Concept of God in the Qur’an
(Dec 11, 2020)
My dear respected brothers and sisters, Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh,
Recently I attended a meeting in which the keynote speaker clearly said that a study and survey of Muslim youth in the West had shown that 4 out of 10 of them (i.e., 40 percent of them) had abandoned their Islamic faith, meaning that these youth were leading their lives with varying degrees of atheism, agnosticism, or they had started to follow another doctrine or belief system, or perhaps they had become followers of some ism or philosophy developed by human minds.
One such example of such philosophy or thought is secular humanism, which holds the belief that humanity is capable of morality and self-fulfillment without belief in a Supreme Being – in God. Those who adhere to this philosophy behave as if they are playing God, not in the sense of being the Creator and Sustainer, but in the sense of being addicted to the delusion that they are in control of their lives.
Also, the ‘artificial intelligence’, which has been advancing at breakneck speed, pushes such people towards abandoning their belief in a Supreme Being and in organized religion. We learn that “artificial moral reasoning” is being developed for driverless cars that can make decisions about potential accidents. It is said that artificial intelligence may be the greatest threat to Christian theology since Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species.
As a matter of fact, no one adopts atheism by conviction, for conviction comes from knowledge. And no one has the knowledge that there is no God, or that many others have a share in Divine Authority, or that there should be no hereafter. Thus, whoever has adopted these beliefs in the world has raised a structure on mere conjecture, which has no basis except doubt and suspicion, and this suspicion has led that person to erroneous thinking and conclusion. Consequently, such people begin to doubt God’s existence and the coming of the hereafter; so much so that they make this doubt their faith and waste their entire lifetime indulging in a wrong belief and a wrong way of life.
There is a very provoking and challenging question that haunts the minds of atheists, agnostics, disbelievers, and many others. And the question is: Does God exist? And this is the topic of my talk today. Alhamdulillah, as believers, we can say and we do say with full conviction that God exists. There is no doubt about it. But, this response is based on our faith or iman. Can we rationally try to find an answer to this question? Let us deal with this topic more in the scientific sense using our reasoning and intellect rather than in the popular sense or just as a matter of faith.
People generally believe that they are in a position to prove or disprove anything. But, this is not the scientific position. According to modern science, you cannot prove or disprove anything; you can only arrive at a probability, rather than a certainty. If there is sufficient data to show that this or that thing probably exists, then one can make the statement that this or that thing exists.
Studies have shown that the concept of an unseen God is ingrained in human nature. Belief in God runs in our blood. By nature, every man and woman is a born believer. Especially in times of helplessness and in crisis, we discover that there is a Supreme Being. Every human being experiences this sometimes in his or her life.
If the concept of God is present in our flesh and blood, why does one question the existence of God? The reason is very simple. People want to know whether there is a rational basis to their inner belief; whether there is some scientific proof in favor of their inner feelings.
Contemporary Scientific knowledge has passed through two different phases—the pre-Einstein period and the post Einstein period. In the pre-Einstein period, knowledge was confined to the macro or material world, which was observable and measurable. So, it was generally held that everything, which has a real existence, should also be observable. Anything, which could not be observed, had no real existence. This meant that only the seen world was real and what was unseen was unreal or some kind of fiction.
This concept gave rise to the theory what is generally called logical positivism. It means that the only valid logical argument is one that is demonstrable in material terms; otherwise it is simply a baseless claim, and not a valid argument. But in the post-Einstein period, in the early years of the 20th century when the atom was split, the whole situation changed. After the splitting of the atom, the concept of matter in its solid, liquid, gaseous or plasmatic forms disappeared and was replaced by the micro-world, beyond the atomic world, where everything was reduced to unseen waves—neither measurable nor observable. For example, the gravitational force or the x-rays are non-material in nature. They cannot be observed, but every scientist believes in their existence, for the simple reason that, although we cannot see these things directly, we can see their effect.
After this revolution in knowledge, the basis of logical or rational argument also changed drastically. It has now become an accepted fact that inferential argument – one which is derived through inference, is as valid as direct argument. In the pre-Einstein era, unbelievers held that the concept of God pertains to the unseen world. And since no direct argument was available to bear this out, belief in God was held to be illogical and all the relevant indirect arguments were considered scientifically invalid, since they were inferential in nature. If inferential argument is valid with regard to the unseen micro-world, such as the gravitational force that cannot be seen but exists, it is also valid with regard to the existence of God.
Bertrand Russell, although an atheist, has admitted this fact in his book, Why I am not a Christian. He says that the argument centering on design, propounded by theologians to prove the existence of God, is scientifically valid. Since ancient days, theologians have argued that when there is a design there must also be a designer. And we see our world is well designed. It compels us to believe that there is a designer.
Science tells us that the universe came into existence after the Big Bang which took place 14 billion years ago or so. Scientists have found evidence to believe that in the beginning there was what they call a cosmic ball. All the particles now present in the universe were tightly bound to each other in this cosmic ball in a highly compressed state. According to known physical laws, only an inner journey was possible for these particles. Physically, there was no possibility of their outward journey to space.
Then, according to astronomical studies, this cosmic ball suddenly exploded. The compact particles scattered outward and the present universe came into existence. What external source caused the intervention so that the compact particles scattered outwardly? It was an intervener or Almighty God.
أَوَلَمْ يَرَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَنَّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ كَانَتَا رَتْقًا فَفَتَقْنَاهُمَا وَجَعَلْنَا مِنَ الْمَاءِ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ حَيٍّ أَفَلَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
“Do not those who deny the truth see that the heavens and the earth were joined together and that We then split them asunder? And that We have made every living thing out of water? Will they still not believe?” (al-Anbiya’, 21:30).
We know that every explosion is destructive except one, which is pre-planned, and that is constructive. The Big Bang explosion resulted in a universe that is highly constructive and meaningful, in every sense of the word. This miraculous phenomenon is enough to make us believe that the Big Bang explosion was certainly pre-planned. And when it is proved that it was pre-planned, it is automatically proved that behind this pre-planning there was a planner, and it is this super planner who is God Almighty.
When we reflect deeply about our world, we find that all over the universe, there are clear signs of planning, design, and intelligent control.
قَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدْرًا
“Allah has set a due measure for everything” (al-Talaq, 65:3).
These signs lead us to believe that there is a Creator of creatures, there is a designer of designs, and there is a mover of all movements.
The Qur’an does not say much about the Being or essence of God, for it considers it to be beyond human comprehension. Allah is transcendent—beyond time, beyond space, beyond direct apprehension, existing outside the created world. That is why a number of verses describe Allah is such terms as:
لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ ُ
“There is nothing like Him (Nothing can be compared with Him)” (al-Shura, 42:11).
لَّا تُدْرِكُهُ الْأَبْصَارُ وَهُوَ يُدْرِكُ الْأَبْصَارَ
“No vision can grasp Him, but His grasp is over all vision” (al-An’am, 6:103).
On the other hand, God says:
وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِيدِ
“We are nearer to him than his jugular vein” (Qaf, 50:16).
And in yet another. It is said:
وَهُوَ مَعَكُمْ أَيْنَ مَا كُنتُمْ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ
“And He is with you wherever you are; He sees all that you do” (al-Hadid, 57:4).
The Qur’an, however, says a great deal about how God relates to the universe and, in particular, to man. This relational aspect is elucidated in the Qur’an through the attributes of God, known as al-Asma’ ul-Husna, or the most beautiful names.
An analysis of these attributes and other relevant data will show that the Qur’anic concept of God is composed of several notions.
First, the Qur’an lays great emphasis on the unity of God. Had there been more than one God, there would have been chaos in the universe. The argument here is that the different parts of the universe are knit together in a harmony that can be explained only on the assumption of the existence of one God. The universality and stability of the laws of nature are a proof that the same God rules the earth and also the most distant parts of the universe.
وَهُوَ الَّذِي فِي السَّمَاءِ إِلَٰهٌ وَفِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَٰهٌ
“It is He who is God in heaven, and God on earth” (al-Zukhraf, 43:84).
Second, besides being the only Creator, Allah is the only real Sovereign.
Third, the Qur’an presents Allah essentially as a merciful God, and not as a God of wrath. In fact, the attribute of al-Rahman is used in the Qur’an as a personal name of God.
قُلِ ادْعُوا اللَّهَ أَوِ ادْعُوا الرَّحْمَٰنَ أَيًّا مَّا تَدْعُوا فَلَهُ الْأَسْمَاءُ الْحُسْنَىٰ
“Say, you call upon Allah or call upon Ar-Rahman, whatever the name you call Him by, all His names are beautiful” (al-Isra’, 17:110).
Fourth, the God of the Qur’an is not far removed from the world but is actively involved in it. He takes provident care of the universe. In particular, He provides man with material and spiritual sustenance. His greatest blessing is that He guides man and shows him the right way to live his life.
Fifth, God deals with the world and man not in an arbitrary manner, but in accordance with a clearly enunciated set of principles (the Sunnatullah).
وَلَن تَجِدَ لِسُنَّةِ اللَّهِ تَبْدِيلًا وَلَن تَجِدَ لِسُنَّتِ اللَّهِ تَحْوِيلًا
“You will not find any changing in the pattern of Allah. You will not find any alteration in the pattern of Allah.” (Fatir, 35:43).
Sixth, Allah is the supreme Judge. He will judge men in the hereafter.
اللَّهُ يَحْكُمُ بَيْنَكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فِيمَا كُنتُمْ فِيهِ تَخْتَلِفُونَ
“On the Day of Resurrection, God will judge between you regarding your differences” (al-Hajj, 22:69).
Seventh, The Qur’an does not see a conflict between God’s mercy and His justice. Rather, the justice of God is seen as a manifestation of His mercy.
قُل لِّلَّهِ كَتَبَ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِ الرَّحْمَةَ لَيَجْمَعَنَّكُمْ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ
“Say: ´To Allah.´ He has made mercy incumbent on Himself. He will gather you to the Day of Resurrection about which there is no doubt” (al-An’am, 6:12).
These are some thoughts that I wanted to share with you. Jazak um Allahu Khairan. Whatever is right comes by the Grace and tawfiq of Allah (SWT). Whatever may be wrong is from my own weakness.
