Search for God Dr Shakeel Ahmad, UK

1. National Tabligh Department, UK Search for GodDr Shakeel Ahmad, UK

2. A Search • Remains a search • It is not ‘blind belief’; it is a rational belief after having contemplated the existence that cannot be comprehended by our basic senses • Still a search, even after belief is established • Personal relationship with God needs to be established • Until nafs-e-mutmainahis acheived

3. Helping your needy brother • Tabligh is about helping our needy brothers and sisters • We must not think of them as ‘bad’

4. Atheism in UK population • No religion 15% (2001) – 25% (2011) • Christian faith 72% (2001) – 59% (2011) • Practicing Christians 65% (2001) – 45% (2011) • Muslims 5%, others 4% (2011) Ref - Office of National Statistics, UK, 2011

5. To conceptualise a creator of the universe Simple - ? All what we see in the creation must have come from a source. All this functions well and in accordance with some laws. Hard - ? Where did the Creator come from? How did all this begin? How can we relate to this Being?

6. Believing needs self discipline • Fact of nature - no discipline , no growth • Equally true for moral-spiritual spectrum • Specially when used to life with self interest • Belief in God incorporates acceptance of authority of God, Who then guides us how to live our lives • Short term gains need to be given up for the sake of more substantial benefits to one-self and society – not easy for most • Hard work – ‘rather not believe’

7. Evidence for existence of God Evidence consists of: • Psychological factors • Observation of the creation • Rational deductions • At a humanistic level with social observations • Experience of individuals • What the ‘messengers’ claim • What the scriptures claim • Historical evidence

8. 1. A universal quest for God exists • Throughout human history – including now • Existed independently in all societies • Is this just curiosity or inherent to our make-up? • Approx ¾ of world population believe 7.5b – 2.5b Christians, 2b Muslims, 1.2b Hindus, 0.6b Buddhists, others [including 15m Jews] Pew Religious Centre’s Forum on Religion and Public Life, Global Religious Landscape, 2012 • Onus of proof on the non-believer also. • Absence of proof is not proof of absence.

9. 2. Our conscience • Our inner self • Our mind • Our heart • We feel better with the good • We feel bad with evil • Evidence is inherent in our creation Godliness – the term for goodness in a person! An atheist doing ‘good’ is acting on the ‘God’ in him

10. 3. Out of sight, isnot out of mind • Cant see, cant hear, cant touch – is that good enough a reason to conclude there is no God? • Empty room? • Eyes closed? • Need the right instruments to recognise the existence of matter or radiation • Dark Matter – 85% of all matter in universe – still not observable directly – recognised only through its attributes eg its gravitational impact on light travelling from other galaxies • Same is true to perceive God –we need the right instrument – in our psyche • As small part of the creation, our perceptions are very limited – need special preparation to perceive the Creator

11. 4. Ultimate source of all creation • Previously believed that universe existed from ever – ‘no Creator’ • Singularity – origin of all creation including time and space – source? Stephen Hawking, Brief History of Time, 1988, Bantam Book Incorporation, NY, USA • Kalam Cosmological argument – anything that begins to exist must have a cause • That ultimatesource of all creation is the ultimate Creator (God) Dr Abdul Salam – two of the four fundamental forces of nature are the same -Gravitation -ElectromagneticElectro-weak theory -Weak nuclear force Grand unified theory -Strong nuclear force Empirical evidence of unification of all creation

12. 5. Unique nature of the source of creation • Socrates – refuting local deities, spoke of One Creator of all creation – gave his life for this conviction Aristotle – described the ultimate first cause of all creation that cannot be a created thing itself • Science of entropy – loss of energy in creation of matter from matter – resultant matter is less than parent matter – loss of energy at each step – stopping the cycle of creation Creation of universe created a lot of matter out of no matter – unique form of creation • Quran (& Bible) – origin of all creation is from ‘word’ – A vision(of the Creator) and His will for it to happen. • Hence : 1. Origin of all creation is the Creator – and is not a created thing 2. The Creator is infinite with no beginning, and no end

13. 6. Intelligent design • Even a small invention or task requires planning to produce positive result - growing vegetables in your garden - broken pottery from archaeological site implies wisdom of an ancient civilisation • Our universe is complex, immense and continuously evolving Flawless functioning Lots of laws that govern its functioning • We are still discovering these laws • Hence it must have been designed with wisdom and planning • This design requires an ‘all wise’ creator Fred Hoyle, The Intelligent Universe, 1983

14. 7a. Creation of Consciousness Time line of development of life on earth Humans spread around earth ............. Life begins Unicellular Multicellular Plants Marine animals Reptiles Mammals Land animals Genus Homo Neanderthals die A J M (pbut) ______________________________________ 4b 2b 1b 500m 250m 2m 100k 25k 6k 2k 1.4k A = Adam (pbuh) J = Jesus (pbuh) M = Mohammad (pbuh)

15. 7b. Creation of consciousness • Laws of creation of life - Quantum Theory: consciousness can only be created out of consciousness Max Planck [Nobel Laureate] and Neil Bohr, founding physicists of Quantum Theory • Lot of conscious life exists • Hence there must be a conscious creator before life existed • Denying existence of Creator is like denying our own existence!

16. 8a. Evolution of life • Darwin –natural selection, survival of the fittest • Wallace – 3 stages of ‘spiritual ‘ evolution i) creation of organic from inorganic matter ii) creation of consciousness iii) cognitive complexity of man • Problem: Role of ‘chance’ implies lack of planning and atheism • Current evolutionary biologists are beginning to refute role of chance Probability of Chance theory = ‘wind blowing through a scrap yard leading to making of a jumbo jet’

17. 8b. Evolution of life • Development of speech Chance theory would mean much slower evolution of ability to speak a language, going through numerous stages What we observe – It appears at the human stage, not before not after Key role in social, psychological, moral and spiritual development No evidence of interim variable stages of speech that gradually lost viability and survival • Hence – planned evolution, which is evidence for a conscious Creator

18. Science and religion • Many well known scientists – past and present have recognised the bridge between science and religion • For example Al-Haytham Ibne Al-Nafis IbneSina Newton Einstein Kepler

19. Empirical Evidence vs Trust and Probabilities • Not all knowledge is derived through empirical experimentation. • Knowledge imparted in educational institutions is accepted by students without their own experimentation and data collection. • Medicine prescribed by doctors is accepted by patients without their own research on the efficiency of the medicines. • Fathers accept their children as their own without resorting to DNA test at birth of their child. • Hence, trust and law of probability is a valid method of acquiring knowledge and basing decisions.

20. 9. Testimony of the most truthful • Who are the most truthful and most trusted in any society? Politicians, artists, writers, sociologists, scholars, prophets • The prophets - even the adversaries recognise this • Prophets - lived in different times - in different parts of the world - no direct communication with each other • All prophets had one common theme:a creator and sustainer God

21. 10. Life account of prophets Amazing and very similar for all prophets • Recognised as individuals with utmost moral dignity, even before claim of prophethood • Claim to prophethoodis made without any demand for worldly gains • Completely alone in the beginning • Opposition develops soon as they make this claim • Prophets are materially much weaker compared to their opposition • No vengeance against ruthlessness of opposition • Kindness and justice throughout • Ultimate victory of their mission • All prophets attribute: -their mission to be under God’sguidance -their success to be God’sblessing -in success they become even more humble and thankful to God

22. 11. Wisdom of Divine guidance • Prophets have received guidance according to human need of the time • Perfectly suited to needs of society at the time of revelation • Quran – pinnacle of Divine guidance – universally addresses problems of contemporary society • Historical and current evidence that best solutions to our problems are found in this guidance • All prophets claimed this guidance to be from ‘God’ Karen Armstrong; Mohammad: A Prophet of Our Time, 1991, Harper One James Michener; Islam: The Misunderstood Religion, Reader’s Digest, 1955 Michael H Hart; The 100, A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History, 2000 Michael Balter;The Seeds of Civilisation, Smithsonian Magazine, May 2005

23. 12. Source of hidden knowledge • Prophets gave mankind knowledge about times before,concurrent and after the time of the revelation • Quran – contains factual knowledge about history, cosmology, biology, evolution of life, archaeology, psychology, atomic energy, presence of extra terrestrial life, geography, politics, future developments etc • What is the source of this knowledge? • Knowledge is beyond human scholarship • Prophets do not claim to be the originators of this knowledge but claim that they only act as messengers • ... and that they receive it from God • We keep discovering the truth of this knowledge through our scientific learning • This provides strong evidence about the source of all this knowledge – to be from a Being that created us and is all knowledgeable Prof E Marshall Johnson, Professor of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Daniel Baugh Institute, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, USA Dr Maurice Bucaille, The Bible, The Quran and Science, The Holy Scriptures Examined in the Light of Modern Knowledge, 2003

24. Quran Ch 13, v 17 Say, ‘Who is the Lord of the heavens and the earth?’ Say, ‘Allah.’ Say, ‘Have you then taken beside Him helpers who have no power for good or harm even for themselves?’ Say, ‘Can the blind and the seeing be equal? Or, can darkness be equal to light? Or, do they assign to Allah partners who have created the like of His creation so that the two creations appear similar to them?’ Say, ‘Allah alone is the Creator of all things, and He is the One, the Most Supreme.’ [13:17]

25. 13a. Instruments to recognise God • Observing evidence [God should exist - Probability] -all creation that is known to have started about 14b years ago, particularly creation with consciousness - completebalance in laws of nature - even spontaneous jungle fire leading to healthier soil & stronger genetic material for plants, hurricane leading to adjustment of sea water temperatures thus becoming more conducive to life • Witnessing act [God exists - certainty, but still with possible doubt] - prophets gaining victory over ‘mightier’ opposition despite lack of worldly resources - life lived in accordance with God’s guidance meets better contentment and success than one without • Experience [God definitely exists - Conviction, without any doubt] – personal communication with God [acceptance of prayer, receiving revelation]

26. 13b. Experiencing God - leaves no doubt • The natural quest – has a purpose - basis for individuals to seek God and make effort towards Him • Prophets describe the method: Refrain from pursuing the worldly gains Live a moral life Life with utmost truthfulness Persistent prayer and meditation • Such lifestyle develops the right instrument to communicate with God - ‘psychic-radio’ to receive revelation • Communication becomes two-sided as it develops • Acceptance of prayer and receiving revelation are profound evidence

27. Prayer exercise • How many have had their prayers accepted? • This is evidence of immense blessings of God on a community that lends its effort to prayer in order to achieve growth and success

28. 14. Cycle of belief and disbelief The prophet establishes unity of God in the society Another God sent stands alone A just society is formed Downfall of the nation Overtime they drift from the original teachings Suffering begins Repeat of this cycle over time in human history is strong evidence for existence of God

29. The illusion of ‘The God Delusion’Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion, 2006 Richard Dawkins makes the following four arguments to suggest non-existence: 1. ‘Downside’ of religion Downside of misunderstandings or manipulations of religious teachings are referred to egconceptual distortions, and not the actual teachings. Additionally, downside of anything does not prove non-existence of the source of that thing. 2. Problems due to religion eg divisions and conflicts Yes, such problems do exist, but again due to distortion of teachings and not when original teachings are followed. On analysis of societies where true teachings are followed – we find peace, harmony and tolerance. Again, if something is distorted and there is consequent suffering, it still does not rule out existence of creator of that thing. 3. Progress is not related to religion Historical evidence is to the contrary. Religious principles have always been relevant to progress eg development of empirical sciences during the Golden Age of Islam. Just societies and fair governance by Muslims of that era has been universally accepted. Western progress of recent centuries is also based on religious principles of honesty, diligence and accountability. While Islamic scholars at that time applied a rational approach to religious principles and thus embraced both religion and science, at the time of European renaissance the Christian clergy had primarily a dogmatic and irrational approach to religion, hence the scientific approach was not seen to be linked to these principles that religion teaches. 4. God concept is a product of human thought over time Answer in previous slide.

30. The Godless void • Remove water from a glass and it fills with air • Remove the real God from our mind and it fills with other gods Edward L Deci and Richard M Ryan, The ‘What’ and ‘Why’ of Goal Pursuits: Human Needs and the Self Determination of Behaviour, Psychological Inquiry, 2000, Vol 11, No 4, 227-268 ‘Let us live life to its full’ – hedonism ‘It is my life’ – selfishness ‘What do I get from this?’ – materialism • Our psychological satans become our gods

31. Understanding of the Truthis only possible through Allah’s appointed people • ‘To insist that mysteries of that [spiritual] world should be wholly revealed through reason is like closing one’s eyes and insisting that one should be able to perceive visible objects through sense of smell.’ • ‘God Almighty has created humans with great variation in their overt and covert capabilities. For example, some possess good vision while others are weak, or altogether blind… People also differ in their covert capabilities… Some have lesser degree of spiritual development and others have a higher degree and have received Divine revelation. For the former to deny the characteristics of the latter would be the same as if a blind person was to deny the 0bservations of one with good vision…’ THE PROMISED MESSIAH HAZRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD(may peace be on him)

32. Conclusion • Invitation to make an open minded enquiry • Not like Yuri Gagarin, the Russian cosmonaut - ‘did not find God in space’ ... or Shelley, the English poet – ‘did not find God in underground caves’ • Enquiry as recommended by the prophets http://www.alislam.org/allah/Search-for-God.pdf