Can We Have Certainty in the Existence of an Unseen God?
May the Peace of Allah be upon you
It is a wrong and dangerous concept
to think that faith —because it concerns
the Unseen— is not certain;
not definite;
a very high probability;
but you cannot say 100%
They tell you, "No one can
be sure about the truth
of his belief and
the error of other beliefs
because, in the end
belief involves the Unseen
Some apply this relativity
even to the paramount issue:
The existence of Allah Almighty!
They say, "Faith is
believing in something
without all the definitive
and conclusive evidence.
Belief needs a leap of faith
into something that cannot be
proven absolutely.
Belief needs
this brave leap into the void!"
And other similar phrases
that reduce the belief in the existence
of Allah and the Unseen in general
to an intuitive speculative matter
not an absolute certainty;
a probable
—a highly probable matter—
but not 100%
So, is the belief in Allah's existence
thus, in the Islamic system?
Certainly not!
Rather, belief in
the existence of Allah
is a belief in what
the evidence indicates
conclusively and indisputably;
without any doubt or hesitation!
Being Unseen
never means that
it can't be ascertained
Unseen is not a synonym
for ambiguous or mysterious
and belief in Allah
is not a purely emotional
submissive position
Rather, it is an innate, deductive
and evidential stance
Belief in the existence of Allah
is a belief that is deduced by
mind and innate nature
if they are not obstructed by
corruption of the heart
or slavery to desires!
What’s strange is that this issue
which is the paramount axiom in Islam
is not clear to some people
even those who challenge atheism
If faith in God
among some followers of other religions
has become intermingled with a distorted
concept of God and His attributes
which requires their followers
to take blind leaps of faith
and forces them into blind submission;
this is not needed in Islam
Praise be to Allah
This episode is for Muslims
as well as skeptics
who might think
that we invite them
to intuitive, emotional
and totally submissive faith
On the contrary, we invite them to
an innate-based, rational and proven faith
Moreover, the submission
we invite people to is not
on the issue of Allah's existence
Submission is not in this matter!
Rather, it is a submission to
some details of Islam
that are built on innate,
rational and proven faith
The Quran, that we call to, says
what can be translated as,
"The believers are only the
ones who have believed in
Allah and His Messenger and
then doubt not..." (Quran 49:15)
In other words, they believe
with an absolute conviction;
without any doubt!
Not a high likelihood,
a 'just-in-case' faith,
or an arbitrary belief;
as if we just believe, despite the
inconclusive evidence for Allah
Rather, the Islamic system states that
the existence of Allah, Exalted and
Glorified be He, is the paramount truth
In fact, Allah Himself is the Truth
As in the verse,
"That is because Allah is the Truth,
and that which they call upon
other than Him is falsehood"
(QTM 22:62)
And since the existence of Allah
is such an obvious, self-evident truth
the Quran doesn't make this a core issue
in its arguments and proofs
Instead, it provides evidence
for things beyond Allah's Existence
such as Monotheism and
the Attributes of Allah Almighty
As for Existence itself
it's a decided issue:
'Can there be any doubt about
(the existence and oneness) of Allah
the Originator of the heavens
and the earth?'" (QTM 14:10)
This verse includes both
innate and rational evidence
"Can there be any doubt about Allah?"
Doubt about His Existence?!
Doubt about His Oneness?!
His Existence and Oneness
are deeply-rooted innate concepts;
not subject to doubt
and the rational evidence is that
He is
the Originator
of the Heavens and Earth
So, everything in the universe leads
those who are sound of mind
and pure of heart to
the existence of the Creator!
In Moses' argument with Pharaoh
in the Quran,
"Pharaoh said, 'What is this
Lord of the Universe?'
(Moses) said, 'The Lord of heavens and
earth and whatever lies in between them,
if you will be certain.'
(Quran 26:23-24)
In other words:
When contemplating creation
the Creator is too self-evident to be
denied. He is manifest beyond doubt
"if you will be certain."
i.e. if you're certain
of anything at all
then certainty in Allah
should precede all other certainties
Saying, "We're not certain of anything"
is a lie, because every human
must have certainty in
necessary axiomatic basics
Until Pharaoh said,
"Indeed, your 'messenger' who has
been sent to you is mad." (Quran 26:27)
And Moses replied,
"Lord of the East and the West
and that between them,
if you only had sense."
(Quran 26:28)
Meaning: If you deny Allah, you are
more deserving to be called 'mad'
because you have been stripped
of useful minds
What is the mind?
Primarily, it's essential knowledge
such as the causality principle
which leads to the Creator
Glory be to Him
So, if you had certainty
you would know Allah
If you had any sense
you would know Allah
In the same sense
let's contemplate the beginning
of Surat Al-Jathiyah
which can be translated as,
"Indeed, within the heavens and earth
are signs for the believers.
And in the creation of yourselves
and what He disperses
of moving creatures are signs
for people who have certainty.
And [in] the alternation of night and day
and [in] what Allah sends down
from the sky of
provision and gives life thereby
to the earth after its lifelessness
and [in His] directing of the winds
are signs for a people who reason.
These are the verses of Allah
which We recite to you in truth.
Then in what statement after Allah and
His verses will they believe?"
(Quran 45: 3-6)
It's the same concept as
in Moses' dialogue with the Pharaoh:
"people who have certainty"
i.e. For those with certainty,
the paramount certainty
should be the certainty in Allah
and His Cosmic signs
"people who reason"
Anyone with a mind
cannot deny His Lord
or have an issue with
belief in the Unseen
Then,
"Indeed, within the heavens and earth
are signs for the believers." (Quran 45:3)
"Then in what statement after Allah and
His verses will they believe?" (Quran 45:6)
Whoever does not believe in
Allah and His cosmic signs
despite their unmistakable clarity
must not believe in anything
because Allah and His signs
are the most obvious things
that anyone can believe in,
"And in yourselves. Then will
you not see?" (QTM 51:21)
"Indeed in that are signs for
a people who listen." (Quran 10:67)
That is
Whoever does not believe in Allah
is like someone who has
never seen, heard, felt, or reasoned
"Say, 'With Allah
is the far-reaching argument.
If He had willed, He would have
guided you all.'" (QTM 6:149)
Allah has the argument which
proves that His words are Truth
The "far-reaching"
meaning: that reaches its target
of defeating the opponent
and nullifying his argument
This all applies to the
evidence for Allah's Attributes,
His Oneness,
and some details of His religion
So, how about the evidence
for the existence of Allah Himself?
Isn't it the principal certainty?
And the paramount certainty?
In the coming episodes
Allah willing
we will provide more clarification
on why the existence of Allah Almighty
is the paramount mental axiom
May the Peace and Mercy of
Allah be upon you