Proof of Existence of Allah (SWT) - Shahid Hasan al-Banna

[Soulja]

From: Al'Aqaa'id - The Islamic Creed

Rational and logical proofs of the attributes of Allah, exalted be He.

Theologians like to prove the attributes of Allah (SWT), using rational arguments and logical analogies. We see no harm in that approach because the mind is the repository of knowledge, and because sanity is a precondition for responsibility. This approach may help to remove any trace of confusion or falsehood from the mind of those who are confused or misguided. However, the existence of Allah and affirming His attributes of absolute Perfection have become self evident and hardly need any proof or argument. Only someone who is arrogant or with a diseased heart, would demand evidence for those self-evident truths. He may not even be satisfied with rational evidence. In spite of that, I am going to mention some general and specific rational proofs for the sake of completeness relating to what has been mentioned.
First proof

Our universe, which is so vast and intricate, points to the existence of its Creator, His greatness and Perfection.
Second proof

You cannot give what you do not have. If the Creator of this universe were not characterised by Perfection, how then can His creatures have in them the traces of those attributes of perfection.
Third proof

This has to do with the fact that the Creator is One and cannot possibly be more than one. This is because multiplicity of creators would be a cause of discord and chaos and one of them will have to be an overlord to the others since an essential quality of being God is to be majestic and great. Furthermore, if one of the Creators acted on his own, this would cancel out the divine attributes of the others, and if they joined together in action, this would do away with some of the attributes of each of them; and the annulment of the attributes of divinity contravenes its Majesty and Greatness. Thus there has to be One God and no other Lord.

These are examples of logical proofs of the existence of the Creator and His attributes. Whoever wants more proofs can refer to longer works. However, this matter is firmly established in the innate nature (fitra) of pure souls and sound hearts.

‘for any to whom God giveth not light, there is no light!’

(Surat-an-Nur (24), ayah 40)

A question which puzzles many people

It was narrated in a Hadeeth by Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be with him, said:

‘Some people will keep asking questions until they ask: ‘Allah created the creation but who created Allah?’ Whoever is asked this question, let him (simply) say ‘I believe in Allah’.’ (Narrated by Muslim)

(Imam Mazrewy commented on this Hadeeth and said that the Prophet, seems to be enjoining Muslims to refrain from trying to respond to such questions about Allah. However, Imam Mazrewy explained, such questions are of two types: those which are not troubling the mind and did not arise because of some misconception. Those can simply be ignored. It seems that the above mentioned Hadeeth is referring to this type of questions which are referred to as waswasah (whisperings of Satan). Since they are not persistently occurring to the mind, they can be set aside without consideration of evidence, because there is no benefit in dwelling on them. As to the persistent questions which arise as a result of some misconception, they can be tackled only with arguments and evidence. Wallahu a’lam (And Allah knows best))

This question is wrong in the first place because we have been commanded by the Prophet, may the peace and blessing of Allah be with Him, not to ponder over the essence of Allah (SWT), because our weak minds are incapable of conceiving the true nature even of themselves. So how can they possibly understand the true nature of Allah (SWT). However, this question comes to the minds of some people and I would like to explain the answer to them through an example which, God willing, will satisfy their questions.

I would say the following:

If you place a book on your desk and then go out of the room and come back a short while later and find that the book which you had left on the desk had been removed and placed in the drawer, you would in this situation, be firmly convinced that someone must have put it in the drawer, this is because you know very well that among the attributes of this book is that it cannot move by itself. Remember this point and let us now move to the next point.

If there is someone sitting on a chair in your office, and you go out and come back and find him sitting on the carpet, for example, you would not ask about the reason for his movement, and you would not believe that someone moved him from his earlier position, because you know that among the attributes of this person is that he can move by himself and that he does not need anyone to move him. Now bear this second point in mind and listen to what I am going to say next.

Human beings came into existence at a certain point in time, and we know that they do not come into existence by themselves, but they must have a Creator. From that we conclude that their Creator is Allah (SWT). Now since perfect divinity presupposes that the deity does not need any other but is necessarily self-sufficient, we conclude that Allah (SWT) exists by Himself and does not need anyone to create Him.

If you place the first two points next to what I have just said, the answer will become clear to you. This is as far as the human mind can go. I ask Allah to protect us from error for He is indeed Kind and Merciful.

Now I would like to quote to you some statements of some European scholars which support the existence of Allah (SWT) and acknowledge His perfect attributes, and Allah alone I trust to help me succeed in my endeavour.


Statements by physicists which support the existence of Allah and acknowledge His attributes.

We have stated earlier that this belief is innate in sound hearts and firmly established in pure minds. It is almost a self-evident fact supported by the outcome of the exercise of the mind, generation after generation. This is why European cosmologists and others have believed in it even though they didn’t learn about it from a religion. I shall move on to quote some of their testimonies, not by way of proving the truth of our faith, but in order to help strengthen it within souls and to silence those who would like to relinquish faith and who are deceiving themselves..

1) Descartes, the French philosopher, said ‘Even though I feel imperfection in myself, I feel at the same time there must be a Perfect Being and I find myself obliged to believe that this feeling was implanted in me by the Perfect Being which is characterised by all attributes of perfection, which is God.’

In this statement he is acknowledging his weakness and inadequacy and confirming his belief in the existence and perfection of Allah. He is acknowledging that his feelings and sensations are a gift from Allah and are part of the innate nature instilled in him by Allah:

‘the innate nature made by Allah in which He has made men’

(Surat-ar-Rum (30), ayah 30)

2) Isaac Newton, the well-known English physicist, who discovered the law of gravity said: ‘Don’t doubt the Creator, because it is inconceivable that accidents alone could be the controller of this universe.’

3) Herschel, the English astronomer, said: ‘The more knowledge we have, the more irrefutable proofs we obtain for the existence of an Eternal Creator with infinite power. Geologists, mathematicians, astronomers and biologists have co-operated in setting up the edifice of science which is the edifice of God’s greatness.’

4) Lenet was quoted by Camille Flamirion, the Frenchman, in his book titled ‘God in Nature’ as having said: ‘The wonders of God’s creation, the Everlasting, the Eternal, the Omniscient, the Omnipotent, have astounded me: what power, what wisdom, what creativity in His creatures, small or large. The benefits which we get from these creatures testify to the greatness of the Mercy of God who made them subservient to us. Their perfection and harmony points to His vast Wisdom. Their preservation from extinction and their renewal bear witness to His Majesty and Greatness.’

5) Herbert Spencer, the English philosopher, said in this respect in his Essay on Education: ‘Doubtless, to the superstitions that pass under the name of religion, science is antagonistic; but not to the essential religion which superstitions merely hide. Doubtless, too, in much of the science that is prevalent, there is a pervading spirit of irreligion; but not in that true science which has passed beyond the superficial into the profound.

Devotion to science is a tacit worship - a tacit recognition of worth in the things studied; by implication in their Cause. It is not a mere lip-homage, but a homage expressed in actions - not a mere professed respect, but a respect proved by the sacrifice, thought, and labour.

Not by dogmatic assertion, does it teach the impossibility of comprehending the Ultimate Cause of things; but it leads us clearly to recognise this impossibility by bringing us in every direction to the boundaries we cannot cross. It realises to us in a way which nothing else can, the insignificance of human intelligence in the face of that which transcends human intelligence.’

He then goes on to give examples to explain what he meant:

‘A scientist who sees a drop of water and knows that it is made up of oxygen and hydrogen in certain proportions, in such a way that if these proportions change, we would have something other than water, believes in the Greatness, the Power, the vast Wisdom and Knowledge of the Creator more strongly and firmly than a non-biologist who sees it only as a drop of water. Similarly, a scientist who looks at a hailstone under a microscope and sees the beauty of its design and the magnificence of its composition, no doubt feels the Beauty of the Creator and the His vast Wisdom more strongly than does someone who knows nothing about it more than that it is frozen rain.’

The statements of cosmologists in this regard are innumerable ,and what we have mentioned should suffice. We have cited those statements so that our young people realise that their religion is from Allah (SWT) and that science can only strengthen and support their faith.

Allah, the Exalted, says in the Holy Qur’an:

'Soon will We show them our Signs in the (furthest) regions (of the earth), and in their own souls, until it becomes manifest to them that this is the Truth. Is it not enough that thy Lord doth witness all things?’

(Surat-Fussilat (41), ayah 53)

[Shukri]

Assalamu Allaikkum

Rationalizing is a dangerous way to prove the existance of god.

People often use rationlaization to prove the existance of god and at the same time we muslims also try to follow the same path which often leads to the wrong conclusion.

Allthough there is nothing wrong with it, the best way is to approach the way the Quran and the Sunnah has told us to do so.

As in the case of creation of the universe, acording to the big bang theory a certain "Force X", was responsible for the cause of it. And if you want to rationalize this argument you say this Force X must have come from some where. As muslims we know its because of the will of Allahu Subahana wata'la.
But when you say this froce x is from god then the argument continues in the form of where did god come from, and it continues to be " God was created by another God and that God was created by another God" and goes on an on. Ultimately we come to the conclusion that there must be a God in the beggining and he wasnt created but existed on his own. From here we can always prove that there is only one god exists which evidently is what Islam says.

But its never going to be as simple as mentioned. Because these sort of rationalized arguments can deviate to antoher form and you never come to an end.

The best way is the way of the Quran and the Sunnah. The Quran it self is the proof of existance of Allah. So if a person wants any proof for the existance of God then the best guide is the Quran.

This does not mean rationlaizition is wrong but it often doesnt lead you to the correct conclusion.

[AbuZayd Al-Britaani]

I believe there are many methods by which one can come to the belief in the Creator / Allah swt. Rational thought is one of those methods and as a method it is supported by ayaat of the Qur'an.

The brothers from Hizb ut Tahrir are quite good in the explanation of this method which has also been explained by many of the Classical Ulema such as Imam al-Ghazali and others... I hope Enlightened, Abu Yusuf and others will comment regarding this.

[faqir]

http://www.guidinghelper.com/qna/aqidah.html

For purposes of building confidence,
here is a short translated excerpt of Imam al-Ghazali's own writings about
this topic in his famous Ihya' al-`Ulum al-Din:


First Proof (Existence of Allah):

"It is a natural impulse that the intellect dictates that no thing which
has a beginning in time could be free of a preceding external cause
to have brought it into existence. And the universe has a beginning
in time and thus must necessarily need an external cause to have
brought it into existence.

As for our statement that something which had a start in time must
necessarily have a preceding external cause, it is obvious [that it is
true]. This is because every thing that starts in time has a specific
time [in which it becomes existent]. And rationally speaking, it is
possible for it to have come into existence before the specific time
it came into existence or after this specific time. Thus, its occurrence
being singled out for that specific time rather than a time before it
or after it necessarily points to Someone that chose [this time of
occurrence for it].

As for our statement that the universe had a beginning in time, its
proof is that the physical bodies of the universe must either be in
motion or stillness. And these two things [i.e. motion and stillness]
are created in time. And that [essence] which cannot be without
[attributes] which begin in time must also have a beginning in time.
But, in this above proof, we are making three claims:

The first claim is that physical essences must either be in motion
or in stillness. And this is known [to humans] by second nature
and necessarily. This fact does not require multi-step thinking and
thought. So, whoever can imagine a physical body which is not
moving or standing still [at the same time] is riding in ignorance and
away from the way of the intellect.

The second claim is that [the attributes of] motion and stillness have
beginnings in time. The proof for this is that one of these attributes
follows the other in time - one at a time. And this can be seen in all
physical essences, the ones we can see and the ones we cannot see.
So there is not a physical object in stillness except that the intellect
accepts that it can be in motion instead. And there is not a physical
object in motion except that the intellect accepts that it can stand still.
Thus, the attribute that came into existence [replacing the
other one] has a beginning in time for the fact that we saw it come
into existence. And the previous replaced attribute has a beginning
in time because its going out of existence has been seen. This is
because if the previous attribute never began in time, it could never
end in time as we will explain later when giving the proof for the
endlessness of the Creator High and Holy be He.

The third claim is that if an essence is described by attributes that
have beginnings in time, that essence must also have a beginning
in time. The proof for this is that if this were not true, every
occurrence [of motion or stillness] would have an occurrence
before it [which replaced it] without having any first ultimate
primary state. If that were true, than the number of occurrences
up to our present time would be infinite... And also the number
of rotations/revolutions that a celestial body has completed [up to
our time] has to be either odd or even. This is because, [if
the number of occurrences were infinite], they would be either
both odd and even or neither odd nor even; but these are two
mutually exclusive concepts [i.e. oddness and evenness] one of
which must [always] be true [for any number]. ... And the
upshot of this is since the universe is described by attributes
that begin in time, it must also begin in time. Now if we know
that it had a beginning in time, then it is necessarily known that
it must have had a Creator to have brought it into existence."

Imam al-Ghazali continues:

Second Proof: (Allah's beginninglessness)
"The second fundamental principle is that Allah Most High never
had a beginning in time. He existed in pre-eternity without
His existence ever having a start. Rather, He is the first of
everything else and before every dead and living being.

The proof for this is that if He had a beginning in time, He would
also need someone to bring Him into existence. And His
creator would also need someone to bring him into existence.
And this would lead to an infinite regress. And all infinite regresses
never come up with anything. Or if we say that this regress ended
at an ultimate Creator, He then must have been the First One
[we were looking for]. And this First One is Whom we were seeking
and we could call Him the Creator of the universe...

References:
[IU: volume 1: page(s) 183-184: line(s) 5-23, 1-10:
{ihya', qawa`id al-`aqa'id, section 3, beginning of
explanation of ten fundamental principles of belief
in Allah}]

[aboosait]

I believe there are many methods by which one can come to the belief in the Creator / Allah swt. Rational thought is one of those methods and as a method it is supported by ayaat of the Qur'an.

The brothers from Hizb ut Tahrir are quite good in the explanation of this method which has also been explained by many of the Classical Ulema such as Imam al-Ghazali and others... I hope Enlightened, Abu Yusuf and others will comment regarding this.

The belief of a Muslim is summarised in the declaration of faith known as the kalimah (meaning: a word) and this is:

Laa ilaaha illAllaaha Muhammadur-Rasoolullaah

The meaning of this: 'There is nothing which has the right to be worshipped except Allaah (alone) and Muhammad is His Messenger."

Muslims believe that this Universe, by necessity, has a Creator. It is hard for a person's common sense to encompass that the Universe with all its order and regulation is a product of mere chance.

One of the scholars of Islaam, known as Abu Haneefah (d. 150H) once debated some atheists.

He asked them:

"What do you say about someone who tells you that he had seen a loaded ship without a captain and a crew amidst a strong storm, but sailing well towards a safe harbour [ thereby saving itself]? Do you intelligently accept this?"

They said: "Our reasoning cannot accept this".

Abu Haneefah then commented:

"If your reasoning does not accept the story of a ship without a leading crew, then how do you accept a whole universe with all its varied conditions and complex nature running without a Creator in full charge?"

So the atheists were dumbfounded and came to believe in Allaah.

Allaah says in the Qur'aan:

Verily, in the creation of the Heavens and the Earth, and in the alternation of the night and day, and the ships that sail through the sea with that which is of benefit to human-kind, and the rain which Allaah sends down from the sky and makes the earth alive therewith after its death, and the moving (living) creatures of all kinds that He scatters therein, and in the changes in the direction of the winds, and the clouds which are held between the sky and the earth, are indeed Aayaat (proofs, signs, evidences) for a people of understanding" [Baqarah 2:164]

Thus, Muslims believe in the existence of Allaah, that He is the Originator and Creator of the Universe. And it follows therefore, that Muslims hold that the universe and everything within it has a definite purpose.

[Maureen]

I believe the question about the proof that God exists, should in no way involve science in the answer. God is above science, knows all scientific facts, and can never be compared to science in any way.
Another thread here had a long discussion about this very topic. Aethiests were putting their scientific views across in a very knowledgable way. I think they completely miss the point, that is, that God is above all and sees all.