For many, Islam’s inner and outer dimensions are very mysterious.
The Prophet, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, is known to have said, “Islam began as something strange, and it will return to being strange, so blessed are the strangers.” Narrated by Abu Huraira, Sahih Muslim 145
Oftentimes, those who are sincere and those who strive for truth encounter strangeness in the way that truth presents itself, are themselves thought of as being strange, or find themselves as outliers among their peers in this search. Coming to understand the reality of the world as we delve into questioning ourselves on spiritual meaning — or the lack of it — is a significant personal endeavor. What we must strive to do is see beyond the illusions that present themselves, and as all great traditions describe, achieve a form of enlightenment.
As fellow companions who are on the journey, let us now begin to understand the final great monotheistic tradition: Islam.
For those who are just approaching the Straight Path, the path of Islam, let us remove ourselves of saying that we are believers or disbelievers in it, but step back to reflect on the path and what being believers in it or disbelievers in it means.
A believer is one who learns about and understands the message of Islam, and accepts it because as he is exposed to it, he recognizes that it is true.
Meanwhile, a disbeliever is one who rejects Islam as being true or ignores sincerely considering Islam. Moreover, a disbeliever is not necessarily an unbeliever. A disbeliever contrasts to one who does not yet believe in Islam because the person who does not yet believe in it has not had the proper understanding of it. This person who tries to sincerely understand Islam and the existence of God simply for the purposes of wanting to find and accept the truth is someone on the same path of the believer according to Islam. While people who are uncertain about the existence of God like unbelievers may carry with them deterrents to belief even though they wish to understand belief, such as in thinking that there are moral issues believing in Islam or believing that God exists as He does — for example, in questioning why suffering can exist in the world as it does or why there is such a dichotomy between heaven and hell — as the individuals who are on the true path to belief out of an earnest desire come to understand the Quran and Islam sincerely, such deterrents unravel themselves because they are resolved soundly or are in fact found to be nonissues.
As we are presented the reality of believers and disbelievers mentioned in the Quran, we should contemplate upon which path we find ourselves.
Thus, we will now start this discussion with Prophet Moses (peace be upon him), otherwise known as Musa (as) in the Quran. Musa (as) is one of the great believers, and Pharaoh is one of the disbelievers who opposed him. Musa (as) who was sent to the Children of Israel is the most mentioned prophet in the Quran, and his opposition, Pharaoh, strongly rejected him and is mentioned in the Quran as the person and whose people will be thrown into the severest punishment [40:46].
Why? What does it mean?
This is a significant observation, and is such because of how Pharaoh is a maximal representative of disbelievers in how they reason against the message of Islam and the proofs given to them.
The outlook of disbelievers is that categorized as unsoundly rooted in ego and contention, with ingratitude and stubbornness when they are informed of the Message, the Truth. Believers are those who use reason and are sincere, with gratitude and acceptance of the Message, the Truth, when it reaches them.
The following is a guided reflection of the Quran from the Islamic perspective as we come to understand the reality of this, with a focus on elucidating how verses that can be followed along a path of reason provided in the Quran can be recognized as the Truth regardless of if one is Muslim or not, so long as one remains sincere and using reason. This serves to demonstrate how the Quran simply comments on the foundational nature or conditions of reality with regards to belief or disbelief in God in the human condition, and segues into a separate deductive meta-analysis of reason when evaluating the human condition in its relationship to reality, which is shown to reiterate the nature and conditions of that which is described by the verses in the Quran (see The Deductive Proof of Islam by Metaphysical Finality and the following sections).
From our reflections on the Quran and our reflections upon the world, there emerges an exclusively unified model of metaphysical reality in Islam, emphasizing reason and sincerity to such an extent as to be ultimately compelling and irrefutable to the one who truly searches for and is accepting of truth and enlightenment.
[It is advised to have wudu while reading through this section, as we read excerpts from the Quran]
“In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
[All] praise is [due] to Allah, Lord of the worlds –
The Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful,
Sovereign of the Day of Recompense.
It is You we worship and You we ask for help.
Guide us to the straight path –
The Path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor – not of those who have evoked [Your] anger or of those who are astray.”
Surah Al-Fatihah, The Opener [1-7]
As we begin to approach things from the position of a Muslim or from someone trying to sincerely understand the existence of God, let us consider a few things.
The disbeliever is ultimately someone who reasons his own ideas about the nonexistence of God rather than someone who evaluates actual proof for the existence or nonexistence of God. Where a believer would start off by acknowledging that he has some feeling there is or might be a God based on the attributes of Being and Creation, and his own inner reflections about the world, the disbeliever would instead begin by saying that so long as he can reason an alternative understanding to existence (the Universe, everything in it, and its laws), there is no God, or at least no definitive proof of God. While both start points seem equivalent, there is actually a very stark contrast in logic, revealing the nature of one’s inner reflections.
This reasoning of the disbeliever asserts that to actually bring about a proof of God would be to identify something as clearly “miraculous” or “supernatural” in the universe in the function of being a proof for God, or more accurately, to manifest something that by experiencing it, it irrevocably goes against one’s free will to disbelieve, essentially negating free will and the need for evaluation of proof in order to attain the maximal status of “undeniable proof” instead of being “sincere and reasoned” belief from presented proof (ie. the Quran) and reflection. Unknown to the disbeliever, this is a flawed and defeated reasoning since it denies true consciousness and free will being intrinsic to the process of acceptance of proof. A disbeliever can say they believe in both free will and consciousness while claiming there can never exist actual proof enough to convince them of belief or the messengership of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), but their contradictory denial of their own prerequisite (of having undeniable proof) is itself their loop back to the circular assertion that if it is possible to argue other than “God created existence,” there is no proof of God.
It no longer becomes reasoning but the delusion of “if I can think otherwise, it can be otherwise,” while displacing key failures in epistemological integrity into ego driven misconceptions.
“And they said, ‘No matter what sign you bring us with which to bewitch us, we will not be believers in you’” [7:132].
“I will turn away from My signs those who are arrogant upon the earth without right; and if they should see every sign, they will not believe in it. And if they see the way of consciousness, they will not adopt it as a way; but if they see the way of error, they will adopt it as a way. That is because they have denied Our signs and they were heedless of them” [7:146].
As it is referred to in the Quran, if disbelievers were given proofs and “were to see a fragment from the sky falling, they would say, ‘[It is merely] clouds heaped up’” – assuming it is a natural physical phenomenon [52:44]. Or if “We opened to them a gate from the heaven and they continued therein to ascend, They would say, ‘Our eyes have only been dazzled. Rather, we are a people affected by magic’” [15:14-15]. They would acknowledge that they experience something unknown, and from their perspective, unexplainable, but would insist it is unrelated to God. In other words, disbelievers assert that unexplainable phenomena will be able to be explained through purely naturalistic means or by something other than God, and thus, it yet again falls into their “reasoning,” and there will always be an alternative, where they do not have to believe.
Now we come to Pharaoh. The disbeliever could be like Pharaoh if they were to try to reason and attempt to test what they identify as the “magic” from God, as “Pharaoh said, ‘If you have come with a sign, then bring it forth, if you should be of the truthful.’ So Moses threw his staff, and suddenly it was a serpent, manifest. And he drew out his hand; thereupon it was white [with radiance] for the observers. Said the eminent among the people of Pharaoh, ‘Indeed, this is a learned magician Who wants to expel you from your land [through magic], so what do you instruct?’” [7:106-110].
As is mentioned in Surah Al-A’raf and other places, Musa (as) showed Pharaoh how his staff could turn into a snake and how his hand became white, clear signs from God, and they assumed it was magic (something else unexplainable or happening by some other means). But something interesting here happens soon that distinguishes the Pharaoh and his people as defiant disbelievers. “They said, ‘Postpone [the matter of] him and his brother and send among the cities gatherers Who will bring you every learned magician’” [7:111-112].
The disbelievers knew that it was something unexplainable, but also wanted to observe how the phenomenon could be imitated and thereby discredited as uniquely from God by being naturalistically replicated or overcome – notice the similarities to the requirements of the scientific method in experimenting with an unknown phenomena, using repetition and observation, or experimenting with what one observes.
This is the red-herring of disbelief’s credibility. Pharaoh denied the signs of Prophet Musa (as) and so he set about arranging a duel between the greatest magicians across the land and Prophet Musa (as) to see whose “magic” was truly superior.
“And the magicians came to Pharaoh. They said, ‘Indeed for us is a reward if we are the predominant.’ He said, ‘Yes, and, [moreover], you will be among those made near [to me].’ They said, ‘O Moses, either you throw [your staff], or we will be the ones to throw [first].’ He said, ‘Throw,’ and when they threw, they bewitched the eyes of the people and struck terror into them, and they presented a great [feat of] magic. And We inspired to Moses, ‘Throw your staff,’ and at once it devoured what they were falsifying. So the truth was established, and abolished was what they were doing. And Pharaoh and his people were overcome right there and became debased. And the magicians fell down in prostration [to Allah]. They said, ‘We have believed in the Lord of the worlds, The Lord of Moses and Aaron.’ Said Pharaoh, ‘You believed in him before I gave you permission. Indeed, this is a conspiracy which you conspired in the city to expel therefrom its people. But you are going to know. I will surely cut off your hands and your feet on opposite sides; then I will surely crucify you all’” [7:113-120].
The staff Prophet Musa (as) threw turned into a snake which literally devoured what had been thrown by the magicians to cast their illusion, something an illusion could never actually do. Notice how the Quran made explicit the magicians’ actual intentions for reward and to draw closer to Pharaoh directly before the encounter. After being defeated in the challenge, Pharaoh still denied and claimed that the magicians’ defeat was planned and that they altogether transpired against him, so he still disbelieved. This is the unending alternative in disbelief, although the learned magicians or otherwise scientists themselves – familiar with the illusory nature of their magic unknown to the common people and able to distinguish it from the true phenomenon they had just witnessed – knew the answer when seeing the signs. They immediately recognized the truth, as believers are those who know and see past the illusions of the unknown. Meanwhile, of great importance is to note the usage of the scientific method by Pharaoh. It was only used in this scenario to try to explain and disprove what cannot be explained except through God, so when the test to explain and thereby discredit the signs of God failed, the methodological framework of this reasoning (that is, material naturalistic assessment) to evaluate the Divine was not rejected, but the rejection was transposed onto the actual interpretation of the test evincing truth of the Divine (which was thereby incorrectly rejected). This is the trap of presupposed philosophical naturalism and the circular reasoning mentioned in the beginning, so those who disbelieve misplace their true sense of epistemology into a limited, and ultimately blind and assumed framework from which they simply cannot gain further insight from. Proofs will be asked for, but will always be rejected as not constituting proof. It is interesting to note how Prophet Musa (as)’s mentions in the Quran are the most numerous of any Prophet’s, and how often his accounts have to do with the way in which one understands or comes to know God as opposed to those who do not or have misunderstandings about God, a very significant thing that the Quran is conveying to whomever listens. This is also demonstrated in Prophet Musa (as)’s interaction with Al-Khidr whom he himself could not be patient with or understand due to Al-Khidr seemingly doing evil or unjust deeds, when in reality they were just and appropriate actions he did for good reason, demonstrating how ultimate knowledge and wisdom is overtly more than Man can even comprehend from his limited perspective, so Man must have patience in understanding this reality.
Returning to Pharaoh, even if a disbeliever were to claim that they would believe if there was such a person as Prophet Musa (as) in front of them with these signs, the disbelievers are those who only claim this without reflecting on the reality of what this example explains to us of their condition and in their own claiming of such a thing, for this premier example is, as we will see, a mirror to how one might reject the Quran in the midst of being shown the ultimate proof that they are looking for.
“And is one who was dead and We gave him life and made for him light by which to walk among the people like one who is in darkness, never to emerge therefrom? Thus it has been made pleasing to the disbelievers that which they were doing” [6:122].
The light is the Quran and Islam which explains and has a wholly complete model for reality, while the darkness is the disbelief of disbelievers who will never have a truthfully coherent worldview, but are pleased in it with the ideas they make or accept for themselves without finding any true answer. Such was Pharaoh who was pleased at being at a high station in life and who was a tyrant that persistently reasoned against what was shown to him. This brings us back to the metaphysics of belief and philosophy.
“And they swear by Allah their strongest oaths that if a sign came to them, they would surely believe in it. Say, ‘The signs are only with Allah.’ And what will make you perceive that even if a sign came, they would not believe” [6:109].
“And when a sign comes to them, they say, ‘Never will we believe until we are given like that which was given to the messengers of Allah.’ Allah is most knowing of where He places His message. There will afflict those who committed crimes debasement before Allah and severe punishment for what they used to conspire” [6:124].
“If We willed, We could send down to them from the sky a sign for which their necks would remain humbled” [26:4].
“And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me. I do not want from them any provision, nor do I want them to feed Me. Indeed, it is Allah who is the [continual] Provider, the firm possessor of strength” [51:57-58].
“There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion. The right course has become clear from the wrong. So whoever disbelieves in Taghut* and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing” [2:256].
*Taghut is Islamic terminology denoting a focus of worship other than God, and he who does not worship Allah worships something other than Allah (false gods, their own desires, etc.)
We have free will and were created to worship by choice through correct, pure reason and sincere submission to God, or Allah (swt) since that is simply what is just and what one who aligns himself with goodness comes to love as they understand Allah (swt) more.
The disbeliever is one whose focus on belief is such that they will never accept this understanding of how their acquisition of knowledge and very consideration of the Divine itself is flawed. In understanding the futile methodology by which the disbeliever approaches belief, another epiphany one sees is that the disbeliever says he should not believe in anything for which there is no proof and thereby rejects God, yet believes and places his whole world view into the trust of an imagined inanimate uncaused cause — about which he does not understand anything — that created all that exists. The universe was created by some happening, and that happening occurred due to these conditions, and these conditions existed in the first place because.. etc. etc. It is unending darkness without substance, the illusion of appearances without knowing their inner nature, and this is the belief of disbelievers who actively reject God. While some may surmise with something called “hindsight bias” that there must necessarily be a kind of beginning due to their own existence, they have no idea what that naturalistic uncaused beginning might be except to say that surely, it cannot be of “divine” or “supernatural nature,” a logical fallacy. To approach Belief, one should first consider the reality that with the existence of God is the true idea of “naturalism.”
“Have you seen he who has taken as his god his [own] desire, and Allah has sent him astray due to knowledge and has set a seal upon his hearing and his heart and put over his vision a veil? So who will guide him after Allah? Then will you not be reminded? And they say, ‘There is not but our worldly life; we die and live, and nothing destroys us except time.’ And they have of that no knowledge; they are only assuming” [45:23-24].
To this day, how even the arrow of time itself has arisen is a mystery. There is much to be said about physics, consciousness, and metaphysics in the stratified formulation of reality, but all of that, to the disbeliever, is an eternal mystery by actual and contradictory necessity to the disbeliever whose false assumptions about the nature of reality actually blind themselves to insight. Meanwhile, the very foundations of truth, conception, and time verify Islam and reject disbelief. Compare this state of the disbelievers to the believers. The believers believe in Allah (swt) and have an internally and externally consistent belief system, encompassing all that requires explanation to fulfill the conditions of sound belief without straying into commentary about multimodal concepts such as what exactly the soul is by the necessarily whole adoption of the conditions of true knowledge, or that which is verifiable from the self and can be discerned as infallibly true from our limited knowledge (see The Deductive Proof of Islam by Metaphysical Finality).
The disbeliever cannot acknowledge the Divine origin of Creation from an uncaused cause, the greatest and most apparent yet overlooked miracle, due to disbelief in the Divine actually being prerequisite in their circular frame of reasoning, as made explicit by the example of Pharaoh, whose reasoning was devoid of spiritual depth, even though he may have adopted other customs of his time, such as in belief of the Egyptian gods. The flaw in reasoning ability is the same for those who believe in no God, or who do not ever truly question the beliefs they were born into or raised upon.
As such, the disbeliever is stuck within the red-herring of his internal belief system and accepts the existence of the unexplainable magic of an uncaused cause, the thing they reject most, only because it is displaced from their immediate concerns. They may conjecture that existence must be due to some naturalistic cause on the basis of observing the universe, but this is without realizing that the universe was itself first caused by something that is yet again unnatural or unknown, and so on and so forth if natural causative factors continued to exist for every layer of existence. Some may even perhaps ridicule the Muslim because of the peace they find with the Truth, thinking it is only because they like it or find comfort in it. They do not realize that this is their own condition and what they long for but will never attain within disbelief, so they become heedless of it or they egotistically think it is something of a lesser mind rather than open up their own minds outside of their entrenched presuppositions to realize that there can indeed be a truth that they have not yet grasped.
But they can still attain the truth if they accept the realization of having had misconceived preconceptions cloud their former reasoning. The disbelievers are those who persist against reason, and they can persist as they please, but those who search in earnest will find the truth.
“And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a bringer of good tidings and a warner. Say, ‘I do not ask of you for it any payment – only that whoever wills might take to his Lord a way.’ And rely upon the Ever-Living who does not die, and exalt [Allah] with His praise. And sufficient is He to be, with the sins of His servants, Acquainted – He who created the heavens and the earth and what is between them in six days and then established Himself above the Throne – the Most Merciful, so ask about Him one well informed. And when it is said to them, ‘Prostrate to the Most Merciful,’ they say, ‘And what is the Most Merciful? Should we prostrate to that which you order us?’ And it increases them in aversion. Blessed is He who has placed in the sky great stars and placed therein a [burning] lamp and luminous moon. And it is He who has made the night and the day in succession for whoever desires to remember or desires gratitude. And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth easily, and when the ignorant address them [harshly], they say [words of] peace, And those who spend [part of] the night to their Lord prostrating and standing [in prayer] And those who say, ‘Our Lord, avert from us the punishment of Hell. Indeed, its punishment is ever adhering; Indeed, it is evil as a settlement and residence.’ And [they are] those who, when they spend, do so not excessively or sparingly but are ever, between that, [justly] moderate And those who do not invoke with Allah another deity or kill the soul which Allah has forbidden [to be killed], except by right, and do not commit unlawful sexual intercourse. And whoever should do that will meet a penalty. Multiplied for him is the punishment on the Day of Resurrection, and he will abide therein humiliated – Except for those who repent, believe, and do righteous work. For them Allah will replace their evil deeds with good. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful. And he who repents and does righteousness does indeed turn to Allah with [accepted] repentance. And [they are] those who do not testify to falsehood, and when they pass near ill speech, they pass by with dignity. And those who, when reminded of the verses of their Lord, do not fall upon them deaf and blind” [25:56-73].
Those who are reminded of the verses should consider.
There is no escaping the metaphysical reality of there being an uncaused cause which has created everything. Concepts to explain about how the universe’s laws have simply come about and also in such a way as to support conscious life despite a supernaturally low chance of it, all of the various theories one can even conjecture about how experiential consciousness has come from things such as substance dualism or emergent materialism, they are all defeated by this — how did such phenomenon become as they are or exist with that characteristic baseline property? Upon the nature of existence itself, what thing is manifest (not becomes manifest) with its traits as they are purely on the basis of its own properties as an uncaused cause? And what thing has ultimately given way to the Universe and our consciousnesses the way they are? The only answer is God and that is the only answer there ever will be when using reason. No sound analysis, metaphysical or scientific, abstract or concrete, can venture a solution beyond this as it is beyond the upper limit of our observed reality and its meaning, and to say perhaps then that it is something we simply cannot fathom is — very importantly — an admission of failure to reason.
“Blessed is He in whose hand is dominion, and He is over all things competent – [He] who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed – and He is the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving – [And] who created the seven heavens in layers. You do not see in the creation of the Most Merciful any inconsistency. So return [your] vision [to the sky]; do you see any breaks? Then return [your] vision twice again. [Your] vision will return to you humbled while it is fatigued. And We have certainly beautified the nearest heaven with stars and have made [from] them what is thrown at the devils and have prepared for them the punishment of the Blaze. And for those who disbelieved in their Lord is the punishment of Hell, and wretched is the destination. When they are thrown into it, they hear from it a [dreadful] inhaling while it boils up. It almost bursts with rage. Every time a company is thrown into it, its keepers ask them, ‘Did there not come to you a warner?’ They will say, ‘Yes, a warner had come to us, but we denied and said, ‘Allah has not sent down anything. You are not but in great error.’ And they will say, ‘If only we had been listening or reasoning, we would not be among the companions of the Blaze’” [67:1-10].
If only they had been listening or reasoning. The Quran continuously asks us to reason and reflect exactly because it is reason itself that constitutes belief. The two are ultimately equivalent (see the section The Deductive Proof of Islam by Metaphysical Finality). Reason and pondering upon God in the human experience is natural, the world simply exists as it does naturally, and God is a part of the natural world. One cannot from reason ever reject the Quran and Islam. This naturalistic framework of understanding the human experience with relation to God are hollowly echoed by anti-theists who proclaim, as if wisely, that the world is just as it is, but with the rhetorical spin in more or less a reference to how divine intervention or the search for higher meaning cannot be natural. Thus, there is, in fact, an unnatural exclusion of God being made with the natural human experience. Rather, anti-theists instead focus on the strictly observable. But of course. Believers have already internalized the observable in the course of their naturalistic progression. The world is itself the catalyst for reflection, within which, we have morality and we have reason which leads to the exploration of God and ultimate acknowledgement of God as simply a part of the world. Those anti-theists reject that morality and reason is as much a part of the world as its material components, which is absurd because such faculties definitively exist in reality as opposed to, again, imagined “what-if’s,” such as, what-if we are simply conflating the human experience for personal fulfillment? This is again from the misconstrued perspective that one cannot ever acknowledge that God, is, in fact, part of the “natural world,” and this false premise stems from the falsely internalized belief that only what is seen or materially evident is “truth,” and they remain in the trap of their own internal belief systems that do not accept how what they are doing, to the contrary, is a selfish conflating of their own perspective for fulfillment in the world that they have themselves chosen to view as without God. For those who desire to remember or desire gratitude, they will naturally incline to Belief or want to understand more about Belief upon reflecting on the world for a whole and complete worldview. This is what leads them to explore religion or begin ascertaining truth.
Meanwhile, a claim that the active disbelievers may yet again assert in response to being informed of this is: what proof is there that I even need to have this metaphysically certain worldview with God in it and that some things cannot simply be a mystery? What is there to point me in the direction of knowing that I have to care for this in the first place? What need is there for me to think about it? And the answer to that is simply to look in your physics and biology textbook if not to understand that the single greatest proof is in your own questioning of such things itself, as we discussed as part of the natural human experience. Structure and function is the nature of every living thing in this world, our biochemistry all the way down to our physics in which the universe’s laws make structure literally a function and function a structure. There is no other function for which the structure of experiential consciousness with reason and morality within it exists except for ultimate acknowledgement of God. The only alternative is to believe that natural, experiential consciousness has emerged due to a “natural” hedonistic drive of the unfeeling universe, leading us to experiential phenomena. With God, the natural experience is not hedonistic or selfish, but rather, what truly aligns with our experience as free beings who ponder upon these concepts despite such tendencies. Anti-theists attempt to mix between the two in a form of masochistic romanticization, ultimately putting human emotion, or desire, at the center of all existential significance while making it appear to be reason, or the necessary resolution of existential contemplation, by excluding God from being “natural” — due to their very own conflation of self and circular reasoning. This is the trap of their own internal belief system, as discussed with Pharaoh and unending alternatives which reach for everything except the possibility of Belief, and they do not understand the proper way to even consider or approach belief.
“And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me. I do not want from them any provision, nor do I want them to feed Me. Indeed, it is Allah who is the [continual] Provider, the firm possessor of strength” [51:57-58].
“Say, ‘Have you considered: if the Qur’an is from Allah and you disbelieved in it, who would be more astray than one who is in extreme dissension?’ 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?” [41:52-53].
“The revelation of the Book is from Allah, the Exalted in Might, the Wise. Indeed, within the heavens and earth are signs for the believers. And in the creation of yourselves and what He disperses of moving creatures are signs for a people who are certain [in faith]” [45:1-4].
“Then did you think that We created you uselessly and that to Us you would not be returned?’” [23:115].
“And we did not create the heavens and earth and that between them in play. We did not create them except in truth, but most of them do not know” [44:38-39].
Islamic monotheism is the only thing that aligns with our metaphysical reasoning and the very naturalism of our experiential, conscious reality and emotional conscience, and it is why Islamic monotheism is always accessible through reason as it actually forms true harmony within us by it — reason was created for us to worship. We could otherwise continuously insist on the imaginary alternative, but it would neither benefit us in accepting what is true nor in finding peace. Still, let’s yet further insist belief could possibly be on equal footing with disbelief. Let’s just further insist and posit that belief and disbelief are just two distinct models of looking at the world. Even so, their inherent differences reveal the truth through reason when examining each’s evidence. Islam and the messengers have come with the Truth and the Truth has vouched for itself with sound alignment of metaphysical, emotional, and logical reasoning, while holding accountable only people who have been provided access to the explicit message (the Quran), which is the presented evidence.
“If you disbelieve – indeed, Allah is Free from need of you. And He does not approve for His servants disbelief. And if you are grateful, He approves it for you; and no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another. Then to your Lord is your return, and He will inform you about what you used to do. Indeed, He is Knowing of that within the breasts” [39:7].
“Whoever is guided is only guided for [the benefit of] his soul. And whoever errs only errs against it. And no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another. And never would We punish until We sent a messenger” [17:15].
In contrast, disbelief does not even vouch for itself, and a disbeliever only contradicts himself and is incoherent if he actively disbelieves rather than continue to actively search for the truth, recognizing it where he sees it. And the ability within oneself to recognize truth is the crux of the process, and is something a Disbeliever cannot do or cannot accept as from Belief. Thus, it is even suggested within the world model of disbelief that pure, unfettered reasoning would lead you to belief and keep you there — because it is the only ultimate harmony of Reason and Being. The implications of this are massive, because when one considers that it is what one is led to by sound reason even in the naturalistic framework of disbelief, Islam at once proves itself as entirely true and the only option of reason, while disbelief is entirely false and unsubstantiated. Islam commands a sound metaphysical source for everything within it while disbelief in ascertaining where its source is, suggests that it does not have a metaphysical source of meaning except from what within it is religion and belief — except if one were to delude himself and displace his understanding of the source into his own mind from within the circular reasoning that he has the ability to think, making himself the delusional egoistic center of the universe. While one might assume that nobody would be so deluded as to actually do this, people who make themselves the center of their universe in such ways are actually those who project the very uncertainty of their being the center (ie. ascertaining where their consciousness has come from) into the perpetually uncertain naturalistic reality they have adopted by convenience for themselves. The disbeliever does not understand from where he thinks, that physical analysis of the brain, matter, and that the universe with all of its laws can never unveil undeniable proof of experiential consciousness. Thus, the disbeliever ignores the way of consciousness and his own consciousness by being heedless of reason’s necessitation of a metaphysically aligned worldview of ourselves in reality.
“So remind [O Muhammad], for you are not, by the favor of your Lord, a soothsayer or a madman. Or do they say [of you], ‘A poet for whom we await a misfortune of time?’ Say, ‘Wait, for indeed I am, with you, among the waiters.’ Or do their minds command them to [say] this, or are they a transgressing people? Or do they say, ‘He has made it up’? Rather, they do not believe. Then let them produce a statement like it, if they should be truthful. Or 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” [52:29-36].
Both displacing the metaphysical source of the world into oneself and suggesting that it can never be known as outside of the self are resounding epistemological failures. The sound conclusion is belief through reason and reflection. Islam and belief is the clear and consistent model of reality. And a very important distinction to be made is that this pure reasoning and reality is exclusive to Islamic monotheism which focuses on the natural born consciousness of God as part of the human experience (fitrah), the utilization of reasoning, the divine nature of the Quran, and the understanding of the oneness and uniqueness of God with the statement “There is no god but Allah” in acceptance of the message delivered by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Islam also recognizes the chain of messengership from what is from Judaism, to Christianity, and then finally to Islam, whereas these religions as they currently exist are heedless of the chain of messengership, as God has continuously sent messengers and has never altered his message or way of presenting the truth (in contrast to how Christians take Jesus or Isa (as) as a divine figure when he himself was a rabbi revitalizing Judaism, and the Jews never took him as a divine figure, thus breaking the soundness of carrying across the same message. Muslims understand that Isa (as) also sent the same message as all prophets, including Muhammad (pbuh) — that there is only one God).
All the tenets of Islam are the sound reasoning. And the pure and sincere acceptance of being Muslim and intention thereby to follow in the path of a righteous Muslim as has been described in the Quran (and in the verses mentioned) is the only thing you need to enter into Paradise (read: https://sunnah.com/bukhari/81/12, https://sunnah.com/tirmidhi/40/34). It is a perfect mirror to verify the reality of us simply existing for the sake of having a natural inclination to think about God and to accept being righteous from within a consistent worldview, since all we need in order to understand the truth of Islam and gain its ultimate achievement is a simple affirmation of God through reasoning and reflection upon our creation’s emotional, logical, and metaphysical necessities within the world as it simply is, as Allah (swt) reminds us in the Quran.
“So is one whose breast Allah has expanded to [accept] Islam and he is upon a light from his Lord [like one whose heart rejects it]? Then woe to those whose hearts are hardened against the remembrance of Allah. Those are in manifest error. Allah has sent down the best statement: a consistent Book wherein is reiteration. The skins shiver therefrom of those who fear their Lord; then their skins and their hearts relax at the remembrance of Allah. That is the guidance of Allah by which He guides whom He wills. And one whom Allah leaves astray – for him there is no guide” [39:22-23].
“This [Qur’an] is enlightenment for mankind and guidance and mercy for a people who are certain [in faith]. Or do those who commit evils think We will make them like those who have believed and done righteous deeds – [make them] equal in their life and their death? Evil is that which they judge. And Allah created the heavens and earth in truth and so that every soul may be recompensed for what it has earned, and they will not be wronged” [45:20-22].
“O People, if you should be in doubt about the Resurrection, then [consider that] indeed, We created you from dust, then from a sperm-drop, then from a clinging clot, and then from a lump of flesh, formed and unformed – that We may show you. And We settle in the wombs whom We will for a specified term, then We bring you out as a child, and then [We develop you] that you may reach your [time of] maturity. And among you is he who is taken in [early] death, and among you is he who is returned to the most decrepit [old] age so that he knows, after [once having] knowledge, nothing. And you see the earth barren, but when We send down upon it rain, it quivers and swells and grows [something] of every beautiful kind” [22:5].
“Unquestionably, for Allah is the pure religion. And those who take protectors besides Him [say], ‘We only worship them that they may bring us nearer to Allah in position.’ Indeed, Allah will judge between them concerning that over which they differ. Indeed, Allah does not guide he who is a liar and [confirmed] disbeliever. If Allah had intended to take a son, He could have chosen from what He creates whatever He willed. Exalted is He; He is Allah, the One, the Prevailing. He created the heavens and earth in truth. He wraps the night over the day and wraps the day over the night and has subjected the sun and the moon, each running [its course] for a specified term. Unquestionably, He is the Exalted in Might, the Perpetual Forgiver. He created you from one soul. Then He made from it its mate, and He produced for you from the grazing livestock eight mates. He creates you in the wombs of your mothers, creation after creation, within three darknesses. That is Allah, your Lord; to Him belongs dominion. There is no deity except Him, so how are you averted?” [39:1-6].
“And whoever invokes besides Allah another deity for which he has no proof – then his account is only with his Lord. Indeed, the disbelievers will not succeed” [23:117].
These verses providing examples of how life has been made in truth and with justice can be independently understood outside of religion using pure reason to reflect upon life within disbelief, for indeed, it would be unjust, imbalanced, and evil to propose that those who do wrong are equal to those who do right, and it is simply unnatural to propose, with only those who neglect guidance and truth finding no issue with such perverse thinking. Additionally, the verses on the oneness of God in creating such a balance that those who are guided through Islam may follow can be understood alongside independent principles even within Disbelief, such as Occam’s razor for the elimination of unnecessary pluralities, and to reach an understanding that there is only one God and one proper path to believe how such justice has been incorporated into life intrinsically, with the ultimate judgement and balance ultimately being from God. With regards to Islamic monotheism, the understanding of there being none worthy of worship except Allah alone is itself why Islam is a clear metaphysical reality, and how our metaphysical reality was made for us to accept Islam (see Part 3: Proof of Islam). Rather, these verses have been made apparent and the Quran is the ultimate evidence entirely, with explicit robustness throughout.
“Ha, Meem. The revelation of the Book is from Allah, the Exalted in Might, the Wise. Indeed, within the heavens and earth are signs for the believers. And in the creation of yourselves and what He disperses of moving creatures are signs for people who are certain [in faith]. And [in] the alternation of night and day and [in] what Allah sends down from the sky of provision and gives life thereby to the earth after its lifelessness and [in His] directing of the winds are signs for a people who reason. These are the verses of Allah which We recite to you in truth. Then in what statement after Allah and His verses will they believe? Woe to every sinful liar Who hears the verses of Allah recited to him, then persists arrogantly as if he had not heard them. So give him tidings of a painful punishment. And when he knows anything of Our verses, he takes them in ridicule. Those will have a humiliating punishment. Before them is Hell, and what they had earned will not avail them at all nor what they had taken besides Allah as allies. And they will have a great punishment. This [Qur’an] is guidance. And those who have disbelieved in the verses of their Lord will have a painful punishment of foul nature. It is Allah who subjected to you the sea so that ships may sail upon it by His command and that you may seek of His bounty; and perhaps you will be grateful. And He has subjected to you whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth – all from Him. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought. Say, [O Muhammad], to those who have believed that they [should] forgive those who expect not the days of Allah so that He may recompense a people for what they used to earn. Whoever does a good deed – it is for himself; and whoever does evil – it is against the self. Then to your Lord you will be returned. And We did certainly give the Children of Israel the Scripture and judgement and prophethood, and We provided them with good things and preferred them over the worlds. And We gave them clear proofs of the matter [of religion]. And they did not differ except after knowledge had come to them – out of jealous animosity between themselves. Indeed, your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that over which they used to differ. Then We put you, [O Muhammad], on an ordained way concerning the matter [of religion]; so follow it and do not follow the inclinations of those who do not know. Indeed, they will never avail you against Allah at all. And indeed, the wrongdoers are allies of one another; but Allah is the protector of the righteous. This [Qur’an] is enlightenment for mankind and guidance and mercy for a people who are certain [in faith]. Or do those who commit evils think We will make them like those who have believed and done righteous deeds – [make them] equal in their life and their death? Evil is that which they judge. And Allah created the heavens and earth in truth and so that every soul may be recompensed for what it has earned, and they will not be wronged. Have you seen he who has taken as his god his [own] desire, and Allah has sent him astray due to knowledge and has set a seal upon his hearing and his heart and put over his vision a veil? So who will guide him after Allah? Then will you not be reminded? And they say, ‘There is not but our worldly life; we die and live, and nothing destroys us except time.’ And they have of that no knowledge; they are only assuming. And when our verses are recited to them as clear evidences, their argument is only that they say, ‘Bring [back] our forefathers, if you should be truthful.’ Say, ‘Allah causes you to live, then causes you to die; then He will assemble you for the Day of Resurrection, about which there is no doubt, but most of the people do not know.’ And to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. And the Day the Hour appears – that Day the falsifiers will lose. And you will see every nation kneeling [from fear]. Every nation will be called to its record [and told], ‘Today you will be recompensed for what you used to do. This, Our record, speaks about you in truth. Indeed, We were having transcribed whatever you used to do.’ So as for those who believed and did righteous deeds, their Lord will admit them into His mercy. That is what is the clear attainment. But as for those who disbelieved, [it will be said], ‘Were not Our verses recited to you, but you were arrogant and became a people of criminals? And when it is was said, ‘Indeed, the promise of Allah is truth and the Hour [is coming] – no doubt about it,’ you said, ‘We know not what is the Hour. We assume only assumption, and we are not convinced.’’ And the evil consequences of what they did will appear to them, and they will be enveloped by what they used to ridicule. And it will be said, ‘Today We will forget you as you forgot the meeting of this Day of yours, and your refuge is the Fire, and for you there are no helpers. That is because you took the verses of Allah in ridicule, and worldly life deluded you.’ So that Day they will not be removed from it, nor will they be asked to appease [Allah]. Then, to Allah belongs [all] praise – Lord of the heavens and Lord of the earth, Lord of the worlds. And to him belongs [all] grandeur within the heavens and the earth, and He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise” [45:1-37].
“Certainly will the believers have succeeded: They who are during their prayer humbly submissive And they who turn away from ill speech And they who are observant of zakah And they who guard their private parts Except from their wives or those their right hands possess, for indeed, they will not be blamed – But whoever seeks beyond that, then those are the transgressors – And they who are to their trusts and their promises attentive And they who carefully maintain their prayers- Those are the inheritors Who will inherit al-Firdaus. They will abide therein eternally. And certainly did We create man from an extract of clay. 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 Allah, the best of creators. Then indeed, after that you are to die. Then indeed you, on the Day of Resurrection, will be resurrected. And We have created above you seven layered heavens, and never have We been of [Our] creation unaware. And We have sent down rain from the sky in a measured amount and settled it in the earth. And indeed, We are Able to take it away. And We brought forth for you thereby gardens of palm trees and grapevines in which for you are abundant fruits and from which you eat. And [We brought forth] a tree issuing from Mount Sinai which produces oil and food for those who eat. And indeed, for you in livestock is a lesson. We give you drink from that which is in their bellies, and for you in them are numerous benefits, and from them you eat. And upon them and on ships you are carried. And We had certainly sent Noah to his people, and he said, ‘O my people, worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him; then will you not fear Him?’ But the eminent among those who disbelieved from his people said, ‘This is not but a man like yourselves who wishes to take precedence over you; and if Allah had willed [to send a messenger], He would have sent down angels. We have not heard of this among our forefathers. He is not but a man possessed with madness, so wait concerning him for a time.’ [Noah] said, ‘My Lord, support me because they have denied me.’ So We inspired to him, ‘Construct the ship under Our observation, and Our inspiration, and when Our command comes and the oven overflows, put into the ship from each [creature] two mates and your family, except those for whom the decree [of destruction] has proceeded. And do not address Me concerning those who have wronged; indeed, they are to be drowned. And when you have boarded the ship, you and those with you, then say, ‘Praise to Allah who has saved us from the wrongdoing people.’ And say, ‘My Lord, let me land at a blessed landing place, and You are the best to accommodate [us].’ Indeed in that are signs, and indeed, We are ever testing [Our servants]. Then We produced after them a generation of others. And We sent among them a messenger from themselves, [saying], ‘Worship Allah; you have no deity other than Him; then will you not fear Him?’ And the eminent among his people who disbelieved and denied the meeting of the Hereafter while We had given them luxury in the worldly life said, ‘This is not but a man like yourselves. He eats of that from which you eat and drinks of what you drink. And if you should obey a man like yourselves, indeed, you would then be losers. Does he promise you that when you have died and become dust and bones that you will be brought forth [once more]? How far, how far, is that which you are promised. Life is not but our worldly life – we die and live, but we will not be resurrected. He is not but a man who has invented a lie about Allah, and we will not believe him.’ He said, ‘My Lord, support me because they have denied me.’ [Allah] said, ‘After a little, they will surely become regretful.’ So the shriek seized them in truth, and We made them as [plant] stubble. Then away with the wrongdoing people. Then We produced after them other generations. No nation will precede its time [of termination], nor will they remain [thereafter]. Then We sent Our messengers in succession. Every time there came to a nation its messenger, they denied him, so We made them follow one another [to destruction], and We made them narrations. So away with a people who do not believe. Then We sent Moses and his brother Aaron with Our signs and a clear authority To Pharaoh and his establishment, but they were arrogant and were a haughty people. They said, ‘Should we believe two men like ourselves while their people are for us in servitude?’ So they denied them and were of those destroyed. And We certainly gave Moses the Scripture that perhaps they would be guided. And We made the son of Mary and his mother a sign and sheltered them within a high ground having level [areas] and flowing water. [Allah said], ‘O messengers, eat from the good foods and work righteousness. Indeed, I, of what you do, am Knowing. And indeed this, your religion, is one religion, and I am your Lord, so fear Me.’ But the people divided their religion among them into sects – each faction, in what it has, rejoicing. So leave them in their confusion for a time. Do they think that what We extend to them of wealth and children Is [because] We hasten for them good things? Rather, they do not perceive. Indeed, they who are apprehensive from fear of their Lord And they who believe in the signs of their Lord And they who do not associate anything with their Lord And they who give what they give while their hearts are fearful because they will be returning to their Lord – It is those who hasten to good deeds, and they outstrip [others] therein. And We charge no soul except [with that within] its capacity, and with Us is a record which speaks with truth; and they will not be wronged. But their hearts are covered with confusion over this, and they have [evil] besides disbelief which they are doing, Until when We seize their affluent ones with punishment, at once they are crying [to Allah] for help. Do not cry out today. Indeed, by Us you will not be helped. My verses had already been recited to you, but you were turning back on your heels In arrogance regarding it, conversing by night, speaking evil. Then have they not reflected over the Qur’an, or has there come to them that which had not come to their forefathers? Or did they not know their Messenger, so they are toward him disacknowledging? Or do they say, ‘In him is madness?’ Rather, he brought them the truth, but most of them, to the truth, are averse. But if the Truth had followed their inclinations, the heavens and the earth and whoever is in them would have been ruined. Rather, We have brought them their message, but they, from their message, are turning away. Or do you, [O Muhammad], ask them for a payment? But the reward of your Lord is best, and He is the best of providers. And indeed, you invite them to a straight path. But indeed, those who do not believe in the Hereafter are deviating from the path. And even if We gave them mercy and removed what was upon them of affliction, they would persist in their transgression, wandering blindly. And We had gripped them with suffering [as a warning], but they did not yield to their Lord, nor did they humbly supplicate, [and will continue thus] Until when We have opened before them a door of severe punishment, immediately they will be therein in despair. And it is He who produced for you hearing and vision and hearts; little are you grateful. And it is He who has multiplied you throughout the earth, and to Him you will be gathered. And it is He who gives life and causes death, and His is the alternation of the night and the day. Then will you not reason? Rather, they say like what the former peoples said. They said, ‘When we have died and become dust and bones, are we indeed to be resurrected? We have been promised this, we and our forefathers, before; this is not but legends of the former peoples.’ Say, ‘[O Muhammad], ‘To whom belongs the earth and whoever is in it, if you should know?’ They will say, ‘To Allah.’ Say, ‘Then will you not remember?’ Say, ‘Who is Lord of the seven heavens and Lord of the Great Throne?’ They will say, ‘[They belong] to Allah.’ Say, ‘Then will you not fear Him?’ Say, ‘In whose hand is the realm of all things – and He protects while none can protect against Him – if you should know?’ They will say, ‘[All belongs] to Allah.’ Say, ‘Then how are you deluded?’ Rather, We have brought them the truth, and indeed they are liars. Allah has not taken any son, nor has there ever been with Him any deity. [If there had been], then each deity would have taken what it created, and some of them would have sought to overcome others. Exalted is Allah above what they describe [concerning Him]. [He is] Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, so high is He above what they associate [with Him]. Say, [O Muhammad], ‘My Lord, if You should show me that which they are promised, My Lord, then do not place me among the wrongdoing people.’ And indeed, We are are able to show you what We have promised them. Repel, by [means of] what is best, [their] evil. We are most knowing of what they describe. And say, ‘My Lord, I seek refuge in You from the incitements of the devils, And I seek refuge in You, my Lord, lest they be present with me.’ [For such is the state of the disbelievers], until, when death comes to one of them, he says, ‘My Lord, send me back That I might do righteousness in that which I left behind.’ No! It is only a word he is saying; and behind them is a barrier until the Day they are resurrected. So when the Horn is blown, no relationship will there be among them that Day, nor will they ask about one another. And those whose scales are heavy [with good deeds] – it is they who are the successful. But those whose scales are light – those are the ones who have lost their souls, [being] in Hell, abiding eternally. The Fire will sear their faces, and they therein will have taut smiles. [It will be said]. “Were not My verses recited to you and you used to deny them?’ They will say, ‘Our Lord, our wretchedness overcame us, and we were a people astray. Our Lord, remove us from it, and if we were to return [to evil], we would indeed be wrongdoers.’ He will say, ‘Remain despised therein and do not speak to Me. Indeed, there was a party of My servants who said, ‘Our Lord, we have believed, so forgive us and have mercy upon us, and You are the best of the merciful.’ But you took them in mockery to the point that they made you forget My remembrance, and you used to laugh at them. Indeed, I have rewarded them this Day for their patient endurance – that they are the attainers [of success].’ [Allah] will say, ‘How long did you remain on earth in number of years?’ They will say, ‘We remained a day or part of a day; ask those who enumerate.’ He will say, ‘You stayed not but a little – if only you had known. Then did you think that We created you uselessly and that to Us you would not be returned?’ So exalted is Allah, the Sovereign, the Truth; there is no deity except Him, Lord of the Noble Throne. And whoever invokes besides Allah another deity for which he has no proof – then his account is only with his Lord. Indeed, the disbelievers will not succeed. And, ‘[O Muhammad], say, ‘My Lord, forgive and have mercy, and You are the best of the merciful’” [23:1-118].
“Allah – there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of [all] existence. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them, and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for what He wills. His Kursi** extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation tires Him not. And He is the Most High, the Most Great. There shall be no compulsion in [acceptance of] the religion. The right course has become clear from the wrong. So whoever disbelieves in Taghut* and believes in Allah has grasped the most trustworthy handhold with no break in it. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing” [2:255-256].
*Taghut is Islamic terminology denoting a focus of worship other than God, and he who does not worship Allah worships something other than Allah (false gods, their own desires, etc.)
**The Kursi is the footstool of Allah (swt)
Pause. One should understand why and how a Muslim believes now, and at least begin to understand why it is the Truth. Earnestly, anyone who is not a Muslim upon being introduced to the Quran should give due consideration of Islam if they have not before simply out of the absolute robustness with which the Quran encompasses and addresses all of human reason in the consideration of belief, which is abundantly clear upon reading the excerpts provided in this section. If upon reading everything thus far and one dismisses at baseline that evident truth — then those who desire remembrance or desire gratitude will be reminded. The section The Proof of Islam complements this holistic belief in Islam with deductive reasoning on the nature of reality.
Muslim Lad 