Praise be
to Allaah.
My dear Muslim brother, your efforts
to call people to Allaah and explain the reality of Allaah’s existence make us very happy. Finding out about Allaah is in tune with the sound fitrah
(natural inclinations of man) and with sound reasoning. How many there are who, once the truth becomes clear to them, they hasten
to submit to Allaah (enter Islam). If each one of us
was to do his duty towards his religion, a great deal of good would be
achieved. So we congratulate you, our brother, for undertaking the mission of
the Prophets and Messengers, and we give you the glad tidings of the great
reward which you are promised, as your Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If Allaah
were to guide one man at your hands, that would be better for you than red
camels.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari,
3/134; Muslim, 4/1872). “Red camels” are the best kind of camels.
Secondly:
With regard to proof of the
existence of Allaah, it is obvious to anyone who
ponders the matter, and there is no need for a lengthy discussion. When we
ponder the matter, we find that it is divided into three
categories: instinctive evidence, tangible evidence and shar’i
(revelatory)
evidence. We will explain that to
you further, in sha Allaah.
1 – Instinctive evidence:
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen
said:
The instinctive evidence that God
exists is the strongest of all evidence for those who are not led astray by the
devils. Hence Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
“So set you (O Muhammad) your face
towards the religion (of pure Islamic Monotheism) Haneef
(worship none but Allaah Alone). Allaah’s
Fitrah (i.e. Allaah’s
Islamic Monotheism) with which He has created mankind” [al-Room 30:30]
Man’s sound nature (fitrah) testifies to the
existence of God and man cannot turn away from that unless the devils mislead
him; whoever is misled by the
devils may not recognize this evidence.”
(From Sharh
al-Safaareeniyyah)
Every person feels inside himself
that he has a Lord and Creator, and he feels that he is in need of Him; if some
major calamity befalls him he turns his hands, eyes and heart towards the
heavens, seeking help from his Lord.
2 – Tangible evidence:
This refers to the things that exist
in this universe; we see around us things that exist, such as trees, rocks,
mankind, the earth, the heavens, seas, rivers…
If it is asked: these things are so
many – who created them and is taking care of them?
The answer is that if these things
came into being by accident, spontaneously and with no cause, then there is no
one who knows how they were created, and that is one possibility. But there is
another possibility, which is that these things created themselves and are
taking care of themselves. And there is a third possibility, which is that
there is Someone Who created them. When we look at
these three possibilities, we find that the first and the second are
impossible. If we reject the first and the second, then the third must be the
one which is correct, which is that these things have a Creator
Who
created them, and that Creator is Allaah. This is what is stated in the Qur’aan,
where Allaah says (what means):
“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-Toor
52:35]
Moreover, when were these mighty things created? For all these years, who is
it that has decreed that they should remain in this world and has granted them
the means of abiding?
The answer is,
it is Allaah who has given to each thing that which
is suited to it and will guarantee its survival. Do you not see the beautiful
green plants; when Allaah cuts off their water
supply, can they live? No, rather they become dry stalks. If you ponder all
things you will find that they are dependent upon Allaah.
Were it not for Allaah, nothing would remain.
And Allaah
has created everything to do that for which it is suited. So camels, for
example, are for riding. Allaah says (interpretation
of the meaning):
“Do they not see that We have created for them of what Our Hands have created, the
cattle, so that they are their owners.
And We have
subdued them unto them so that some of them they have for riding and some they
eat” [Yaa-Seen 36:71-72]
Look at the camel and how Allaah has created it strong, with a strong back, so that
it can be used for riding and it is able to endure harsh conditions which other
animals cannot bear.
If you look at other creatures
you will find that they are suited to the purposes for which they were created.
Glory be to Allaah.
Examples of tangible evidence
include the following:
When calamities befall people
this points to the existence of the Creator, for example, when they call upon Allaah and Allaah responds to
their prayer; this points to the existence of Allaah.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said:
“When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) prayed for rain, he said, ‘Allaahumma aghithnaa, Allaahumma aghithnaa (O Allaah, send us
rain, O Allaah, send us rain).’ Then a cloud came and
it started to rain before he had even come down from the
minbar (pulpit). This points to the existence of
the Creator.” (Sharh al-Safaareeniyyah).
3 – Shar’i
evidence:
All divinely-revealed laws
point to existence of Allaah. Shaykh
Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said:
“All the divinely-revealed
laws point to the existence of the Creator and to the perfect nature of His
knowledge, wisdom and mercy, because these laws must have been prescribed by
someone, and that Lawgiver is Allaah.” (From Sharh al-Safaareeniyyah).
With regard to your question:
why did Allaah create us?
The answer is: so that we
would worship Him, thank Him and remember Him, and do that which He has
commanded us. You know that among mankind there are
disbelievers
and there are Muslims. This is
because Allaah wants to test His slaves as to whether
they will worship Him or worship others. That is after Allaah
has showed the way to everyone. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
“Who has created death and
life that He may test you which of you is best in deed” [al-Mulk
67:2]
“And I (Allaah)
created not the jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me (Alone)” [al-Dhaariyaat 51:56]
We ask Allaah
to enable us and you to do that which He loves and is
pleased with, and to do more da’wah and work for the
sake of His religion.
May Allaah send blessings and
peace upon our Prophet Muhammad.