Indeed, God will complete his light, but the disbelievers will still dislike it:
One day in Africa at the language center, I was frustrated about the situation our world had reached, which is avoiding God’s religion and turning to other religions by asking an object or a saint or obeying priests that wouldn’t benefit them nor harm them. I was engrossed in my thoughts. Suddenly, a Muslim French language teacher interrupted me by asking about the reason behind my deep thinking.
I answered him: “What bothers me and causes me to overthink is that people are ignorant about God’s religion, and I feel that I have a responsibility towards that. I want the phrase “There is no god but One God (the Creator), Who has no son or partner ” to reach far and wide globally.
He then said: Do not worry, my sister, for God has promised to preserve His religion, and God will never break His promise.
After that, I noticed how strong his faith was, and observed his certainty in God too; I then remembered the noble verse: Indeed, God will complete His light, although the disbelievers dislike it.[1] I was ultimately relieved.
The Day when there will not benefit [anyone] wealth or children:
Today during the Coronavirus crisis, we see dead people whom no one knows about, along with elderly homes filled with lifeless, anonymous bodies. Nobody knows anything about people who die on the street. Others have money and are waiting for treatments; they began to sacrifice the elderly for the sake of the young one. Patients race for hospital beds. This situation presents a scene that is similar to specific scenes from the Day of Resurrection.
The corona crisis caused some people to drop symbols from their hearts; these people used to pin their illusions on these symbols. These symbols resulted in the appearance of fake deities that they used to worship instead of worshipping God The Almighty. Indeed, whoever used to worship money ended up not benefiting from it. Whoever used to think that science could save him was wrong because it did not save him. Whoever used to plead through stones and idols eventually kept a distance from them because he was scared they might inflect him. We often hear about priests who urge their followers to take refuge in God directly and avoid coming to them. The light of “There is no God except Allah the One true God” is seen all over the world.
Undoubtedly, such situations push human beings to take refuge in God and turn to Him, The Lord of all realms.
Below are the words of the Prophet Muhammad in its best meaning:
If you ask, then ask God [alone]; and if you seek help, then seek help from God [alone] .
I remember what a Spanish elderly told me one time; he said: “In the West, we worship neither God nor Jesus. We worship women and money.” Although he said it jokingly, what he said was true.
Indeed, I can remember what he said now, while the Westerns say: O God, Myself.
Have you seen he who has taken as his god his [own] desire:
I read once [2] that atheists traced their source of randomness and chance by using the terms design, fine-tuning, coded language, intelligence, complex systems, and interconnected laws, etc. Although they never admit it, scholars refer to the Creator by other names such as Mother Nature, Laws of the Universe, Natural Selection, “Darwin’s Theory”, etc. They do that in a miserable attempt to escape religion’s logic and believing in the Creator’s existence.
They are not but [mere] names you have named them – you and your forefathers – for which God has sent down no authority. They follow not except assumption and what [their] souls desire, and there has already come to them from their Lord guidance.[3]
Using any name other than “God” robs some of his absolute qualities and raises more questions. For example, avoiding to mention God is attributed to random nature, along with the creation of universal laws and complex interconnected systems. Man’s eyesight and intelligence are traced back to a blind and foolish origin.
I read as well [4] that some of Darwin’s followers consider natural selection (an irrational physical process), a unique creative, force that solves all complicated evolutionary problems without any real experimental basis. Later they discovered the complexity of the design, structure, and function of bacterial cells. So, they started using expressions such as “smart bacteria”, “microbial intelligence”, “decision-making” and “problem-solving bacteria”; thus, the bacteria turned into their new god.
Man, in Islam is God’s representative, and in the West is an advanced animal:
I had a conversation with a French visitor, and he discussed the issue of the origin of man’s existence on earth.
He said: The West adopts Charles Darwin’s theory; we are human beings developed from Apes.
I asked: Why didn’t the rest of the Apes evolve to become the rest of humanity?
I added: The theory is a set of coherent hypotheses. These hypotheses come by observing a phenomenon, and they require successful experiments to prove them, or an observation that verifies the validity of the idea. If either experience or observation cannot prove one of the ideas that belong to the theory, the whole theory is reconsidered. Please give me an example of a living thing that evolved from another living thing.
He said: I will give you an example that happened more than 60,000 years ago.
I told him: If you haven’t seen or noticed it personally, then there is no way to accept your argument.
He said: No, it was recently observed that birds’ beaks might change shape in some species.
I told him: But they remained birds, and based on your theory, birds must evolve into another species. Thus, the idea has no meaning.
He said: No, no, I believe in science. I read many books in this field, and I believe them.
I asked: What is the difference between you, and a believer in God and the Book of God? You consider the person who believes in the Creator’s existence of the universe as a backward person because he believed in something he did not see. Plus, the believer believes in something that raises and exalts his status, while you believe in what disgusts and condemns you!
The idea that Man was evolved from apes was not part of Darwin’s views at all. He said that Man and monkeys go back to one standard and unknown origin called (the missing link). It had unique development, and it turned into a human being. Although we as Muslims reject entirely Darwin’s words, he never said what others think he said, which is that the monkey is the ancestor of Man.
It has been proven that Darwin believed in the existence of a deity, but this idea (evolving the human being from an ape ancestor) eventually came from Darwin’s followers after they added it to his theory; they were originally atheists. Of course, we as Muslims believe that God honored Adam and took him as a successor. To be evolved from an animal or something similar doesn’t fit the successor.
The era of madness:
I had an interesting conversation with an American who went far in trying to convince me of Darwin’s theory.
I asked him: Is the biological evolution a scientific or theoretical fact? Does the concept of evolution necessarily deny the existence of God, or is it possible to combine the two perspectives?
He said: If you do not believe in modern Darwinism, then you are a backward, ignorant or insane person.
He continued: Of course, modern Darwinism has no place for acceptance of the universe creator.
I told him: I don’t know who is the crazy one! Darwin, the founder of this theory, said himself: “The assumption that the eye, with its comprehensive structures, adjusts the focal length of different distances and allows various quantities of light to pass through it is formed by natural selection, seems to be something that highly contradicts common sense, and I admit that.” [5]
I added: Darwin believed that a great Creator is behind the first living cell, then nature handled its development, reaching to what we see from biological diversity today. Look at what you and his followers did, considering him a symbol of atheism.
I added: The theory of Darwin that says we came to this world as a result of random mutations is just a theory which has not been approved. Darwin himself, the founder of this theory, admitted that he had several suspicions where he wrote several letters to his colleagues expressing his doubts and sorrow.
Darwin said: “It’s extremely difficult or even impossible to imagine that a massive universe like our planet where a human with enormous humane capabilities came into existence by a sudden coincidence, or because necessity is the mother of invention. Whenever I look around me to find out the prime reason for this existence, I find myself propelled to saying that a brilliant mind exists. Hence, I believe in the presence of God.” [6]
Chaos Theory had proven that coincidence does not exist, but instead all incidents in this universe, no matter how small, are a result of extremely accurate rules which we do not acknowledge.
Darwin’s theory is a system made up of three elements:
- Mutual origin: It means that all living things, plants, and animals developed from one source, which is the unicellular organism. After that, they are in trouble with the lack of transitional organisms. Transitional organisms are rings that are supposed to exist as a result of transitioning from an organism to another. Darwin didn’t involve a development series that contained sufficient transitional organisms in the fossil record. Darwin set a supposition representing the first cell that contained the mutual origin. It was his “tree trunk” where its branches represented the organisms which developed from this cell; he named it “Life Tree”. But James Valentine did another study about this theory or the supposition set by Darwin, which says: “Many of the Life Tree’s branches that Darwin adopted are obstructed, which means that finding ancestors for those organisms is impossible.”
- Random mutations: It means the progression from one organism to another in a more complex way that occurred as a result of unexpected changes in the genetic code of the organism, and that it should’ve been prolonged. But Darwin added that without this trait, his theory becomes unacceptable. Evolutionary scientist Stephen Gould surprised Darwin’s followers with his extensive research results. The results showed that the fossil record does not reveal prolonged evolution, but has two primary characteristics which have undermined the theory: Sudden completed appearance, and stability and recession.
- Natural selection: It is a mechanism that passes from beneficial, random mutations to the second generations, and then it is preserved. This hypothesis lacks evidence, as science cannot prove the randomness of mutations, and hence the statement of randomness becomes a philosophical rather than a scientific concept.
Science provides convincing evidence for the concept of evolution from a common origin, which was mentioned in the Holy Quran.
…and made from water every living thing? Then will they not believe? [7]
God Almighty created living creatures that are intelligent and innate to suit the surrounding environment. They can develop in size, shape, or length. For example, sheep in cold countries have specific shapes and skins that protect them from the cold, and wool increases or decreases depending on the weather; its different in other countries. Forms and types differ according to the environment. Even humans differ in their colors, characteristics, tongues, and shapes, as no human being is like the other. They only remain human beings who do not change into a type of animal. The Almighty said:
And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the diversity of your languages and your colors. Indeed, in that are signs for those of knowledge. [8]
God has created every [living] creature from water. And of them are those that move on their bellies, and of them are those that walk on two legs, and of them are those that walk on four. God creates what He wills. Indeed, God is over all things competent. [9]
The theory of evolution, which intends to deny the Creator’s existence, states that it has developed from a single origin, which is a single-celled organism. It also says that the first cell’s formation resulted from amino acids gathering in water, which formed the first structure, DNA, which carries the genetic traits of an organism. By combining these amino acids, the living cell’s first structure was created. As a result of various environmental and external factors, these cells proliferated, which formed the first sperm, and then developed into a leech, and after that developed into an embryo. As we notice, these stages are very similar to the steps of human creation in the mother’s womb. However, living organisms stop growth, and the organism is formed according to their DNA carried genetic characteristics. For example, frogs complete their growth and remain frogs. Likewise, every living organism completes its development according to its genetic characteristics.
Even if we include the subject of genetic mutations, along with their effect on genetic characteristics in the emergence of new living creatures, this does not contradict the Ability and Will of the Creator. However, atheists say: This is done randomly. In contrast, we see that the theory confirms that these stages of development cannot take place and proceed except with the intent and management of an expert. Thus, it is possible to adopt the concept of guided evolution, or divine development, which agrees with biological evolution and rejects randomness. Also, it is possible to accept that behind the evolution, there must be a wise and capable expert. We can accept evolution, but we reject Darwinism entirely.
Here, the great paleontologist and biologist Stephen Gull expresses the dilemma of Darwin’s henchmen sarcastically. He says: “Either one of my fellow halves are stupid, or Darwinism is full of concepts that go along with religion.”
The Holy Qur’an corrects the concept of evolution by narrating the story of Adam’s creation:
Has there [not] come upon man a period of time when he was not a thing [even] mentioned? [10]
The creation of Adam was from clay:
And certainly, did We create man from an extract of clay. [11]
Who perfected everything which He created and began the creation of man from clay. [12]
Indeed, the example of Jesus to God is like that of Adam. He created Him from dust; then He said to him, Be, and he was.[13]
Honoring Adam, the father of human beings:
[Allah] said, O Iblees, what prevented you from prostrating to that which I created with My hands? Were you arrogant [then], or were you [already] among the haughty? [14]
Honoring Adam, the father of humankind, was not only for being created independently from clay, but he was created by the Lord of the World’s hands, as indicated in the noble verse. Also, honoring Adam was about God requesting the angels to prostrate to him as obedience.
And [mention] when We said to the angels, prostrate before Adam; so, they prostrated, except for Iblees (Satan). He refused and was arrogant and became of the disbelievers. [15]
Creating Adam’s offspring:
Then He made his posterity out of the extract of a liquid disdained.[16]
Then We placed him as a sperm-drop in a firm lodging. Then We made the sperm-drop into a clinging clot, and We made the clot into a lump [of flesh], and We made [from] the lump, bones, and We covered the bones with flesh; then We developed him into another creation. So blessed is God, the best of creators.[17]
And it is He who has created from water a human being and made him [a relative by] lineage and marriage. And ever is your Lord competent [concerning creation]. [18]
Honoring Adam’s offspring:
And We have certainly honored the children of Adam and carried them on the land and sea and provided for them of the good things and preferred them over much of what We have created, with [definite] preference. [19]
Here we notice the similarity in the emergence stages of Adam’s offspring (degrading water, sperm, leeches, embryos, etc.) with what was mentioned in the evolution theory in the emergence of living organisms and the methods of their reproduction.
[He is] Creator of the heavens and the earth. He has made for you from yourselves, mates, and among the cattle, mates; He multiplies you thereby. There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the Hearing, the Seeing. [20]
God made the descendants of Adam started from degrading water to signify the unity of the source of creation, along with the Creator’s oneness. He also distinguished Adam from other creatures by creating him independently, in honor of the human being to achieve the Lord of the World’s wisdom in making him a successor on earth. Atheists trying to deny the theory of evolution is evidence against them.
Survival of the fittest:
I had a conversation with an atheist and a supporter of Darwin’s theory; he defended it staunchly. He was also one of the most vigorous defenders of homosexuality.
I told him: You are one of the advocates of homosexuality and a supporter of Darwin. Darwin’s theory talks about natural selection. Natural selection is a mechanism in which beneficial random mutations are passed on to the following generations, and later they are preserved. But organisms that contain unbeneficial fungi die, perish and extinct. Darwin’s theory says that survival is for the fittest of life, and of course, we also know that male and female marriage is one of the beneficial things in life because they produce future generations that can rebuild the earth. You say that the existence of homosexuals on the planet is a natural thing. You say that they are just natural desires and inclinations which are not odd.
I added: Isn’t that against Darwin’s theory? Darwin’s theory states that natural selection helps with the survival of what’s beneficial and fit from random mutations. So what is useful in homosexuals’ behavior?!
Of course, he had no answer!
Instinctive religion:
There is a beautiful story about my meeting with two visitors from Mexico. They had frightening looks, along with tattoos on their bodies and hands. In addition, they had piercings all over their ears and other parts of their faces. I was hesitated to talk to them about Islam, but I accepted to be their company because they did not speak English. Some of my colleagues also accompanied me, so I intended to finish that tour quickly.
I started with talking about how Muslims believe in One God who is the Creator, God of Moses, Jesus and Abraham. I knew previously that they were from Mexico, so I assumed that the majority of Mexicans are Christians who know about Moses, Jesus and Abraham, peace be upon them.
I told them: The Creator God is one. He has no son, and nothing is like him. God created Adam without a father or mother and created the Prophet Jesus without a father. He sent one message with the prophets; the one message says that there is one Creator that we should worship as the prophets worshipped this Creator. For example, Noah’s people worshipped idols, and those idols were symbols of righteous people. Still, they elevated the status of these symbols to the point that they worshipped them. The nation of Jesus worshipped Jesus and raised his status to the level of divinity. For this reason, God Almighty used to send the prophets from time to time to remind people to worship God alone. For example, in the time of Abraham, Abraham’s followers always had to worship God alone, and testify that there is no god but One God and that Abraham is the Messenger of God. God also sent Moses to confirm Abraham’s message. Abraham’s followers had to accept the new Prophet and testify that there is no god but One God and that Moses and Abraham are messengers of God. After that, when Jesus came to confirm the Moses’ message, Moses’ followers had to believe in Jesus. They then had to accept his message, testify that there is no god but One God and that Jesus, Moses and Abraham are God’s messengers. Eventually, Muhammad came to confirm the prophets’ messages, the ones that came before him. Both Jesus and Moses’ followers had to accept the new Prophet. They also had to testify that there is no god but One God and that Muhammad, Jesus, Moses and Abraham are messengers of God (peace be upon them all).
I was surprised that the two visitors started crying heavily! The two men of great size, muscles and length, whom I was terrified from, suddenly showed me a terrible scene of crying! So I asked them about the reason for their crying, and they answered me. Even out of their passion and enthusiasm, they were talking at the same time as children.
With bitterness, they complained to me: “We were very certain from a young age that the Creator is one and only, and that He has no son, and we did not accept that Jesus Christ was an God or a son of a god, and the Trinity was for us meaningless, aimless and with no explanation”. They added that they had rejected it, and left all theories of atheism, and random biological evolution. They also mentioned that they wandered around the earth and resorted to drugs and atrocious behaviors despite their deep inner belief in the existence of God The Almighty.
They added: “We thought that there is no religion on the earth that says that there is no god but God. We believed that Muslims worship Muhammad, Christians worship Jesus, and Buddhists worship Buddha. We thought that we were crazy and unnatural, as what we find of the religions on earth does not match what we had in our hearts, so we resorted to nightclubs”.
They said that they lived a very miserable life and that they never enjoyed that empty life.
I said to them: Of course, this religion exists, and this is the origin of religions. This is the true religion, and it is the one religion for all, that there is no god but God, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God. I told them that every Muslim must bear witness that there is no god but God and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God, and that Jesus is the Messenger of God. Then, the time for noon prayer came, and the mosque’s prayer caller started calling to prayer with a beautiful voice, so they wept even more and cried more with the prayer call sound. I stopped talking to listen to the prayer call. After the prayer caller finished, I asked them: “Do you understand what the caller just has said?”
They said: No.
I said to them: He said: I bear witness that there is no god but God, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God. We always say that Muhammad is the last messenger of God, so with it, we accept Jesus, Moses and all of God’s prophets.
They said: Can we say as he said?
I told them: If you say it, it will be the first step in accepting this religion.
They said: Yes, we accept. Then the two Mexicans uttered the testimony in a beautiful atmosphere of tears and joy. I even cried. That was the proof of common sense that God installed in people.
Ibn Taymyyah said:
“The essence of monotheism is to worship God alone, not anyone but Him, fear
not anyone but Him, trust not anyone but Him, and religion is for Him only, not
for anyone of the creatures.”
From the book: Why Religion? A journey from memory. Faten Sabri
Translated by the English language translation team at the Center (Hatha Huda )
[1] (Qur’an 61:8).
[2] https://www.muslim-library.com/tag/atheism-a-giant-leap-of-faith/
[3] (Qur’an 53: 23).
[4] https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2014.00154/full
[5] “Chapter 7: Oller and Omdahl.” Moreland, J. P. The Creation Hypothesis: Scientific.
[6] Darwin’s Autobiography – London Edition: Collins 1958 – pp. 92, 93.
[7] (Qur’an 21 30).
[8] (Qur’an 30: 22).
[9] (Qur’an 24: 45).
[10] (Qur’an 76:1).
[11] (Qur’an 23: 12).
[12] (Qur’an 32: 7).
[13] (Qur’an 3: 59).
[14] (Qur’an 38: 75).
[15] (Qur’an. 2: 34).
[16] (Qur’an 32: 8).
[17] (Qur’an 23: 13- 14).
[18] (Qur’an 25: 54).
[19] (Qur’an 17: 70).
[20] (Qur’an 42:11).