Uzma Khatoon

The recent debate between Mufti Shamail Nadwi and Javed Akhtar has reignited an ancient conversation about the existence of God, presenting it as a clash between the "logical necessity" of faith and the "sceptical demand" for empirical evidence.

While this modern exchange felt like a decisive showdown, it is a continuation of a vibrant, thousand-year-old Islamic intellectual tradition. Historically, the quest for God in Islam was never a journey of blind obedience; it was a battlefield of ideas where the intellect was considered the primary tool for recognising the Creator. Muslim scholars engaged with Greek, Persian, and Indian philosophies, proving that the search for the Divine is as much about the mind as it is about the heart.

As a scholar of Islamic Studies, I see this modern debate as a reflection of the "Middle Path" Islam has always navigated, balancing the logic of the scholar with the deep, existential experience of the believer. This journey of 'Ilm al-Kalam' (speculative theology) shows that faith in Islam was not meant to suppress the question, but to answer it through a rigorous engagement with reality.

The systematic study of God in Islam was born out of intense political and cultural friction during the Umayyad and Abbasid eras. Initially, the debate focused on human agency and the nature of divine justice. The ruling elite often supported the 'Jabrites', who argued for absolute predestination, a theology that suggested their political power was pre-ordained by God.

In contrast, the Qadrites emerged as the early champions of Free Will, arguing that a Just God must allow humans the power to choose their actions. This concept is deeply rooted in the Quranic narrative. Consider the moment Allah commanded Iblis to prostrate before Adam; Iblis refused.

Similarly, when Adam was forbidden from eating the fruit of the tree, he exercised his agency. These stories are the ultimate archetypes of Free Will, proving that God granted His creation the power to deviate from His command, thereby making moral responsibility possible. Without this agency, the concept of divine judgment would lose its foundational logic.

As the Islamic world expanded, it encountered sophisticated civilisations like the Greeks and Persians. Muslim scholars found themselves needing to defend their faith against seasoned philosophers such as the Dualists, who believed in two competing gods of light and darkness, and the Dahriyya, the materialists who argued that matter was eternal and rejected the need for a creator.

This challenge gave rise to the Mu’tazila school, the early rationalists of Islam. They believed that even without scripture, pure reason could lead a person to recognise the Oneness of God (Tawhid). This intellectual movement reached its peak under Caliph Al-Mamun, whose reign saw the establishment of the House of Wisdom. However, this era also introduced the Mihna (Inquisition), a complex period where the state attempted to enforce rationalist dogma. While the Mihna is criticised for its authoritarian nature, it highlights a crucial tension: the struggle to define the relationship between state power, revelation, and human reason.

Al-Mamun's focus led to the massive translation of foreign works, proving that Islamic thought was not a closed system but a dynamic dialogue with the world’s philosophies, using Aristotelian logic to build a fortress for faith. It was a time when the "God of the Gaps" was replaced by a "God of Order," establishing that the universe followed laws discoverable by the human mind.

Central to this dialogue is the concept of the built-in moral sense (Hissa-e-Akhlaqi). Scholars argue that humans possess an inherent compass that recognises the sanctity of life. However, a common sceptical critique often raised in debates regarding the "problem of evil" concerns the suffering of animals and the perceived cruelty in nature. The Islamic response draws a sharp distinction between humans and other creatures.

Humans are unique because they are given Irada-o-Ikhtiyar (Free Will) and are placed in a state of azmaish (Test). Animals, while sentient, do not share this moral responsibility or the burden of human intellect. Therefore, the rules of trial and punishment apply differently. The Islamic perspective acknowledges a Hikmat (Hidden Wisdom) in the divine scheme. We often object to pain in nature, yet we unintentionally kill microscopic life every time we breathe or walk. To object to every form of pain would be to deny the very possibility of physical existence.

Islam resolves this by emphasizing Kindness over total non-use. A person can enter Hell for mistreating a cat or Heaven for feeding a thirsty dog. This creates a balanced principle where the use of nature is permitted for need, but Zulm (cruelty) is strictly forbidden. This ethical framework suggests that the "Problem of Evil" is often a problem of human perception, failing to see the broader ecological and spiritual balance that God has established.

Classical Proofs and the Modern Challenge

To counter the materialists and sceptics, Islamic theologians developed "Universal Proofs" that remain the foundation of religious philosophy. The most prominent is the Argument from Temporality (Dalil al-Huduth). Scholars like Al-Ghazali and Al-Baqillani argued that anything that begins to exist must have a cause. Since the universe consists of atoms and accidents that are constantly changing, the universe itself is temporal and must have had a First Cause or Creator (Muhdith). This was supported by Ibn Sina’s (Avicenna) Argument from Contingency (Dalil al-Imkan), which posits that because the world is "possible" (it could exist or not exist), there must be a Necessary Being (Wajib al-Wujud) whose existence is independent and eternal.

This logic was further refined by Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, who used mathematical reasoning to prove that a chain of causes cannot go back forever (rejecting infinite regress or Tasalsul). He argued that an endless chain is a logical contradiction, necessitating a starting point, God. These thinkers did not see reason as an enemy of faith; rather, they saw it as the "inner prophet" that validates the "outer prophet" of revelation.

Beyond cold logic, the tradition emphasises experiential and design-based proofs, such as the argument from design (Dalil al-Inayah). Favoured by Ibn Rushd (Averroes), this argument points to the perfect synchronisation of the cosmos from the human eye to the movement of celestial bodies as evidence of an Intelligent Designer.

This intellectual structure is further enriched by other foundational arguments: the argument from universal belief, which suggests that a globally shared search for the Divine across history cannot be a mere myth; the Need for an Independent Being (Al-Samad), acknowledging that a dependent world requires a self-sustaining source; and the testimony of the truthful, which argues that the collective evidence of thousands of prophets across eras demands intellectual respect.

Furthermore, the Islamic tradition points to the Internal Proof of the human conscience (Nafs-al-Lawwama). This "inner voice" serves as a moral compass, suggesting a Moral Creator. Ultimately, these arguments bridge the gap between philosophical theory and personal experience, presenting God not just as a mathematical necessity, but as a Living Reality (Al-Hayy) who responds to human prayer and suffering.

The legacy of Islamic thought reminds us that the debate over God's existence is not merely about winning an argument, but about finding meaning in a complex universe. However, we must be cautious of the modern "New Atheist" movement, which often goes beyond logic to serve specific ideological agendas. Figures like Sam Harris frequently single out religion, specifically Islam, as the primary source of violence, while ignoring the millions of deaths caused by secular and materialist ideologies in the World Wars. As history shows, most conflicts fought in the name of religion were actually struggles for land, power, and colonisation.

We must also remember the original revolutionary spirit of religion was for the poor and the marginalised. Today that is often suppressed by a rigid clergy. Just as early European thinkers recognised that Islamic scholars preserved science and reason during the Middle Ages, we too must reclaim that heritage. The "Middle Path" acknowledges that while science explains the "how" of the universe, only the Divine can answer the "why."

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For a student of Islamic Studies, this history is vital. It demonstrates that the struggle for truth is rooted in a tradition that values the human mind and rejects both blind dogma and imperialist scepticism. The God of Islam is revealed through both the "Silent Book" of nature and the "Speaking Book" of the Quran, inviting us to understand that our ability to choose and to think is our most divine attribute.

Dr Uzma Khatoon, former faculty at Aligarh Muslim University, is a writer, columnist, and social thinker.