Was Adam (a.s.) Homo Sapiens Sapiens?

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

It is quite likely that the Adam and Eve story is a group of people, and not merely two individuals.  Adam (a.s.) the prophet was certainly real, and Eve was as well.  But I do not believe the narrative that we all came from two individuals alone since DNA shows that is impossible. 

There is a rare hadits that Allah (s.w.t.) sent 124,000 Adams, and the Prophet Adam (a.s.) is the last of them.  That actually makes more sense, since humanity is an amalgamation of several species of hominids.  We also know that there were many species of hominids who predated us such as Homo Erectus, Homo Habilis, and Homo Heidelbergensis.  We know there were convergent species of hominins, not hominids, such as the various species of Australopithecines.  They all began around 2 million years ago. 

And the, we know for a fact that Homo Sapiens has been around for at least 300,000 years, and in that time, we lived with Homo Denisova, Homo Neanderthalis, Homo Florensis, and at least one other species.  We all looked identical superficially, but were distinct genetically.  Homo Sapiens Sapiens, modern identifiable humanity, came around 70,000 years ago, and the other species of hominids eventually began extinct, amalgamated into us.  We have the DNA of several distinct hominid species within us. 

Considering this, when did “man” begin?  Was “Adam” even our species, or a predecessor one?  We know previous species had culture, religion and societies.  We are not the only ones to build tools, villages and artifacts.  We are not the only ones to bury our dead and carry out religious ceremonies.  That implies belief in a theology of sorts, or at least a primitive understanding of a god. 

I do not accept the simplistic idea of one “Adam”, and a linear evolution of humanity.  Humanity is more than one species, and God should not be limited to us.


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