Al-Jahiz is a Muslim thinker who discovered the evolution a thousand years before Darwin.

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The theory of evolution of the British scientist Charles Darwin is one of the most important theories of modern times.

The concept of progressive species change through so-called natural selection has revolutionized our understanding of the living world.

In his book Origin of Species, published in 1859, Darwin explained that evolution led to the emergence of different species of one and the same origin.

But the theory of evolution itself seems to have an origin and comes from the Islamic world as well.

Natural selection

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A thousand years ago, Al-Jahiz, a Muslim philosopher based in Iraq whose real name is Abu Osman Amr ibn Bahr al-Kanani al-Basani, wrote his book "Animal" about how the animal was changing. thanks to what he also called natural selection.

Al-Jahiz was born in 776 in Basra, southern Iraq, at a time when the influence of the Mu'tzilites, who advocated the realization of reason and the promotion of human thought , was increasing.

At the height of the Abbasid period, the translation movement of the great business of thought, philosophy and science was translated from Greek into Arabic, leading to lively intellectual debates on science and philosophy.

Basra knew the paper through the intermediary of Chinese merchants, and the presence of paper helped spread and spread ideas. Al-Juhiz began writing about many issues and topics from a very young age.

Al-Jahiz's interests ranged from topics such as science, geography, philosophy, grammar, and literature. Al-Jahaz has about 200 pounds, of which only about a third remains.

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Animal book

The advertiser's animal book is a voluminous book that provides detailed information on 350 animals. Al-Jahiz presents ideas that are very similar to Darwin's theory of evolution.

Al-Jahiz says in his book that animals struggle to survive and have the resources to reproduce and not be preyed upon by other animals. He believes that environmental factors help organizations develop new features to ensure their survival and thus turn to other types.

Al-Jahiz also sees in his book on animals that animals that remain and transmit their qualities and attributes are successful to their offspring.

It is clear from the book that Al-Jahiz understood that organisms and the natural world are constantly struggling for their survival and that there are more powerful types than others.

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To survive, animals must have characteristics that help them compete for food, not other prey and multiplication. This causes them to change from generation to generation.

Al-Jahiz thought he had an impact on many of the Muslim scholars who had followed him: scientists and thinkers such as al-Farabi, al-Bayrouni and Ibn Khaldun had read his works.

Muhammad Iqbal, the spiritual father of Pakistan, also emphasized the importance and influence of Al-Jahiz in a series of lectures published in 1930. "Al-Jahiz is one of the the most obvious changes in animal life due to migration and environmental changes, "he wrote.

Islamic theory

Nineteenth-century European thought was well aware of the contributions of the Islamic world to evolution. In fact, Darwin Darwin's contemporary world, Darwin, spoke of the "theory of the evolution of Muhammadiyah" in 1878.

There is no evidence that Darwin himself knew the work of the protagonist or understood the Arabic language.

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But it will not affect Darwin's position as a world who has spent years traveling to study, contemplate and study the natural world, which he has elaborated with unprecedented detail and capable of radically changing the way we think. the world.

But science journalist Ihsan Masood, who has written a radio series of the BBC titled "Islam and Science," says that it's important to remember the people who have contributed to the thought of evolution.