In the Quran, Allah Almighty has clearly stated His authority and mentions time and again that everything and every bounty of the world are from Him and He ought to be invoked for everything. The Quran is full of verses that talk about Allah as “The Creator” and the word of Allah is the Absolute Truth. It is true that Allah knows all that is in our hearts. Allah’s knowledge compasses all things, as does His mercy and wisdom. Allah says:
وَإِذَا مَسَّكُمُ الضُّرُّ فِي الْبَحْرِ ضَلَّ مَن تَدْعُونَ إِلَّا إِيَّاهُ ۖ فَلَمَّا نَجَّاكُمْ إِلَى الْبَرِّ أَعْرَضْتُمْ ۚ وَكَانَ الْإِنسَانُ كَفُورًا
“When adversity touches you at sea, lost are all those you invoke except for Him. But when He delivers you to the land, you turn away from Him. Ever is man ungrateful.” (Surah Al-Isra 17:67)
The best way to know Allah and to understand His actuality is through His ‘best’ names and attributes His Being comprises of – these attributes find perfection solely through and in His Being. Allah Almighty is known to Muslims as the Most Merciful Being, it is only because of His mercy that even when we commit sins, He lets them go and gives us many chances. Allah says:
فَأَقِمْ وَجْهَكَ لِلدِّينِ حَنِيفًا ۚ فِطْرَتَ اللَّهِ الَّتِي فَطَرَ النَّاسَ عَلَيْهَا ۚ لَا تَبْدِيلَ لِخَلْقِ اللَّهِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
“So direct your face toward the religion, inclining to truth. Adhere to the nature of Allah upon which He has created all people. No change should there be in the creation of Allah. That is the correct religion, but most people do not know.” (Surah Ar-Rum 30:30)
The universe must necessarily have a Creator because it is impossible for the universe to have created itself or to have been created by nothing. Therefore, there must have been a Creator who provided the initial force and energy needed to set the universe in motion. This is sometimes called the cosmological argument.
Allah’s creation has been designed and created everything in the universe:
- Allah is the Creator, not created, nor a part of His creation
- Allah is with those who fear Him and the good-doers
- Allah does not forgive setting up partners with Him
- Allah sent His Messengers to guide all of mankind
- Allah sent Muhammad (PBUH) as the last Prophet
- Allah promises who obey Him to enter Paradise
- Allah warned who disobey Him against the Hell
- Allah is very Gracious and Kind to His slaves
- Allah is the Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful
- Allah is the one, Who has no partner
- Allah is First, Last, and Everlasting
- Allah knows what is in our hearts
- Allah is the Maintainer of life
- Allah’s book is the Holy Quran
- Allah is also severe in punishment
- Allah is First, Last, and Everlasting
- Allah is All-Powerful, absolutely Just
- Allah is everything in His own accord
- Allah’s knowledge compasses all things
- Allah is very Gracious and Kind to His slaves
- Allah is All-Merciful, the Supreme, the Sovereign
- Allah knows what we conceal and what we reveal
- Allah not only warned us against Satan but also his footsteps
- Allah sent Muhammad (PBUH) as a messenger for all mankind
- Allah is near and he responds to the invocations of the supplicants
اللَّهُ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَكِيلٌ
“Allah (is the) Creator (of) all things, and He (is) over all things a Guardian.” (Surah Az-Zumar 39:62)
Muslims believe that Allah is the all-powerful Creator of a perfect, ordered universe. He is transcendent and not a part of his creation, and is most often referred to in terms and with names that emphasize his majesty and superiority. Moreover, the vast majority of human beings throughout history and across religious traditions have affirmed the existence of the Almighty Creator. It is simply part of our nature to recognize these signs because Allah has created us this way. Allah says:
وَلَئِن سَأَلْتَهُم مَّنْ خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ لَيَقُولُنَّ اللَّهُ ۚ قُلِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ۚ بَلْ أَكْثَرُهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
“If you asked them: Who created the heavens and earth? They would surely say, Allah. Say: All praise is due to Allah, but most of them do not know.” (Surah Luqman 31:25)
Allah is the Giver of life and it is only through His grace that we breathe as we do and are able to function in our daily lives. Human nature also recognizes objective moral values shared across religions and cultures throughout time, known to philosophers as “natural law.” This is sometimes called the moral argument. Remembering God is thus the life force of faith, without which it fades and withers away.
The Oneness of God in the Quran:
- “Allah does what He wishes” (Quran 2.253)
- “Allah! There is no God save Him.” (Quran 3:2, 2:255)
- “….Allah is the creator of everything….” (Quran 13:16)
- “And God created you and what you make.” (Quran 37:96)
- “There is only one god: “There is no god save Allah.” (Quran 47.19)
- “Sight can never reach Him; His sight reaches all things.” (Quran 6:103)
- “Is there any God beside Allah? Nay, but most of them know not.” (Quran 27:61)
- “God is unique and dissimilar to anything: “There is nothing like Him.” (Quran 42.11)
- “He is the supreme ruler of the universe: “Allah is able to do all things.” (Quran 5.17)
- “And they contrived, and God contrived, but God is the greatest of contrivers.” (Quran 3:54)
- “Proclaim: Allah is One. Allah is Eternal. He neither begets nor was begotten.” (Quran 112:1-4)
- “Everything and everyone is in submission to Him, whether by choice or by force: “To Him submits whoever is in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly.” (Quran 3.83)
- “He is subtle and out of the reach of anyone’s senses: “Vision cannot grasp Him, but He grasps all vision; and He is the Subtle One, the Aware One.” (Quran 6.103)
- “Before starting the creation, God was alone; eternity is strictly God’s: “He is the first and the last.” (Quran 57.3)
- “Is there any God beside Allah? Nay, but they are folk who ascribe equals (unto Him)!” (Quran 27:60)
It might be asked why some people disbelieve in the Creator if sound human nature inclines toward faith. The answer is that Allah has created life as a test involving various influences such as the temptations of Satan and selfish desires. Although human nature inclines toward faith, a person must ultimately choose to pursue faith in the Creator over the influences of unbelief. Allah says:
أَمْ خُلِقُوا مِنْ غَيْرِ شَيْءٍ أَمْ هُمُ الْخَالِقُونَ أَمْ خَلَقُوا السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ ۚ بَل لَّا يُوقِنُونَ
“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.” (Surah At-Tur 52:35-36)
Thus, from the sun and the moon in the heavens to the creatures on the earth to the innermost parts of the human being – all of these point to the power and deliberate design of the Creator. It is human instinct (fitrah) to recognize these signs as evidence of the Creator’s purpose. Allah says:
سَنُرِيهِمْ آيَاتِنَا فِي الْآفَاقِ وَفِي أَنفُسِهِمْ حَتَّىٰ يَتَبَيَّنَ لَهُمْ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ ۗ أَوَلَمْ يَكْفِ بِرَبِّكَ أَنَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدٌ
“We will show them Our signs in the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth. But is it not sufficient concerning your Lord that He is, over all things, a Witness?” (Surah Fussilat 41:53)
According to the Qur’an, God’s divinity cannot be shared or divided. Everything and everyone other than God is merely His creation and servants. Spiritual development brings the servant closer to God, but it can never bring him close to divinity. It rather confirms his servanthood. Being nearer to God means getting closer to becoming the perfect Muslim, and the latter is one who has attained complete surrender and submission to God. Allah says:
قُلْ مَن يُنَجِّيكُم مِّن ظُلُمَاتِ الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ تَدْعُونَهُ تَضَرُّعًا وَخُفْيَةً لَّئِنْ أَنجَانَا مِنْ هَٰذِهِ لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الشَّاكِرِينَ قُلِ اللَّهُ يُنَجِّيكُم مِّنْهَا وَمِن كُلِّ كَرْبٍ ثُمَّ أَنتُمْ تُشْرِكُونَ
‘Say: Who rescues you from the darkness of the land and sea when you call upon Him imploring aloud and privately: If He should save us from this crisis, we will surely be among the thankful. Say: It is Allah who saves you from it and from every distress, yet you still associate others with Him.” (Surah Al-An’am 6:63-64)
In conclusion, when demonstrating the existence of the Creator, Muslims do not need to refer to the arguments of various philosophers, some of which are strong but many of which are flawed. Rather, we should refer to the arguments for the existence of the Creator as found in the Quran and Sunnah.
