Does God Exist?

Origin of Creation Is Natural

Man, by a God-given instinct, seeks for the cause of every occurrence he witnesses. He never thinks it probable that a thing should come into being of itself, without cause, by chance.

The driver whose car stalls steps out and checks the probable cause of the problem. It never occurs to him that the machine should stall when everything is in perfect running order. In trying to get the car started, he uses whatever means he has on hand; he never sits waiting for it to start by chance.

If someone is hungry, he thinks of bread; when he is thirsty, he looks for water; and if he is cold, he puts on extra clothing or starts a fire. He never sits assuring himself that chance will intervene.

One who wants to erect a building naturally secures building supplies and the services of an architect and workers; he does not hope that his intentions will realize themselves.

So long as man has existed, mountains, forests, and vast oceans have existed on earth along with him. He has always seen the sun and the moon and shining stars moving regularly and ceaselessly across the sky.

Nonetheless, the world's savants have searched tirelessly for the causes for these wonderful beings and phenomena. They have never been heard to say, "So long as we have lived, we have observed these in their present forms. Therefore, they have come about of themselves".

This instinctive curiosity and interest in causes impels us to inquire into how the creation arose and into its marvelous order. We are led to ask, did this vast universe, with all its interconnected parts that really form one immense entity, come about of itself, or did it gain its being from elsewhere?

Is this astonishing system that is in effect throughout the universe, governed by immutable laws admitting no exceptions and guiding every thing toward its own unique destiny, governed by a boundless power and knowledge, or does it arise from chance?

What If You Find a Watch?

Suppose you find a watch in the middle of a desert. What would you conclude? Would you think that someone dropped the watch? Or would you suppose that the watch came by itself? Of course no sane person would say that the watch just happened to emerge from the sand.

All the intricate working parts could not simply develop from the metals the lay buried in the earth. The watch must have a manufacturer.

If a watch tells accurate time we expect the manufacturer must be intelligent. Blind chance can not produce a working watch. But what else tells accurate time?

Consider the sunrise and sunset. Their timings are so strictly regulated that scientists can publish in advance the sunrise and sunset times in your daily newspapers. But who regulates the timings of sunrise and sunset? If a watch can not work without an intelligent maker, how can the sun appear to rise and set with such clockwork regularity? Could this occur by itself?

Consider also that we benefit from the sun only because it remains at a safe distance from the earth, a distance that averages 93 million miles. If it got much closer the earth would burn up.

And if it got too far away the earth would turn into an icy planet making human life here impossible. Who decided in advance that this was the right distance? Could it just happen by chance?

Without the sun plants would not grow. Then animals and humans would starve. Did the sun just decide to be there for us?

The rays of the sun would be dangerous for us had it not been for the protective ozone layer in our atmosphere. The atmosphere around earth keeps the harmful ultra- violet rays from reaching us. Who was it that placed this shield around us?

We need to experience sunrise. We need the sun's energy and its light to see our way during the day. But we also need sunset. We need a break from the heat, we need the cool of night and we need the lights to out so we may sleep. Who regulated this process to provide what we need?

Moreover, if we had only the sun and the protection of the atmosphere we would want something more-beauty. Our clothes provide warmth and protection, yet we design them to also look beautiful. Knowing our need for beauty, the designer of sunrise and sunset also made the view of them to be simply breathtaking.

The creator who gave us light, energy, protection and beauty deserves our thanks. Yet some people insist that he does not exist. What would they think if they found a watch in the desert? An accurate working watch? A

beautifully designed watch? Would they not conclude that there does exist a watchmaker? An intelligent watchmaker? One who appreciates beauty? Such is God who made us. Subhan Allah (Glory be to God)!

Proof That There Is a Maker

When one puts his instinctive realism to work, wherever he looks in the creation, he sees abundant evidence for a Creator and Sustaining Power, because man perceives instinctively that each created thing enjoys the bounties of being and automatically follows a determinate course, eventually giving up its place to other things.

They never bring about their own being, invent their own course of development, or play the least role in producing or organizing their way of existence. We ourselves have not chosen our humanity or human characteristics but have been created human and given these characteristics.

Similarly, our instinctive realism will never accept that all these things have come about of themselves through chance and that the system of being have arose willy-nilly.

Our intuition does not accept that some neatly stacked fragments of brick tumbled together by chance. Thus mans instinctive realism proclaims that the world of being certainly has a support that is the Source of being and the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, and that this limitless Being and source of knowledge and power is God, from whose oceanic being the system of existence springs. The Most High God says,

"He Who gave everything its nature and guided it." (20:50 ) Belief in Almighty God is extremely important in Islam. Sometimes when we are asked to prove the existence of God, we tend to get lost and not quite sure how to answer. So, let us learn it from Holy Imams.

One day a man came to Imam Ja'far Sadiq (the grandson of Imam Ali son of Imam Husain, peace be upon them all), and asked:

O son of the Prophet (p.b.u.h.)! Is there a God? Imam: Of course there is a God. Man: But how can I be absolutely sure? Imam: Make yourself comfortable and relax. (There was a small boy walking by with an egg in his hands. The Imam took the egg from him and hid it in his palms.)

Imam (to the man): Tell me something. Is it possible to keep two different liquid colors in one container without any barrier, and yet they don't get mixed?

Man: Impossible. The Imam showed him an egg and asked, "What's this then? Who's got this power to do this?" When the egg is hatched, you see a beautiful and a colorful bird coming out of the egg. Have you seen anyone coming out of the egg or entering the egg to suggest that someone's been inside the egg to paint the bird?

Man: No.

Imam: That is God. You recognize your Creator through His creations and His Might.

Is There a God

One day a man asked Imam Ali son of Abu Talib (peace be upon him): Is there a God? Imam Ali (p.b.u.h.): Of course there is. Man: How do I know?

Imam Ali (p.b.u.h.) pointed towards the footprints of a camel on the sand and asked the man, what do these footprints tell you?

Man: That a camel has gone past from here.

Imam: But did you see the camel passing by?

Man: No, but the footprints are good enough to indicate the passing of the camel from here.

Imam: So when you see the sun, moon, stars, trees, animals, etc. doesn't your mind tell you that since all these things are there, there must be someone who has created them all? And that is your Creator, God.

Imam Ali's Reply to a Question about Seeing God Dhi'lib al-Yamani asked Imam Ali (p.b.u.h.) whether he had seen God.

Imam Ali (p.b.u.h.) replied, "Do I worship one whom I have not seen?"

Then he inquired, "How have you seen Him?" Imam Ali (p.b.u.h.) replied, Eyes do not see Him face to face, but hearts perceive Him through the realities of belief.

He is near to things but not (physically) contiguous.

He is far from them but not (physically) separate.

He is a speaker, but not with reflection. He intends, but not with preparation.

He moulds, but not with (the assistance of) limbs.

He is subtle but can not be attributed with being concealed.

He is great but can not be attributed with haughtiness.

He sees but can not be attributed with the sense (of sight).

He is Merciful but can not be attributed with weakness of heart.

Faces feel low before His greatness and hearts tremble out of fear of Him.