Author: M. Asem Ismail Zahi
Atheism (Part 5)
Of course, we also accept that before all things there was something that was never subject to non-existence or decay, and that time did not overtake it; and that the entire universe, from the particle to the giant stars and planets, is its creation and product; but in answer to the question of whether that thing is material and nature or a force and power beyond matter in the name of God (Allah)?
We say: material, due to the aforementioned weaknesses and defects (lack of understanding and incompetence in creativity), cannot attribute to itself the privilege of being primary and original; because that thing exists in the beginning and before all, is certainly effective and the creator of the later ones, and the attribute of being effective and creative is unimaginable without understanding and knowledge. Therefore, material is much more insignificant and inferior than to be considered the beginning and the original, effective and creator of the system of existence; therefore, we must prove this primary and originality, which is the cause of effectiveness and creativity, to a superior and powerful force, possessing knowledge and will, and consider the system of existence to be its masterpiece; And let us remember Him as the creator and manager of the system of existence; because in our environment, only people who are endowed with knowledge and creativity succeed in inventing, discovering, and doing great things are those who have knowledge, and are creative. So when an ordinary discovery and invention cannot be made without knowledge and creativity, how can the system of existence and its wonders be created and managed without knowledge and creativity?
So as a result of the created system of existence, there is a wise and powerful creator in whom we must believe; and we must all kneel before Him and consider ourselves created and in need of His court; and that superior essence and strong force is known to all by the name of “Allah” to which intellect and nature invite us.
How well said the mellifluous Sa’adi:
برگ درختان سبز، در نظر هوشیار/ هر ورقش دفتریست، معرفت کردگار
Translation: “The leaves of green trees, in the eyes of the watchful, each page is a notebook of the knowledge of the creator”. [1]
The causality argument
Human intellect dictates that every effect is dependent on a cause and every artifact needs a maker; And no artifact or effect can be found without a maker and cause. Just as no building can be found without an architect and structure. So, as a result, the world and this regular solar system and the precise movements of the nine planets around the sun and the axial motion (motion around themselves) and the translational motion (motion around the sun) of all the planets and their floating in their specific orbits without falling and rising and the translational motion of the great solar system in the Milky Way galaxy and the movement of the Milky Way galaxy in other vast spaces and the wonders of nature such as snowfall and rain and the alternation of day and night and the different seasons of the year, how is it possible that all of these could have come into being without a strong cause and creator and a wise and capable director, only from the invisible leaps and movements of empty material and be the result of chance and coincidence. In fact, the surrounding environment with its regular and precise wonders introduces a wise and powerful creator to the world with tacit.
“إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَاخْتِلَافِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَالْفُلْكِ الَّتِي تَجْرِي فِي الْبَحْرِ بِمَا يَنْفَعُ النَّاسَ وَمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مِنْ مَاءٍ فَأَحْيَا بِهِ الْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا وَبَثَّ فيها مِنْ كُلِّ دَابَّةٍ وَتَصْرِيفِ الرِّياحِ وَالسَّحابِ الْمُسَخَّرِ بَيْنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ لَآيَاتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ” Translation: “Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alternation of night and day (and the difference between them in length and shortness and their countless benefits), and the ships that sail the sea for the benefit of people (and flow according to the law of specific gravity of bodies and the nature of water, wind, steam, lightning, etc., which are among the creations of Allah), and the water that Allah sends down from the sky (which according to the regular laws of vapors turns into clouds and travels on the back of the winds to wherever Allah wills and, after being fertilized, falls back on the earth in the form of snow, hail and rain), and gives life therewith to the earth after its death and spreads in it all kinds of living creatures, and in the changing of the winds and the clouds that hover between the sky and the earth (and do not disperse in the vastness of space and are not wasted according to specific laws and regulations), there are indeed signs (to realize the pure nature and the oneness of Allah) for a people who understand, listen and think.” [2]
Answer to a question
If everything needs a cause and a creator, then why is Allah an exception to this rule and does not need a cause and a creator?
Answer: If we consider Allah to be an effect and a creator, then we must look for another cause and creator for Him, and as a result, in the issue of creation and the emergence of the system of existence, we are caught in the chain of succession, that is, the dependence of understanding and comprehension of one thing on another, and that thing on another, and so on. Because we must inevitably search for another cause for the effect of God, and for Him as well, so in order to get rid of the chain of succession, which is completely rejected and invalid by the people of science and logic, we are forced to accept something that has the proper qualifications and attributes, and is free from any defects and imperfections, as the original cause and creator, and consider Him to be the origin of creation and the system of existence. [3]
And Muslims know that original cause and creator by the name of Allah. Therefore, kneeling before a superior and powerful force called Allah, which is in accordance with the nature, intellect, revelation, and belief of most people on earth and the basis of all heavenly religions, is completely reasonable and even obligatory.
Reason from Nature
Consider a strong and completely happy person who hears the news of an accident or the death of one of his relatives, immediately loses his strength and spirit and starts crying, which is itself a proof of the weakness and imperfection of human; and everything weak and imperfect, in order to achieve perfection, must belong to and be related to a strong and complete source in order to gain strength and energy from that source; and in times of difficulties, he resorts to Him, expresses his pain and complaints to Him, and consoles himself; And also consider a person who does not know how to swim and is drowning in the middle of a stormy sea. When that person sees no shelter for himself, he is forced to call out to an unseen and supernatural force and cry out to it, as if expecting help from a strong and spiritual source who is present and watching.
So it is the demand of nature that when there are problems and obstacles that one does not have the strength to resist and confront, a superior and strong force, which is Allah, is immediately imprinted in the minds and called out to, and the unbelievers and polytheists also look to an unseen force in such critical moments and turn to it to save their lives from stubbornness and denial. As Allah describes the polytheists in the Quran: «فَإِذَا رَكِبُوا فِي الْفُلْكِ دَعَوُا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الَّذِينَ فَلَمَّا نَجَّاهُمْ إِلَى الْبَرَإِذَا هُمْ يُشْرِكُونَ.» Translation: “So when they embark on a ship, they call upon Allah, making their religion and worship solely for Him, but when He delivers them to land, then they associate others with Him.” [4]
And the search for a comforting support and authority throughout history, and the worship of Him or the worship of false things such as stones, idols, trees, etc., in common, speaks of the divine nature of human; Because nature compels human to seek Allah, but some, due to ignorance and lack of knowledge, satisfy their innate thirst by worshipping stones, idols, and other objects.
Continues…
References:
- Sa’adi, Mosleh al-Din, Golestan, Ghazal No. 296, Mursal Publications, Iran.
- Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 164, Barshan, Abdul Ghafoor, Islam and Contemporary Rationality, p. 41, Publications: Ulul al-Bab 1399 AH, Zahedan.
- Razi, Muhammad ibn Omar (Fakhr al-Razi), Tafsir al-Kabir, Vol. 1, p. 127, Publisher: Asatir, Year of Publication: 1379 AH, Iran.
- Surah Al-Ankabut, Verse 65.
