Belief in the Existence of Allah

Faith and Belief in Allah

Belief in the Existence of Allah

A Muslim must have an absolute belief in the existence of Allah  the Almighty. There are innumerable evidences proving the existence of Allah, for instance, the material nature, the human reason, the divine law [Shariah], the human sense, and the common observation, all testify to the existence of Allah  the Almighty.

The Testimony of Nature

Once a group of atheists, embarked a ship for a voyage. The sea was calm and quiet. In the beginning the wind was favourable and the ship was sailing speedily. The voyagers were moving towards their destination happily. Then, suddenly, the wind began blowing in the opposite direction. The ship was caught in a storm and was at the mercy of the rising waves. Seeing death in their face the passengers began crying and beseeching God to save them and deliver them from the quagmire. Thus Allah has proclaimed in the Quran:

هُوَ الَّذِي يُسَيِّرُكُمْ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ حَتَّى إِذَا كُنْتُمْ فِي الْفُلْكِ وَجَرَيْنَ بِهِمْ بِرِيحٍ طَيِّبَةٍ وَفَرِحُوا بِهَا جَاءَتْهَا رِيحٌ عَاصِفٌ وَجَاءَهُمْ الْمَوْجُ مِنْ كُلِّ مَكَانٍ وَظَنُّوا أَنَّهُمْ أُحِيطَ بِهِمْ دَعَوْا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ لَئِنْ أَنْجَيْتَنَا مِنْ هَذِهِ لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنْ الشَّاكِرِينَ (يونس:22)

(Translation of meaning) [“It is He who facilitates your movements through land and sea. So you ride ships which sail with you with a good wind in happiness and then blow a violent wind and waves enclose them from all sides and they think they are caught in the storm. Then they pray to Allah with all sincerity that if Thou deliver us from this we shall be grateful to Thee” (Yunus: 22)].

This is the testimony of nature. When a man is caught up in trouble, he remembers nothing but Allah and seeks succour from Him, though in the course of his worldly business, he becomes forgetful of Allah and the mirror of his nature becomes foggy. The truth is that Allah has created man with an inbuilt Islamic nature and has embedded the consciousness of His existence in this nature. The Quran lays down:

فَأَقِمْ وَجْهَكَ لِلدِّينِ حَنِيفاً فِطْرَةَ اللَّهِ الَّتِي فَطَرَ النَّاسَ عَلَيْهَا لا تَبْدِيلَ لِخَلْقِ اللَّهِ ذَلِكَ الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لا يَعْلَمُونَ (الروم:30)

(Translation of meaning) [So you (the Prophet and his followers) firmly adhere to deen [religion] which is the nature Allah has created people on. There can be no change in what has been created by Allah. That is the firm and straight path. But most of the people don’t know” (Al-Rum: 30)].

The Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said:

«مَا مِنْ مَوْلُودٍ إِلَّا يُولَدُ عَلَى الفِطْرَةِ، فَأَبَوَاهُ يُهَوِّدَانِهِ أَوْ يُنَصِّرَانِهِ، أَوْ يُمَجِّسَانِهِ» (البخاري).

“every new born is born on the law of nature but his parents make him Jew or Christian or fire-worshipper” (Bukhari). A Muslim believes in the existence of Allah, by the compulsion of his nature. Many people do not accept the oneness of Allah, nor believe in the Day of Judgment. They assume, that everything has come into being automatically, according to natural rules. Some persons, holding such a view approached Imam Shafe’i (Rahimahullah) and asked him what the proof of the existence of Allah was? Imam Shafe’i replied, that a mulberry leaf is one but when it consumed by the caterpillar it produces silk, when it is sucked by the honeybees the honey is produced, and when it is eaten by the animals they excrete the mull. Who produces so many different things by the consumption of the same substance? They were convinced by the reasoning of the Imam and all of them embraced the faith.

It is narrated, that some atheists came to Jafar Sadiq (Rahimahullah). He asked one of them: Have you ever made a sea journey? He replied in the affirmative. Jafar then asked: Tell me if you saw anything surprising during this journey. The person replied that one day such a violent wind blew, that there was a shipwreck and all sailors were drowned. I was then sailing through the waves, catching hold of a plank. Then suddenly the plank was let loose of me. Then I was thrown to the coast by myself. Then Jafar asked: You had trust that the ship, the sailors and the plank will save you. When they failed did you believe that you will die or did you have a hope that you will be saved. He said yes I had hope. Then he asked: Who did you hope from?  Nonplussed the man kept silent. Then he explained to him, that you had a hope from one, who has created you and He is the one, who, had saved you from drowning. On hearing this, he became convinced of the existence of Allah and embraced the faith at his hands.