Did humans descend from animals?

Man came into being through a long process of development, guided by God, that passed through the life before him. This does not make him lesser, because his dignity comes from the soul God gave him.

The Holy Qur’an describes the origin of man as a long path in stages, beginning with earth and water. Man did not suddenly appear on earth in his present form. He came into being through a long process of development, and this path led through the life that existed before him.

The first verse above says that all people come from a single being. This can be understood as the very first beginning of life, a single cell that reproduced on its own, long before there was male and female. The Holy Qur’an does not speak of an Eve formed from Adam's rib.

Some people find it insulting to think that man came from earlier forms of life. But one can ask in return. Would it be more dignified to have been shaped directly from clay? Clay is not nobler than life. Whoever believes in God need not fear this question, because in either case it is God who creates.

What makes a human being human is not the material he came from. It is the soul he received when he became human and so became distinct from the animals. The second verse above links his shaping with God's spirit and with the gift of hearing, seeing and understanding. That is where his dignity lies, and the last verse says that God has raised him above much of creation.