2.2.1 The Existence Of God

In all religious books the existence of God is taken almost as an axiomatic truth. The Holy Qur’an, however, advances numerous arguments to prove the existence of a Supreme Being Who is the Creator and Controller of this universe. These are, broadly speaking, of three kinds. Firstly, there are the arguments drawn from the creation, which relate to the lower or material experience of humanity; secondly, the evidence of human nature, which concerns the inner experience of humanity; and thirdly, there are arguments based on Divine revelation to man, which may be called the higher or spiritual experience of humanity. It will be seen, from what is said further on, that, as the scope of experience is narrowed down, so the arguments gain in effectiveness. The argument from creation simply shows that there must be a Creator of this universe, Who is also its Controller, but it does not go so far as to show that there is a God. The testimony of human nature proceeds a step further, since there is in it a consciousness of Divine existence, though that consciousness may differ in different natures according as the inner light is bright or dim. It is only revelation that discloses God in the full splendour of His light, and shows the sublime attributes which man must emulate if he is to attain perfection, together with the means whereby he can hold communion with the Divine Being.

The first argument, drawn from the creation, centres round the word Rabb. In the very first revelation that came to the Holy Prophet, he was told to “Read in the name of thy Rabb Who creates” (96:1). The word Rabb, which is generally translated as ‘Lord’, carries really quite a different significance. According to the best authorities on Arabic lexicology, it combines two senses, that of fostering, bringing up or nourishing, and that of regulating, completing and accomplishing (LL., TA.). Thus its underlying idea is that of fostering things from the crudest state to that of highest perfection, in other words, the idea of evolution. Raghib is even more explicit on this point. According to him, Rabb signifies the fostering of a thing in such a manner as to make it attain one condition after another until it reaches its goal of perfection. There is thus, in the use of the word Rabb, an indication that everything created by God bears the impress of Divine creation, in the characteristic of moving on from lower to higher stages until it reaches perfection. This argument is expanded and made clearer in another very early revelation which runs thus: “Glorify the name of thy Rabb, the Most High! Who creates, then makes complete, and Who measures, then guides” (87:1-3). The full meaning of Rabb is explained here: He creates things and brings them to perfection; He makes things according to a measure and shows them the ways whereby they may attain to perfection. The idea of evolution is fully developed in the first two actions, the creation and the completion, so that everything created by God must attain to its destined completion. The last two actions show how the completion or evolution is brought about. Everything is made according to a measure, that is to say, certain laws of development are inherent in it; and it is also shown a way, that is to say, it knows the line along which it must proceed, so that it may reach its goal of completion. It thus appears that the creative force is not a blind force but one possessing wisdom and acting with a purpose. Even to the ordinary eye, wisdom and purpose are observable in the whole of the Divine creation, from the tiniest particle of dust or blade of grass to the mighty spheres moving in the universe on their appointed courses, because every one of them is travelling along a certain line to its appointed goal of completion.

In this connection attention may be drawn to another characteristic of God’s creation. Everything, we are told, is created in pairs: “And the heaven, We raised it high with power, and We are Makers of the vast extent. And the earth, We have spread it out; how well have We prepared it! And of everything We have created pairs that you may be mindful” (51:47-49), “Glory be to Him Who created pairs of all things, of what the earth grows and of their kind and of what they know not!” (36:36). “And Who created pairs of all things” (43:12). This shows that there are pairs not only in the animal creation but also in “what the earth grows,” that is, in the vegetable kingdom, and further in “what they know not”. In fact, the idea of pairing is carried to its furthest extent, so that even the heavens and the earth are described as if they were a pair, because of the quality of activity in the one and of passivity in the other. This deep interrelationship of things is also an evidence of Divine purpose in the whole of creation.

A further point upon which the Holy Qur’an lays especial stress is the fact that, notwithstanding its immensity and variety, there is but one law for the whole universe: “Who created the seven heavens alike; thou seest no incongruity in the creation of the Beneficent God. Then look again: can thou see any disorder? Then turn the eye again and again — thy look shall come back to thee confused, while it is fatigued” (67:3, 4). Here we are told that there is in creation neither incongruity, whereby things belonging to the same class are subject to different laws, nor disorder, whereby the law cannot work uniformly; so that the miraculous regularity and uniformity of law in the midst of the unimaginable variety of conflicting conditions existing in the universe is also evidence of a Divine purpose and wisdom in the creation of things. From the smallest particle to the largest heavenly body, everything is held under control and is subject to a law; no one thing interferes with the course of another or hampers it; while, on the other hand, all things are helping each other on to attain perfection. The Holy Qur’an stresses this fact frequently: “The sun and the moon follow a reckoning, And the herbs and the trees adore (Him)” (55:5, 6). “And the sun moves on to its destination. That is the ordinance of the Mighty, the Knower. And for the moon, We have ordained for it stages till it becomes again as an old dry palm branch. Neither is it for the sun to overtake the moon, nor can the night outstrip the day. And all float on in an orbit” (36:38-40). “Then He directed Himself to the heaven and it was a vapour, so He said to it and to the earth: Come both, willingly or unwillingly. They both said: We come willingly” (41:11). “Allah is He Who made subservient to you the sea that the ships may glide therein by His command, and that you may seek of His grace, and that you may give thanks. And He has made subservient to you whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is in the earth, all from Himself. Surely there are signs in this for a people who reflect” (45:12, 13). “And (He created) the sun and the moon and the stars, made subservient by His command; surely His is the creation and the command” (7:54). All these verses show that, inasmuch as everything is subject to command and control for the fulfilment of a certain purpose, there must be an All-Wise Controller of the whole.

The second kind of argument for the existence of God relates to the human soul. In the first place, there is the consciousness of the existence of God. There is an inner light within each man telling him that there is a Higher Being, a God, a Creator. This inner evidence is often brought out in the form of a question. It is like an appeal to man’s inner self. The question is sometimes left unanswered, as if man were called upon to give it a deeper thought: “Or were they created without a (creative) agency? Or are they the creators (of their own souls)? Or did they create the heavens and the earth?” (52:35, 36). Sometimes the answer is given: “And if thou ask them, Who created the heavens and the earth? They would say: The Mighty, the Knowing One has created them” (43:9). On one occasion, the question is put direct to the human soul by God Himself: “And when thy Lord brought forth from the children of Adam, from their loins, their descendants and made them bear witness about themselves: Am I not your Lord (Rabb)? They said: Yes, we bear witness” (7:172). This is clearly the evidence of human nature which is elsewhere spoken of as being “the nature made by Allah in which He has created all men” (30:30). Sometimes this consciousness on the part of the human soul is mentioned in terms of its unimaginable nearness to the Divine Spirit: “We are nearer to him than his life-vein” (50:16). And again, “We are nearer to it (the soul) than you” (56:85). The idea that God is nearer to man than his own self only shows that the consciousness of the existence of God in the human soul is even clearer than the consciousness of its own existence.

If then, the human soul has such a clear consciousness of the existence of God, how is it, the question may be asked, that there are men who deny the existence of God? Here, two things must be borne in mind. In the first place the inner light within each man, which makes him conscious of the existence of God, is not equally clear in all cases. With some, as with the great divines of every age and country, that light shines forth in its full glory, and their consciousness of the Divine presence is very strong. In the case of ordinary men, consciousness is generally weaker and the inner light more dim; there may even be cases in which that consciousness is only in a state of inertia, and the inner light has almost gone out. Secondly, even the atheist or the agnostic recognizes a First Cause, or a Higher Power, though he may deny the existence of a God with particular attributes; and occasionally that consciousness is awakened in him, and the inner light asserts itself, especially in times of distress or affliction. It looks very much as though ease and comfort, like evil, cast a veil over the inner light of man, and the veil is removed by distress — a fact to which the Holy Qur’an has repeatedly called attention: “And when We show favour to man, he turns away and withdraws himself; but when evil touches him, he is full of lengthy supplications” (41:51). “And when harm afflicts men, they call upon their Lord turning to Him” (30:33). “And when a wave like awnings covers them they call upon Allah, being sincere to Him in obedience. But when He brings them safe to land, some of them follow the middle course” (31:32). “And whatever good you have, it is from Allah; then when evil afflicts you, to Him do you cry for aid” (16:53).

There is in man’s soul something more than mere consciousness of the existence of God; there is in it a yearning after its Maker — the instinct to turn to God for help; there is implanted in it the love of God for Whose sake it is ready to make every sacrifice. Finally, it cannot find complete contentment without God.

The third group of arguments found in the Holy Qur’an, to prove the existence of God, relates to Divine revelation — the clearest and surest evidence — which not only establishes the truth of the existence of God but also casts a flood of light on the Divine attributes without which the existence of the Divine Being would remain mere dogma. It is through this disclosure of the Divine Attributes that belief in God becomes the most important factor in the evolution of man, since a knowledge of those attributes enables him to set before himself the high ideal of imitating Divine morals; and it is only thus that man can rise to the highest moral eminence. God is the Nourisher of everything in the creation, so His worshipper will do his utmost to serve the cause not only of humanity but also of all creatures. God is Loving and Affectionate to His creatures, so one who believes in Him will be moved by the impulse of love and affection towards His creation. God is Merciful and Forgiving, so His servant must be merciful and forgiving to the fellow-beings. A belief in a God possessing the perfect attributes made known by Divine revelation is the highest ideal which a man can place before himself; and without this ideal there is a void in man’s life, a lack of all earnestness and every noble aspiration.

In another way, Divine revelation brings man closer to God and makes His existence felt as a reality in his life, and that is through the example of the perfect man who holds communion with the Divine Being. That God is a Reality, a Truth — in fact, the greatest reality in this world — that man can feel His presence and realize Him in each hour of his every-day life, and have the closest relation with Him; that such a realization of the Divine Being works a change in the life of man, making him an irresistible spiritual force in the world, is not the solitary experience of one individual or of one nation, but the universal experience of all men in all nations, all countries and all ages. Abraham, Moses, Christ, Confucius, Zoroaster, Rama, Krishna, Buddha and Muhammad, each and every one of these luminaries brought about a moral, and in some cases also a material, revolution in the world, which the combined resources of whole nations were powerless to resist, and lifted up humanity from the depths of degradation to the greatest heights of moral, and even material, prosperity; which only shows what heights man’s soul may rise if only it works in true relationship with the Divine Being.

One example may be considered in greater detail — that of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. A solitary man arose in the midst of a whole nation which was sunk deep in all kinds of vice and degradation. He had no power at his back, not even a man to second him, and without any preliminaries at all, he set his hand to the unimaginable and apparently impossible task of the reformation, not merely of that one nation but, through it, of the whole of humanity. He started with that one Force, the Force Divine, which makes possible the impossible — “Read in the name of thy Lord!” “Arise and warn and thy Lord do magnify.” The cause was Divine, and it was on Divine help that its success depended. With every new dawn the task grew harder, and the opposition waxed stronger, until, to an on-looker, there was nothing but disappointment everywhere. Nonetheless, his determination grew stronger with the strength of the opposition and, while in the earlier revelation there were only general statements of the triumph of his cause and the failure of the enemy, those statements became clearer and more definite as the prospects, to all outward appearances, grew more hopeless. Some of these verses in the order of their revelation are: “By the grace of thy Lord thou art not mad. And thine is surely a reward never to be cut off ” (68:2, 3). “Surely We have given thee Abundance of good” (108:1). “Surely with difficulty is ease” (94:5). “And surely the latter state is better for thee than the former. And soon will thy Lord give thee so that thou wilt be well pleased” (93:4, 5). “Surely it is the word of an honoured Messenger, the possessor of strength, having an honourable place with the Lord of the Throne” (81:19, 20). “And during a part of the night, keep awake by it (i.e., the Holy Qur’an) … maybe, thy Lord will raise thee to a position of great glory” (17:79). “O man! We have not revealed the Qur’an to thee that thou mayest be unsuccessful” (20:1, 2). “And on that day the believers will rejoice in Allah’s help” (30:4, 5). “We certainly help Our Messenger, and those who believe, in this world’s life and on the day when the witnesses arise” (40:51). “Blessed is He Who, if He please, will give thee what is better than this: Gardens in which flow rivers. And He will give thee palaces” (25:10). “Allah has promised those of you who believe and do good that He will surely make them rulers in the earth as He made those before them rulers, and that He will surely establish for them their religion, which He has chosen for them, and that He will surely give them security in exchange after their fear” (24:55). “He it is Who sent His Messenger with the guidance and the religion of Truth, that He may make it prevail over all religions” (48:28).

In like manner, the end of opposition is described more clearly in the later revelations than in the earlier, although that opposition grew more and more powerful as days went on. The following three verses belong to three different periods: “Till when they see that which they are promised, they will know who is weaker in helpers and less in number” (72:24). “Or say they, We are a host allied together to help each other? Soon shall the hosts be routed and they will show (their) backs” (54:44, 45). “Say to those who disbelieve: You shall soon be vanquished” (3:12). And all this did happen a few years after these things had been foretold, though at that time there was nothing to justify such prophecies and all the circumstances were against them. No man could possibly have foreseen what was so clearly stated as certain to come about, and no human power could have brought to utter failure the whole nation with all its resources ranged against a solitary man and determined to destroy him. Divine revelation thus affords the clearest and surest testimony of the existence of God, in Whose knowledge, past, present and future are alike and Who controls both the forces of nature and the destiny of man.