Why I Believe in God – Part One
I’m adding or expanding a few points from my last post, a response to an article CNN chose as one of the top for 2013, by an atheist mother, called, “Why I Am Raising My Child without God”.
My God is not an “Angry God”.
Allah, is my God, He is the Creator and Sustainer. He is the Lord of the Universe, my “Rabb” and the lord of all.
What people get angry about - parking tickets and tsunamis God doesn’t get angry about. God isn’t like people.
People get angry about Islamic law (sharia) and the freedom of speech or freedom of religion of Muslims in non-Muslim countries. Muslims get angry about America’s dominance and policing of the world, or the patriot act; so do many non-Muslims.
God mentions things he has forbidden, in the Quran, it is the final revelation; Jews and Christians may drink alcohol, but in Islam it is forbidden; we say it is the “mother of all evils”, as the Prophet Muhammad, pbuh, taught.
Allah forbids usury, or interest. Many Jews and Christians see nothing wrong with it; in Islam it is considered such a grave sin that it is equated with incest; a man sleeping with his mother 36 times, in Ahadith (the prophetic narrations). Allah hates interest and punishes those who deal in interest (Riba in Arabic).
If you get angry, does that mean people call you an “angry person”? No.
Then why do people call God an “angry” god? They think they have the right to judge God, even a god they don’t believe in.
In the bible or Old Testament, God is described as such "Your God is an angry god", so maybe that's one reason this is said a lot. (sorry if that's not the exact quote).
********
Atheists argue against all religion based on some of their misconceptions about God, which largely are inherited or passed down to them through their passive knowledge (or knowledge they gained sometime in their lives when they used to believe, before they rejected God; maybe they were Christians, or Jews, or other ). Armed with this knowledge, passive or past experience, they believe they are well equipped to argue against all religion, and against the existence of a Supreme Universal God or Supreme Being.
God is not like people, “there is nothing like unto Him”.
God is the Judge, therefore who can judge Him?
The believers probably will unanimously agree that we don’t tell God what to do, but that He has every right (and it is His dominion alone) to tell us what to do, how to live, and what we should believe. The fact that there are numerous religions doesn’t bother most believers. They all believe they are on the right path.
Muslims, believe that Islam is the correct religion, largely because they have the “final revelation” which they believe has no errors, is divinely revealed word, is the Word of God Almighty, without error, and is basically a continuation of what was revealed before it; the reason for the new revelation was to right the wrongs of the other religions, namely Jewish and Christian faiths which had deviated from the correct teachings, and whose people deviated from the correct path as a result of their books being corrupted.
For example Islam teaches that the Jews changed their books, “what your own hands have wrought” and Christians worship Jesus, for the same reason, having adopted the attitude/belief about Christ as the savior. Their original teachings were corrupted by the central idea/belief that Jesus, A.S., is the savior of mankind.
Blood sacrifice, or the death/crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, A.S., as well as the errors contained in the Bible, point to the fact that the Bible was corrupted sometime after Jesus parted with his people. There are errors in the accounts as well as many nonsensical or even mathematical and scientific errors in the Bible.
Atheists believe that believers in God accept that God is vengeful or unmerciful; or they think we turn a blind eye to these “faults”.
But God doesn’t have any faults. Therefore we, as imperfect beings are not ones to judge God. I mentioned some of the peoples’ complaints against God, that He permits tsunamis, natural disasters and the like, or that He punishes for sins; Allah does as He wills. It isn’t proper for the creation to complain to the Creator about “faults” they suppose He has. That being the case, there is Wisdom behind everything that Allah does or His rule.
********
Human beings are such that they “appreciate” and show “gratitude”, these qualities which we have, are a part of our slavery to Allah. The fact that we show gratitude, thanks, appreciation and so on really impresses upon us, that we are in some ways needy, feeble, and we are therefore greatly lacking in some things, to varying degrees; even our wealth which some people have more than others, is ours from Allah. We are therefore thankful to Him even more than we are thankful to any others. It is an unislamic character that doesn’t show gratitude for blessings or favors, whether that is a blessing from Allah or a favor someone has been able to do for someone/people.
Allah is the Lord of the Universe, therefore His status is more than that of any worldly King or ruler, and He is “the King of Kings”, according to Islamic teachings. Allah’s designation, which He informs us about, and all his personal names and attributes are His and His alone, though human beings can possess similar attributes, theirs are not perfect like that of Allah’s.
When we get angry, sometimes our anger is not wholly just but is the result of other emotions too, such as jealousy. Being angry for the sake of Allah therefore is more important and just than anger for mere personal interests, such as one’s “self-dignity” or a mere “image”. The Prophet, pbuh, therefore, didn’t get angry for himself, nor retaliate for himself, and due to this quality he even forgave the Meccans who had persecuted himself, in particular, such as Hind, Abu Sufyan and other notables of the grandest tribes, who were debased by the Muslims stunning turnaround in the war arena and eventually on the day of the conquest on their victory at Mecca, in a bloodless assault on the Holy city. Most of the people embraced Islam willingly after having seen the evident signs, on that day.
The people show gratitude to each other, but to God we should be most grateful. He is the one who gives us life, permits us to live in peace (or if necessary, permits us to fight for our own defense), gives us blessings in abundance, and we can’t deny them; even the oxygen we breathe is one of His blessings. Then how can we be so stingy in our thanks to the Lord who provides us form the time we take our first breath?
Yes, the reason is that instead of being grateful the people are angry. Their anger isn’t for themselves only, but for what they see as divine injustice. But being that they don’t claim to believe in any “God”, they say that “God” doesn’t exist. They want to ignore God, because they judge Him to be ‘cruel’ or ‘unmerciful’, or the idea of a God as preposterous, because a God who is supposed to be “perfect” or “merciful” and “loving” wouldn’t permit disasters or atrocities.
The atheists no doubt believe that the “natural disasters” (which often others claim are retribution for sins) are proof that God doesn’t exist, or that the God Christians and Muslims, and others believe in must not love us. (It is difficult to argue what atheists believe because they have no belief, except the lack of belief; they believe in “nothing” except this life.)
Is it logical to believe in nothing? Or is it more “comforting”? No, to both, I think.
It is no more “logical” to believe in the idea that the universe came out of nothing, than it is to believe that there is a Creator who made everything from nothing.
Why atheists have a stubborn attitude to this is obvious; they lack faith, purely and simply. But to call belief “illogical” is not acceptable to believers. It isn’t universally or widely held that there is no God. In fact, it is only recently that more and more people claim to believe in no God.
The fact that something is becoming more prevalent also doesn’t prove it is true.
-
While the Muslims point to the Quran as “a book without error”, there is nothing the atheists can point to as fact, which proves that God doesn’t exist; I recently blogged or shared some videos (in 1-3 parts) which have an explanation about Darwinism or discussion which shows that Darwinism, natural selection are not proven by science, nor does it seem possible for the necessary “biological algorithms” to ever materialize which would prove natural selection is even remotely real or possible.
A creation points to a Creator, it would seem, is more than logical, and more believable than that an algorithm for Darwin’s theory of natural selection will happen, since it has not to date been seen to occur. Mathematical algorithms have proven gravity, but no biological algorithm has proven natural selection, according to French and other experts, as discussed in the video (part one).
It is fair to say, moreover, that the insistence by many of the truth of natural selection is therefore as illogical (or unlikely) as the belief in (or existence of) many gods.
Muslims often say that the Quran is a miracle, contains scientific facts, or is not contradictory to science, at least. But what atheists point to in natural selection isn’t at all conclusive. So, they are not at all correct in their stand; they have no right to abuse believers, who believe in a Creator, while there is a creation, yet they believe in a theory which has no proof, though other theories have been proven long ago, much more easily, by other kinds of algorithms or by (other) scientific means.
A God who is Perfect or All Knowing or Capable can perform miracles, or prophets can perform miracles by such a God’s leave, but science cannot make a perfect model for natural selection. Then how can the disbelievers claim that an entire universe can arise from nothing?
********
Degrees of Disbelief:
Disbelievers argue that there is no God. Others are not true atheists, but are fence sitters, who are agnostic, meaning they are not sure that a God exists. Or so I have come to think of agnostics (in that way).
Anyway, it is such people not sure what they believe about the existence of a Supreme Being who ask, “If God exists, why does He permit suffering”.
I said, last time, that “suffering” is nothing “illogical”, that it is in fact quite commonplace, and therefore it is part of our human condition. Animals, as well suffer in this earthy existence.
Unlike animals, people are responsible for their sins, and for belief in God. Animals also believe in God, and they worship Him, although we cannot perceive this, some ppl point to how camels kneel, or praying mantis "pray", etc. But in Islam, we know this because of the teachings of the Holy Prophet, pbuh. A similitude to how animals believe, and praise God or worship, is like the animals who rely on their Lord for sustenance, and they always find it, unless it is their time to die, in which case they may die from hunger or thirst, but mostly animals also die from other causes. In any case, when their time is up, their time is up; they cannot delay death, just as humans cannot delay death. These are matters which are decided by God, even before we are born. Since such creatures owe their existence and sustenance to the Creator, it follows that they also worship the Creator. In this they have a common “slave” status like humans. But they generally do not deviate from the nature which Allah created them with. On the other hand, humans often do.
There is a tradition which tells that on the Day of Judgment the animals will also be judged; they will take their rights from the other animals, so that the horned sheep will be punished by the not horned sheep for what it did to the other, and the not clawed or not fanged animals, will retaliate against the injustice they suffered. But then the animals will die, and they will not enter either Paradise or Hell. (Revise)
People will however receive a divine, lasting reward or punishment, or a punishment of some severity or length, after which they will be permitted into Paradise, if they are believers.
Part Two – Suffering is Inevitable
That suffering happens, is one problem people have with religions. Does this mean God doesn’t love the believers? Maybe God doesn’t love the non-believers, is true, but why also make believers who claim that God loves them, or children who are innocent, suffer? Does Allah permit suffering because He doesn’t care about us?
This is a question which bothers many people, even believers. But Allah’s names and attributes tell us about Allah. If we don’t know these names or attributes, we will forever be confused about Allah. Therefore we should learn about these, and to learn the names of Allah is very beneficial and rewardable.
Allah permits people to live and die, moreover, He answers prayers.
We see that Allah is Merciful, Al Rahman, Al Raheem, two qualities of mercy, which are His and no one else is equally capable of; He is merciful to creatures in this life, and also, to the believers especially, on the Day of Judgment. 99 per cent of His mercy is for the believers on the Day of Judgment.
The smallest and greatest things are under His control; His is the only (real or undeniable) authority. He is All Powerful.
Keeping this in mind, how can we judge Allah, knowing that He knows everything; He is the knower of the “unseen”, the future, for example, as well as every hidden thing, no matter how small.
A story (a man called Al Khudr, who teaches Moses what Allah has revealed to him of wisdom, and the unseen) demonstrates that because of this All Knowing nature specific to the Lord of the Universe, He is the only one capable of judging mankind. He is the only one aware of all, no matter how miniscule or imperceptible, our sins, the great and small ones, our dreams and aspirations or our wishes, whether good or evil, our inclinations, our thoughts, and our hearts. Therefore, who is better to judge us than Allah?
Also, Allah tells us, “I am nearer to my slave than his jugular vein”.
********
- God has special knowledge we don’t. He doesn’t have to be present with us, to know our sins, but angels are appointed for us. Why??
- Intimate knowledge is a wrong expression; yes or no? God doesn’t see or watch us committing evil such as fornication, or when we go to the bathroom, but everything which will occur is written, as Allah ordered the “pen” to “write”. When he said to Jesus, “be”, Jesus came into existence, the angel blew into the sleeve of the honorable and chaste slave girl of Allah, Maryam, A.S., and she conceived Jesus, A.S. Allah decrees, and the angels do as they are told.
God is Merciful – But:
God is merciful to His creatures, but on Day of Judgment He rewards the Muslims/believers for their good deeds and/or forgives the sins they accumulated. This is the meaning of Al Rahman (and) Al Raheem.
Non-believers or weak faithful wonder why Allah permits suffering, or inflicts natural disasters on sinful people, while innocent children or other people suffer due to their relationship to such people, or because they live in communities where natural disasters often occur, such as earthquakes in China, or Tsunamis in Philippines or Bangladesh. Why do the beloved also suffer as much as the ones God doesn’t love, such as the sinful or heedless of God?
We can understand this better if we look at this question from the perspective of God, of a Creator who is Just and who knows everything.
“Allah knows when a leaf falls”. Allah has perfect knowledge; therefore, His Knowing prevents Him from injustice to his creatures. Also, His mercy prevents his injustice to His creatures.
“They earned what their hands have wrought”
Muslims also commit sins, and yet they are sometimes forgiven, and sometimes they must receive a punishment, and then they will enter Paradise. Some people are punished in this life only, others receive a punishment in the grave, and others go to Hellfire for a time, while the non-believers will remain in Hell for eternity.
“Allah’s command is just”.
Muslims also may wish to be forgiven, but if they rely on Allah’s mercy without repenting or changing their ways, then they cannot depend on His forgiveness as a foregone conclusion, but just the opposite is likely to occur, and they may end up in Hell.
********
Allah does not break His promise, therefore all Muslims/believers will enter Paradise, because they have said (and believed) La ilaha il Allah “There is no god (worthy of worship) but Allah” and if they have heard the message of the final Messenger, say, “(and) Muhammadur rasool allah” (Muhammad is the Messenger of allah).
That Allah doesn’t go back on His promise is also a mercy and just. It would be injustice if He didn’t, but Allah is above such a thing.
But Allah told Adam and Eve that when they go down to the earth, they would be enemies with the devil (Iblees) “get ye down altogether…”
He forewarned them that they should be wary of the devil, and to follow the guidance which He promised to send. Therefore, throughout the ages, prophets and Messengers have been sent to the people, so that they would have guidance. If they reject this guidance, Allah tells them they will be punished, “A just reward”.
From the believers’ point of view, this makes sense. Good is rewarded, and evil is punished; God has not left us without guidance, therefore when we follow His guidance we are right and when we don’t follow His guidance we are wrong. It is very few people who can innately do good and avoid evil, without having guidance. Inevitably people without guidance make mistakes or commit sins.
If Allah didn’t punish the guilty while he rewarded the good (only), then that would not be just either. If Allah didn’t forewarn His slaves (people or jinns) then, they would have reason to complain, or say that He didn’t give them the guidance with which to oppose evil, for example. If he didn’t send a book or a prophet to a nation, they would have a right to complain that they were not sent any guidance with which to learn the difference between good and evil, which isn’t something easily discerned in many cases.
We see how interest is destructive to the economy, yet non-believers continue to deal in usury. They are blind to the fact that it is an evil and is destructive. They insist on economies and financial systems built on interest, despite the fact their economies suffer for it. They seem to be blind to the evils of dealing in interest altogether, which is why they rarely are able to see the benefits of Islamic finance, or they refuse to leave it, even though they might also see the benefits of Islamic finance. In the same way, people are often misled by the devil or prefer evil deeds to good deeds. Many people prefer dating, to early marriage, or a life in the priesthood or as a nun, to marriage and children. They perceive that these things are what they want and must be good, because they like and see nothing wrong with them, but really these are practices which are deviations from the true nature of human beings. Inevitably we see problems in societies which permit a great deal of mixing between the sexes, or certain practices which insist on total abstinence and/or isolation from society, whether the majority of the members of those societies believe these are good or not.
How many problems do societies live with just because they have not followed the previous guidance, or they forgot their duty to Allah? We see that the more Muslims forget their religion and stumble through life, the more they suffer just as the non-believers, and in the same ways. The Quran tells, “You (Muslims) will follow the path of those who went before you”. Allah doesn’t say that all the Muslims will follow the ways of non-Muslims, but that groups or some generations of Muslims in some places will follow the ways of the non-believers.
Because Belief IS Logical:
Muslims believe that belief in God is logical, so to argue that it isn’t is not something they are open to. They believe that atheists’ arguments against God and in favor of evolution and other unproven “theories” are illogical. These two groups rarely can agree on anything, I think.
Even among non-believers, there are varying opinions about what is just or what is right. Their disputes with each other about right and wrong are also hotly debated everywhere (but less so than creationism or evolution) among non-believers about what is “moral” or what is “just”. They can only debate these questions of morality, but cannot impose their own opinions on other non-believers, no more than they can impose their objection to the existence of a Creator on Muslims. Some non-Muslims are adamant that homosexuality is a sin, but it is difficult to convince an atheist who has no fear of god, that such a lifestyle is “immoral”. They believe in the individual’s right to do as they wish, as long as they do not hurt others. This is why premarital sex is also not anything wrong in their view. If their views are not the majority view, they will naturally become very antagonistic; we can see evidence on Islamic sites or posts on the internet of this, and trolling, etc.
But Belief is Logical; many people insist that we don’t have to see God to believe in God, nor do we have to understand God. Most believers follow the teachings of their spiritual leaders, or an institution, such as the Orthodox Church, or the Orthodox traditions in their own country, or which they follow. Still, other believers follow their conscience as much as they follow any of the scriptures which they claim to believe. They are not as fundamentalist as others of their fellow believers or many who are fervent believers in a specific church, or a certain sect, for example.
To many a believer, it is often more important that they are sincere to their beliefs and values, than to any notion that all people must follow the right guidance, or a specific path to salvation.
Many claim to follow the right guidance, but all of them cannot possibly be doing that; there is only one religion acceptable to Allah/God, isn’t there?
Anyone who believes that there is only one God worthy of worship and is a true monotheist, should also realize that God sent the world a message - He sent a final Messenger with this guidance to teach the people, that is Muhammad ibn Abdullah, the seal of all the Prophets. His specific message and life has reached to all the corners of the world today.
Part Three:
Do we have the right to claims superior knowledge or wisdom to a God who has sent us Messengers throughout the ages and revealed Himself to us in His books? What is the proof that this God doesn’t exist?
It is a well-known thing that the atheists say that just because in every previous generation and throughout history people have believed in a Supreme Being or a Creator that doesn’t prove that God really exists; the genetic fallacy, e.g. people all over the world believe in god, therefore, that means they have all heard the same stories about a “God” who created the Universe and everything in it, therefore this belief is a well spread “myth”.
But philosophers can argue that just because something exists all over doesn’t mean it isn’t true. Where is the proof that belief (in god or a creator) is based on falsehood? That’s the meaning of a “genetic fallacy”.
Almost similar to this is the atheistic belief that since God should be merciful (or people believe He is, if He is a true God) then He would not punish us for our sins; but the fact is God does punish sins, and sometimes we don’t like this. That doesn’t mean we can argue with God - we cannot, and we are just His ‘slaves’. Being slaves, we have no say in what is just or unjust, and we can’t even know many times, what is just or what is unjust. This is already explained in the previous post.
Then, it isn’t logical to say that because God is just he isn’t merciful or because He is merciful He isn’t just. God is both. If he didn’t punish evil, or allow the destruction of sinful people, even though among them are some good people, then the world would become more and more corrupt; people and nations don’t seem altogether capable of justice or goodness do they? Therefore, they must be checked, and one way of checking them is through trials or disasters. Even the “rotten apples” will make the bunch rotten, or isn’t that the case?
The fact that innocent people live among evil people, doesn’t mean that God is not merciful for also taking their lives, or that He is the cause of their suffering. If they lived among good people, maybe they would not suffer so much. In any case, God is not unjust.
Allah says to the believers, “the earth is spacious”, and so we are encouraged to migrate to places where we are free to practice our religion. It is highly desirable to live among other believers and those of similar faith or sect. Most people of all faiths are naturally attracted to those people they share a common belief with.
********
To say that God is unjust or unmerciful, while we see how merciful and just He is in reality, means we are deliberately denying God’s many blessings and closing our eyes to the truth in front of us. The atheists will no doubt think this is a useless argument, but to others who are confused about this question (why God permits suffering), this might help them understand.
People complain against “a god” who is “invisible”, “not here” who would punish “innocent” people and allow suffering to occur, yet demand us to worship Him, and who is described by the believers as “a merciful god”. They are really complaining against God, but they think they are complaining against a fictional being, idea or a “myth”. The fact that there are disbelievers doesn’t prove the non-existence of God however.
Nor does the dislike of pain prove the non-existence of god, nor does the abundance of blessings support the non-existence of god, nor does the spread of wealth or the rise in crime prove the non-existence of God. God exists; therefore nothing disproves the existence of God.
If suffering proves anything it is that this life is not a dream, that we do exist and are not just people in someone else’s dream. What is more logical? Yet, non-believers in the past used to even discuss the possibility, or philosophize about whether “the creation” actually exists at all in reality (in time and space as we know it to be today through advances in scientific discover).
Because there are algorithms which can prove that gravity is real, or is not just a theory (therefore it must be true) and truth equals reality, therefore, it is even more important to discover and state once and for all whether biological algorithms prove Darwin’s theory of “natural selection”. If they don’t, then people should stop claiming that natural selection is a proven theory, it isn’t; in fact, it is more than likely not ever going to be proven, no matter what other advances we see in science, or the existence of more advanced computers and computer programs. The same can be said for “evolution” then.
I suffer therefore I am:
Suffering is part of life; who is in a position to say, really, that fear and pain are not (equally legitimate) a part of life as much as happiness? Just because we don’t like something doesn’t mean it isn’t good for us. Also, just because we like something doesn’t mean it is good for us. “God knows and you do not know”.
Even it must be a genetic fallacy to assume that because people claim things about God or many believers say things about God that that proves the “angry” nature of god, “jealousy” of god, or any other similar accusations against god we hear. Just because people cannot explain God, or are not able to explain in words what “faith” is or even the correct teachings of their own religion, doesn’t prove that God doesn’t exist. Some of this proves that people often don’t know their own religion’s teachings, or want to deny them, but it doesn’t prove that there is no God.
Pending:
Names and Attributes of Allah, by Sheikh Ibn Al-Qayyim, “Madarij al Saalikeen”.
Conclusion:
A good number of non-Muslims, and atheists, etc., all say wrong or disparaging things about Islam, its prophet, and God. But they are not fair in doing so; in fact they are quite unjust and wrong in their assumptions and beliefs about Islam. They are uneducated about Islam yet speak freely about their misconceptions, and spread lies, furthermore.
No comments:
Post a Comment