The discourse on evolution among Shiʿi scholars developed from the nineteenth century onwards. Initially, Western modern scientific thought itself was not a concern for Twelver Shiʿi ʿulamāʾ; rather, its materialistic consequences caused apprehension. Critiques emerged from ʿulamāʾ like Muḥammad Ḥusayn Shahristānī, who articulated theistic arguments against random evolution and focused on arguments for God’s existence. Other ʿulamāʾ, such as Faḍlullāh Nūrī and Muḥammad-Ḥusayn Gharawī Naʾīnī, harboured concerns about the materialistic and Christian influences of Darwinism. Moving into the early twentieth century, ʿulamāʾ such as Muhammad Riḍā Najafī Iṣfahānī and Muḥammad Ḥusayn Kāshif al-Ghitāʾ embraced elements of evolutionary theory, arguing that divine creation and evolution could coexist. Iṣfahānī notably rejected human evolution based on the scientific evidence of his time but accepted the theory for non-human species, framing evolution as part of God’s design. Meanwhile, Shiʿi modernists such as Asadullāh Khāriqānī and ʿInāyatullāh Dastghayb had their own understanding of human evolution theory, applying this theory to their religious or nationalistic orientations. Later, ʿulamāʾ of the second half of the twentieth century, like Murtaḍā Muṭahharī, ʿAlī Mishkīnī, and Jaʿfar Subḥānī, advanced solutions to the perceived conflict between human evolution and Qurʾānic verses. Meanwhile, religious intellectuals, such as Yadollāh Saḥābī and Mahdī Bāzargān, adopted a more accommodating stance towards human evolution. However, some ʿulamāʾ such as Muḥammad Ḥusayn Ṭabāṭabāʾī and Taqī Miṣbāḥ Yazdī openly rejected human evolutionary theory according to Qurʾānic verses. The reception of evolution has since become complex; while it has found its place in Iranian Shiʿi academic settings and high school textbooks, particularly regarding non-human species, discussions of human evolution remain sensitive and sometimes censored in contemporary Iranian discourse.