Salam People.
Let me share with you my experience. And maybe this can explain a lot:
Some time ago, I also did not believe in evolution, calling it a hoax and whatever. Why? Well because of many reasons. Firstly, nobody really told me that there were other ways of creating the universe. Secondly, i was childish enough to assume God making everything literally like an architect of a building. call it a laborer, if you will. I mean i was a kid, so do not hold me for that. LOL.
But, there is quite much of a possibility of the theory's truth. And it probably is true. And i only disagreed with it because it challenged my childish beliefs, my faith, my thoughts, my everything. It was a hard time for me, I was going through a lot of knowledge. And i know that had I just neglected this thing, it would have been out of fear of losing faith. A faith that was too immature to hold on to.
But now, even if I embrace this theory, that does not mean that i certainly become a person who disbelieves in God. God certainly entertains infinite attributes. And amongst them are those that pertain to such a way of creation. And maybe, long ago we did not understand how He could have created this world, and we assumed a hocus pocus way. And maybe it wasn't so. History is replete with many mythological beliefs.
As to us humans. I do not know how we came about. And how long ago Adam as came. I honestly do not know. We can make conjectures, but what good is it. But what we do understand from the identity of Adam as from the Quran is that he had the ability to learn and understand; he had the sense of morality, and could choose too, etc etc. Now we can do our math about that. To think along a certain set of dates because we THINK it is so, does not make sense. we have to be flexible enough.
I think partially many of us do not even want to listen to this theory because it might threaten our beliefs. Though it should only threaten the imaan if its only in the head and not in the heart. If we truly believe in the Might/Power/Wisdom/Intellect of God, the theory shouldn't trouble us. Now many point out that oh it is random/natural selection. SO WHAT if it is? How can you prove it that God did it or not. I cannot prove it, nor can they. Similarly, quantum mechanics. I mean how can you prove it that God cannot control all this. Yes a God with the brain of man may not control it, but a God with the brain of God might as well do it. We have words to challenge them, and they have words to challenge us. It's just that we think that they have too much knowledge (not that they don't. knowledge is from God for whomever He chooses).
People who do not even know what science is disbelieve in God, and people knowing it do it too. What matters is that they just don't. For some just personal choice becomes the reason, and for others science and too much dependence on our way to knowledge. The problem is within us. As we laugh at the 1000 year ago science, who knows, InshAllah 1000 years later, they'll laugh at us.
We're just too content with our knowledge. We do not want to believe in a thing that challenges our pre-prepared minds, and there are others who need an excuse to live life as they want, making themselves the gods of their lives. Either way, we are stuck up. And we need to treat it.
We have to treat our own Imaan. Precisely it's quality. Do we believe in Him as our mind asks us to or do we believe in Him as people want us to? The thing is that Imaan is in Him and His Attributes. And if one thing I have learnt thus far, understanding His Attributes and keeping them in mind, helps us a lot. Through this, we can break down most of the situations and look through them.
Best wishes,
Wasalam