Author: Mawlana Abdul Rahman Mu’tasimi
The Phenomenon of Atheism and Ways to Combat It (Part Two)
Article One: Definition of Atheism and Its Types
Definition of Ilhad (Atheism)
Literal Meaning: Ilhad is an Arabic word that means inclination, deviation, and bending. “Lahad” is called “Lahad” in the grave because it is located on the side of the grave. The word “multahid” is also applied to a shelter because the one seeking shelter tends towards it.
In the Holy Quran, this word has been used in various places, and some verses related to it are mentioned below:
«إنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَيَصُدُّونَ عَنْ سَبِيلِ الله وَالْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ الَّذِي جَعَلْنَاهُ لِلنَّاسِ سَوَاءً الْعَاكِفُ فِيهِ وَالْبَادِ وَمَنْ يُرِدْ فِيهِ بِإِلْحَادٍ بِظُلْمٍ نُذِقْهُ مِنْ عَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ» Translation: “Indeed, those who disbelieve and hinder from the way of Allah and the Sacred Mosque, which We have appointed for mankind, both the settled and the nomads, and whoever wills to deviate therein through injustice, We will make him taste a painful punishment.” [Al-Hajj: 25]
«وَلَقَدْ نَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُمْ يَقُولُونَ إِنَّمَا يُعَلِّمُهُ بَشَرٌ لِسَانُ الَّذِي يُلْحِدُونَ إِلَيْهِ أَعْجَمِيٌّ وَهَذَا لِسَانٌ عَرَبِيٌّ مُبِينٌ» “And we know very well that they say: it is only that a human being teaches him [no, it is not because] the language of the person to whom [this] relationship is given is not Arabic, and this [Qur’an] is clear in Arabic.” [Al-Nahl: 103]
«إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُلْحِدُونَ فِي آيَاتِنَا لَا يَخْفَوْنَ عَلَيْنَا أَفَمَنْ يُلْقَى فِي النَّارِ خَيْرٌ أَمْ مَّنْ يَأْتِي آمِنًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ اعْمَلُوا مَا شِئْتُمْ إِنَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ» “Indeed, those who disbelieve in Our signs are not hidden from Us. Is he who is thrown into the Fire better or he who comes safe on the Day of Resurrection? Do whatever you will. Indeed, He is seeing of what you do.” [Fussilat: 40]
In the above verses, Ilhad is used in the sense of desire, deviation, and perversion.
Idiomatic Meaning:
The term (Ilhad) atheism is used in two general and specific meanings:
1. The general meaning: atheism is a desire and deviation from the truth and religion of Islam towards falsehood.
In its general meaning, atheism includes all types of disbelief, polytheism, hypocrisy, heresy, apostasy, innovations in belief, all doubts and suspicions about the essence, monotheism, attributes, revelation and mission, divine books, gathering and dissemination, paradise and hell, and other essential and definitive issues and rulings of Islamic law.
In cases where atheism is used in the Holy Quran, the same meaning is intended.
2. The specific meaning: atheism means denying the existence of Allah Almighty, which also includes the eternity of matter, the denial of the mission of the prophets (peace be upon them), life after death, and the denial of all unseen things. In other words, atheism is a specific intellectual and belief system based on the following:
1) Denial of the existence of Allah Almighty.
2) Belief that religion is an illusion created by man.
3) Belief that the basic material of the world is eternal and ancient and that its changes have occurred randomly or have been created by the laws of nature and do not require an external creator.
Westerners and Europeans interpret this specific concept of Ilhad as atheism, which is derived from the Greek word (ATHEOS) and is composed of two words (A) meaning no, without, negation and (THEOS) meaning God and deity or Allah. So, the word (ATHEOS) means negation of God or negation of “Allah”; but it is applied to someone who does not believe in faith in Allah Almighty, whether he denies its existence or not.
The Foundations of Atheism
According to what was mentioned in the specific definition of atheism, the foundations of atheism are the following:
A. The denial of the existence of the Creator and Lord of the world who created beings according to His knowledge, will, and free will and who plans and controls them.
B. The denial of the mission of the prophets, the existence of angels, life after death, heaven and hell, and the denial of all unseen and immaterial beings.
C. The belief in the eternity of the world and its primary matter, assuming its changes and transformations to be based on coincidence or on the requirements of nature and its laws, and the belief that life and its functions, such as human consciousness and thought, are the result of the inherent evolution of matter.
Continues…
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