Reasoning the Existence of God with Abdur Raheem Green (my notes included)

For Muslims, faith is established with evidence, understanding, and insight.

Fundamentals
1. The universe and world in which we live in is real and everything in it is real ex humans, air, sun, etc. and the way we understand our world and ourselves is through observation and using our mind to think and reason.
2. All human beings have something in common that makes them a human, common sense! We can all agree that part of something is less than the whole of the thing and we don’t find something coming from nothing.

• Look at the universe and the world in which you live in and at yourself. When observing these, you will find things working according to laws, systems, and patterns that are amazing in their intricacy and details.
1. Ex. Imagine the earth rotating very slowly where a day would be equal to years instead of rotating on its axis every 24 hours. One part of the earth’s surface would be in constant sunlight and the other side would be in darkness resulting in one half being super hot and the other being extremely cold. Life would be impossible to exist!
2. Ex. If there was no ozone layer protecting us from the harmful radiations of the sun, life on earth would not exist!

Could this perfect combination of gases and movement be a product of some random event, of chance and coincidence? Use common sense! There is nothing in human experience that tells us that you can get precise order from a random event. When something is working according to orders, laws, or patterns, we know someone or something is behind it and is making it work.

Ex. 1- Archeologists can dig in the dessert and find a simple piece of pottery and tell us many things about the civilization that made that pottery without seeing the people, their houses, etc. such as their technology, transportation, level of intellect, etc. For the archeologist, the piece of pottery is proof of the people and civilization that made it.
Ex. 2- Cell phone is made of silicon (sand) and plastic (oil). Imagine a cell phone was “said” to be found in the dessert of Saudi Arabia where there is a lot of sand and oil, a product of complete chance and coincidence, a random event. This is ridiculous!

The human brain, and all other organs, is more complex than cell phones, computers, etc.

Can we believe that these are the results of some random event?

Human experience and reason tells us that when something is in order, it is a product of intelligence that has ordered it and made it work according to laws and patterns

Ask 3 Questions
1. Did the universe come from nothing? Did we come from nothing? Does anything come from nothing? No, especially something complex like the human body!
2. Did it create itself? Did the universe create itself? Did we create ourselves? No! We do not attribute to the universe and everything in it the ability to create ex. the universe is made of stars and galaxies that do not have the ability to create or make orders, but they need to be ordered and need a Creator.
3. Did humans create the universe? No, because we need a creator ourselves.

Conclusion of the Rational Mind
The universe needs a Creator and an organizer and we need an explanation of how the universe came to be and how we came to exist the way we are. It makes sense that there is something different outside and separate from this universe that created, organized, and sustains this universe in which we live.

The Creator!
• The Creator is different and distinct from creation. Creation is needy, temporary, and in need of a sustainer.
• The nature must be different of the Creator from its creation. If both were of the same nature, then the creator would need a creator who would need a creator and so on. Creators would be creating creators forever?!
• Who created the Creator is not a valid question since the nature of the Creator is different from its creation ex. the Creator is eternal, infinite, without beginning and end, self-sufficient, ever- living, etc. Something that is self sufficient and ever-living does not need a Creator!

Why is the belief in such a being logically and rationally necessary?

If you need help moving furniture and the helper needs help who needs help who needs help etc. then the furniture will never get moved! Likewise, if creator where creating creators infinitely, then nothing would get created, but creation does exist, thus there has to be a creator who is different from its creation.
If there was more than 1 creator, then there would be chaos, but the intricacy and details proves that there is 1 powerful, wise, and intelligent force behind it all!

Conclusion
This universe has a creator who is different from the creation. Creator is wise and powerful and there is only 1!

• Of all the religions and ideologies in the world, there is only one that teaches us to believe in 1 creator who is eternal, self sufficient, infinite, wise, and powerful, and is different and distinct from creation.
• Many religions claim to be this 1 religion but they compromise it in one way or another
1. Ex. 1. Hinduism generally believes that creation is god; god is everywhere and in everything, which really is pantheism. Creation cannot be the same as God!
2. Ex. 2. Christianity- Jesus was god, Jesus was manifestation of god. Something cannot be the creator and created, eternal and infinite, finite and temporary, self-sufficient and needy, all at the same time!

• There is only one religion that teaches us to believe in 1 creator who sustains the universe, who is eternal, self sufficient, infinite, wise, and powerful, and is different and distinct from creation. Can be either Judaism or Islam.
• If you want to become Jew, then you have to be born Jew, your mother has to be a Jewish woman.
• Islam is a universal religion for anyone. Learn about Islam and read the Quran for yourself to find out about God.

Surah Ikhlas (purity of faith)
1. Say he is Allah, the one.
2. Allah is the one who everyone and everything needs, but He is not in need of anything (self-sufficient).
3. He does not give birth (he creates) nor was he given birth to.
4. Nothing can be compared to Him.

We cannot picture or imagine how God looks. He is unique from his creation!