Does a Person's Sound, Wise Nature
Instinctively
Acknowledge that the Universe Must Have a God
and Creator?
Allah (Glorious & Exalted)
created man to instinctively believe in Him, so the intuitive sense of the
Existence of God the Creator is self-evident. Man, by his nature, believes in
His Lord, in accordance with the statement of Allah's Messenger (pbuh),
"Every baby is born on the fitrah (pure nature), then his parents
turn him into a Jew or a Christian or a Zoroastrian." [Sahih al-Bukhari
& Muslim]
That explains why, when anything happens
to a person all of a sudden, and that thing is a threat to him, his tongue
automatically utters a phrase like, "Oh God!" or "Oh Lord!"
or something of the sort.
This proves that, in his unspoiled and instinctive
state, man was created to believe in the Existence of Allah (Mighty &
Majestic).[1]
For, Allah (Glorious & Exalted) is the
God and Creator of man, animals, birds, inanimate objects and all things, and
He (Glorious & Sublime) is the Creator of this universe and all the
accidents and causes therein.
We should therefore know that there is no
contradiction between everything being created and there being a cause for its
occurrence, for it is from Allah's Way to create causes. That is because He
(Glorious & Exalted) is the One Who created the cause and made it a cause.
Other points of proof that
this pure, sound, wise instinct necessarily acknowledges the Existence of a
Creator for this universe include:
The following are living examples of
people who came to know their Creator through this pure, instinctive nature by
which we were created to believe in the Existence of Allah (Glorious &
Exalted).
1.
A Bedouin man was asked,
"What proof do you have of the Existence of the Lord Almighty?"
He said, "Glory be to Allah! Indeed,
the droppings indicate the camel and the footprints indicate the traveler. The
sky is full of stars, the earth is full of mountain highways, and the seas are
full of waves. Does this not indicate the Existence of the Subtle and
Well-Acquainted?"
Indeed, the words of this
simple, pure-natured Bedouin man adhere more faithfully to experimental
methodology which is based on astute observation. Indeed, it is closer in
influence on the soul and more powerful in convincing the mind than any form of
analogy.
People are of two types:
A. The
type with a sound nature: He knows Allah Almighty and believes in Him because
of the intuitive sense with which he was created. Were he to see the signs of
Allah Most High in the heavens and the earth, he would know that they are proof
of Him—an indication of His Existence. His knowledge and belief in God the
Creator precede his knowledge of Allah's signs, for his knowledge of Allah's
signs confirms his belief; it does not initiate it.[2]
On this topic, Shaikh ul-Islam
Ibn Taymiyyah said,
[People's] sound natures know the Creator [even] without these signs,
for they were designed in that way, for if they were not to know Him without
these signs, they would not know that these were signs of Him. Because they are
of Him and for Him, they must necessarily bring to mind that which they are
meant to signify; the meaning of the signifier must be an essential quality in
it. It is imperative in this respect to know that the signified is a requirement,
for if the significance were not apparent, it would not mean anything.
B.
The type whose nature has been
corrupted: He no longer believes in the Existence of a Creator, but if he
contemplates the signs of Allah Most High, he would find them pointing to Him,
so he would believe in Allah by way of these signs.
It
would be as though these signs, in reality, remind people of a truth deep in
their psyches.[3]
On this point, Shaikh ul-Islam
Ibn Taymiyyah said,
To acknowledge the Creator and His Perfection is a necessary part of the
nature of a human being if his nature is unspoiled, even though there is much
evidence for that. Many people have need of this evidence when their
instinctive nature has been tampered with and exposed to unfortunate
circumstances.[4]
Allah Almighty says,
{Were they created by nothing, or were they themselves the creators? *
Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Nay, but they have no firm
belief.}
[Al-Tur 52: 35-36]
Indeed, in the creation of man
there is a sign to indicate the Existence of his Creator.
The Holy Quran calls those who
deny the Existence of their Creator (Glorious & Exalted) to think about
this great truth which he knows better than anything else in the heavens or on
the earth. The Holy Quran says to those deniers of Allah's Existence
(paraphrased):
If it were not Allah Who created you, who created the universe around
you? Could you have been created without anything to create you? Did you come
from absolute nothingness?
Any reasonable man would say
to himself: Certainly not! That is impossible.
Were you the one who made
yourself?
He would say: Of course
not….for that would make things appear ever more impossible.
Were you the one who created
these heavens and this earth?
He would say: Of course not!
To say such a thing would be arrogant.
This is the kind of proof
ordinary people can get their minds around. That is why, in the Holy Quran,
many chapters begin in the form of rhetorical questions.[5]
This form of Quranic address, demonstrated
in the two verses above, held great influence over some of the Arabs who heard
it.
Al-Bukhari narrated in his
authentic collection, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Jubayr ibn Mut`im,
through his father (may Allah be pleased with him), who said, "I heard the
Prophet (pbuh) read Surat al-Tur in the maghrib (sunset) prayer.
When he reached the verse,
{Were they created by nothing,
or were they themselves the creators? * Or did they create the heavens and the
earth? Nay, but they have no firm belief. * Or are with them the treasures of
your Lord? Or are they the tyrants with the authority to do as they like?}
[Al-Tur
52: 35-37]
and my heart was about to fly." [Reported by al-Bukhari]
In his Tafsir, Ibn Kathir says
about verse 35 from Surat al-Toor, "Jubayr had just approached the
Prophet (pbuh) after the Battle of Badr to ransom the captives, and at that
time he was [still] a polytheist. Hearing this part of this chapter was one of
the things that caused him to enter Islam afterwards."
1.
Imam Malik:
Al-Razi related on the authority of Imam Malik that al-Rashid asked him
about that (meaning about the Existence of Allah), so he (meaning Imam Malik)
demonstrated it to him through the variation in languages, sounds and songs.[6]
In other
words, the variations in language among different individuals and peoples in
all parts of the world, and likewise the sounds and harmonies are from the
signs and proofs that bear witness to the Existence of this Creator God and His
Great Wisdom and Power.
2.
Imam Abu Hanifa:
On
the authority of Abu Hanifa, some unbelievers asked him about the Existence of
an Almighty Maker (the Creator), so he told them, "Leave me, for I am
pondering a matter I was informed about. He told them about a ship on the sea,
overloaded with all types of merchandise, but without anyone to protect it or
steer it, yet despite that, it comes and goes by itself, braving great waves to
relieve itself of it [the merchandise], going wherever it pleases without
anyone to guide it.
They (the infidels) said, "That is
something no sane person would say."
So
he replied, "Woe to you! All that is in existence in the higher world and
the lower world and all the masterfully designed things therein, do they not
have a Maker?"
Thus,
these people were rendered speechless and they returned to the truth, accepting
Islam at his hand.[7]
And
so we see that the pure, unsullied, wise nature of man necessarily knows that
the universe has a Creator God—a Wise Planner. No one denies what his pure
nature and unpolluted reason would admit except an insolent, ignorant fool.
3.
Imam al-Shafi`i:
On
the authority of Imam al-Shafi`i, who was asked about the Existence of a Maker
(Creator), he said, "Behold the berry leaf! It is of one flavor, yet the
worm eats it and produces silk, the bee eats it and produces honey, the sheep
eats it and produces dung and droppings, and the gazelle eats it and produces
musk, though it is only one thing."[8]
Imam
al-Shafi`i demonstrated the point with some of the signs of Allah (Glorious
& Exalted), which testify to the greatness of His creation and the
Absoluteness of His Power, and this indicated His Own Existence.
For,
Imam al-Shafi`i knew that this sign indicated this Creator God because of his
own sound nature. As such, the sign was a confirmation of his belief,
not the cause of it, as we have previously explained.
4.
Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal:
On
the authority of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, who was asked about that (meaning the
proof of Allah's Existence), he said,
Behold a well-protected fortress, smooth,
without door or window, its exterior like white silver, its interior like pure
gold. Then, as it was so, its walls were penetrated and there came forth a
seeing, hearing animal, beautiful in shape and sound, lovely (meaning an egg
when a chick emerges).[9]
5.
Abu Nuwas was asked about that
(meaning the proof of Allah's Existence), and he replied in verse:
Contemplate the foliage of the earth and look,
At the effects of what the Sovereign has made.
Eyes of staring silver,
With irises of melted gold.
On a bar of chrysolite, witnessing,
That Allah is without partner.
6.
Ibn al-Mu`tazz said about that
(meaning Allah's Existence):
Oh wonder how he disobeys the Divine,
Or how the infidel denies,
When in all things there is a sign,
Indicating that He is One.
We conclude this section of
the chapter with the following verses of the Quran:
{Can there be a doubt about Allah, the Creator
of the heavens and the earth?}
[Ibrahim 14: 10]
{Or has He taken daughters out of what He has
created, and selected for you sons?}
[Al-Zukhruf 43: 16]
{Should not He Who has created know? And He is
the Most Kind and Courteous (to His slaves), All-Aware (of everything).}
[Al-Mulk 67: 14]
Yet, were we to put what these
Noble Verses refer to into logical, rational form to address the atheist who
denies the Existence of God the Creator, it would go as follows:
You—the atheist—know of yourself that you are created: that you came
into existence after not being.
So, either you were created
from nothing and something created you…
And it is impossible that you
were created out of nothing.
Therefore, something that
exists created you.
And this Maker: either he is
you yourself or someone other than you.
And it is impossible that
your Maker is you yourself.
Therefore, it must
necessarily be something other than yourself who created you.
This 'other' who created you
is either like you—in need of someone to create him—or he is not in such need.
And it is not possible that
the one who created you is like you, because if he were like you, we would also
have to say about him what we say about you.
Therefore, it must
necessarily be that the one who created you is self-sufficient, not in need of
anyone to create him.[10]
Without a doubt, this Maker is
Allah (Glorious & Exalted).
In conclusion, man's sound, unsullied,
wise nature knows by necessity that the universe has a Creator, Wise and
Supreme, Sufficient unto Himself, not in need of anyone to create Him, for He
is the Creator of all.
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