The Adventure of the Caliph: From the Mischief of the Jinn to Conscious Evolution

This paper argues for a radical reconceptualization of "evolution" not as a sub-field of biology, but as a meta-science that unifies all disciplines by narrating the "true scientific life story" of every existing entity. It introduces a four-dimensional model of reality—adding "Evolution" and "Energy" to the traditional dimensions of space and time—to construct a holistic worldview. This framework synthesizes scientific narratives, from cosmology to paleoanthropology, with theological interpretations, particularly from Islamic tradition. It proposes that the Islamic narrative of "the mischief of the jinn" can be read as a theological metaphor for the pre-moral state of Homo sapiens before the conferral of divine responsibility. The paper diagnoses humanity's current global crises as a collective "adolescence" dominated by the basest level of the self (Nefs al-Ammarah) and prescribes a path to collective maturity through a spiritual ascent and a corresponding evolution in governance toward a meritocracy of consciousness. Finally, it reframes space exploration as the next stage of this journey, where humanity transitions from a product of evolution to its co-creator, consciously designing life for new cosmic environments.