By Sister Mary
Dear family and friends,
Islam is a way of life in which one submits to the will of God so before we go any further, we need to first understand why Muslims believe in God. Here’s my humble attempt at presenting the Muslim’s perspective on the big question of “DOES GOD EXIST?”
2.1) DOES GOD EXIST?
Actually, what stops many people from exploring any faith at all is their uncertainty about whether or not God exists. On the other hand, some people are born into a faith and assume that God exists (without really pondering it), but find that their assumption is shaken when difficulties/tragedies occur in their life. “Does God exist?” is therefore a question that is pertinent to many, regardless of their spiritual inclination.
A. BELIEVING IN WHAT WE CANNOT SEE
“I can’t believe what I can’t see. I don’t believe in having blind faith.”
This is perhaps one of the most common reasons given to justify why someone doesn’t believe in God. But let’s ask ourselves this : If we don’t see something, does it naturally follow that therefore that thing does not exist?
Let’s say I lead you into a dark empty room and I tell you that there is someone outside the room (and indeed there is). Initially, the person stays quiet so you can’t hear him at all, so you can’t tell if there is anyone outside but neither can you completely dismiss the idea that there could be someone outside - after all, JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN’T SEE HIM DOESN’T MEAN HE ISN’T THERE. After a while, he turns the lights on outside the room and walks about. You see the light and hear the pitter patter of feet. Now you are sure that there is someone outside, although you haven’t seen him.
So in the end, you believe that there is someone outside the room, not because you SAW him, but because you saw and heard SIGNS OF HIS EXISTENCE. That isn’t blind faith, that’s an educated deduction made after pondering the signs that appeared before you. And that’s exactly what Islam tells us about believing in God and the unseen - to ponder His signs.
“Verily, in the heavens and the earth are signs for the believers.”
[Al Quran Chapter 45 Verse 3]
B. PONDERING THE SIGNS
Consider our phone and our computer. If you were seeing them for the very first time, would you believe me if I told you that these complex gadgets just appeared spontaneously? That they were not invented/designed and that it was just by chance that the raw materials came together and they happened to be installed with programmes that were able to perform a multitude of functions? The reality is that the more complex and functional a system is, the more intelligent the creator/designer must be.
The moment we acknowledge the possibility that every creation has a creator and designer, we only need to look around us and we will see an endless number of signs of a Creator. Just to name two:-
(i) The universe: Experiments and observations suggest that the universe has been governed by the same physical laws and constants throughout its history. The fine-tuning of the universe shows that if its constants had been just slightly different, it would not have been conducive to life. If the initial density of the universe differed even by a miniscule fraction, all matter would have been crushed or torn apart beyond recognition.
(ii) The human body: The miracle of the human body, the complexities of every organ of the body and the systems that run perfectly within it, still astound scientists who struggle till today to replicate it artificially. Take a second to look the baby in your arms - did a sperm and an ovum really develop into this precious little miracle by chance?
“Verily! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding.”
[Al Quran Chapter 3 Verse 190]
As the compatibility of God/religion and Science is a hotly debated topic, let's take a look at what Islam says about science in our next lesson.
Next topic : GOD & SCIENCE
(Note: You can verify the verses of the Quran that are mentioned in the lessons at http://quran.com/)
[ This Islam 101 is specially brought to you by sister Mary, Vice President of MRM ]
Resource : Facebook (Multiracial Reverted Muslims)
24 May 2016
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