BELIEVING IN GOD

Believing in God Is the First Condition to Becoming a Muslim

Faith in God is the first condition of becoming a Muslim. It is only possible to fully believe in God through knowing Him by learning His attributes and to believe in Him in the way He describes in the Qur’an. In order to become a true believer, it is of the utmost significance to read and contemplate the Book God sent to us, in which He has conveyed the message and introduced Himself as well as what He expects us to do and not to do. Knowing and loving God is possible through trying to learn about Him.

God teaches us about Himself as follows in the Holy Qur’an: “Say: He—(He is) God, (Who is) the Unique One of Absolute Oneness. God—(God is He Who is) the Eternally-Besought-of-All (Himself being in need of nothing). He begets not, nor is He begotten. And comparable to Him there is none” (Al-Ikhlas 112:1–4).

Unless conditioned to deny the existence of God, one can easily rationalize His existence than his or her own existence. It is not too difficult to accomplish this. The existence and Attributes of God have been aptly described in many books. This kind of knowledge resembles a torch that we use to illuminate our way in dark places. What is essential is to find that torch and utilize it in an appropriate manner.

Every Piece of Work Requires a Craftsman

We know very well that every piece of work has an artist or a craftsman. Even a pen, a piece of chalk and a needle have an artisan. No one can claim that even such small things could have been formed purely by coincidence without the hand of a craftsman. Then the question is, “Are the bodies of animals, human beings and plants less complex structures than pencils and needles?” If even a spoon requires a craftsman, why do our eyes, ears and heads not have an artist and a craftsman? Each of our organs, as pieces of art, indicate the existence of an All-Knowing and Omnipotent God.

Nothing Can Come into Existence by Coincidence

It is evident that medicine is formed by the combination of various chemical substances in specific amounts. Can we say, “Those chemical substances came together by chance and formed this certain chemical formula known as medicine?” We absolutely cannot assume this.

All medicine has been formulated by a chemist, who has worked for years on these chemical substances and discovered the precise formula using his own knowledge and reasoning. This medicine points to a chemist. Accordingly, the bodies of human beings and other living creatures that are far more complex than the formulas of medicine are impossible to come into existence through the mixing of various elements within the soil by chance. Similar examples can be found; and all those examples lead us to conclude: It is impossible for living and inanimate things to come into existence by coincidence and on their own. Even though we cannot see with our eyes, there is the One, who is All-Knowing, All-Seeing and Omnipotent.

Story: Who Do You Think We Are With?

The Ottoman Sultan Yavuz Selim, in the last days of his life, asked his friend Hasan Can: “Hasan! What do you think of me?”

Hasan Can told him: “Excellency, it seems that it is time to go to God. Turn to God!”

“Dear Hasan! Who did I turn to all this time? Have you ever seen me in error against God?” asked the Sultan.

“Excellency, I have never thought of you like this. But now is a very important moment for you and does not compare to the rest of your life. I just wanted to remind you this.”

As Hasan Can was telling these words to the Sultan, Yavuz Selim bore witness for the last time uttering, “There is no deity but God and Muhammad is His Messenger,” and passed away.

Our Cells Do Not Exist by Chance

When we see fifty chairs in a spacious room scattered around sporadically, we would think “They placed those chairs sporadically and it looks messy in here.” However, if the chairs were aligned in order, we would see order, neatness and beauty. Then, we would think that someone who has the taste and a sense of order must have aligned all those chairs. We would say that even though we did not see this person, there must be someone who organized the chairs.

Does it make more sense to believe that all the bricks came together by coincidence and built a dome than to accept that there is actually an artisan who erects the building? If one does not acknowledge that there exists an artisan who erects the building, he would have to claim that the bricks that happened to come together should act both as an object, a subject and a skillful artist.

There exist approximately 100 trillion cells in an adult human body. Cells are the smallest organisms that form the body of a human being. The 500 bricks necessary to build a chicken coop do not form it by chance. Similarly, how can trillions of cells, which do not have a mind, be expected to form a human body by coincidence or on their own?

Qur’anic Verses

Read in and with the Name of your Lord, Who has created— created human from a clot clinging (to the wall of the womb). Read, and your Lord is the All-Munificent, Who has taught (human) by the pen—taught human what he did not know. (Al-Alaq 96:1–5).

And those who believe in what is sent down to you, and what was sent down before you (such as the Torah, Gospel and Psalms, and the Scrolls of Abraham), and in the Hereafter, they have certainty of faith. (Al-Baqarah 2:4).

(Despite the commitment and energy you show in striving to help people to believe,) those who willfully persist in unbelief, it is alike to them whether you warn them or do not warn them; (although it is your mission to warn them and you do it without any neglect,) they will not believe. (Al-Baqarah 2:6).

But no! By your Lord, they do not (truly) believe unless they make you the judge regarding any dispute between them, and then find not the least vexation within themselves over what you have decided, and surrender in full submission. (An-Nisa 4:65).

Whoever takes God and His Messenger and those who believe for guardian and confidant, then surely the party of God (that they constitute), they are the victors. (Al-Maedah 5:56).

Eat (as lawful, pure and wholesome) from that which God has provided for you; and in due reverence for Him, keep from disobedience to God, in Whom you have faith. (Al-Maedah 5:88).

Prophetic Traditions

The Messenger of God said: “The one who recites the Qur’an and he is proficient with it, then he is with the noble and blessed Angels (As-Safaratil-Kiramil-Bararah), and it is difficult for him, then he gets two rewards.” ( Sunan at-Tirmidhi, Book 42, Hadith 2904).

The Messenger of God said: “A believer who recites the Qur’an is like an orange whose fragrance is sweet and whose taste is sweet; a believer who does not recite the Qur’an is like a date which has no fragrance but has a sweet taste; and the hypocrite who recites the Qur’an is like a basil whose fragrance is sweet, but whose taste is bitter; and a hypocrite who does not recite the Qur’an is like the colocynth which has no fragrance and has a bitter taste.” (Sahih Muslim, Book 6, Hadith 288).

The Messenger of God said: “One who was devoted to the Qur’an will be told to recite, ascend and recite carefully as he recited carefully when he was in the world, for he will reach his abode when he comes to the last verse he recites.” (Sunan Abu Dawud, Book 8, Hadith 49).

Questions

1) Which of the following is not one of the benefits of reading?

A) Enables acquisition of metal prowess

B) Develops thought function

C) Makes the brain function actively

D) Makes the body active

2) During reading and thinking, there is a recognized increase in the _______ burnt in many different parts of the brain. As a result of reading, different intelligence functions such as concentration, attention, comprehension and interpretation, as well as perceiving what is observed, develop favorably in the child. Select the word which best fills in the blank left in the above statement.

A) Galactose

B) Glucose

C) Fructose

D) Sucrose

3) Which characteristic of books does the late Cemil Meriç point to in the statement, “I lived with books and found peace with them. I loved the person in the book more than the person out on the street”?

A) A faithful friend

B) Cultural richness

C) Information storehouse

D) A Good friend

4) Which of the following is the first condition of becoming a Muslim?

A) Observing the Prescribed Prayer

B) Belief in God

C) Worship

D) Striving in God’s cause

5) Who was the close friend that Ottoman Sultan Yavuz Selim kept by his side in the last days of his life?

A) Aq Shams al-Din

B) Shaykh Edebali

C) Hasan Can

D) Haji Bayram Wali

Chapter 2

Belief

Stepping down from the Pulpit

When Imam Azam Abu Hanifa was still a young man, a fire-worshiping merchant was visiting the city of Basra for trade. But he provoked the Muslims by telling them, “I worship fire. It exists, therefore I believe in it. Show me the God you claim to worship. You absolutely cannot do that since He does not exist. Bring these scholars of yours and I will prove that God does not exist.”

Some Muslims challenged him saying: “If you can convince Abu Hanifa or disprove his arguments, we will bring our scholars to debate with you.”

Seeing that Abu Hanifa was very young, the fire-worshipper belittled him saying: “This is only a child. I am not going to waste my time arguing with a child.”

However, upon the insistence of the crowd, they decided to meet for a debate at the mosque the following day.

Because Abu Hanifa was a little late for the meeting the next day, the fire-worshipper wanted to insult him: “See, your little boy is afraid to come here. I do not want to argue with children. Call your scholars here!”

The people got worried, too. Then, Abu Hanifa arrived and he was sweating a lot.

“I am so sorry I am late! I was on the other side of the river. I could not find a vehicle to cross the river. I ordered the trees along the riverbank to become a boat or a ship so that I could cross over it. They listened to what I told them and they turned into a boat so I was able to come here. This is why I am late. I apologize!”

Bursting into laughter, the fire-worshipper said: “Do you hear what this insane boy of yours tells us? How can trees turn into a boat on their own?”

Hearing the man’s reasoning, Abu Hanifa responded: “You assume that a boat cannot be built without an artisan. How can you believe that the whole universe can exist on its own without a craftsman building it?”

The people agreed with what Abu Hanifa said. Yet, the fire-worshipper continued: “Why is your God invisible then? The things that exist are visible.”

Abu Hanifa asked the man: “Do you have intellect?”

“Of course,” said the man.

“Show it to us then!” insisted Abu Hanifa.

When the man admitted, “I cannot show it.”

Abu Hanifa said: “Maybe you do not have it! Yes, the entities such as soul and mind cannot be seen, yet their existence is known, which means not every entity is visible.”

Showing their approval for Abu Hanifa’s explanation, the people bore witness out loud. And the man got angry. He asked: “What is your God busy with right now?”

“Step down from the pulpit and I will answer your question when I climb up there,” said Abu Hanifa. And when he got up there, he explained: “At this moment, God is busy with having an ignorant person like you stepping down from the pulpit and having a child like me climb up to it to give a lesson.”

Seeing the genius of Abu Hanifa, the man had to yield. He thanked Abu Hanifa and embraced Islam right there as the people bore witness.

The Whole Creation Speaks of Him

A bee makes honey with the nectar it extracts from thousands of flowers. It determines its direction according to the sun and then, like an excellent engineer, aligns that honey in geometric forms and in an artistic fashion in the hive. Who taught the bee which flowers contain honey, how to find its direction according to the sun, and how to achieve that artistic honey construction? As soon as a mosquito takes begins to fly, it sets off suck the human being’s blood. Who taught it the savor and benefit of human blood? As soon as it feels threatened it immediately takes flight and protects itself skillfully from fatal blows. From which pilot did the mosquito learn to move so professionally in the air?

All eels in the world spawn to the south of the Bermuda and return to the place from where they originally came and spend their lives there. Who whispers to the newly hatched eels to return to the habitats of their fathers? Just how do these fish go back to the native waters of their forebears (India, Malaysia, the Mediterranean, etc.) without navigational instruments or knowledge? A hen sits on its eggs on the first of the incubation period and turns the eggs every day except on the twentieth and this is how chicks eventually hatch. Scientists used to think that this egg turning occurred as a result of heat. And so, they attempted to get chicks by providing heat to eggs in an incubator. But they were unsuccessful. In later studies, they discovered that protein built up beneath the egg and that in order for this protein to be equally distributed to the chick, the egg needed to be turned. In which science laboratory did the hen learn all this? Who taught all this information to succeeding generations of chickens?

Wasps first make a nest and then deposit their eggs in this nest. They then hunt for tree crickets, capture and paralyze them with their sting, and transport them to the nest, thus making ready the food supply of the larvae to emerge in twenty days. Who taught the adult wasp not to kill, but immobilize the crickets and the larvae to carry out the same process at the onset of their reproductive cycle, despite not ever having seen their parents?

When such birds of prey as eagles, hawks and falcons are killed the number of snakes increase, when snakes are killed the number of frogs increase, and when frogs are killed flies increase. Who is it who binds the existence of all these creatures to each another and who establishes this astonishing order?

As is well known, bats are blind. They do not collide with objects while flying by emitting sound waves. Human beings invented radar on the basis of their observation of bats. Does not the human being, who is overcome with astonishment before the perfection of radar, need to see Who the bat learned this from? Thus, this magnificent order in the universe points to the existence and unity of a controller Who governs this order and demonstrates His possessing an infinite power, knowledge and will. This Being is God.