The accepted scientific explaination of the age of our earth is around 4.54 ± 0.05 billion years old, give or take. However it is worth noting that most people don’t know how they came to this conclusion, consider the following journal on this matter. Perhaps you are still not convinced, then I would simply ask for you to stay until the end of the article for critical questions on this position.

This is clearly antithetical to what Jews and Christians believe. For example, as I write this article (2024), the Jewish Calendar suggests that we are in the year 5784. The Jewish year counts from what is believed to be the creation of the world. The current year in the Jewish calendar can be found by adding 3,760 to the Gregorian year.¹ It is also accepted by most Christians that the age of humanity is approximately 6000 years.

In the Gospel of Luke, we get Jesus’s full lineage going all the way back to Adam.

And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli, ²⁴ which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the son of Joseph, ²⁵ which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Amos, which was the son of Naum, which was the son of Esli, which was the son of Nagge, ²⁶ which was the son of Maath, which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Semei, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Juda, ²⁷ which was the son of Joanna, which was the son of Rhesa, which was the son of Zorobabel, which was the son of Salathiel, which was the son of Neri, ²⁸ which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Addi, which was the son of Cosam, which was the son of Elmodam, which was the son of Er, ²⁹ which was the son of Jose, which was the son of Eliezer, which was the son of Jorim, which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, ³⁰ which was the son of Simeon, which was the son of Juda, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Jonan, which was the son of Eliakim, ³¹ which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David, ³² which was the son of Jesse, which was the son of Obed, which was the son of Booz, which was the son of Salmon, which was the son of Naasson, ³³ which was the son of Aminadab, which was the son of Aram, which was the son of Esrom, which was the son of Phares, which was the son of Juda, ³⁴ which was the son of Jacob, which was the son of Isaac, which was the son of Abraham, which was the son of Thara, which was the son of Nachor, ³⁵ which was the son of Saruch, which was the son of Ragau, which was the son of Phalec, which was the son of Heber, which was the son of Sala, ³⁶ which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad, which was the son of Sem, which was the son of Noe, which was the son of Lamech, ³⁷ which was the son of Mathusala, which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Jared, which was the son of Maleleel, which was the son of Cainan, ³⁸ which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.

Luke 3:23-38 (KJV)

The Bible also tells us Jesus was born during the reign of Caesar Agustus. Put the two together and it is approximately 6000 years.

2 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

Luke 2:1 (KJV)

Ibn Hazm (994 CE) writes on this matter:

As for people’s differences in history, the Jews say, “The world is around four thousand years.”² And the Christians say, “The world is five thousand years.”
…
As for us [Muslims] we don’t claim a date known to us(derived from our religion). As for those [Muslims] who claim humanity is around seven thousand years, they’ve lied, they said what was never reported from the Messenger of God (upon whom be peace) , in fact he [the Prophet] said the opposite
…
The prophet Muhammad (upon whom be peace) said: “My followers in comparison to the other nations are like a white hair on a black ox.” (suggesting that there were many nations throughout human history, that even the nation of Muhammad ﷺ despite their large number will be small in comparison).

Ibn Hazm’s The Separator Concerning Religions, Heresies, and Sects (2/84)

Ibn Hazm here is quoting Sahih Bukhari 6529, here is the full narration:

Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (upon whom be peace) said, “The first man to be called on the Day of Resurrection will be Adam who will be shown his offspring, and it will be said to them, ‘This is your father, Adam.’ Adam will say (responding to the call), ‘Labbaik and Sa`daik’ Then Allah will say (to Adam), ‘Take out of your offspring, the people of Hell.’ Adam will say, ‘O Lord, how many should I take out?’ Allah will say, ‘Take out ninety-nine out of every hundred.” They (the Prophet’s companions) said, “O Allah’s Apostle! If ninety-nine out of every one hundred of us are taken away, what will remain out of us?” He said, “My followers in comparison to the other nations are like a white hair on a black ox.”

Sahih al-Bukhari 6529

The First Issue: God says to Adam (upon whom be peace) to take ninety-nine people out of every hundred to throw into hellfire, this clearly scared the companions of the prophet who worried about their fate on the Day of Resurrection, to which the Prophet (upon whom be peace) reassures them that they (the followers of Islam) would be the minority in comparison to the rest of those on the Day of Ressurection. Those who claim that this narration only refers to the current companions are mistaken, as it pertains to the Day of Resurrection, not the time during which the sermon is being delivered. It is also important to note that in this narration, the Prophet (upon whom be peace) uses the word (أُمَّتِي)³ to refer to the “other nations”. This aligns with the Quran, where in Surah An-Nahl, God states:

وَ لَقَدۡ بَعَثۡنَا فِیۡ کُلِّ اُمَّۃٍ رَّسُوۡلًا اَنِ اعۡبُدُوا اللّٰہَ وَ اجۡتَنِبُوا الطَّاغُوۡتَ ۚ فَمِنۡہُمۡ مَّنۡ ہَدَی اللّٰہُ وَ مِنۡہُمۡ مَّنۡ حَقَّتۡ عَلَیۡہِ الضَّلٰلَۃُ ؕ فَسِیۡرُوۡا فِی الۡاَرۡضِ فَانۡظُرُوۡا کَیۡفَ کَانَ عَاقِبَۃُ الۡمُکَذِّبِیۡنَ

We surely sent a messenger to every community, saying, “Worship Allah and shun false gods.” But some of them were guided by Allah, while others were destined to stray. So travel throughout the land and see the fate of the deniers!

— Dr. Mustafa Khattab, The Clear Quran

And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, [saying], “Worship Allāh and avoid ṭāghūt.”¹ And among them were those whom Allāh guided, and among them were those upon whom error was [deservedly] decreed. So proceed [i.e., travel] through the earth and observe how was the end of the deniers.

— Saheeh International

We sent a messenger to every community, saying, ‘Worship God and shun false gods.’ Among them were some God guided; misguidance took hold of others. So travel through the earth and see what was the fate of those who denied the truth.

— M.A.S. Abdel Haleem

And verily We have raised in every nation a messenger, (proclaiming): Serve Allah and shun false gods. Then some of them (there were) whom Allah guided, and some of them (there were) upon whom error had just hold. Do but travel in the land and see the nature of the consequence for the deniers!

— M. Pickthall

And since it is established that there was no prophet between Jesus (upon whom be peace) and Muhammad (upon whom be peace)⁴, this Quran verse is not referring to the nations of the time of the Prophet. Hence, we can confidently say that this narration is not referring to the companions alone, as it pertains to the Day of Resurrection and the entire Muslim community to ever exist.

The Second Issue: We see now that the argument that Christians make about Muhammad (upon whom be peace) borrowing from other sources is highly incorrect, for if this was the case, then Muhammad (upon whom be peace) would not make such an assertion, as this completely contradicts the Bible and Jewish teachings as well. Rather, what we see is that this is yet another example of Islam avoiding biblical discrepancies whilst presenting logical and accurate information, unknown to people in the seventh century.

Error Analysis in Young Earth Creationism

The bible states that God sent Prophets to guide his people in the right way, as stated in second Chronicles:

¹⁹ Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the Lord; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear.

2 Chronicles 24:19 (KJV)

The biblical time frame is condense and problematic in many ways, if we are being generous, Noah was born approximately 150 to 200 years after the death of Adam (according to the biblical timeframe).

⁵ And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.

Genesis 5:5 (KJV)

6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth.

Genesis 7:6 (KJV)

Bishop James Ussher⁵ computed that the earth was created in the year 4004 BC and the flood occured in the year 2350 BC. This means that there was approximately a 124 year gap between Adam and Noah. Let us be even more generous and say that this gap was of 200 years. I ask the Christians and Jews who adhere to the belief of Young Earth Creationism the following question:

How can humanity go astray in such a short time period even though the average human lived for hundreds of years?

“And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died.”

Genesis 5:8 (KJV)

“And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died.”

Genesis 5:11 (KJV)

“And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died.”

Genesis 5:14 (KJV)

“And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years: and he died.”

Genesis 5:17 (KJV)

“And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.”

Genesis 5:20 (KJV)

“And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.”

Genesis 5:23-24 (KJV)

“And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.”

Genesis 5:27 (KJV)

“And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died.”

Genesis 5:31 (KJV)

It is evident that Islam does not “borrow” from Christianity or Judaism regarding the framework of the age of humanity. This distinction is crucial when examining the matter with utmost scrutiny. If Muhammad (upon whom be peace) had indeed borrowed sources from Christians and Jews, he would not have made the assertion that humanity is not 6,000 years old. A person with any political awareness would avoid making a claim that they know to be untrue.

And God guides whom he wills.

1. (After Rosh Hashanah in the fall), though the exact conversion may vary due to differences in how leap years are accounted for. ↩︎
2. Ibn Hazm lived in the 10th century. ↩︎
3. Another translation of أُمَّتِي is “community,” which refers to the Muslim world as a whole, without being limited to any specific time period. ↩︎
4. https://sunnah.com/bukhari:3442 ↩︎
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Ussher ↩︎