Does God Exist? A Rational Examination of Knowledge, Proof, and Divine Hiddenness
Written by Rizwan Ibn Ali Abdullah
Author’s Note
This article is a comprehensive attempt to engage with eighty of the most serious questions and objections commonly raised by atheists, agnostics, and skeptics regarding the existence of God, faith, morality, suffering, revelation, and human purpose. I do not claim that every reader will agree with the conclusions presented here, nor do I assume that all questions about God can be exhausted in a single article. Rather, my aim is to address these questions honestly, systematically, and respectfully, using reason, philosophy, the Qur’an, and authentic Sunnah—without dismissing doubt or oversimplifying complex issues.
If you are an atheist, this article is not written to attack you, but to engage you. If you are a believer, it is written to strengthen understanding rather than demand blind acceptance. I ask the reader only for intellectual sincerity: to consider the arguments presented with the same seriousness with which the questions were asked.
🔹 I. Knowledge, Proof, and Divine Hiddenness
Before discussing scripture, morality, or religion, it is essential to clarify a more fundamental issue: what does it even mean to say that God exists? Many disagreements about God arise not from evidence itself, but from confusion about the kind of claim being made.
1. What does it mean to say that God exists—exist in what sense, and how is this different from other existence claims?
When we say a chair exists, we mean it exists physically, occupies space, and can be observed with the senses. But not everything that exists is physical. Numbers exist, laws of logic exist, moral truths exist—yet none of these can be touched or weighed.
Islam does not claim that God exists like an object in the universe. Rather, God is described as the necessary foundation of existence itself, not a part of creation.
The Qur’an states:
“Allah is the Creator of all things.” (Qur’an 39:62)
If God created space, time, matter, and energy, then logically He cannot be bound by them. Asking for God to exist like a physical object is like asking for the author of a book to exist inside the pages of the book as a character.
So the claim “God exists” is not a scientific claim like “water boils at 100°C,” but a metaphysical claim about why anything exists at all rather than nothing.
This distinction is crucial. Many atheistic objections fail because they treat God as if He were a hidden object in the universe, rather than the ground of the universe itself.
2. Where is the proof or evidence that God exists?
Proof depends on what kind of reality we are investigating. Science proves things through observation and experiment—but science itself rests on assumptions it cannot prove scientifically, such as:
The universe is rationally intelligible
Causes produce effects
Logic is reliable
God’s existence is not argued from microscopes or telescopes, but from reason, contingency, causation, order, and consciousness.
The Qur’an repeatedly appeals to rational reflection, not blind belief:
“Were they created by nothing, or were they themselves the creators?” (Qur’an 52:35)
This verse presents a logical trilemma:
Something came from nothing (irrational)
The universe created itself (impossible)
The universe has a necessary cause beyond itself
Islam argues for the third.
Evidence for God is therefore cumulative, not a single laboratory test:
The universe began to exist
Everything contingent requires an explanation
Consciousness and moral awareness
Rational order discoverable by the human mind
None of these alone “force” belief, but together they form a coherent explanatory framework.
3. What kind of evidence should reasonably be expected for a claim as extraordinary as God?
This question assumes that empirical evidence is the only valid form of evidence, which itself is a philosophical claim—not a scientific one.
We do not demand empirical proof for:
The existence of other minds
Mathematical truths
Moral obligations
Yet no rational person denies these realities.
If God is not a physical entity, then demanding physical evidence is a category error. It is like demanding a microscope image of justice or a telescope photo of logic.
The Qur’an addresses this misunderstanding directly:
“Sight cannot encompass Him, but He encompasses all sight.” (Qur’an 6:103)
Reasonable evidence for God would therefore be:
-
Rational (philosophical coherence)
-
Explanatory (explains existence better than alternatives)
-
Experiential (transformative awareness, not hallucination)
-
Consistent (not internally contradictory)
Islam does not ask people to believe without reason—it asks them to reflect deeply.
4. Why does God remain hidden instead of revealing Himself clearly to everyone?
This is known as the problem of divine hiddenness. The assumption here is that if God exists, He should appear publicly in an undeniable way.
But such appearance would eliminate moral freedom, not enhance it.
If God appeared constantly and undeniably—like gravity—belief would no longer be a meaningful choice. It would be coercion, not faith. Moral responsibility requires the possibility of rejection.
The Qur’an says:
“Had your Lord willed, all who are on earth would have believed together.” (Qur’an 10:99)
Hiddenness is not absence. It is measured disclosure—enough signs for the sincere seeker, but not so overwhelming that free will collapses.
God reveals Himself through:
Nature
Reason
Conscience
Revelation
Not through spectacle.
5. Why is belief in God dependent on faith rather than direct, undeniable evidence?
In Islam, faith (īmān) does not mean belief without evidence. It means trust based on sufficient reason, even when absolute certainty is unavailable.
Every important decision in life works this way:
Trusting a spouse
Choosing a career
Believing historical events occurred
None of these rely on mathematical certainty, yet they are rational.
The Qur’an criticizes blind faith and praises thoughtful belief:
“They reflect upon the creation of the heavens and the earth…” (Qur’an 3:191)
Faith is therefore not the opposite of reason—it is what follows after reason reaches its limits.
God does not seek robots who submit under compulsion, but moral agents who choose truth sincerely.
6. If God created the universe and wants humans to know Him, why is His existence so difficult to prove?
This question assumes that if something is true and important, it must be easy to prove. But in reality, the most meaningful truths in human life are rarely simple or automatic.
Love, moral responsibility, purpose, and sincerity cannot be forced into existence through overwhelming proof. They require engagement of the intellect and the will. God’s existence is not difficult to prove because it is false; it is difficult because human beings are moral agents, not passive observers.
The Qur’an explains this balance clearly:
“We will show them Our signs in the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth.” (Qur’an 41:53)
God provides sufficient signs, not coercive proof. Proof that eliminates the possibility of rejection would also eliminate the possibility of sincerity. If belief were unavoidable, disbelief would be impossible—and moral accountability would collapse.
Difficulty, here, is not absence of evidence, but a test of intellectual honesty.
7. How do you know your specific God exists, and why should I believe in Him rather than other gods?
This is a fair and necessary question. Islam does not ask anyone to accept God merely because of tradition or authority. Instead, it presents clear criteria for identifying the true concept of God.
According to Islamic theology, the true God must be:
-
Necessary (not dependent on anything)
-
One (not divided or limited)
-
Uncreated
-
All-powerful, all-knowing
-
Not part of creation
-
Worthy of worship
The Qur’an challenges false gods logically:
“Had there been within the heavens and the earth gods besides Allah, they both would have been ruined.” (Qur’an 21:22)
Polytheism fails logically because multiple absolute beings would limit one another. Anthropomorphic gods fail because anything physical is contingent and dependent. Mythical gods fail because they do not explain existence—they are part of it.
Islamic monotheism (Tawḥīd) is not one option among many; it is the only concept of God that is philosophically coherent.
8. Why believe in God when claims about Him are unfalsifiable, similar to myths like the Flying Spaghetti Monster or Tooth Fairy?
This comparison misunderstands the nature of serious metaphysical claims.
The Flying Spaghetti Monster is intentionally parasitic—it explains nothing and is designed to mock belief by imitation. God, in contrast, is proposed as an explanatory necessity for:
Why anything exists
Why the universe is intelligible
Why moral values bind
Why consciousness exists
Unfalsifiability alone does not make a belief irrational. Mathematics, logic, and ethics are also unfalsifiable by experiment—yet no rational person rejects them.
The key difference is explanatory power. God is not invented to fill ignorance, but to explain why there is a universe at all, rather than nothing.
The Qur’an does not argue emotionally, but rationally:
“Is there doubt about Allah, Creator of the heavens and the earth?” (Qur’an 14:10)
9. Why do you reject other possible gods but accept your own?
Islam rejects other gods not out of cultural arrogance, but because they fail rational scrutiny.
A true God cannot be:
Limited
Created
Ignorant
Morally flawed
Dependent
Subject to death or change
The Qur’an repeatedly invites comparison:
“Are many different lords better, or Allah, the One, the Irresistible?” (Qur’an 12:39)
Islam does not claim “our God is true because we say so,” but because alternative gods contradict reason, reality, or themselves.
Truth is not democratic. Ten false explanations do not outweigh one coherent one.
10. If God values sincerity, why design a world where belief is so easily mistaken, inherited, or culturally determined?
This question touches on human responsibility.
Islam does not teach that people are judged merely for what they believe, but for what they do with the truth available to them.
The Qur’an states:
“Allah does not burden a soul beyond its capacity.” (Qur’an 2:286)
People inherit beliefs, yes—but they also inherit:
Moral intuition
عقل (reason)
Capacity to question
Cultural influence explains how beliefs spread, not whether they are true. God judges individuals based on sincerity, effort, and honesty, not accident of birth.
Islam explicitly recognizes different circumstances and accountability accordingly.
11. Why do sincere, intelligent people honestly reach contradictory conclusions about God?
Disagreement does not imply falsehood. Intelligent people disagree about:
Ethics
Politics
Philosophy
Science (even among experts)
Human reasoning is influenced by:
Assumptions
Desires
Biases
Emotional experiences
The Qur’an explains that truth is often resisted not because of lack of evidence, but because of internal barriers:
“They denied them, while their souls were convinced of them, out of injustice and arrogance.” (Qur’an 27:14)
Sincerity alone does not guarantee correctness; it must be paired with intellectual humility and willingness to follow evidence wherever it leads.
Islam does not claim that everyone who disbelieves is evil—but it does insist that truth is objective, even if humans disagree about it.
🔴 Epistemology of Reason
Why trust human reason at all in a godless universe?
Before moving from questions of evidence to questions of metaphysics, a more fundamental issue must be addressed: on what basis do we trust human reason itself?
If the universe is entirely unguided, and if human cognition evolved solely for survival rather than for truth, then a serious question arises: why should we trust our reasoning processes to accurately discover reality—including conclusions such as atheism itself?
Evolutionary success prioritizes behaviors that aid survival, not necessarily beliefs that are true. A belief can be false and yet still be advantageous. If this is the case, then reason becomes a biological tool, not a truth-tracking faculty. Under such a worldview, confidence in logic, philosophy, science, and even skepticism itself becomes philosophically unstable.
Islam does not treat reason as an accident of blind processes, but as a meaningful faculty grounded in an intelligible reality. The Qur’an repeatedly appeals to human intellect (ʿaql), reflection, and understanding, precisely because reason is meant to recognize truth—not merely to ensure survival.
This does not mean reason is infallible. Rather, it means reason is reliable enough to point beyond itself. Once reason establishes the necessity of a transcendent source of existence and order, faith completes what reason cannot fully grasp.
In this sense, belief in God does not undermine reason; it grounds it.
🔹 II. Metaphysics and the Nature of God
After addressing questions of proof and hiddenness, a more fundamental issue must be clarified: what exactly is God claimed to be? Many objections to God arise because people argue against a concept of God that Islam itself rejects.
Islam insists that misunderstanding God leads to false objections. Therefore, defining the concept precisely is not optional—it is essential.
12. What exactly is God—an entity, a mind, a force, or something else?
In Islam, God (Allah) is not:
A physical entity
A force like gravity
A being inside the universe
A human-like mind scaled up
Rather, God is described as wājib al-wujūd (Necessary Existence)—a being whose existence is not contingent on anything else.
The Qur’an defines God succinctly:
“Say: He is Allah, the One. Allah, the Self-Sufficient. He neither begets nor is begotten. And there is none comparable to Him.” (Qur’an 112:1–4)
God is not part of reality—He is the ground of reality. Everything else exists because He exists. He is not one being among many, but the reason why any beings exist at all.
Calling God a “force” reduces Him to impersonal physics. Calling Him merely a “mind” anthropomorphizes Him. Islam avoids both extremes by affirming God’s attributes without likening Him to creation.
13. If God is beyond space and time, what does it mean to say that He “exists”?
This question assumes that existence requires location and duration, but that assumption is false.
Many things exist without occupying space:
Numbers
Laws of logic
Moral truths
Yet they are real.
God’s existence is not spatial or temporal. Space and time themselves are part of creation.
The Qur’an states:
“He is the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden.” (Qur’an 57:3)
God does not exist in time—He is the creator of time. Asking “where is God?” is like asking “where is north of the North Pole?” The question misunderstands the category.
To exist, in God’s case, means to be the necessary source upon which all contingent existence depends.
14. Can something exist outside time and still act, decide, or create?
This is one of the strongest philosophical objections, and it deserves a careful answer.
Human action requires time because humans change from ignorance to knowledge, from intention to execution. But God does not change. His will is eternal.
Creation does not imply change in God; it implies change in creation.
Classical Islamic theology explains this by distinguishing between:
-
God’s eternal will
-
Temporal effects of that will
God eternally wills that the universe begin at a certain point. When time begins, creation begins—not because God changed, but because time itself came into existence.
The Qur’an affirms:
“When He decrees a matter, He only says to it, ‘Be,’ and it is.” (Qur’an 36:82)
This is not sequential speech—it is timeless divine command producing temporal reality.
15. If God is metaphysical, why should we accept metaphysical explanations at all?
Rejecting metaphysics entirely is self-defeating.
Science itself rests on metaphysical assumptions:
That the universe is rational
That causality is real
That logic applies universally
None of these can be proven scientifically—they are preconditions of science.
When asking “Why does the universe exist?” or “Why are laws of nature intelligible?”, science remains silent. These are metaphysical questions, and pretending otherwise is philosophical avoidance, not rigor.
The Qur’an repeatedly invites metaphysical reflection:
“Do they not reflect within themselves?” (Qur’an 30:8)
Metaphysics is not imagination—it is reason operating beyond measurement.
16. Why is a metaphysical explanation preferable to a naturalistic one?
Naturalistic explanations describe how things behave once they exist. They do not explain why existence itself exists.
Saying “the universe just exists” is not an explanation—it is a refusal to explain.
A metaphysical explanation is preferable because it:
Explains existence itself, not just processes
Accounts for contingency
Grounds rationality and order
Avoids infinite regress
God is not introduced to replace science, but to explain why science is possible at all.
The Qur’an frames this precisely:
“That is Allah, your Lord; there is no deity except Him, the Creator of all things.” (Qur’an 6:102)
God is not an alternative to natural laws—He is the reason there are laws.
🔹 III. Creation, Origins, and Infinite Regress
At this stage, the discussion moves from what God is to a more foundational question: why does the universe exist at all? Modern science has pushed this question to the forefront, but philosophy and revelation help clarify what science alone cannot answer.
17. How and when do you believe the universe began?
Islam affirms that the universe had a beginning and is not eternal. This belief aligns remarkably well with modern cosmology, which indicates that space, time, matter, and energy began in a finite past—commonly associated with the Big Bang.
The Qur’an states:
“Have those who disbelieved not considered that the heavens and the earth were a joined entity, and We separated them?” (Qur’an 21:30)
And:
“Allah is the Creator of the heavens and the earth.” (Qur’an 39:62)
Creation here does not mean shaping pre-existing material, but bringing into existence what did not exist before. Islam rejects the idea of an eternal universe because anything eternal would not need explanation—yet the universe is clearly changing, finite, and contingent.
Science describes how the universe evolved after its beginning; Islam addresses why it began at all.
18. If the universe began, what caused its beginning?
Everything that begins to exist has a cause. This principle is not religious—it is rational and underlies all scientific inquiry. Events do not happen without explanations.
The universe began to exist. Therefore, it must have a cause beyond itself.
That cause must be:
Outside space and time (since space-time began)
Extremely powerful
Non-material
Uncaused (otherwise the question repeats)
The Qur’an appeals to this reasoning:
“Were they created by nothing, or were they themselves the creators?” (Qur’an 52:35)
The verse eliminates two irrational options:
Creation from nothing (without cause)
Self-creation (logical contradiction)
What remains is a transcendent cause—not bound by the universe it caused.
19. If God created the universe, who or what created God?
This question assumes that God and the universe belong to the same category, which Islam explicitly denies.
The universe is contingent—it can exist or not exist. God is necessary—His non-existence is impossible.
Asking “Who created God?” is like asking:
Who created logic?
Who caused causality itself?
If God required a creator, then He would not be God—but merely another contingent being. In that case, the real God would still be missing.
The Qur’an states:
“He is the First.” (Qur’an 57:3)
And:
“Allah is Self-Sufficient.” (Qur’an 112:2)
God is not explained by something else—He is the explanation.
20. Why must causation stop at God instead of continuing infinitely?
An infinite chain of causes does not explain anything—it postpones explanation forever.
Imagine a row of falling dominoes with no first domino. No matter how long the chain is, nothing ever starts.
Likewise, if every cause requires a prior cause endlessly, then existence itself never gets off the ground. Yet the universe exists now.
Philosophically, this shows that an actual infinite regress of dependent causes is impossible. There must be a first cause that does not depend on anything else.
The Qur’an refers to this reality:
“Allah holds the heavens and the earth lest they cease.” (Qur’an 35:41)
This “holding” is not physical—it is ontological dependence.
21. Why is infinite regress considered impossible or irrational?
Infinite regress fails for three reasons:
-
No ultimate explanation
An explanation that never arrives is not an explanation. -
No actual existence
A chain of borrowers with no original owner cannot produce money. -
Contradiction with reality
We observe existence now, which means the chain of dependence must terminate.
Islamic scholars described this centuries ago: contingent beings cannot sustain themselves. Only a Necessary Being can.
The Qur’an summarizes this principle powerfully:
“O mankind, you are those in need of Allah, while Allah is Free of need, the Praiseworthy.” (Qur’an 35:15)
The universe is needy. God is not.
22. If an uncaused God is acceptable, why is an uncaused universe not?
This question appears strong, but it rests on a false equivalence.
Islam does not say “anything can be uncaused.” It says only a necessary being can be uncaused. The universe does not meet the criteria of necessity.
The universe is:
Changeable
Composed of parts
Governed by laws
Finite in age (according to modern cosmology)
Anything that changes or is composed of parts could have been otherwise, and therefore does not exist by necessity.
God, in contrast, is defined as:
Simple (not composed)
Eternal
Independent
Unchanging
The Qur’an expresses this distinction clearly:
“Allah is the Self-Sufficient, while you are in need.” (Qur’an 47:38)
To say “the universe is uncaused” is not a conclusion—it is a label placed on ignorance. It explains nothing about why the universe exists or why it has the properties it does.
God is not accepted as uncaused arbitrarily; He is accepted because without a necessary being, existence itself is unintelligible.
23. Why not accept models like eternal universes, cyclic cosmology, or multiverses instead of God?
These models are often presented as alternatives to God, but in reality, they do not remove the need for an ultimate explanation.
Even if:
The universe is cyclic
-
There are infinite universes
Big Bangs occur repeatedly
The question remains: why does such a system exist at all?
A multiverse still requires:
Laws governing it
Conditions enabling universe generation
An explanation for its existence
Adding more universes does not eliminate contingency—it multiplies it.
The Qur’an addresses this pattern indirectly by rejecting explanations that push questions back without resolving them:
“Or were they created by nothing?” (Qur’an 52:35)
Whether one universe or a trillion universes exist, the fundamental question remains unchanged: why is there something rather than nothing?
Multiverse theories are speculative physics—not metaphysical explanations.
24. Does modern cosmology eliminate the need for a creator?
No. Modern cosmology explains how the universe evolved, not why it exists.
Science describes processes within the universe:
Expansion
Inflation
Particle formation
But science cannot explain:
Why laws of nature exist
Why mathematics describes reality
Why the universe began at all
Even leading physicists acknowledge that cosmology does not answer metaphysical questions.
The Qur’an does not oppose scientific discovery; it frames science within a larger reality:
“He created everything and determined it precisely.” (Qur’an 25:2)
God is not an alternative to science. He is the reason science works—the reason the universe is intelligible, ordered, and rationally describable.
25. Why is God necessary to explain existence rather than the universe itself?
Because the universe explains nothing beyond itself.
Saying “the universe exists because it exists” is not an explanation—it is a tautology. It offers no reason why existence occurred rather than non-existence.
God is necessary because:
He explains why contingent reality exists
He grounds causality
He accounts for order and rationality
He stops infinite regress
The Qur’an summarizes this role succinctly:
“Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is, over all things, Disposer of affairs.” (Qur’an 39:62)
Without God, existence becomes a brute fact—unexplained, purposeless, and irrational at its foundation.
Islam does not argue that belief in God is emotionally comforting, but that without God, reason itself loses its grounding.
🔹 IV. Divine Attributes and Logical Coherence
Once the existence of a necessary creator is established, the next challenge is whether the concept of God itself is logically coherent. Critics often argue that divine attributes such as omnipotence and omniscience generate paradoxes. Islam addresses these concerns carefully, without abandoning reason or collapsing into contradiction.
26. What does it mean to say God is all-powerful?
In Islam, God’s omnipotence (qudrah) means that He has power over all things that are possible. Power does not include doing what is logically meaningless.
The Qur’an states:
“Indeed, Allah is over all things competent.” (Qur’an 2:20)
“All things” here refers to real, coherent possibilities, not contradictions. A contradiction is not a “thing” at all—it is a misuse of language.
God’s power is unlimited within the realm of meaningful reality.
27. Can God do the logically impossible?
No—and this is not a limitation.
Logical impossibilities (like a square circle) do not describe actions; they describe nonsense. Asking whether God can do the logically impossible is like asking whether God can make “married bachelors.” Such phrases do not refer to real states of affairs.
Islamic theology has always maintained that:
Logic reflects reality
-
God does not contradict truth, because He is the source of truth
The Qur’an says:
“Allah does not fail in His promise.” (Qur’an 3:9)
God’s inability to contradict logic is not weakness—it is perfection.
28. If God cannot lie or do evil, does that limit His power?
No. Moral perfection is not a limitation—it is an excellence.
To lie or commit evil is not an expression of power, but of deficiency. Humans lie because they lack knowledge, fear consequences, or desire advantage. God lacks none of these.
The Qur’an affirms:
“And who is more truthful than Allah in speech?” (Qur’an 4:87)
God’s inability to do evil is like the sun’s “inability” to produce darkness—it is not a weakness, but a result of what He essentially is.
29. Can God create a rock too heavy for Him to lift?
This classic paradox is resolved once omnipotence is properly understood.
The paradox asks God to both:
Be unlimited in power
And become limited by His own creation
This is a logical contradiction, not a real task.
Creating a rock that an omnipotent being cannot lift is equivalent to asking for a limited unlimited being, which is incoherent.
Islamic scholars have long pointed out that such paradoxes confuse language tricks with genuine problems.
30. How can God be omniscient and still allow genuine free will?
God’s knowledge does not cause human actions.
Knowing that something will happen is not the same as forcing it to happen. A teacher knowing a student will fail does not cause the failure.
God exists outside time. He knows choices because they occur, not the other way around.
The Qur’an affirms both divine knowledge and human responsibility:
“Whoever wills—let him believe; and whoever wills—let him disbelieve.” (Qur’an 18:29)
Human choices are real, even though God eternally knows them.
31. If God knows everything in advance, how are human choices truly free?
Freedom does not require unpredictability—it requires voluntary action without coercion.
A choice is free if:
It comes from one’s own will
It is not externally forced
God’s foreknowledge does not remove freedom, because knowledge is not causation.
Islam teaches compatibilism: divine knowledge and human freedom are compatible realities.
The Qur’an states:
“Indeed, Allah knows what you do.” (Qur’an 2:283)
Yet humans are still held accountable—because their actions are truly theirs.
32. Does divine foreknowledge make human responsibility meaningless?
No. Responsibility is based on intention and choice, not on whether someone else knows the outcome.
Courts judge people based on what they intended and chose—not on whether their actions were predictable.
Islamic theology emphasizes niyyah (intention):
The Prophet ﷺ said: “Actions are judged by intentions.” (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)
God’s knowledge does not negate responsibility—it ensures perfect justice, because nothing is misunderstood or forgotten.
🔹 V. Evil, Suffering, and Divine Justice
No discussion about God can be complete without confronting suffering. This is not merely a philosophical issue—it is a human one. Pain, injustice, disease, and loss are experiences that shape how people think about God more than any abstract argument.
Islam does not deny suffering, minimize it, or explain it away cheaply. Instead, it asks us to understand what kind of world we are in, what God has promised, and what this life is meant to be.
33. If God is all-loving and all-powerful, why does evil exist at all?
This question assumes that a loving and powerful God would create a world without the possibility of evil. But a world without the possibility of evil is also a world without moral freedom, courage, sacrifice, or justice.
Evil is not a “thing” God created in the same way He created light or matter. Evil is the absence or corruption of good, just as darkness is the absence of light.
The Qur’an clarifies:
“He created death and life to test you as to which of you is best in deeds.” (Qur’an 67:2)
A test requires alternatives. A world where no harm is possible would be a world where no real moral choices exist.
God’s love does not mean eliminating all hardship—it means ensuring that no suffering is meaningless or unjust in the final account.
34. Why does innocent suffering exist—such as children dying from cancer or infants suffering?
This is perhaps the most painful question of all, and Islam does not respond with indifference.
Islam teaches that this life is not the full story. If this world were the final reality, then innocent suffering would indeed be unbearable and unjust. But Islam explicitly rejects the idea that justice is confined to this life alone.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“No fatigue, illness, sorrow, sadness, harm, or distress befalls a Muslim—even a thorn that pricks him—except that Allah expiates some of his sins by it.” (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)
For children who suffer and die, Islam teaches complete justice and compensation, not symbolic comfort. Their suffering is not ignored, forgotten, or trivialized.
Without an afterlife, innocent suffering is truly meaningless. With it, suffering is temporarily real but eternally rectified.
35. Why do natural disasters cause massive suffering if God controls nature?
Natural laws are what make life possible at all. The same tectonic activity that causes earthquakes also sustains the planet. The same weather systems that cause floods make agriculture possible.
A world without stable natural laws would be unlivable, not merciful.
The Qur’an reminds us:
“Corruption has appeared on land and sea because of what the hands of people have earned.” (Qur’an 30:41)
While not all suffering is caused directly by human action, much suffering is worsened by:
Poor planning
Injustice
Neglect
Exploitation
God allowing natural laws to operate consistently is not cruelty—it is the condition for meaningful existence.
36. Why does God not intervene to stop obvious injustices and atrocities?
If God intervened to stop every injustice instantly, human moral responsibility would collapse. Courts, ethics, struggle, and accountability would become meaningless.
Islam teaches that God does intervene—but not always in ways humans expect, and not always immediately.
The Qur’an says:
“Do not think Allah is unaware of what the wrongdoers do. He only delays them for a Day when eyes will stare in horror.” (Qur’an 14:42)
Delay is not approval. Restraint is not absence. God’s justice is perfectly timed, not impulsive.
37. Why does evil often affect the innocent more than the guilty?
This world is not the final court of justice. Expecting perfect moral balance here misunderstands the purpose of worldly life.
Islam explicitly rejects the idea that worldly success equals moral worth or divine favor:
“Do people think they will be left to say, ‘We believe,’ and they will not be tested?” (Qur’an 29:2)
The innocent are not “losing.” They are often being protected from greater harm, elevated in rank, or spared future corruption—realities humans cannot fully see.
Judgment based on this life alone is incomplete judgment.
38. If suffering is a test, why is it distributed so unfairly?
Tests are not meant to be identical—they are meant to be appropriate.
A physically strong person is tested differently from a weak one. A wealthy person is tested differently from the poor. Equality of test would be injustice.
The Qur’an states:
“Allah does not burden a soul beyond its capacity.” (Qur’an 2:286)
What appears unequal externally may be perfectly just internally, because God judges intentions, effort, and patience, not outward results.
39. Why allow millions to suffer and die without ever knowing God?
Islam does not teach that all who did not know God are condemned.
God judges people based on:
Access to truth
Capacity to understand
Sincerity of effort
The Qur’an affirms:
“We never punish until We send a messenger.” (Qur’an 17:15)
No one is punished for ignorance beyond their control. Divine justice accounts for every circumstance—something no human legal system can do.
40. Where does evil come from, and what is God’s role in its existence?
Islam makes a crucial distinction between creation and moral responsibility.
God creates capacity and possibility, while humans create moral evil through choice. Fire can warm or burn; the same capacity leads to different outcomes depending on how it is used. Likewise, free will enables love, justice, and virtue—but also allows wrongdoing.
The Qur’an states:
“Whatever good befalls you is from Allah, and whatever evil befalls you is from yourself.” (Qur’an 4:79)
This does not mean God is absent from reality, but that moral evil is attributed to misuse of human freedom, not divine injustice.
Evil exists by permission, not by approval.
41. If God created everything, did He also create evil?
God created the conditions under which evil is possible, not evil as a substance or objective reality.
Evil is not a “thing” like matter or energy. It is a privation, a lack of good—just as darkness is the absence of light, not a created entity.
Islamic scholars explain:
God creates acts
-
Humans acquire acts through intention and choice (kasb)
The Qur’an says:
“Allah created you and what you do.” (Qur’an 37:96)
This means God creates the ability and opportunity, while moral blame belongs to the chooser. Without this framework, accountability becomes meaningless.
42. If free will explains evil, why couldn’t God create free beings who always freely choose good?
A choice that cannot be otherwise is not a real choice.
If humans were programmed to always choose good, then moral praise would be meaningless—no courage, no sacrifice, no patience, no repentance.
Even angels, who do not sin, are not morally tested like humans. Humanity’s role is different.
The Qur’an states:
“Indeed, We guided him to the path, whether he be grateful or ungrateful.” (Qur’an 76:3)
Real freedom includes the possibility of rejection. Without that possibility, goodness becomes mechanical, not moral.
43. Why punish people eternally for finite sins or disbelief?
This objection assumes punishment is based on quantity of actions, but Islam bases accountability on:
Nature of the offense
Persistence
Rejection of truth
Disbelief (kufr) in Islam is not intellectual confusion—it is willful rejection after clarity, arrogance, or moral refusal.
The Qur’an describes such people:
“They knew it, yet they rejected it out of arrogance.” (Qur’an 27:14)
Eternal punishment corresponds not to finite acts, but to a fixed moral orientation—a soul that persistently refuses truth, repentance, and moral submission.
44. How is eternal hell compatible with divine mercy and justice?
God’s mercy does not cancel justice—it frames it.
Islam teaches that:
God’s mercy precedes His wrath
Repentance is always open before death
No one is punished unjustly
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“Allah’s mercy outweighs His wrath.” (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī)
Hell is not imposed on those who seek truth sincerely. It is the consequence for those who knowingly reject, oppress, and persist without repentance.
Mercy without justice is chaos. Justice without mercy is cruelty. Islam affirms both.
45. Why delay justice until the afterlife instead of establishing it clearly in this world?
This world is not designed to be the final court.
If justice were fully executed here:
Free will would collapse
Repentance would be impossible
Moral growth would end
Delay allows:
Choice
Reform
Moral struggle
Genuine virtue
The Qur’an explains:
“Every soul will be paid in full for what it has done, and they will not be wronged.” (Qur’an 3:25)
Justice delayed is not justice denied—it is justice perfected.
Without an afterlife, injustice is final. With it, no injustice survives eternity.
🔹 VI. Morality and Human Values
After discussing evil and suffering, a deeper question emerges beneath all
moral outrage and ethical judgment:
what makes anything right or wrong in the first place?
When people accuse God of injustice or condemn suffering as evil,
they are implicitly appealing to objective moral standards.
The question is whether such standards can exist without God.
46. Is morality objective or subjective?
If morality is subjective, then right and wrong are merely matters of opinion, culture, or emotion. In that case:
Genocide is not objectively wrong—only socially disapproved
Slavery is wrong today but could have been right yesterday
Moral outrage becomes personal preference
Yet no one actually lives as if morality is subjective. Even atheists speak as though some actions are truly wrong, regardless of culture or time.
This indicates that humans intuitively recognize morality as objective—something we discover, not invent.
The Qur’an affirms this innate moral awareness:
“And [by] the soul and He who proportioned it, and inspired it with its wickedness and its righteousness.” (Qur’an 91:7–8)
Islam teaches that humans are born with fitrah—an innate moral compass that recognizes good and evil, even before formal instruction.
47. How do we know moral truths are real?
We know moral truths the same way we know logical truths—not by experiments, but by rational intuition and shared moral experience.
No experiment proves that torturing children for pleasure is wrong—yet we know it with greater certainty than many scientific facts.
Moral truths exhibit:
Universality (across cultures)
Obligation (we feel bound by them)
Authority (they command, not suggest)
If morality were merely evolutionary instinct, it would describe behavior—not obligation. Evolution explains why we feel moral emotions, but not why we ought to obey them, even when it costs us.
The Qur’an appeals to this inner recognition:
“Is the reward for good anything but good?” (Qur’an 55:60)
This verse assumes an objective moral order that humans already understand.
48. Does morality require God to exist?
Objective morality requires:
A source beyond human opinion
An authority greater than individuals or societies
A grounding that makes moral duties binding
Without God, morality becomes:
Social consensus (which changes)
Biological programming (which has no authority)
Personal preference (which has no obligation)
God provides a foundation where moral values are:
Objective (not invented)
Binding (not optional)
Universal (not cultural)
The Qur’an describes God as the ultimate moral authority:
“Indeed, Allah commands justice, excellence, and giving to relatives—and forbids immorality, wrongdoing, and oppression.” (Qur’an 16:90)
This command is not arbitrary—it flows from God’s perfect nature.
49. If morality comes from God, is something good because God commands it, or does God command it because it is good?
This is the classic Euthyphro dilemma, often used to argue that God cannot ground morality.
Islam rejects this false dilemma.
In Islam:
-
God does not command things randomly
God does not obey an external moral law
Rather, goodness flows from God’s nature.
God commands good because:
He is perfectly wise
He is perfectly just
He is perfectly merciful
Good is not arbitrary, nor independent of God. It is grounded in who God is.
The Qur’an states:
“Allah is never unjust to His servants.” (Qur’an 3:182)
Thus:
Good is good because it reflects God’s perfect nature
God commands it because it is consistent with His essence
This avoids both horns of the dilemma.
50. If God defines morality, could cruelty become good if God commanded it?
This objection assumes that God’s commands are arbitrary, as if God could declare cruelty to be good simply by will. Islam explicitly rejects this assumption.
In Islam, God does not command randomly. God’s commands flow from His essential attributes—perfect justice, wisdom, mercy, and goodness. Cruelty is not merely something God chooses not to command; it is incompatible with who God is.
The Qur’an states unambiguously:
“Indeed, Allah does not wrong people at all, but it is people who wrong themselves.” (Qur’an 10:44)
Cruelty is a form of injustice, and injustice is impossible for God—not due to lack of power, but due to moral perfection. Just as God cannot cease to be God, He cannot command what contradicts His own nature.
Therefore, morality in Islam is neither arbitrary nor external to God; it is grounded in His unchanging essence.
51. Why do non-believers often act morally without belief in God?
Islam does not deny this reality. In fact, it explains it.
Human beings are created with fitrah—an innate moral awareness that inclines toward truth, justice, and compassion. Moral behavior does not disappear simply because someone rejects belief in God.
The Qur’an acknowledges moral goodness outside formal belief:
“Whoever does good—male or female—while being a believer, We will surely give them a good life.” (Qur’an 16:97)
Islamic scholars explain that:
-
God is the source of morality
-
Humans can recognize moral truth even if they deny the source
Just as someone can use mathematics without acknowledging its philosophical foundation, a person can act morally without acknowledging God. Moral action does not require conscious belief; moral grounding does.
52. Why do believers sometimes act immorally despite belief in God?
Belief does not eliminate free will, weakness, desire, or hypocrisy.
Islam never claims that believers are morally perfect. It claims that they are morally accountable.
The Qur’an repeatedly criticizes religious hypocrisy:
“Why do you say what you do not do?” (Qur’an 61:2)
Immoral behavior by believers does not falsify God’s existence—it falsifies human sincerity. Moral failure reflects human weakness, not divine failure.
Judging a belief system by its worst adherents is a category error. One must judge it by:
Its teachings
Its principles
Its moral ideals
Islam condemns wrongdoing even when committed by believers.
53. Is justice a divine reality or a human-made concept?
If justice were merely human-made, it would change with power, preference, and survival advantage. History shows that societies often redefine justice to suit the strong.
Yet humans instinctively protest injustice—even when it benefits them. This suggests that justice is discovered, not invented.
The Qur’an describes justice as a divine attribute:
“Indeed, Allah commands justice.” (Qur’an 16:90)
And:
“O you who believe, stand firmly for justice, as witnesses for Allah, even if it be against yourselves.” (Qur’an 4:135)
This command makes sense only if justice is objective and real, not merely a social agreement.
Islam teaches that human justice is an approximation, while divine justice is perfect and final. Human courts fail; divine judgment does not.
🟠 Qur’an as a Living Challenge (Authenticity)
A scripture that claims divine origin must offer more than moral advice or spiritual comfort; it must be intellectually defensible. The Qur’an presents itself not as a passive religious text, but as a living challenge—open to scrutiny, examination, and falsification.
Unlike most religious scriptures, the Qur’an is self-aware of its own claim and repeatedly invites critical reflection. It challenges readers to examine its internal consistency, coherence, and origin:
“Do they not reflect upon the Qur’an? Had it been from other than Allah, they would have found within it much contradiction.” (Qur’an 4:82)
This challenge is not rhetorical. The Qur’an was revealed gradually over twenty-three years, across radically different circumstances—peace and conflict, power and persecution—yet it maintains a consistent theological worldview, moral vision, and linguistic structure.
Equally significant is its preservation. The Qur’an is not only recorded in written manuscripts but has been continuously memorized and transmitted verbatim by large communities across generations. This dual preservation—oral and written—has no true parallel in ancient religious texts and places the Qur’an in a unique historical position.
Taken together, these features do not compel belief, but they do justify seriousness. The Qur’an does not ask to be accepted blindly; it asks to be examined—and stands by that request.
🔹 VII. Scripture, Revelation, and Religion
After discussing morality and justice, a critical question remains:
even if God exists, how do humans reliably know what God wants?
This brings us to revelation and scripture—the most contested area
between belief and disbelief.
Islam does not ask readers to suspend reason when approaching revelation. On the contrary, it insists that revelation must be intelligible, preserved, and coherent.
54. How do we know any scripture truly comes from God?
A scripture claiming divine origin must meet objective criteria. Islam does not argue for revelation merely through faith, but through verifiable characteristics.
A genuine divine scripture should:
Claim divine origin explicitly
Preserve its text reliably
Be internally coherent
Be free from demonstrable falsehood
Provide moral and existential depth
Withstand sustained criticism
The Qur’an openly invites scrutiny:
“Do they not reflect upon the Qur’an? If it had been from other than Allah, they would have found within it much contradiction.” (Qur’an 4:82)
Unlike many texts, the Qur’an does not ask to be accepted blindly—it challenges humanity to test it.
Historically, the Qur’an is uniquely preserved, memorized verbatim by millions across generations—an unparalleled phenomenon in textual history.
55. Why are scriptures culturally specific and historically conditioned?
Revelation is delivered to humans, not angels. Language, symbolism, and examples must be understandable to the first audience—otherwise revelation would fail its purpose.
The Qur’an explains this clearly:
“We did not send any messenger except with the language of his people, so he might make it clear to them.” (Qur’an 14:4)
Cultural context does not imply cultural limitation. Mathematics written in Greek does not become “Greek truth.” Likewise, revelation communicated in Arabic does not become “Arab truth.”
Islam distinguishes between:
-
Universal principles (justice, mercy, monotheism)
-
Contextual applications (specific social regulations)
This balance allows guidance to be timeless yet practical.
56. Why do scriptures contain apparent contradictions or outdated ideas?
Many alleged contradictions arise from:
Translation issues
Ignoring historical context
Confusing metaphor with literalism
Reading verses in isolation
The Qur’an explicitly warns against superficial reading:
“It is He who has sent down to you the Book; in it are verses precise—they are the foundation of the Book—and others ambiguous.” (Qur’an 3:7)
Outdatedness is often claimed when ancient language addresses perennial human realities. Ethical guidance does not expire simply because technology advances.
Where interpretations clash with established facts, Islam allows reinterpretation—not blind denial. This intellectual flexibility is built into Islamic scholarship.
57. Why is divine revelation ambiguous rather than universally clear?
Absolute clarity would remove moral responsibility. If revelation compelled belief irresistibly, free will would be meaningless.
The Qur’an explains:
“This is the Book in which there is no doubt, a guidance for those who are conscious of God.” (Qur’an 2:2)
Guidance is offered—not imposed.
Ambiguity serves several purposes:
Distinguishes sincere seekers from the arrogant
Encourages reflection, humility, and scholarship
Prevents blind conformity
Clarity sufficient for guidance exists; ambiguity remains only for those unwilling to engage deeply.
58. Why do religions disagree so deeply if they originate from the same God?
Islam acknowledges religious disagreement but explains it without blaming God or denying truth.
The Qur’an states that God sent guidance repeatedly throughout history, but human beings altered, fragmented, or selectively followed it:
“Mankind was one community; then Allah sent prophets as bringers of good tidings and warners.” (Qur’an 2:213)
Disagreement did not arise because God sent contradictory messages, but because:
-
Revelations were forgotten or changed
-
Followers introduced interpretations driven by power or identity
People followed desires over evidence
Islam views itself not as a new religion, but as a restoration of original monotheism (Tawḥīd).
Thus, disagreement reflects human response to revelation, not divine confusion.
59. Why is religious truth usually inherited rather than discovered independently?
Most beliefs—religious, political, and cultural—are inherited. This does not determine truth or falsehood; it explains how beliefs spread, not whether they are correct.
Islam does not praise blind inheritance. In fact, it criticizes it sharply:
“Indeed, we found our forefathers upon a religion, and we are following in their footsteps.” (Qur’an 43:23)
The Qur’an presents this mindset as a barrier to truth, not a virtue.
Islamic belief demands personal accountability, not tribal loyalty. Inheritance explains starting points; reflection determines responsibility.
60. Why does religion often resist questioning or reinterpretation?
Islam distinguishes between:
-
Questioning for understanding (encouraged)
-
Questioning to mock or undermine truth (discouraged)
The Qur’an repeatedly commands reflection:
“Do they not think?”
“Do they not reflect?”
Resistance to questioning often comes from human institutions, not divine revelation. Fear of losing authority or certainty leads people—not God—to suppress inquiry.
Islamic scholarship historically thrived on debate, disagreement, and reinterpretation (ijtihād). Stagnation occurred when human rigidity replaced divine guidance.
61. Why has religion historically opposed scientific progress at times?
Islam makes a crucial distinction: religion is not the same as religious behavior.
Many historical conflicts attributed to religion were actually conflicts between:
Institutional power and evidence
Tradition and change
Authority and inquiry
The Qur’an itself encourages scientific curiosity:
“Say: Travel through the earth and observe how creation began.” (Qur’an 29:20)
Islamic civilization historically led in medicine, astronomy, mathematics, and physics—not in opposition to religion, but because of it.
When religion resists science, it is usually due to misinterpretation, not revelation itself.
🔹 VIII. Faith, Psychology, and Belief Formation
After examining scripture and history, a deeper concern arises:
is faith itself a reliable way of knowing, or is it a weakness of the
human mind?
Many atheists reject belief in God not because of arguments about
creation or morality, but because they view faith as intellectually suspect.
Islam addresses this concern directly.
63. Is faith a virtue or a weakness?
Faith is often portrayed as believing despite evidence, or even against evidence. If that were true, faith would indeed be a weakness. Islam, however, rejects this definition entirely.
In Islam, faith (īmān) is not blind belief. It is reasoned trust based on evidence, reflection, and moral insight. The Qur’an consistently criticizes unthinking belief and praises informed conviction.
“Do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge.” (Qur’an 17:36)
A belief held without understanding is not praised in Islam. What is praised is commitment after evidence has been weighed.
Faith becomes a virtue when:
Reason has reached its limits honestly
Evidence points in a direction but does not coerce
The individual commits sincerely and responsibly
This is no different from trusting a moral principle, a spouse, or a life purpose—areas where absolute certainty is unavailable, yet commitment is rational.
Thus, faith is not intellectual surrender; it is intellectual responsibility.
64. Why should faith be trusted when it can justify contradictory beliefs?
This objection confuses faith itself with the misuse of faith.
People can misuse:
Reason (to justify oppression)
Science (to build weapons)
Law (to protect injustice)
Yet we do not reject reason, science, or law because they can be abused. The same applies to faith.
Islam insists that faith must be:
Grounded in evidence
Aligned with reason
Morally coherent
The Qur’an warns against faith disconnected from understanding:
“They have hearts with which they do not understand.” (Qur’an 7:179)
Contradictory beliefs arise not because faith is unreliable, but because people adopt faith without proper epistemic discipline—without examining assumptions, sources, and coherence.
Islam does not accept “faith in anything.” It accepts faith in truth, supported by reason and revelation.
65. Is belief in God a psychological coping mechanism for fear, suffering, or meaning?
It is true that belief in God provides comfort—but comfort does not imply falsehood.
Painkillers relieve pain, but pain relief does not mean painkillers are imaginary. Psychological benefit does not determine truth value.
Moreover, this explanation is selective. If belief in God is dismissed because it is comforting, then:
Hope becomes suspect
Moral conviction becomes suspect
Love becomes suspect
All of these fulfill psychological needs, yet no one argues they are therefore illusions.
Islam acknowledges human vulnerability but denies that belief in God arises because of fear. Instead, it argues that belief addresses fear because it corresponds to reality.
The Qur’an describes faith as a source of stability:
“Unquestionably, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.” (Qur’an 13:28)
If atheism were purely rational and belief purely emotional, we would expect all intelligent people to be atheists—but history shows otherwise.
Belief may comfort—but that comfort may exist because reality itself is meaningful, not because humans invented meaning.
66. Why does faith work for some people but not for others?
Faith does not function like a scientific formula that produces identical results for everyone. Human beings differ in:
Temperament
Life experiences
Emotional sensitivity
Intellectual background
Trauma, trust, and expectations
Islam recognizes these differences and explicitly states that guidance is not forced.
The Qur’an says:
“Indeed, you do not guide whom you love, but Allah guides whom He wills.” (Qur’an 28:56)
This does not mean guidance is random or unfair. Rather, it reflects inner openness. Faith requires:
Intellectual honesty
Moral humility
Willingness to revise assumptions
Two people may see the same evidence and respond differently—not because evidence is absent, but because human hearts are not identical instruments.
Islam teaches that God judges people according to their capacity and sincerity, not according to outcomes alone.
67. Why does faith often conflict with logic and evidence?
When faith conflicts with logic, the problem is usually not faith itself, but:
Poor interpretation of scripture
Cultural tradition mistaken for religion
Emotional attachment overriding reason
Islam never asks believers to abandon logic. In fact, the Qur’an repeatedly challenges people who refuse to think:
“Do they not reason?”
“Do they not reflect?”
True faith and sound reason cannot contradict, because both originate from the same source—God.
Where apparent conflict arises, Islam encourages:
Reinterpretation of understanding
Re-examination of assumptions
Patience with unresolved questions
Islamic scholars historically revised interpretations when evidence demanded it. Faith does not collapse under reason—it matures through it.
68. Can faith lead people to believe harmful or false ideas?
Yes—when faith is detached from knowledge, humility, and ethics.
But this danger is not unique to faith. Harmful ideas have been justified using:
Science
Nationalism
Ideology
Philosophy
The problem is dogmatism, not faith.
Islam explicitly condemns belief that leads to harm:
“There is no compulsion in religion.” (Qur’an 2:256)
And the Prophet ﷺ said:
“There should be neither harm nor reciprocating harm.” (Ḥadīth – Ibn Mājah)
Faith becomes dangerous only when:
Critical thinking is suppressed
Moral accountability is ignored
Power replaces compassion
Islamic faith, properly understood, restricts harm, disciplines desire, and prioritizes justice and mercy.
🔹 IX. Human Purpose and Divine Need
After exploring belief, faith, and morality, a more personal and existential
question arises: why are human beings here at all?
If
God exists and is perfect, what role—if any—do humans play in the divine
scheme?
69. What does God want from humans, and why?
Islam’s answer is surprisingly clear and often misunderstood. God does not want wealth, power, praise, or benefit from human beings.
The Qur’an states explicitly:
“I did not create jinn and mankind except to worship Me.” (Qur’an 51:56)
However, worship (ʿibādah) in Islam does not mean rituals alone. It means:
Living consciously under God’s guidance
Acting justly, ethically, and responsibly
Recognizing truth and submitting to it
God does not benefit from this worship. Humans do.
The Qur’an clarifies:
“If you disbelieve, indeed Allah is free from need of you.” (Qur’an 39:7)
God wants humans to live in alignment with truth because that alignment perfects the human soul, not because God gains anything.
70. Why did God create humans at all?
Creation does not imply need. A painter does not paint because the canvas demands it, but because creativity expresses intention.
Islam teaches that God created humans:
To know Him
To exercise moral freedom
-
To reflect divine attributes like mercy, justice, and compassion
The Qur’an says:
“He is the One who created death and life to test you as to which of you is best in deeds.” (Qur’an 67:2)
This “test” is not for God’s knowledge—God already knows. It is for human actualization. A soul’s moral character cannot exist as potential alone; it must be lived.
Without creation, virtues like patience, forgiveness, courage, and repentance would remain abstract.
71. What is humanity’s significance to an infinite God?
From a cosmic perspective, humans are physically small. But significance is not measured by size.
Islam teaches that humans possess something unique:
Consciousness
Moral responsibility
The ability to choose between good and evil
The Qur’an says:
“Indeed, We offered the Trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they declined to bear it… and man undertook it.” (Qur’an 33:72)
This “Trust” refers to moral responsibility. Humanity’s significance lies not in power, but in accountability.
An infinite God does not value humans because He needs them, but because He chose to honor them with responsibility and dignity.
72. Does God need worship, obedience, or belief?
Absolutely not.
Islam emphatically rejects the idea that God needs anything from creation.
The Qur’an states:
“Allah is Free of need, and you are the needy.” (Qur’an 47:38)
Worship is not for God’s ego. It is for:
Human discipline
Moral grounding
Spiritual clarity
Obedience aligns human behavior with objective moral reality. Belief aligns human consciousness with truth.
If God needed worship, disbelief would harm Him—but Islam teaches that disbelief harms the disbeliever, not God.
73. Could God achieve His goals without humans?
Yes—absolutely.
Islam is explicit that God’s will is never dependent on human beings. God does not need humans to achieve anything, nor does human obedience increase His power or status.
The Qur’an states:
“If Allah willed, He could have made you one community.” (Qur’an 5:48)
And:
“If He wills, He can remove you and bring forth a new creation.” (Qur’an 14:19)
These verses clarify an essential point: human beings are not necessary for God’s success. Creation is not a tool God requires; it is an expression of His wisdom and will.
So why create humans at all? Not because God needs participants, but because creation allows moral realities to exist in practice—not merely in theory. Justice, mercy, patience, repentance, forgiveness, and sincerity cannot exist in abstraction; they require conscious beings who can choose.
God could achieve His purposes without humans, but He chose to create humans so that moral meaning could be lived, not merely defined.
74. Why create beings capable of disobedience and suffering?
Because real moral freedom requires the possibility of rejection.
A being that cannot disobey is not morally free—it is programmed. While angels obey God without sin, they are not morally tested in the same way humans are. Humanity’s role is different.
The Qur’an says:
“Indeed, We guided him to the path, whether he be grateful or ungrateful.” (Qur’an 76:3)
Disobedience is not created for its own sake; it is a risk inherent in meaningful freedom. Without that risk:
Love would be mechanical
Obedience would be meaningless
Virtue would be impossible
Suffering, in this framework, is not pointless cruelty but a consequence of moral reality operating in a free world. Islam does not claim suffering is good in itself—it claims that suffering can be transformed through patience, justice, and accountability.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“How wonderful is the affair of the believer… if hardship befalls him, he is patient, and that is good for him.” (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)
A world without the possibility of suffering would also be a world without courage, sacrifice, forgiveness, or moral growth.
🔹 X. Alternatives to God and the Possibility of a Godless World
After examining God, morality, revelation, suffering, and human purpose, the
discussion reaches its final and most decisive question:
Is God actually necessary at all?
Or can existence,
morality, and meaning stand on their own without reference to a Creator?
75. Is it possible to explain existence, morality, and meaning without God?
At a surface level, many people answer “yes.” Science explains how the universe develops, psychology explains human behavior, and societies create moral systems. But explanation here often means description, not foundation.
Without God:
Existence becomes a brute fact with no reason
Morality becomes a social or evolutionary strategy
Meaning becomes subjective preference
Science can explain how things work, but not why anything exists at all. Psychology can explain why humans feel moral, but not why moral obligations are binding. Culture can define values, but it cannot explain why injustice is truly wrong, rather than merely unpopular.
Islam argues that without God, explanations eventually end in:
“It just is.”
But “it just is” is not an explanation—it is the abandonment of explanation.
The Qur’an challenges this position directly:
“Were they created by nothing, or were they themselves the creators?” (Qur’an 52:35)
God is not introduced to replace science or human reasoning, but to ground them—to explain why reason, morality, and existence are intelligible at all.
76. What would a world without God look like?
A godless world may still function socially and technologically. People could cooperate, feel empathy, and build civilizations. Islam does not deny this.
But at a deeper level:
-
Moral values would have no ultimate authority
Justice would depend on power or consensus
Human dignity would have no objective grounding
Suffering would have no final meaning
In such a world, calling something “evil” would mean “I dislike this” or “my society disapproves,” not “this is truly wrong.”
The Qur’an describes this emptiness:
“They know only the outward appearance of worldly life, but of the Hereafter they are heedless.” (Qur’an 30:7)
A world without God may be livable—but it is existentially thin. It explains behavior, but not purpose. It can organize life, but not justify it.
77. Would life necessarily lose meaning without God?
Many atheists argue that meaning can be self-created through relationships, creativity, and goals. Islam does not deny that humans can feel meaning without God.
But there is a difference between:
-
Subjective meaning (what feels meaningful to me)
-
Objective meaning (what is meaningful regardless of preference)
Without God, meaning ends with death. All projects, loves, sacrifices, and moral struggles ultimately disappear into nothingness. That does not make them emotionally worthless—but it does make them cosmically irrelevant.
Islam argues that meaning is not invented—it is discovered.
The Qur’an states:
“Did you think that We created you without purpose and that to Us you would not be returned?” (Qur’an 23:115)
With God, meaning is not fragile or temporary. It is anchored in eternity. Actions matter beyond survival, beyond memory, beyond death.
78. Can purpose be self-created rather than divinely assigned?
Human beings are capable of creating goals, values, and narratives that give their lives a sense of purpose. Islam does not deny this psychological reality. Careers, relationships, creativity, and service can all feel meaningful.
However, the key question is not whether purpose can be felt, but whether it can be objectively justified.
Self-created purpose suffers from three limitations:
-
Subjectivity – What is meaningful to one person may be meaningless to another.
-
Fragility – Purpose collapses when circumstances, health, or life itself ends.
-
Non-binding nature – No self-created purpose can obligate others or survive disagreement.
If purpose is entirely self-created, then no purpose is more valid than any other—not even moral ones. A life devoted to compassion and a life devoted to cruelty become equally “meaningful” if meaning is purely personal.
Islam argues that true purpose must be:
Independent of personal preference
Binding beyond emotion
Enduring beyond death
The Qur’an states:
“Indeed, my prayer, my sacrifice, my living and my dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds.” (Qur’an 6:162)
Divinely grounded purpose does not replace human goals—it anchors them in something permanent.
79. Why should God be preferred over naturalistic explanations?
Naturalistic explanations are powerful within their domain. Islam does not reject them. But naturalism, by definition, is limited to describing physical processes, not ultimate reasons.
Naturalism explains:
How the universe evolves
How life adapts
How brains function
But it does not explain:
Why existence exists
Why laws of nature hold universally
Why reason tracks truth
Why moral obligations bind
God is not preferred because of tradition or emotion, but because He provides a unified explanation that naturalism cannot.
Islam does not ask, “Can you live without God?”
It asks, “Can your
worldview explain reality without borrowing from assumptions it cannot
justify?”
The Qur’an poses this challenge succinctly:
“Is there any creator other than Allah who provides for you from the heaven and the earth?” (Qur’an 35:3)
God is preferred not as a competing hypothesis, but as the ground that makes all hypotheses possible.
80. What problem does God solve that cannot be solved without Him?
God solves the problem of ultimate grounding.
Without God:
Existence has no explanation
Reason has no foundation
Morality has no authority
Justice has no completion
Meaning has no permanence
With God:
Existence is necessary, not accidental
Reason reflects a rational source
Morality is objective and binding
Justice is final and comprehensive
Meaning survives death
The Qur’an summarizes this reality:
“Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth.” (Qur’an 24:35)
Light here is not physical—it is intelligibility, guidance, and grounding.
God does not solve every emotional difficulty instantly, but He solves what no atheistic framework can: why anything matters at all.
🟠 Why These Questions Matter?
This article was not written to “win” arguments or to reduce belief in God to a set of intellectual checkpoints. Questions about God are not merely academic; they shape how we understand meaning, suffering, morality, responsibility, and our own existence.
I recognize that many people who question God do so sincerely—not out of arrogance or hostility, but out of a genuine desire for clarity and truth. Doubt, when honest, is not a failure of character; it is often the beginning of deeper understanding. Islam itself does not fear questioning—it invites reflection, reason, and moral seriousness.
For me, belief in God is not an escape from reason, but the result of taking reason seriously and following it to its limits. Faith does not eliminate uncertainty, nor does it answer every question immediately. What it offers is a coherent framework in which truth, justice, and meaning are not illusions, and where human struggle is not ultimately wasted.
Whether one agrees with the conclusions of this article or not, my hope is that it encourages thoughtful engagement rather than dismissal, and sincerity rather than slogans. The question of God is not trivial—and it deserves to be approached with both intellectual honesty and humility.
🧩 Final Reflection
Islam does not claim that disbelief is stupidity, nor that belief is automatic. It recognizes doubt, struggle, and sincerity.
But it insists on one thing:
that reality is
intelligible, purposeful, and
morally ordered—and that God is the best explanation for
why this is so.
The Qur’an closes the debate not with coercion, but with invitation:
“So whoever wills—let him believe; and whoever wills—let him disbelieve.” (Qur’an 18:29)
Belief is not forced. It is chosen—after reason has spoken.
رَبِّ زِدْنِي عِلْمًا
“My Lord, increase me in knowledge.”
(Qur’an 20:114)
اَللّٰهُمَّ أَرِنَا الْحَقَّ حَقًّا وَارْزُقْنَا اتِّبَاعَهُ،
وَأَرِنَا الْبَاطِلَ بَاطِلًا وَارْزُقْنَا اجْتِنَابَهُ،
وَلَا تَجْعَلْهُ مُلْتَبِسًا عَلَيْنَا فَنَضِلَّ
“O Allah, show us the truth as truth and grant us the ability to follow it. Show us falsehood as falsehood and grant us the ability to avoid it. Do not make it unclear to us, lest we go astray.”
اللّٰهُمَّ اجْعَلْنَا مِنَ الَّذِينَ يُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَ كَمَا
أَمَرْتَ،
وَكَمَا صَلَّى نَبِيُّنَا مُحَمَّدٌ ﷺ
وَارْزُقْنَا الْخُشُوعَ وَالْإِخْلَاصَ فِي الْعِبَادَةِ.
🌸 Jazakumullahu Khayran for reading.
🌙 May peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you.
السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللّٰهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ
✍️ Written By:
Rizwan Ibn Ali Abdullah
Student of Islam and Science | Researcher | Thinker | Against
Sectarianism | Reviving Ummah | Qur'an and Sunnah
© 2019– Rizwan Ibn Ali Abdullah. All Rights Reserved.
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