A mathematical proof that Allah exists
One logical proof of Allah’s existence is:
Premise B: Before we
existed there were a series of events, one after another leading up to
our existence today. (The passing of such a series of events is what we
call time, and measure in minutes, days, weeks and years.)
If one accepts Premise A, then one must also accept that the series
of events in premise B must have a beginning. This must be, because if
someone claims that an eternal amount of events had to be concluded
before his existence, then he is saying that eternity came to an end,
which is a contradiction in terms. It is like if someone said “this car
will only get to its destination after its wheels have spun infinitely
many times,” and then claimed that the car arrived at its destination.
It is clear, however, that the car could never have gotten to its
destination if an infinite number of spins was the condition for its
arrival.Those who claim that the world has no beginning are in fact saying that it is a prerequisite for tomorrow to arrive that an infinite number of events first take place. This is impossible, because infinity cannot end. Clearly then, the number of events that precedes our existence must have a limit.
In addition, since it is necessarily true that this series of events has a beginning, then it must also be that before this beginning there were no series of events (defined as anything with a beginning). If someone claimed otherwise, then they would end up with the same contradiction (saying that infinity came to an end). Accordingly, the claim that the world was created by random events is irrational.
Rather, there must be a Creator that gave the series of events existence, since it was nonexistent before it began. Moreover, since it is impossible for there to be any events before the existence of this series, then it must also be that the Creator is not attributed with events, i.e. with any attribute or action that has a beginning. This again means that the Creator does not resemble His creation, since all created attributes must have a beginning. Actually, having a beginning and being a creation is the same thing. This is because to create is to bring into existence, and everything with a beginning must have been brought into existence.
We know from the above, by mathematical precision and logical necessity, that the Creator exists and does not resemble His creation. From the fact that the world has a beginning, we have proven that it must have a creator. The name of this creator is Allah in Arabic. If someone asks, “Who created Allah?” we say Allah does not have a creator, and does not need one as He has no beginning. If someone then asks, “how can you accept that Allah has no beginning, while you do not accept that the world has no beginning?” The answer is that we have shown that the world has a beginning based on the fact that it changes (changes are events). We do not believe, however, that Allah changes. Rather, we believe He is One, and doesn’t change and has no beginning.
The fact that Allah does not resemble His creation can also be known by saying that since God’s existence must be (as shown above), then it cannot also be merely possible (since “must be” and “possible” are incompatible meanings – something cannot be both a must and a possibility at the same time). Therefore, He must be clear of any attribute that belongs to the possible category of things. For example, weakness, limits, boundaries and needs are attributes that may or may not have existence; their existence depends on them being created; their existence is a possibility, not a must. They need a Creator to specify their limits. We know that we need a Creator, because we know that our own attributes need specification. We know they need specification because they have limits, and limits must be specified. For example, if you pointed at a table in a room and said, “Who made it in that shape?” and someone answered, “No one, it is just there like that eternally!” Would you accept this? Of course not, because we know anything limited needs someone to specify it.
This is what Ibrahim (peace be upon him) meant when he said about the star in the sky “I don’t like those who go away.”(Surah 6, 76-78 ) Going away is an event and an obvious sign that the star is a creation; it needs someone to specify its time, and it makes blatantly obvious its possibility of non-existence. He also said about the sun, “This is bigger!” He was pointing out to his people that what is attributed with a limit (size needs a limit) is an event (something that has a beginning), because it needs someone to specify its size, like anything else with a size.
According to the proofs above, Allah is not attributed with limits, since He is not created. We can also safely conclude that Allah has a Will to specify events, and unlimited Power to create them. We can also conclude that He must have knowledge, because specification without knowledge is impossible. It is now easy to see also, that no event can take place without Him willing it. All of this is according to the teachings of Islam, and what all prophets taught, as is shown by the following statements in the Quran:
“هُوَ الأَوَّلُ”,
“He is Al-Awwal.” (Al-Hadid, 03).”
If translated literally, it would be “He is the First” i.e. He
existed before everything else, and He was not preceded by non-existence
or the existence of something else. It is a beginningless and necessary
existence, and is not affected by anything, since it is not preceded by
anything.
“وَخَلَقَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ فَقَدَّرَهُ تَقْدِيرًا”
“And He created everything and predestined it.” (Al-Furqaan, 2)
If someone asked: If an event can be defined as an action that has a
beginning and giving a series of events existence is an action with a
beginning (and if it’s not, then what is it?), then how can one
rationally conclude, based on the logic presented above, that the
Creator is not attributed with events?The answer to this is that we did not define events as actions having a beginning, but as “anything that has a beginning.” Actions may have a beginning, namely the actions of creation – as they all share this resemblance, or they may not, namely the actions of Allah.
Allah does not resemble His creation, so He is not an event or attributed with events. This is because to “create” is to “bring into existence,” and all events are therefore by definition created. As Allah’s attributes are not creations, they are not events. As Aţ-Tahaawi, an authority on the Islamic belief said:
“He is now as He always was, eternally with His attributes, before His creation came into being.”
Note that the actions of Allah Himself are not describable, as they are actions not bounded by time.They
are actions without a how (bilaa kayf). Our lack of understanding is
not a problem for the argument presented, because we have already shown,
and we can definitively understand, that no action of Allah has a
beginning. Then we stop there, and do not delve on it, or say “how?”
There are things in creation that are beyond our grasp, such as the
pattern of quarks, so what about the Creator, who does not resemble
anything?An example of something beyond our grasp, is what the following
aayah tells us:
“وَجَعَلَ الظُّلُمَاتِ وَالنُّورَ”
Yet the scholars mention other things as the first creation of Allah,
such as water. Definitely water, or any other physical thing, without
darkness or light is beyond our understanding, even beyond our
imagination. That does not make it untrue, however, as verified in this
aayah and the fact that they are events that thus need a Creator, as was
established earlier.Last but not least, in attempt to confuse, or out of confusion some may ask: “What if the world’s existence is cyclical?” Our answer to this is that cycles are still one cycle one after another, so they are events. Some may also ask, in an attempt to confuse: “Before Allah created this series of events, was He able to create another series or not?” Our answer to this is that this is a nonsensical question, because what we established was that there must be an event that is first, regardless of the number of series, or the number of worlds preceding the current one. We also established that Allah’s actions are not events, so they are not described with a “before.” The Prophet said:
“O
Allah, You are the First, so there is nothing before you, and you are
the Last so there is nothing after you. (Muslim, No. 2713)”
Now that we have shown with certainty that the Creator exists, is one
without a partner, and that He is clear of created attributes, we will
move on to the next fundamental part of the creed. Namely that Muhammad
is God’s Prophet and Messenger.Proving with certainty that Muhammad is God’s Prophet and Messenger
First, when we say that Muhammad is God’s Prophet and Messenger, we mean that he received a revelation from God ordering him to teach the true belief (Islam), and to bring changes in the rules and laws of previous messengers. Muslims believe that Jesus, Moses, John, Abraham and the other prophets were prophets of Islam. Their belief was the same, but the laws and rules they brought were sometimes different. This is because the needs of human kind have differed through the ages.Second, nobody denies the historical existence of Prophet Muhammad, so there is no need to discuss this.
Third, as for the proof of his prophethood, this is done, like with all other prophets, by claiming prophethood while showing a miracle. By “miracle” Muslims mean an extraordinary event that nobody opposing the claim can imitate. If a person shows a clear miracle while claiming prophethood, and at the same time this person is known to never lie and to be of exceptional moral character and beauty, then the sound minded conclude that this person has God’s support in his claim. In other words, he must be a prophet.
Before becoming a Prophet, the Prophet Muhammad was known among his people as being sincere and trustworthy from the day he was born, as was admitted even by his adversaries. He was greatly loved for this. Never telling a lie is an essential characteristic of any prophet, before and after prophethood. That is why the king of Ethiopia at the time believed Prophet Muhammad. He heard from the Arabs that he was known never to have lied, and this king knew that if such a man claimed prophethood, then he could only be a prophet.
As for his miracles, they are many, but the most obvious is the Quran itself. The Quran has been preserved to the last letter, without any perversions or alterations for some 1400 years. This in itself is an extraordinary event, because no other book has been preserved in this way in human history. It is a miracle also, because the Prophet Muhammad affirmed by what was revealed to him that it would be preserved. Allah said in the Quran (Al-Hijr, 9)
“إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ“
“Allah has revealed this remembrance that is the Quran, and He protects it.”
This is a miracle then, because this claim of future preservation
associated with the Prophet, stated in the Quran, matches this already
extraordinary preservation of 1400 years.Added to this preservation is the fact that the Quran challenges anybody who opposes Prophet Muhammad’s claim to prophethood, to compose a Surah like any of its 114 Surahs. Allah said (Al-Baqarah, 23):
“وَإِنْ كُنْتُمْ فِي رَيْبٍ مِمَّا نَزَّلْنَا عَلَى عَبْدِنَا فَأْتُوا بِسُورَةٍ مِنْ مِثْلِهِ“
“If you are in doubt about what Allah has
revealed to the Prophet, then bring a Surah like any of its Surahs in
eloquence, if you can, but you will not be able.”
This challenge came despite the fact that the shortest Surah in the
Qur’aan can be written on a single line on a piece of paper (Al-Kawtħar,
1-3):
“إِنَّا أَعْطَيْنَاكَ الْكَوْثَرَ ^ فَصَلِّ لِرَبِّكَ وَانْحَرْ ^ إِنَّ شَانِئَكَ هُوَ الْأَبْتَرُ “
Yet, nobody succeeded in meeting this challenge among the Arabs,
despite the Arabs pride in eloquence at the time, and the widespread
occurrence of poetry competitions between tribes and individuals. In
fact, nobody during these 1400 years has met this challenge. Moreover,
if the challenge had been met during his time, then Prophet Muhammad
would have lost his support. Add to that the fact that Prophet Muhammad
was unlettered and never took part in composing any poetry. If you
think about it, this miracle also proves that nothing happens except by
Allah’s Will.In addition, the Quran contains many statements about things the Prophet could not have known through ordinary means, such as the description of what would happen to the breathing of a person if lifted up into the atmosphere (Al-An`aam, 125):
“فَمَنْ يُرِدِ اللَّهُ أَنْ
يَهدِيَهُ يَشْرَحْ صَدْرَهُ لِلإِسْلامِ وَمَنْ يُرِدْ أَنْ يُضِلَّهُ
يَجْعَلْ صَدْرَهُ ضَيِّقًا حَرَجًا كَأَنَّمَا يَصَّعَّدُ فِي السَّمَاءِ“
“Whoever Allah has willed to guide, He
will open his heart to accept Islam, and whoever He has willed
misguidance for, He will make his chest tight and narrow, as if he is
ascending up in the sky.”
Another example was that once when the Prophet and his army were
stuck in the desert without water, he filled empty jars with water by
putting his hands in them. The water was eventually enough for an army
of 1500 people to drink and wash.Remember that these events happened in broad daylight in front of masses of people, and that these things were related to the next generation without interruption until this day. These are not stories found in books with unknown authors, or tales of single individuals in the darkness of history. Rather, when the Prophet performed his last pilgrimage he had more than 100,000 people with him and was the established ruler of the Arabian Peninsula. He was there when the Islamic civilization was founded and it has only grown since.
Now that we have established the creed of Islam as correct with certainty.
Courtesy: Shaykh Abu Adam
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