Ch 3 — From Denial to Belief in God / Denial to Belief: Predictable Universe
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.
In 1964, I wrote a book in Urdu titled Mazhab aur Jadeed Challenge (which has been translated into English as God Arises). This book shows that the universe is very meaningful. Such a meaningful universe cannot have been made without a Maker. One of the points the book makes is that on the 11th of August 1999, a solar eclipse would be completely visible in Cornwall. I had written this around thirty-five years before this event. Thirty-five years after I wrote this, the date arrived. By this advance announcement, at the exact appointed time, a solar eclipse did indeed occur. There was not a minute difference in the occurrence of this event. p. 135
I had not come up with this point myself, but rather, it was based on the calculations of expert astronomers. These experts made such an accurate claim well in advance because the universe runs according to well-established laws. Even after millions of years, there has not been the slightest change. Based on this discovery, the scientist Sir James Jeans suggested in his book The Mysterious Universe that the study of the universe seems to indicate that its Creator is a Mathematical Mind. p. 136original + quote
A major aspect of something being meaningful is that it is also predictable. This quality is present completely throughout the universe, one proof of which is evident in the above-cited example of the solar eclipse. p. 136
Some people who deny the existence of God claim that the present universe came into being through chance or accident, not by the decision of any Creator. But this is not correct. If it is accepted that the present meaningful universe emerged as a result of an accident, the necessary consequence would be that we should also have to admit that the accidents, without any consciousness, that occur in this world are also a factor that can bring into existence meaningful things. In such a situation, the ‘accident’ that supposedly brought the universe into being must be repeatable. The universe should come into existence repeatedly because accidents happen frequently. If an unconscious accident has supposedly created a meaningful universe once, in the same way, it should happen again that a meaningful universe should come into being through an ‘accident.’ But as is known, a universe other than the one that exists never again comes into being after the existing universe did. p. 136original + quote
According to scientific estimates, the universe is around 15 billion years old. What reason is there that in this long period, a meaningful universe has come into being just once and never again after that, not even partially? For example, as far as we know, it has never happened that a new solar system has been created again or that a planet like Earth has come into being with water, air, and greenery, where humans and animals move about. This is clear evidence of creation as a result of a conscious decision by a Creator and not as an ‘accident.’ p. 137
The present world is an exceptional phenomenon. The universe is an exception and refutes the view of the deniers of God. If the universe were only the result of an accident, it would be repeatable through another such ‘accident’. But when it is not repeatable, seeking to explain it as a result of a supposed accident is entirely baseless. This sort of explanation is not scientifically acceptable. p. 137original + quote
The fact is that for a person, the existence of God is as certain as that of his existence. Every person accepts their existence. Through the same evidence and proof, he will also have to accept the existence of God. To accept one’s existence and not to accept God’s existence is an intellectual contradiction. No serious person can accept this. p. 137
The famous 17th-century French philosopher Rene Descartes (1596-1650) said, “I think, therefore I exist.” This principle is undoubtedly a firm one. According to this principle, a person aware of himself reaches the stage of realizing God. According to this principle, it would be correct to say, “I exist; therefore, God exists.” p. 137original + quote
The universe is not repeatable, proving that a conscious Being made this universe according to His will and decision. God is a proven Being. To believe in God is to accept something that is proven, while to deny God is to deny something that is proven. p. 138