What if an ancient gravestained with mysterious red ochre, dating back 120,000 yearsholds the very secret that bridges the Quran’s story of Adam’s sons with modern archaeology’s most elusive “missing links”? For centuries, the Theory of Evolution has been presented as the ultimate challenge to divine creation. Fossils are dated, timelines are stretched into millions of years, and the faithful are left wondering: Where do we fit?
But then, consider this: a 78,000-year-old child burial in Kenya, tenderly positioned. A family grave in Israel, hands clutching deer antlers. And a crow, taught by Allah, scratching the earth to show a remorseful murderer the first ritual of respect for the dead.
In Chapter 6: Hazrat Adam A.S, Hazrat Shees, & Hazrat Idrees (Islam & The Theory of Evolution) of Chronicles of Unknown, we don’t just read a story. We journey to the literal dawn of humanitywalking alongside Adam’s world, witnessing the first murder, decoding ancient burial rituals, and following a prophet raised alive to the skies. Archaeology meets Hadith. And the result? Not conflict, but a stunning harmony.
The First Murder & The First Funeral: Taught by a Crow
The Quran narrates a tragedy of jealousy. Cain, angered that his sacrifice was rejected while Abel’s was accepted, commits the first act of bloodshed. Surah Al-Ma’idah (5:30-31) captures the aftermath with raw human emotion:
“Then Allah sent a crow searching in the ground to show him how to hide the disgrace of his brother. He said, ‘Woe to me! Have I failed to be like this crow and hide the body of my brother?’ And he became of the regretful.”
Let that sink in. A crowone of only five species on Earth known to practice communal burial (alongside elephants, dolphins, chimps, and giraffes)became humanity’s first mortician. According to ancient texts, Cain was just 15 years old. He didn’t know what to do with the body. The crow dug, pushed soil, and taught him.
Now, fast-forward to archaeology. The oldest deliberate human burials appear around 120,000 years ago in Levantine caves like Qafzeh and Skhul. Bodies are placed with care. Later, in Russia (32,000 years ago) and Norway (30,000 years ago), we see graves smeared with red ochrea mineral symbolizing blood, life, or perhaps a primitive hope in resurrection.
Popular Question Answered: How did Cain learn burial from a crow?
Directly from Quran Al-Ma’idah 5:31. It wasn’t instinct; it was divine visual teaching. The crow didn’t evolve the behaviorit was sent as a lesson.
Hazrat Shees (Seth): The Forgotten Prophet with 50 Scriptures
After Abel’s martyrdom, Adam (peace be upon him) was granted another sonShees, meaning “Gift of God.” Most people skip past him, but Chapter 6 restores his rank. According to the great companion Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him), Allah revealed 100 scriptures in total. Fifty of them were given to Prophet Shees (Seth).
Think about that. Fifty divine texts. He was the inheritor of Adam’s special knowledge, the third son who carried the prophetic line when Cain’s branch corrupted. Watch for Shees in upcoming chaptershe holds the key to early humanity’s spiritual survival.
Popular Question Answered: Who was Prophet Shees (Seth) – 50 scriptures gift?
He was the third son of Adam, a prophet in his own right, and recipient of 50 suhuf (scrolls). His name means “gift,” and he represents the re-establishment of monotheism after the first murder.
Hazrat Idrees (Enoch): The Man Raised to the Fourth Heaven
Few figures in any religious tradition are as mysterious as Idrees (peace be upon him). The Quran says simply but powerfully:
“And mention in the Book, Idrees. Indeed, he was a man of truth and a prophet. And We raised him to a high station.” (Surah Maryam 19:56-57)
According to scholars like Qatadah, that “high station” is the fourth heaven. Idrees was raised alivenot dead. He met the Angel of Death there. But here’s where archaeology and lost scriptures get fascinating.
The Dead Sea Scrolls (discovered 1946–1956) contain fragments of the Book of Enoch, a text attributed to Idrees. Written in Ge’ez, translated by Jozef Milik, this lost scripture describes Enoch’s heavenly travel: he ascends from a triangular place, sees stars with the angel Uriel, and learns a 364-day solar-lunar calendar (52 weeks exactly). Conferences today debate its theology and even its environmental symbolismmirroring Quranic wisdom that Idrees was a man of truth.
Popular Question Answered: Prophet Idrees (Enoch) raised high place – fourth heaven?
Yes. He bypassed death temporarily, was raised to the fourth sky, and his story echoes in the Dead Sea Scrolls’ Book of Enoch, which details cosmic judgment and celestial mechanics.
Red Ochre, Cave Art, and the Silence of Human Figures
Now let’s address the elephant in the fossil bed. Evolutionists point to Stone Age graves with red ochre as evidence of “symbolic thinking” evolving slowly. But from an Islamic lens, this ochre may represent ancestor worshipa corrupted form of respect for the dead that later turned into idolatry.
Cave paintings at Chauvet (36,000 years) and Altamira (20,000 years) are stunning. Animalsbison, horses, lionscover the walls. But here’s a striking fact: Why no human figures in early cave art before 15,000 years ago?
For millennia, prehistoric humans painted animals but not themselves. When human forms finally appear (around 15,000 years ago in places like Lascaux), they are stick-figure shamans or masked figures. Could this be a sign of a prohibition? Or a memory of the first humans (Adam’s children) knowing that representing the human soul was sacred?
Popular Question Answered: Why no human figures in early cave art before 15,000 years?
Possibly because early humans (post-Adam) had a different relationship with imageryfocused on animals as sustenance and symbols, while avoiding self-portraiture for spiritual reasons. Later, as shamanistic practices spread, human figures emerged.
The Evolution Clash? Or Deeper Harmony?
Fossils like Lucy (3.2 million years), Turkana Boy (1.6 million), and the Hobbits of Flores (100,000 years) are presented as our ancestors. They have human-like features. Some even have burial rituals.
But the Quran says Adam was created from claythe first true human, ensouled by Allah’s breath. How do we reconcile?
Chapter 6 splits into two parts:
- Part 1 raises the hard questions: Are these fossils authentic ancestors? How do we date them? What about pre-Adam species?
- Part 2 delivers answers: multiple “Adams” (humanoid species before Homo sapiens sapiens?), pre-Adam intelligent beings, and the Great Flood as a cleansing of corrupted lineages.
Teaser for next chapter: We dive into corruption, strange beings (like the Nephilim hinted at in Nuh 71:23), and why the Great Flood became a divine necessity.
Shamans, Prophets, and Ancient Knowledge
One of the most exciting bridges in Chapter 6 is the connection between shamans and prophets. Archaeologists find “shaman” burialsdeer antlers, drum fragments, ochredating back 45,000 years. Could these have been distorted memories of true prophets like Shees or Idrees?
The Book of Enoch (Dead Sea Scrolls) describes Idrees teaching astronomy, writing (cuneiform?), and warning of a coming flood. Ancient texts say he invented the pen for writing. Compare that to Idrees pen cuneiformthe earliest writing systems emerging exactly in the region where Islamic tradition places early prophets.
Popular Question Answered: Shamans prophets – knowledge in prehistory?
It’s likely that early prophets (like Idrees and Shees) taught core knowledgewriting, burial rites, calendarswhich later generations corrupted into shamanism and ancestor worship. The red ochre graves may be a fading echo of that original teaching.
The Great Flood Warning: Why It Matters
Popular Question Answered: Great flood warning – Seth Idrees teachings?
Both Shees and Idrees warned their people about a coming cataclysm. The Book of Enoch explicitly says Enoch preached to the “Watchers” and their giant offspring. When they didn’t listen, the Flood came. This matches the Quranic narrative of Nuh (Noah) as a second Adam-like figure.
Human vs Pre-Adam Burials – Ritual Evidence
Finally, the most cutting-edge question: Human vs pre-Adam burials – ritual evidence?
Neanderthals buried their dead. So did Denisovans. But their graves lack the consistent red ochre, grave goods, and directional orientation (heads toward Mecca-like points) found in early Homo sapiens burials after Adam. Chapter 6 argues: ritual burial with hope of resurrection is uniquely humantaught by a crow, perfected by prophets.
Why Dive Into Chapter 6?
This chapter is a bridge. It doesn’t shy away from fossils or dates. It doesn’t mock evolution. Instead, it lifts the veil:
- Faith and fossils are not enemies.
- Adam’s ancient world is visible in graves, scrolls, and cave walls.
- No doubts left unansweredonly deeper awe.
Read Chapter 6 of Chronicles of Unknown. Then watch for Chapter 7, where we enter the world of corruption, giants, and the Flood’s terrifying necessity.
Your turn: Do you think the crow’s lesson to Cain is a miracle or a metaphor? Have you read the Book of Enoch? Drop your thoughts below.