I don’t know how to better word this question. Basically, did Muslims believe in some kind of living evolution before Darwin, whether in the centuries shortly after Muhammad’s death or even right before Charles Darwin publicized his theory? It seems like in the amazing golden age that Muslims had, at least some kind of an explanation might have been presented.
No. Some in their eagerness to present Islam as compatible with modern science have interpreted concepts of the great chain of being as congruent forerunners to evolutionary theory. But this is a mistake.