Ch 3 — From Denial to Belief in God / Denial to Belief: Man's Existence is Proof of God's Existence
God And The Universe — Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
Badges mark quoted or attributed material (Qur'an, hadith, another author, an opposing view). Unbadged passages are Maulana Wahiduddin Khan's own words.
MAN’S EXISTENCE IS PROOF OF GOD’S EXISTENCE p. 162
In the vast universe, man denies God’s existence even though man’s existence is the most extraordinary proof of Divine existence. If a being like man exists, then God indeed exists. All those qualities present in perfect form in God are present in imperfect form in man. If an imperfect being exists, then a perfect being also certainly exists. Believing in one and not believing in another is a logical contradiction that no person with a thinking mind can countenance. p. 162
Rene Descartes, a renowned French philosopher (1596-1650), was faced with the question of whether man exists and what the rational proof of his existence is. After a long reflection, he answered, “I think, therefore, I exist.” p. 162original + quote
Descartes’s answer is a logically sound one. But this logic, which proves man’s existence, gives us something more significant: the rational evidence of the existence of God. In the light of this rational principle, it would be correct to say, ‘thinking exists; therefore, God exists. Thinking is an abstract thing. People deny God because they think that the concept of God appears to be something abstract. p. 162
Moreover, the existence of an abstract concept is not understandable to them, that is, to believe in something with no material existence. However, every man is a thinking creature. Therefore, based on one’s experience, everyone believes in the existence of thinking despite thinking being an abstract concept with no material existence. p. 163
If man believes in the abstract concept of man’s existence, he must also accept the abstract idea of another existence. This is, without doubt, proof of God’s existence. Every person undergoes this experience and believes in it without any disagreement. If the existence of thinking is denied, then one’s existence will have to be rejected. No one can deny one’s existence; it is not, therefore, logically possible for anyone to deny the existence of God. p. 163
Another reason why people deny the existence of God is that He is invisible; he cannot be seen. God’s being invisible is not a sufficient reason to deny His existence. The truth is that denying God’s existence because He is invisible is an anachronistic argument in this age of modern science. In the post-Einstein era, when the atom was split, and the river of knowledge reached the micro-world, which was in the unseen, it was learned that everything was invisible. Things previously regarded as visible—atoms—all became invisible—sub-atomic particles that cannot be seen. In such a situation, denying the existence of God based on invisibility has become an unscientific stand. For details on this subject, studying these two books is recommended: p. 163
1. The Unseen World, by Sir Arthur Eddington p. 164
2. Human Knowledge, by A. W. Bertrand Russel p. 164
Present-day science accepts the existence of many things that cannot be seen, such as electrons, the law of gravity, X-rays, etc. Although they cannot be observed by the human eye directly, every scientist believes in their existence for the simple reason that although we cannot see these things directly, we can see their effects—for example, the heat of an electron, a falling apple, in the case of gravity, and a photo film, in the case of X-rays. From the scientific point of view, we believe in the existence of things, both by direct observation and their effects or, in other words, by way of indirect knowledge or inferential argument. p. 164
If everything in this universe is proved through indirect evidence, then the same is true for God’s existence. God certainly is not visible to our eyes. But He is undoubtedly observable through His signs—His creation in the form of the universe around us. So, we can say that the presence of the creation is proof of the Creator. This is scientific and intellectual evidence for the existence of God. p. 164
Space Observation p. 164
Space travel is one of the new things that have come into existence in present times. Many people have travelled into space in rockets, and with special telescopes, they have studied the Earth. Their space observations have revealed many new things. An Astronaut once observed that he realized there was no planet like the Earth in the vast universe during his space journey. There is life on Earth, and along with it, a high-order life support system exists. These two things are found on the planet most proportionately. One astronaut expressed his observation regarding the Earth in these words: “Right type of material at the right place.” p. 164original + quote
It is a unique quality of the planet Earth that life is found here. Here, there are walking, talking human beings. But the existence of life of such a kind is no simple matter. For it, innumerable factors are required, without which the existence or survival of life would not be possible. In this respect, Earth is a unique exception in the vast universe. Here, exceptionally, man exists, and the entire life support system exists in the very proportionate manner required for man’s survival. This meaningful exception in the vast universe is proof of purposeful action and planned creation. Therefore, the existence of such a Being who possesses Will and who can create needs no proof. p. 165
The Earth: An Exception p. 165
If anyone could travel and observe the whole universe, he would find that this vast universe was entirely lifeless. There is boundless space, terrible darkness, hurdling stones, colossal fireballs, and all these things are in a perpetual and frenzied state of motion. When an astronaut passes through these incredible scenes and finally reaches the planet Earth, he finds an astonishing exception. Exceptionally, there is water, greenery, animals, life, and human beings with intelligence. Then he sees, astonishingly, the existence of the life support system. Here, a complete civilization exists that is not found anywhere in the vast universe. Apparently, there is an extremely meaningful world in an entirely meaningless cosmos. p. 165
This event shows that the planet Earth is a unique exception in this vast universe. This exception is no simple matter. Exception proves intervention, and intervention proves the existence of an Intervenor, and when the existence of an Intervenor is proved, the existence of God is also proved. p. 166