From a higher perspective, the Quran explains the reason for there being socio-economical, or even psycho-physical differences among humans. All human beings were created with the aim of being Allah's vicegerents on earth. We have been endowed with freewill -which asserts itself through tests and trials- and are compelled to use it to fulfill our role of vicegerency according to our degrees in this world
6:165"And He it is Who has made you successors in the land and raised some of you above others by (various) grades that He might try you by what He has given you".
This is according to the divine principles of the Greatest of Judges 11:45,95:8 that what is expected of a person is directly in correlation to that person's condition 65:7.
Just like some trees are made to excell others in fruits 13:4, we are raised in degrees and some of us made to excell others in certain aspects, whether physical or mental, social or economical etc, but it is all done according to an all encompassing wisdom and knowledge that takes into consideration every aspect of our being 6:83. However, if one disregards the materialistic mindframe that blurs the higher realities of existence, the level of difficulty in all cases can be said to be the same; the one with less worldly benefits (financially, in his health etc) has less avenues by which to be religiously and morally accountable but he is required to have a high level of inner discipline, patience and trust in God while the reverse is the case for the more advantaged in terms of worldly benefits; the burden on his inner discipline and steadfastness is less while the means given to him by which to be morally tested are manifold. He can be tested in his wealth, his health and other privileges.
A great part of Allah's scheme of testing the people through their choices in order to gradually purge the hearts, is to test us through our dealings with eachother
25:20"and We have made some of you a trial for others; will you bear patiently? And your Lord is ever Seeing".
One of the obvious proof for this is how most often individuals are endowed with benefits, material, physical or abstract, surpassing the basic and reasonable needs. All else will either vanish or be left behind after their passing away for others to benefit from. Through this scheme every human being becomes by virtue of his social existence, a means whereby the moral qualities of his fellow men are put to a test
"I saw Abu Dharr al-Ghifâri wearing a cloak, and his slave, too, was wearing a cloak. We asked him about that (how both were wearing similar cloaks). He replied: Once I abused a man, and he complained of me to the Prophet. The Prophet asked me, Did you abuse him by slighting his mother? You are a man who has jahiliyah. He added: Your slaves are your brethren upon whom Allah has given you authority. So if one has one’s brethren under one’s control, he should feed them with the like of what he eats and clothe them with the like of what he wears. You should not overburden them with what they cannot bear, and if you do so, help them (in their hard job)".
As the HB puts it in
Prov22:2"The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all".
God is not only the maker of every human, but also of their conditions, through the laws of the material and physical world He has created, in which almost every
outcome is the result of a previous action, except when Allah directly intervenes in the chain of causality. The people should therefore, regardless of their circumstances keep in view that ultimate reality in their dealings with oneanother.
The Quran parallels the diversity in nature, as in the earlier metaphor of the fruit trees, with the system by which mankind is equally subjected to 6:165,11:118,30:22. As said many times in the Book, mankind could have been made a single nation, equal in all aspects, and spiritually upright 42:8. But Allah has decreed there will be diversity in creation whether physical, cultural, material or spiritual through the process of freechoice which was divinely established, sustained every step of the way and encompassed by Allah's power. God is thus ultimately the cause of these differences. To illustrate;
- Some people have been made by Allah to resist better to diseases, others are stronger, taller or more intelligent. This is due to the natural biological processes He established, that can either be triggered by internal reactions and mutations or/and influenced by external, environemental factors that are themselves subject to the divinely decreed law of causation which God dominates with His all encompassing wisdom and power at each instant.
- Some people have been made by Allah to believe, and others to err and this is due to the system of freewill He established and fully controls, according to which one's moral choices shape his spiritual condition and destiny, either darkening his inner spiritual receptivity or enlightening it and making it further receptive to external guidance.
- Some people have been made by Allah to enjoy more worldly, material benefits than others. This again, is the consequence of a chain of causality in God's grasp.
This diversity however isnt viewed in the Quran as a stain purposefully put on the human race. Neither is it allowed by God in order to confuse and separate people, or oppose them. Rather it is allowed, as an outcome of the established system of causality, as a driving force that creates interraction, interdependency, exchanges and positive understanding
49:13"We have created you of a male and a female and made you nations and tribes that you may know each other. Indeed, the most honourable among you in the sight of Allah is the most fearful (of Allah) among you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing, Aware".
This is one of the most compelling Quranic proof man is repeatedly told to ponder upon; the divine unity in the face of an interdependant diversity
43:32"it is We who distribute their means of livelihood among them in the life of this world, and raise some of them by degrees above others, to the end that they might avail themselves of one another's help".
This is based on the wisdom that no human being should become independent of others, but everyone should remain dependent on the other in various ways
"Once Sa`d (bin Abi Waqqas) thought that he was superior to those who were below him in rank. On that the Prophet said, "You gain no victory or livelihood except through (the blessings and invocations of) the poor amongst you".
The Creator is in this way in total contrast with His creation; He is the Self-Sufficient, Sustainer of the universe at each instant. He causes endless, intricate varieties among His creation, through the natural processes He established, and the system of freewill on which He has full control.
This system established by Allah ultimately creates a web of interdependant diversity necessary for one of the aspects of divine trials; our dealings with eachother. Many fail to perceive this ultimate reality and they are referred to in
36:47"And when it is said to them: Spend out of what Allah has given you, those who disbelieve say to those who believe: Shall we feed him whom, if Allah please, He could feed? You are in naught but clear error".
God does indeed will for the deprived and weak to be helped, but according to the laws He has established and that benefit both the one who freely offers his help (emotional, material, physical, spiritual, intellectual), as well as the receiver of that help. Others raise an outcry and question divine justice in light of the fact that people are born with varying degrees of socio-economical as well as psycho-physical conditions. That questioning is answered through the divine scheme explained above, as well as the Quranic concept that
2:156"Indeed, we belong to Allah and indeed we towards Him will return".
Our whole self belongs to Him and He in reality doesnt owe us a single thing, whatever we receive from Him, since birth and throughout life, little or big, is a favour from Him and serves a higher purpose which can only be beneficial if one accepts God's supreme ownership in all situations
11:9"If We make man taste mercy from Ourselves, (and) then take it off from him, verily he is despairing ungrateful".
Neither self-conceit nor despair are appropriate if one admits that all things belong to God and return to Him when He decides.
The unbelievers of the time of the prophet disregarded lower social classes, disrespected and discriminated them. They mocked the assemblies of poor people and ex-slaves listening to the prophet, just like prophets were reproached before, the likes of Nuh 11:27-30, assuming that if Allah had truly sent revelation then why didnt He address the elite and rulers of whom Muhammad was not 43:31? In their limited, materialistic mindframe they considered themselves more deserving of divine favours
6:53"And thus do We try some of them by others so that they say: Are these they upon whom Allah has conferred benefit from among us? Does not Allah best know the grateful?".
The notion of interdependency, which will lead us to the concept of divine unity, is further pictured through the verses speaking of things created in 43:12,36:36,51:49"azwaj" means "in pairs". This refers to the complementarity prevalent in every single thing. This may include but is not exclusive to, sexual complementarity as in 30:21,16:72. There the Quran addresses the human specie, saying the availability of azwaj (male or female) from among ourselves is meant as a source of security, love and compassion. "azwaj" may be used interchangeably between male and female spouses 2:232,234.
In the context of creation, some verses 53:45,92:3 mention the creation of the sexual pairs by specifying both genders created; male/dhakar and female/untha. But such verses do not make an absolute assertion that all things have been created that way -in opposite genders- or that all living things reproduce sexually. All languages inherently accept exceptions unless the statement is clearly absolute. The Original Creator may create whatever He wills then modify His original creation as He pleases and deems fit 24:45,35:1. He may even create without the mating of sexual pairs as with Jesus' case.
The primary meaning of zawj (plur.azwaaj) in the Quran, is alien to the sexual pairs, as seen in many instances where it is used 13:3,15:88,20:53,131,26:7,38:58,56:7-10. It denotes the kinds or types -some of them unknown to us 36:36- having common points, linked in a way or the other when used in the plural form. This is just as in any language that speaks of pairs without specifying if the pairing is gender based. The root is Z-W-J and it means when two or more things or people form a unit.
The use of azwaj in those verses is one of the devices used by the Quran to emphasize the concept of interconnection and complementarity between all kinds created, even when these thing seem to be opposites. Take a pebble on the beach. The minerals that make up this insignificant pebble before it landed on the shore, have affected the cycle of life and induced a chain of events that led to our existence. The context of pairing in 43:12 for example has God saying how He made the earth a "resting place" for us, water coming down from the sky to allow life, ships, that man ingenuously builds using the material put at his disposal by Allah, and cattle for mobility among other uses. In 15:88 and others, the Quran tells the believers not to grieve or pay much attention to some kind (azwaj) of people -having in common their unbelief and hatred for Islam-. In 13:3-4 Allah says He made from all that the earth produces (thamaraat), 2 types. Just as day and night are 2 opposites but remain complimentary, the earthly products come in 2 opposites but complementary types. Those better than others, remain, from a higher viewpoint complementary although apparently opposites. The better one is appreciated thanks to its lesser counterpart it can be compared to, which in turn is the result of a process the plant goes through so as to reduce competition and bring the crop to fruition.
Even among opposites there is interconnection on all levels, physical or spiritual, and that is the pervasive notion in all the verses speaking of pairing in nature.
The more profound message of the verses speaking of the "azwaj" in creation is understood by their context, which is always that of divine justice and providing proof for the resurrection of the dead and judgement in the next life. The Quran is essentially saying that everything in this varied nature has a complement, without which it is incomplete. If such a thing is the case and that all things have a complement, then how can one deny that this world has its complement in the next life? It is the underlying notion behind the oaths in suras shams/91 and layl/92. These verses depict the concept of interconnection in creation quite well.
For instance although the sun and the moon, the night and day, light and darkness are seemingly opposing to one another as regards their appearance and temperament as well as the effects they cause, yet they are part of a global machinery in which they work in complete harmony with one another
36:40"Neither is it allowable to the sun that it should overtake/tudrika the moon, nor can the night outstrip/sabiqu the day; and all float on in a sphere".
Besides it being part of an intricate metaphor, the verse says that if one element or phenomenon oversteps its limits then disorder appears. This sends a message the creatures endowed with intellect and freewill, that they should respect the bounds set for them to prevent disorder. Tudrika is derived from D-R-K and it means reaching. The Sun is prevented from going out of its way and collide with the Moon. Similarly the phenomena of nighttime/daytime cannot ever overcome one another, if daytime comes, nighttime cannot impose itself. When a portion of the earth is facing the sun (daytime), the nighttime phenomenon cannot occur on this same area. The concept of harmonious order of entities and phenomena, each being restrained to its divinely decreed function or place, is a recurrent theme in the Quran.
Another example is that of the barrier between fresh and salt water. Those to whom the verse was primarily addressed, the Arabs, were land and sea travellers. They passed through estuaries and points where a river met the ocean to see both bodies of water mixing. The Arabic "bahr" means a vast water expanse, be it the ocean, a big river or lake. None of the verses 25:53,27:61,55:19 say that a barrier prevents them from mixing. In fact it clearly says that they meet and mix/maraja 55:19. The verse immediately follows by saying that despite this mixing, there is an unbreakable barrier between the 2 water types referred to earlier. And it is the phenomenon that sustains life on this earth by keeping the water types perpetually appart, salt and sweet, despite their perpetual mixing when they meet. The verse comes in the context of providing evidence of God's bounties, the primary example being exactly this, the constant phenomenon of having 2 distinct water types available, despite their continuous flow and mixing into one another. Had this phenomenon of evaporation and filtration of salt not existed, life as we know it would have been impossible
55:21"Which then of the bounties of your Sustainer will you deny?"
A river meeting the ocean without mixing is not a bounty from God and is irrelevant in stimulating the gratefulness of the reader and audience, which is the whole point of the passage. Another spiritual parallel the verses make with that phenomenon is the existence of 2 types of humans, the spiritually aware and the rest. In this world they mix and mingle on a physical level but will remain separate on the metaphysical sphere. But the Merciful has placed in everyone the potential to thrive spiritually, even the sinner, if he chooses to repent. And so, the verse also states that pearls can be harvested from fresh and saltwater, just as there is spirituality in the righteous as well as the sinner. The imagery is beautiful and uplifting, as opposed to the NT's exclusivist and racist notion of "avoid sharing your pearls with pigs" Matt7. Corals, as a side note, live and grow in seawater but may be found in rivers, such as the massive reef of the Amazon. Corals can also thrive in estuaries, where the 2 bodies of water meet.
In this world, the believers may suffer harm and hardship for adhering to the call of their morality, while the disbelievers profit. That reality can not always last, otherwise this world would be incomplete. Such verses pointing to the universal notion of inter-dependancy also make the believers heed to their own needs and vulnerabilities, whether from a physical/material sense or a spiritual sense, and how Allah alone is independent, self-sufficient 35:15,6:14. Everything is in need of Allah, the Qayyum (Self-subsisting) standing by Himself, the Hayy (Everliving) and all the universe stands because of His eternal endurance, maintainance of life in each instant 2:255,3:2.
A further metaphysical argument for God's oneness is the pervasive Quranic style of attributing to Allah the consequence of a man's actions, even for the most insignificant things. It is meant to remind that the laws of the universe are caused then allowed by Him, He is the only Independent Cause and the Creator.
Every automated process we know in this world is designed by many engineers working hard at it. If anyone claims automation can exist without a designer, onus is on him to prove this speculation. Science has no way of knowing if something happened accidentally or there was a planner behind it. Any such claim is as big a superstition as many of the superstitious ideas primitive people used to have. Allah is the Creator of all things in the universe which is why He is consequently
13:16"the One, the Supreme".
He is unique and encompassing every thing that exists, and what humans "create" (the verb is used for humans too 29:17) is nothing more than the combination and reshaping of what Allah has already created. That is why He is the best of creators 37:125,23:14. He is
2:117"badeeu/Innovator and initiator of the heavens and the earth"
meaning that in His case, contrary to all creative endeavours, He creates without any blueprint, preexisting inspiration, experience, simply through His word
"and if HE decreed an order done, He only says be and it is".
In an absolute, pure sense the capacity to create thus belongs to God alone and this is the underlying notion behind other statements like God being the best of those who show mercy despite others being merciful too, the best of the providers 5:114,34:39 the best of judges 10:109 because he is 11:45,95:8"the most just/wisest of judges" or the best of helpers 3:150 being the Almighty that can never be defeated.
He is the ever-living/al hayy and al qayyum/the standing ie ever remaining, unchanged 2:255,40:65. The prophet Daniel states in the Aramaic in which the text was recorded
Dan6:26"elaha hayya qayyam".
The words carry several implications, including the pervasive pattern throughout the Quran of God being the sole self-sufficient, uncreated, independent entity. He relies on none other than Himself to subsist and will perdure even when all things perish 55:26-7,28:88. Al hayy/the ever living is also a description meant at distinguishing Allah from false deities, as is done in the HB Joshua3:10,1Sam17:26,1Sam17:36,Jer10:9-10,etc., whether they be inanimate entities or living creatures that made themselves or were made into objects of worship 16:20-1. They are neither alive nor are able to keep others alive, they do not exist of their own accord nor can keep others into existence. Their existence depends at all times on the self-sustaining source of all life, Allah.
These appellations therefore when used in their absolute sense, can only be meant for God
7:180,20:8"to Him belong the most perfect names".
More subtly He is
112:2"Allahu ssamad".
Samad stems from s-m-d which has a wide variety of nuances. All of them, as reported by the companions and the earliest lexicographers, point to the notion of dependancy of others unto the entity on which the word is applied. IT may be applied to God or created entities. But since the created entities always need another samad, and that ultimately every creation depends on Allah in all aspects of existence, only Allah truly possesses that quality in full. 112:2 literally says "Allah IS THE SAMAD" ie Allah is the Self-sufficient source of all needs.
This verse, more particularly this word "samad" is key in providing philosophical argument for God's existence, through the negation of infinite regress. If, as atheists suggest, this universe does not depend on a first, non-contingent cause, and that it is instead the result of an infinite series of past events then by definition this current universe could not have existed. This is because it would have had to wait for an infinite amount of time past for it come into being. As stated by Al-Ghazali
"Each number has no end, yet some of them are less than others. This is clearly impossible".
And
"In the world there are events with causes. If these events depend upon other events without end, this is impossible and cannot be believed by a rational person". The prophet said "Satan will come to one of you and he will say, ‘Who created this and that?’ until he says to him, ‘Who created your Lord?’ When it comes to this, let him seek refuge in Allah and stop such thoughts".
We should seek refuge from Allah from asking "who created Allah" not because there is no argument against it, but because the amount of arguments for God's existence as are given both in Quran and ahadith are so manifold and easy to grasp, that the question itself is absurd
52:35"Were they created by nothing? Or were they the creators of themselves? Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Rather, they are not certain".
It is a whisper by the devil so as to confuse a simple matter with counterintuitive arguments of infinities and probabilities.
Nothing escapes causality, in the universe, down to our rational, thinking process which is dependent on it
"i think therefore i am".
In contrast things behave unexpectedly on a quantum level. Since subatomic particles form the building blocks of observable reality, does it then follow that observable causality isnt real? That proposition is used by those seeking to solve the problem of infinite regress without resorting to the necessary being. Quantum physics is still in its infancy, meaning it is desperate to appeal to it and rush to conclusions radically contradictory to an observable, testable, repeatedly predictable macro reality. So regardless of what is assumed to be happening on a quantum level, one still cannot escape that we can repeatedly predict the exact effect of a cause on the macro level, meaning we still cannot escape asking what causes these observations. If it isnt due to quantum interactions, then to what? If it is due to quantum activity, then where do these laws even come from? Also, there are probabilistic patterns even on a quantum level. There isnt complete lack of causality, like tiny unicorns popping out.
Should we deny causality altogether, both on quantum and observable levels, that absolute nothingness preceded the universe, then what is being done at most is denying material causality. At that point we are still justified, rationally, logically, in looking for causality elsewhere, on a metaphysical level, for what caused nothingness to give birth to the universe. Ironically, the most supernatural, magical, sorcery position is that of those arguing against the necessary being, preferring the idea of something popping out of nothing.
We can certainly not invoke randomness as the original cause, for then we would need to explain the predictability of causality within our world, while chaos dominates outside of it. That notion is pervasive throughout the Quran, with statements that the universe follows Truth, that it isnt the result of purposelesness. No accidents exist in a purposeful universe and nothing is unexpected from God's perspective. The Quran pictures that reality as applying to the material world, as well as what, from our limited perspective perceive as random actions of our own volition 57:22-4.
Neither can cyclical dependency cause our universe as their cannot be an initial cause in a never ending cycle.
Fundamentally, Why wouldnt logic, reason, causality fit outside the universe just as it does within? Going by this reasoning, how can one be sure logic holds 1 second from now, or 1 million years away from earth? Why the arbitrary lawlessness outside the universe and not somewhere within it?
If we take out the time factor from the universe as proposed by B-Theorists, again, so as to solve the problem of infinite regress without having a necessary being, then the laws of entropy dictate that given enough time this universe will progressively lose heat, dilute and die out. If it regresses infinitely in the past, the universe should have been a dead, cold, dark place by now.
The fact is that all B-Theory models of a timeless universe are highly speculative, just like any other model removing basic observable facts of life, like time and causality.
Atheists want to prevent the question of what came "before" the big bang since time itself began at the big bang. If that is the case, there cannot have been a "before" that caused it. Besides the paradoxical notion of having something that is both contingent and non-contingent, ie the big bang, cases of cause and effect occurring simultaneously are plentiful. For example jumping in a pool results in water splashing. The cause (body entering the water) and effect (water splashing) are distinct and simultaneous. In fact science itself has been trying to determine, through various models and notions, what occurred "before" the big bang, causing the universe to come into being from non-being. Time simply is the observable change in finite things. And the universe is a finite thing. So one may legitimately ask what brought about the change resulting in the big bang? Most physicists will argue that it was a former universe collapsing, or quantum membranes colliding. This however doesnt resolve the problem of contingency and infinite regress.
Looking at a present event like water flowing, independently of the time factor, we may ask Why does water flow? Why do its atoms bind in such a way? Why are electrons charged the way they are? Etc until we arrive at the fundamental reason that determines these phenomena and which is itself necessary as it is. The mechanical reason why water flows cannot regress infinitely, it has to start at some point
56:71-2"And have you seen the fire that you ignite? Is it you who produced its tree, or are We the producer?"
This is another simple phenomenon observable to anyone, and which broadly addresses the impossibility of infinite regress. The verse jumps from the final result in a chain of contingency (the fire) to its most obvious cause (the tree that provides wood) which itself doesnt escape contingency. Just as the unexplainable phenomenon of life cannot regress infinitely and must have initiated in lifeless matter
15:26"And We did certainly create man out of clay from an altered black mud".
This implies a necessary being, the Unique Creator Who brings things into being the first time, which are all nuances of the term badii
6:101"Originator of the heavens and the earth".
He is the Creator Who gives the initial spark in all things, sustains every intricate mechanism allowing water to flow, fire to burn, or giving life to mankind from dust, just as He sustains every other mechanism in the universe without break
2:255"Allah - there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of [all] existence. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth".
The independent cause is thus constantly sustaining the universe in all of its most intricate aspects and needs
20:49-50"[Pharaoh] said, "So who is the Lord of you two, O Moses?" He said, "Our Lord is He who gave each thing its form and then guided [it]".
Pharaoh believed himself to be a god, but he could not claim to be the necessary being. Like any other created thing, he knew he was contingent, with a beginning and an end, that he is limited by space. Allah, on the other hand
57:3"He is the First and the Last, the Outer and the Inner, and He is, of all things, Knowing".
Nothing precedes or outlasts Him, nothing is above or beyond Him both in terms of space and knowledge. God is the only eternal, all encompassing entity. How futile is it then to direct worship to anything within the realm of contingency
41:37"And of His signs are the night and day and the sun and moon. Do not prostrate to the sun or to the moon, but prostate to Allah, who created them, if it should be Him that you worship".
So when pressed to identify on Whose behalf he was speaking, Moses said the Necessary Being upon whom all things depend for creation as well as functioning
34:24"Say, "Who provides for you from the heavens and the earth?" Say, "Allah. And indeed, we or you are either upon guidance or in clear error".
The answer to the rhetorical question is here quickly given, leaving no room to speculations. The implication is that any contrary position is that of error and delusions, how can anyone rely on anything else than the necessary being that supersedes all contingency?
55:26-9"Everyone upon the earth will perish, And there will remain the Face of your Lord, Owner of Majesty and Honor. Whoever is within the heavens and earth asks Him; every day He is bringing about a matter".
The idolaters are repeatedly described in the Quran as recognizing the existence of the Creator as the unique, uncaused cause of all things. Besides their deviations in belief, such as ascribing partners to Him in the dominion, they however in great majority denied the concept of return, let alone accountability before Him in the hereafter. The prophets therefore stressed a complete, comprehensive picture of creation; the very idea of an origin implies a return of all elements to the originator
27:64"He, Who brings creation into being, then brings it back, and Who provides for you from Heaven and the earth"
The necessary being therefore is upon Whom all things rely, He can never be detached from creation for a single instant or else all things fall apart 32:5,65:12,30:25,22:65,35:41. This is particularly pointed out in the verses speaking of Allah's establishing Himself upon the throne.
Further, How do we know the necessary being, the uncaused cause, is a volitional, sentient, self aware entity?
Firstly, as is seen in the universe, whenever there is a cause, the effect must follow. In the famous example by Al Ghazali, as soon as the sun rises, there is light. Similarly, if the First Cause is a mechanical, non volitional entity, then the effect, ie creation/the universe, must have existed since infinity, not approx 14 billion years ago. He would be forced to create by his very nature as the initial cause, making him limited and contingent on factors outside his control thus taking us back to the problem of infinite regress. That is why the necessary being must be sentient, having freedom of choice, choosing to create at a particular time.
Second, we see patterns in the universe indicating intentionality. It is further impossible to have 2 independent creators, one deciding to create, the other not. They would limit one another in power and will. And limitations entail contingency, taking us back to the problem of infinite regress.
On a factual level, if we abandon the world of speculations and illusions, we are in a contingent, dependent, temporal universe that follows patterns. This is itself sufficient proof that a necessary being exists who intentionally caused it to be. This higher power must be greater than the universe and not dependent upon anything to sustain itself. These points are stressed over and over again in the Quran, including in sura ikhlas. The contingency argument leads to the necessary being. Metaphysical deductions based on observation of this world cannot go beyond an elementary notion of the necessary being. Human reasoning alone will never attain to knowledge that is beyond experience, such as the various concepts and realities of the unseen. That is the job of revelation to explain. But revelation also states that it shall not describe the fullness of what is currently beyond the reach of human perception. This includes things or concepts like the divine essence, the attributes of God, the realities of the unseen such as angels, heaven and hell. Some of those will appear in their full reality in the hereafter, once the veil of the unseen is lifted and human vision becomes as sharp as steel 50:22,19:38. Other realities remain beyond perception even once humans attain the hereafter. The superiority of the Muslim position in its argumentation for the existence of the necessary being is that its global perspective, using logic, reason, observation, together with revelation does not result in any form of difficulty and contradiction. Divine transcendence is always maintained. The same cannot be said for the way the necessary being is expressed in the other monotheistic faiths.
The Quran gives the basis for which to build upon arguments for God's existence, for both the ancient and modern mind
3:190"In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding/ulul albab"
the prophet stated in regards to this verse
"Woe to he who recites it but does not contemplate it’s (meaning)".
The expression ulul albab stems from the lub which is the inner core of the fruit. In the highly symbolic language of the Arabs, the expression implied that wisdom is deeper than the shell, that one finds nourishment, physical and mental, from seeking the inside of things. The verse is saying that Signs surround us, but are only accessible to those who delve into the inner core of things. Ibrahim is the prime example given in the Quran. As he saw the alternations of night and day, cosmic bodies coming and going, he concluded that there must be something greater than all of them, subjecting them to change, limiting them. Intuitively, the supreme power behind all things is one that is not subject to change, limits, dependency. "Allahu samad" encapsulates that notion. That is how Ibrahim delved into the core meaning of the surrounding occurrences, deriving the signs from them.
Since the creator is always involved with His creation on a material level then shouldnt He also answer the need of the only creature endowed with the capacity to deduce the existence of the Creator? If not, why are we made with that ability, why is our default mental disposition to believe in unseen phenomena? The necessary being is volitional and unlimited, He sustains all causality, but how do we know that He wants us to submit to him? Firstly, submission entails acceptance of a command. If one chooses how to submit it doesnt entail it is as the superior entity desires it. That is where revelation and prophecy come into play, as pledged to Adam and his wife when they left the garden 20:123.
It is well known that genetically, humans are programmed to see life forces – a phenomenon called hypersensitive agency detection – everywhere we go, regardless of whether they’re there or not. Scientists say this might be an ancient defense mechanism that helped us avoid concealed danger, such as lions crouched in the grass or venomous snakes concealed in the bush, but that it also made us "vulnerable" to inferring the existence of invisible agents, such as a benevolent God. That mechanism, labelled "System 1" also encourages us to see things dualistically, meaning we have trouble thinking of the mind and body as a single unit. This tendency emerges quite early: young children, regardless of their cultural background, are inclined to believe that they have an immortal soul. For these reasons, many scholars believe that religion arose as “a byproduct of our cognitive disposition”, ie it would be cognitively unnatural to not believe, and to think of oneself in a non-dualistic way, which is why atheists (Atheism itself is a very recent phenomenon) must fight against that natural urge to believe in an existence with a purpose, that they are a part of something bigger, that life isn’t completely futile.
Even those who explicitly describe themselves as non-believers, still harbor superstitious and non-rational thought processes. It is also established that inscribed in our DNA, there is a moral compass and sense of justice making us, since the youngest age, prefer good than bad actions.
It is the general guidance referred to 20:50 and instilled in all humans without exception. The Quran thus establishes that man is hardwired with a connection to its Creator. In reference to that intimate relation, the prophet said
"He who knows his soul knows his Lord".
On the other hand the Quran warns
59:19"And be not like those who forgot Allah, so He made them forget their own souls".
If one ponders on the Quranic argumentation for the divine, one notices that it doesnt try demonstrating God's existence, but rather corrects how humans are to perceive Him and His attributes. Throughout human history, accepting the existence of a deity was not an issue, rather the problem lied in the inability to recognize His true attributes and the manner He interacts with creation.
Surah Ikhlas powerfully captures divine unity, self-sufficiency and uniqueness from the point of view of his attributes,
112:1-4"He is Allah, AHAD/One".
AHAD literally translates to "one of", meaning one of His type. One might come back and argue that it is possible for an entity to be unique typologically but it does not negate that other entities might be comparable to it. For example a cat is comparable to a dog although individually they are typologically unique. There are people, namely the Trinitarians who do not deny God's numerical oneness, rather deny directly or indirectly the oneness of His essence which is shared through different typological entities father/son/holyspirit. The rest of the sura negates that proposition through several irrefutable arguments. If Allah was not typologically unique, that there were other types of entities like Him, then they would have some kind of intrinsic power to influence the functioning of the universe. This is the known problem of the imperfect wording in what is supposed to be the ultimate declaration of monotheism in the HB
Deut6:4"Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One/Echad".
The wording here although similar to Arabic, negates there being more than one God to Israel, but it doesnt deny the existence of other gods in general. The Quran thus clears the matter, saying that intrinsic power is Allah's prerogative, He is the God upon whom all things depend/samad. Further, none is comparable to Him in any way;
"Say: He, Allah, is AHAD, Allah is He on Whom all depend, He begets not, nor is He begotten, And none is like Him".
Allah is therefore supremely One and that is why most translators rendered AHAD in this context as simply "One", encompassing both numerical and typological singularity. We are never told that Allah ascended at some point in time to the role he has throughout the Quran. Allah isnt merely another high god like Marduk, Baal, or Zeus who all took on their position at some point. Allah is the one and only God and has always held the highest position among all of creation, heavenly and wordly. He is never generated nor is limited by anything or anyone
"when He wills a thing He says "Be" and it is".
He is unique in the midst of diversity 30:22, complementarity, and polarity amongst the various kinds in the universe that work in interconnection. It is one of the major signs man is asked to ponder upon
51:49"And of everything We have created azwaj (different kinds) that you may be mindful"2:164,89:3"Consider the multiple and the One".
Through all these means and devices
3:18"Allah (Himself) bears witness that there is no god but He".Sura ikhlas is the most explicit statement of tawhid, of the whole Quran. It clears the confusion of those who conjecture on the oneness of the Creator from every aspect. Allah is "one of" His type, but at the same time there is no origin or likeness to His kind.
38:65-8"and there is no god but Allah, the One, the Subduer (of all). The Lord of the heavens and the earth and what is between them, the Mighty, the most Forgiving".
Every single time the Quran mentions Allah subduing all of creation, it is preceded by an emphasis on His uniqueness. What necessarily follows from that statement is that neither one that preceded Him has shared that essence, nor one that is begotten by Him. He, in His uniqueness is the subduer of all things outside of Himself. An entity that is unique in every possible way means that there cannot be any point of comparison which one could use in order to begin to imagine Him. Any attempt to compare Him remains infinitely far from His actual reality
42:11"nothing like a likeness of Him".
These verses speaking of things made in "azwaj" end with
"there are signs in this for a people who understand".
Only those devoid of the correct mindframe; intellectual observation through spiritual insight, are unable to appreciate the portent of the signs which the verses direct them to, unable to see the singularity and unity of the Creator opposite the interdependant diversity of creation. Hence, right after God being the ultimate witness to divine unity, the verse 3:18 continues by praising the heavenly creatures and those who have the correct mindframe and thus are able to recognize the higher realities
"Allah (Himself) bears witness that there is no god but He, and (so do) the angels and the possessors of knowledge, standing firm for justice".
The Quran uses simple logical deductions based on the signs in the heavens and earth testifying to the unity of a Single, uncreated and independent Cause. On a philosophical level, the implication from the observance of the universe is that there must have been a single, uncaused cause of all things. This denies the simultaneous existence of several gods. Multiple deities would naturally compete with oneanother, affecting the order of the universe. Having different needs and interests, they would issue contradicting commands
17:111"And say: ‘(All) Praise is Allah’s, Who has not taken unto Him a son; nor has He got any partner in the Sovereignty; and there is not for Him any helper out of humbleness.’ And magnify Him with all magnificence".
A quick look at the mythologies of polytheist beliefs all throughout the history of mankind, confirms this
21:22"If there had been in them any gods except Allah, they (the heavens and the earth) would both have certainly been in a state of disorder"17:42"If there were with Him gods as they say, then certainly they would have been able to seek a way to the Lord of power"23:91"never was there with him any (other) god-- in that case would each god have certainly taken away what he created, and some of them would certainly have overpowered others; glory be to Allah above what they describe!".
If Allah had partners and more than one god had ruled over the world, each of these gods would have managed and established his control over the realm of his own creations. Consequently different parts of the universe would end up being managed under different laws and systems. Disorder in the universe would ensue but this does not accord with the unity of creation that we witness around us, governed by laws that are the same everywhere in the heavens and the earth.
This incredible coordination is known by the most atheists of physicists as being on the thinnest of razor edges, where the slightest variation will throw the entire system into disarray. The only conclusion, for those endowed with the proper knowledge, one that works side by side with spiritual awareness, is that the whole thing is designed and in constant control, maintenance and sustenance by a Unique, and Sole Creator 15:21,20:50,25:2,59:1,80:19,87:2-3.
Multiplicity inevitably leads to differences and in such a vast, intricately related universal system, as described throughout the verses pointing to complementarity in creation, these differences would lead to chaos and opposition instead
27:64"Is He [not best] who begins creation and then repeats it and who provides for you from the heaven and earth? Is there a deity with Allah? Say, "Produce your proof, if you should be truthful".
Here the Quran states a powerful truth; as the imprint of intelligent design becomes more apparent with every scientific advancement, so to is the fact that the uncaused cause beyond contingency must be singular. Every attempt to explain the existence of the universe in such an evidently planned and deliberate state without acknowledging God’s existence and oneness has proven logically unsustainable.
Polytheism equally inevitably leads to the idea of gods begetting children and being begotten 16:20 succeeding oneanother or relying on one another in times of incapacity. The necessity of a single, all encompassing God, preceding all things and outlasting them, incorporeal and self-sufficient denies that concept. Sura ikhlas intricately and eloquently discusses and refutes that idea.
Atheists many times argue that the multiplicity of gods across all belief systems entails that all are equally invented, how can one discern truth from falsehood? But, the premise doesnt follow the conclusion, just as the multiplicity of theories to explain something doesnt entail all are false. By a set of logical, testable, rational standards, one can fairly easily filter down the possibilities to a fraction. Similarly the multiplicity of religions can be narrowed down to a few; it should be God-centric, since divinely revealed. It should consequently claim to be the only truth. Being God-centric, it should be universal, all inclusive across every people of the earth, and survive the test of time. This makes it relevant to all aspects of human life, not only from a spiritual and ritualistic perspective, but also social, economical, even political. It must be authentic so as to be a point of spiritual reference, knowledge of God, moral betterment and finally without the trace of any human involvement. Interestingly no other revelation than the Quran claims to be error free, nor protected from corruption in the future sense. No other revelation provides a falsifiable test for all times, not only from the viewpoint of consistency but also from the viewpoint of replication; the linguistic miracle is beyond human capacity.
Our universe was and is continuously created with wisdom and purpose. Such wisdom and purpose are always tied to God's mercy; from the alternation of the day and night providing us with periods of rest and activity 30:23, down to the very clothes we wear which the Quran refers to as "coming down from heaven", everything around us is filled with obvious signs of His power, providence and wisdom, to the point that whichever way one turns his gaze, from the smallest to the biggest
2:115"whichever way you turn, there is the Face of Allah".
The vastness and complexity of the universe are among the evidences put at mankind's disposal, of the might and all encompassing knowledge of the supreme Creator, as well as the relative insignificance of the human being from the point of view of creation and consequent resurrection
40:57,79:27,65:12"It is Allah Who has created the seven heavens and the earth and from the later the like thereof. His Command descends between them at all times that you may know that Allah is Omnipotent over all things and His Omniscience encompasses surrounds all things".
The Quran treats contemplation on that amazing creation as a means by which one may worship the Creator
3:190-1"Verily in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day, there are signs for the possessors of intellects. Those who remember Allah while standing, sitting and lying on their sides, and mediate on the creation of the heavens and the earth, (seriously saying) 'Our Lord! You have not created (all) this in vain! Glory be to you! Save us then from the torment of the Fire'".Besides size and complexity, beauty itself is a factor the Quran stresses as an equally important sign pointing to the Creator. Evidently, things could have looked much different than they do and yet even the most common things like an ant or the moon, when observed closely fill us with awe.
Each of God's attributes manifests itself in some way in our world, to provide mankind with indications of a superior being. If we take His attribute of power for instance, among the most compelling and mind-blowing manifestations of it is the physical universe, unceasingly amazing and confusing the greatest minds that ever lived, the deeper they observe and ponder upon it
67:3-4"Who created the seven heavens one above another; you see no incongruity in the creation of the Beneficent Allah; then look again, can you see any disorder? Then turn back the eye again and again; your look shall come back to you confused while it is fatigued".
The discovery of countless worlds beyond our solar system, all stranger than the other in terms of their inner conditions, enhance even further the significance of the signs of nature man is repeatedly told to ponder upon, testifying to God's bounty. When one sees how improbable it is for life to be sustained in this seemingly boundless universe, and yet how flourishing it is in our world, how could one negate intent and purpose in creation? And when one adds the element of ease and all encompassing control over originating and sustaining the universe, then how could someone argue that our relative insignificance entails disinterest from the Creator? The more we look into the universe, the more there is in fact indication that we are not insignificant.
Looking closer to us is the moon. It controls the length of the day and ocean tides, which affect the biological cycles of lifeforms on our planet. The moon also contributes to Earth's climate by stabilizing Earth's spin axis, offering an ideal environment for life to develop and evolve. The size ratio between the earth and its satellite is unique from all the worlds observed until now, and it is this ratio that allows these vital phenomena to occur
25:2"It is He who has created all things and ordained them in due proportions".
The self-evident truth in the cosmos of intelligent design is among the major arguments stressed by the messengers. Casting doubt on this clear truth is at odds with human nature
14:10"Their messengers said, "Can there be doubt about Allah, Creator of the heavens and earth?".
The passage continues, saying that this reality is self evident to the extent that one can literally see God's imprint in the universe
14:19"Have you not seen that Allah created the heavens and the earth in truth?"
The existence of a Creator is now clearer than it ever was. In this age we live in, miracles in the sense of occurrences that bend the expected laws of nature are obsolete. Although the general scenery of creation described in the Quran as a sign to reflect upon is enough to alert the conscious heart to the miracles surrounding us, the advanced tools at our disposal have magnified these miracles to an unprecedented degree, ironically the very tools of those who are often the first to deny God's existence. Those whose minds are bent at denying it are left with nothing more than engaging in sophistry, pushing the boundaries of probabilities to unreasonable extent so as to allow for the most infinitesimal chance for doubt. In the meantime, anywhere mankind concentrates its most advanced scientific observation, the more the signature of an intelligent design is apparent. This reality applies to the vastness of the universe down to machine like programming of the DNA. An entity capable of initiating massively complex information must have preceded all things. That entity must, as a consequence be transcendental ie beyond matter, as well as unbound by time and space which both had a beginning.
There is an impressive amount of theories to explain the great mystery of how the very first gene and self replicating molecule originated, among them one that focuses on montmorillonite clay. This abundant, inorganic blend of minerals is known to be a chemical catalyst, the crucial precursor to RNA formation, as well as a means by which chemical reactions can be confined and protected until the possible development of cellular membranes. But until now science has been unable to test and repeat any of those suggestions, including the clay model, to produce the first living cell. Even on a theoretical level, the attempts to explain the pathway from non-living to living matter have so far not achieved the states of complexity that are anywhere near that of the simplest known living systems. In fact some have began arguing that the "p-value" (calculated probability for a hypothesis to be true) for nature to produce the complexity of the genetic code is so small that it should be soundly rejected by science. The only counter to this inevitable conclusion is the multiverse theory, the existence of an infinite number of unseen, untestable entities, which is actually just a way of conceding that the only alternative to obvious reality is utter absurdity. The notion of Multiverse is a fallacy. Practically, it is impossible to have a sum of finite things, as is the case of our universe. Each entity in itself must be infinite. If one universe is destroyed, does it result in infinity minus 1? In an infinite pile of marbles, if 2 are taken out, can the rest remain infinite? Further, If one universe is measurable, it must be finite. One cannot measure distances between 2 points in an infinite entity, as it entails that what is beyond these 2 points is measurable. The fact is infinity is an abstract concept inapplicable to anything known and observable in the universe. Even in theory, where do we begin counting and how does an object reach any point in infinity if it goes back endlessly meaning it never started? It is impossible to traverse infinity. One cannot postulate a possibility that is not only counterintuitive, inapplicable in real world, but that also has strong, testable, numerous arguments against it.
Only intelligent minds can produce significant levels of functional information. Since even the simplest lifeforms require high levels of information, the scientific evidence for intelligent design becomes impressive. Even then, one still has to explain how does intelligent design initiate an information without any previous examples, references, experiences. This, the Quran answers through the phrase
2:117"badeeu/Innovator and initiator of the heavens and the earth".
The connotation of the word is that, contrary to all creative endeavours, He creates without any blueprint, preexisting inspiration, experience. He does so through His word
"and if HE decreed an order done, He only says be and it is".
This is why God is the "best of creators".
This vast universe is a highly complex entity that will keep on evading man's grasp despite his ability to observe it and physically test it. Its complexity is such that God even swears by
91:5"the building of it"
as denoted with the impersonal "ma". That complexity however does not entail difficulty to Allah, who brought it to existence through His creative word "Be".
