same source exist to allow the exlusion. The Quran speaks in several places of different non organic compounds at mankind's origins and in none of these verses does it make at absolute assertion.
There is an impressive amount of theories to explain the great mystery of how the very first gene and self replicating molecule originated, among them one that focuses on montmorillonite clay. This abundant, inorganic blend of minerals is known to be a chemical catalyst, the crucial precursor to RNA formation, as well as a means by which chemical reactions can be confined and protected until the possible development of cellular membranes. But until now science has been unable to test and repeat any of those suggestions, including the clay model, to produce the first living cell. Even on a theoretical level, the attempts to explain the pathway from non-living to living matter have so far not achieved the states of complexity that are anywhere near that of the simplest known living systems. In fact some have began arguing that the "p-value" (calculated probability for a hypothesis to be true) for nature to produce the complexity of the genetic code is so small that it should be soundly rejected by science. Science has in fact only one testable and repeatable option that can produce significant levels of functional information; intelligent minds. Since even the simplest lifeforms require high levels of information, the scientific evidence for intelligent design becomes impressive. Even then, one still has to explain how does intelligent design initiate an information without any previous examples, references, experiences. The Quran states that God is
2:117"badeeu/Innovator and initiator of the heavens and the earth"
meaning that in His case, contrary to all creative endeavours, He creates without any blueprint, preexisting inspiration, experience, simply through His word "and if HE decreed an order done, He only says be and it is". This is why God is the "best of creators".
The only counter to this inevitable conclusion is the multiverse theory, the existence of an infinite number of unseen, untestable entities, which is actually just a way of conceding that the only alternative to obvious reality is utter absurdity.
The act of "creation" did not immidiately result in a fully developped, completed human being. "Creation" of man in the Quran is used in reference to the earliest stages, explicitly putting God at the forefront of the event, when inorganic compounds were involved, the step referred to prior as impossible to perform without involving an intelligent cause, and is then followed by the action of fashioning and molding before reaching the stage of man's completion
7:11"And certainly We created you, then We fashioned you, then We said to the angels: Prostrate to Adam".
This verse, addressing the whole human race, ssays there was first creation, then fashionning, prior to the presentation of the completed creature to the angels
18:32-7"Have you disbelieved in the One Who created you from dust then from a drop then fashioned you into a man".
Mankind has known 2 types of origins, a unique one that never repeated itself again, that sprung from inorganic matter, and the other that is ongoing, from a drop
40:67-8,35:11,32:7-9"and He began the creation of man from dust. Then He made his progeny of an extract of water held in light estimation. Then He made him complete and breathed into him of His spirit".
These set of verses consistently and literally say, the progeny of an entity that originated from inorganic material, spread through some "lowly fluid" i.e. the sperm before it was made complete and simultaneously filled with God's spirit. A period therefore existed when an "incomplete" species reproduced through the sperm-drop before it developped physically into a fully, complete human being i.e. Adam who then received the spirit from God, as in
38:71-2"When your Lord said to the angels; Surely I am going to create a mortal from dust: So when I have made him complete and breathed into him of My spirit, then fall down making obeisance to him".
It isnt difficult to imagine that almost simultaneouly or very shortly after, other humans might have been likewise completed both physically and spiritually in order to reproduce among themselves as a new species. In fact we read elsewhere that Adam's mate (Eve) already existed when Adam was completed and received God's spirit 2:35 however her completion with God's spirit occured after Adam as denoted in the previous verse 2:34.
The verses 4:1,6:98,7:189 explain what occured after lifeless basic elements were combined together at the beginning of creation "Be conscious of your Sustainer, who has created you out of one self/nafsin waahida, and out of her created zawjaha/her complementary part, and out of the two spread abroad a multitude of men and women". Nafs is broadly used for a living entity, because of its root NFS meaning "to breath". This obviously cannot be endorsing the Biblical account of creation, with the male being the first human created and his female counterpart developing out of him (his rib) since it says that the complementary part of the nafs developed out of "her". The verse addresses the issue of the gradual formation of the human specie. In the beginning there was one NFS/breathing ie living entity, out of which a complementary part developped. Their interraction produced new entities that became capable of reproducing through the sperm-drop -as stated in the previous verses about man originating from dust, then from the sperm-. These sexually reproductive entities are human males and females.
In 71:17-8 the Quran parallels the growth of man out of the earth like a plant does, in a context of providing reasonable proof for the Resurrection for just as he was originally raised from dust into an elaborate and wonderful creation, so to will he be brought back to life to face his reckoning. As said in 38:71-2, Allah announces to the angels that He will create a mortal, and that when this mortal becomes complete with the spirit from God, to prostrate before him. The last step of human evolution is thus linked in the Quran not only to its physical completion but also to mankind having being filled with a spirit to become God's vicegerent 2:30. Man has both a principal and a secondary nature. His secondary nature returns to dust and his essence is related to Allah. This is why the Quran attributes the spirit to Allah and the body to the earth 38:71-72 and it is this spirit coming from Allah and breathed into Adam for the first time, inspiring him the understanding of good and evil that creates the human thirst for guidance and worship, fulfilling the goal for which man was created; the worship of God. A similar notion can be found in the Hebrew Bible in
Ecc12:7"The body reverts to the dust that it was before, and the ru'ah returns to God who gave it".
The Quran doesnt give a timeframe for Adam's creation, but does speak of a process that led to his completion, from basic inorganic elements to a physically complex and spiritualy aware human being. The verses read as a whole certainly give credence to "a" theory of evolution, not necessarily "the" theory currently generally accepted and which is in constant review.
The primary opposition to the theory of evolution, from religious dogmatists, is that they hold that it challenges the dignity of man. The proponents of this idea fail to recognize that all scriptures speak of man's origins from dust, and other earthly insignifant lifeless materials whose combination by the Best and Wise Creator resulted in a wonderful being endowed with consciousness, and the Quran in multiple places argues from the angle that man, whether at his origins or when he became able to reproduce as a completed specie, is not made from some rare or invaluable material. There was a time where he was
19:67,76:1"nothing worth mentioning".
This as a side note, doesnt say he came from nothing, but that he was of insignificant importance and complexity compared to his fully developped stage. Somewhere else he is reminded how he came
77:20"from contemptible water"
36:77,80:19-22,16:4"He created man from a small seed and lo! he is an open contender"
and even after his completion he is brought forth as an infant, growing in maturity
22:5"and of you is he who is caused to die, and of you is he who is brought back to the worst part of life, so that after having knowledge he does not know anything".
Man is ultimately defined by his will and desire. It is not the origin of a thing that matters per the Quran, but the final reach of a thing. As John the Baptist said, when rebuking the Rabbis and Pharisees, God can create children of Abraham out of stone. The Grand Quran is a book of spiritual guidance and all of its statements are meant at stimulating spiritual growth, not scientific knowledge so the idea that it must provide a detailed description of the origin of life is misplaced. When it does allude to such process, its spiritual aim, as is clear from the context, includes the humbling of mankind by pointing to the earthly elements and water at its origins, as well as providing an argument for the simplicity of the concept of resurrection
22:5,20:55"From it (the earth) We created you, and into it We will return you, and from it We will extract you a second time"
None of its statements however, no matter the subject treated, are at odds with factual information, whether historical, archeological, scientific etc.
Topic: Origins of the human specie in the Quran