In an 1896 article in the Urdu journal Tahzib-ul Akhlaq, titled ‘Adna Halat se Aala Halat par Insaan ki Taraqqi’ (The Stages of Human Development from an Inferior to Superior State), Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan (1817–1898) wrote, ‘The monkeys that exist today, orangutans and apes, are quite similar to humans in many ways. Darwin claims that middle chains are missing or extinct, but even if we found them, they would only prove similarities among kinds.’ Here, Sir Sayyid's reference to the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) was not to discredit or defend Darwin's theory of evolution, but to support his own position on the topic, outlined in ‘Adna Halat’. In the article, Sir Sayyid argued that humans evolved overtime from a common animal ancestor and this process is guided by a divine creator. He also believed that this process was not antagonistic towards Islamic beliefs and the Qur'an. Overall, this position tied in with his general approach to the relationship between science and Islam, one where science was a part of Islam; the other part being the Qur'an. Although most of Sir Sayyid's views on evolution have appeared in various articles he wrote over the course of his life, ‘Adna Halat’ presents a detailed summary of his perspective regarding the origin and development of living things, including humans, from a common animal ancestor.

Today, the theory of evolution by natural selection is officially accepted by scientific establishments worldwide, including countries with a Muslim majority, but many people remain unconvinced or apprehensive about this theory. While the scientific community continues to discuss and debate issues in the field of evolutionary biology, such as the role of genetics in the evolutionary process, some individuals are attempting to disprove the evolutionary thought all together. Some of these individuals go back to Darwin and point out flaws in his theory of natural selection, like the lack of adequate understanding of inheritance, while others claim that life is too complicated to have developed by chance and to support various views of divine creation. Providing evidence against a scientific theory backed with empirical observation and evidence is one thing, but discrediting it based on misinformation may lead to greater issues in the public sphere, including how evolution is taught in schools. Currently, this issue is even more apparent.