Summary

The Qur’an and Ahlul Hadith prove the existence of the Creator by pointing to the clear signs within creation itself. They do not make the proof depend only on proving that the whole universe began from nothing. Rather, every created thing, every new occurrence, and every ordered benefit within the universe points to a Creator who acts with knowledge, will, wisdom, mercy, and power.

The Qur’an repeatedly calls people to look at what they can see: the creation of the human being, the heavens and the earth, the night and day, the rain, the clouds, the growth of crops, the provision of people and animals, and the order found in all of this. These things do not happen by blind chance. They show care, purpose, order, and benefit. So they point not only to a necessary being, but to the true Creator who is knowing, willing, wise, merciful, and providing.

Ahlul Hadith follow this Qur’an based way. They argue from what is near, clear, and visible. A person does not need to begin with complex philosophical arguments. The human being himself is enough of a sign. He was not, then he came to be. He was formed from weak matter, then became a living, knowing, willing person. This shows that he is needy, dependent, and created. Anything that is needy and dependent cannot be self sufficient. It must have a Creator.

So the Qur’an’s method is stronger and more complete than the kalam method. The kalam method may only prove a general necessary being, while the Qur’an points to the specific Creator who deserves worship.

It proves the Creator through His actions, His wisdom, His mercy, His provision, and His perfect control over creation. This is why the Qur’an does not merely call people to acknowledge that a creator exists. It calls them to worship Allah, because the signs of creation point directly to Him.

Words Of Aḥmad ʿIṣām al Najjār

The Method of the Noble Qur’an and Ahlul Hadith in Proving the Creator, Most High

The position of Ahlul Hadith on the issue is different from that. Affirming the existence of Allah is not dependent on affirming the origination of the universe. Rather, every originated thing in the universe shows that it has a wise Creator who acts by will and choice. This is the method of the Noble Qur’an.

Allah, Most High, says:

يَأَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اعْبُدُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ الْأَرْضَ فِرَاشًا وَالسَّمَاءَ بِنَاءً وَأَنزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَأَخْرَجَ بِهِ مِنَ الثَّمَرَاتِ رِزْقًا لَكُمْ فَلَا تَجْعَلُوا لِلَّهِ أَندَادًا وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ

“O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, so that you may become mindful. He is the One who made the earth a resting place for you, and the sky a structure, and sent down water from the sky, then brought out through it fruits as provision for you. So do not set up rivals to Allah while you know.” (al Baqarah: 21–22)

Allah, Most High, says:

إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَاخْتِلَافِ الَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَالْفُلْكِ الَّتِي تَجْرِي فِي الْبَحْرِ بِمَا يَنفَعُ النَّاسَ وَمَا أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مِن مَّاءٍ فَأَحْيَا بِهِ الْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا وَبَثَّ فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ دَابَّةٍ وَتَصْرِيفِ الرِّيحِ وَالسَّحَابِ الْمُسَخَّرِ بَيْنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ لَآيَاتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ

“Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, the changing of the night and the day, the ships that sail through the sea with what benefits people, the water Allah sends down from the sky, by which He gives life to the earth after its death, the creatures He spreads throughout it, the changing of the winds, and the clouds made subservient between the sky and the earth, there are surely signs for people who understand.” (al Baqarah: 164)

Allah, Most High, says:

وَهُوَ الَّذِي أَنزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَأَخْرَجْنَا بِهِ، نَبَاتَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ فَأَخْرَجْنَا مِنْهُ خَضِرًا تُخْرِجُ مِنْهُ حَبًّا مُتَرَاكِبًا وَمِنَ النَّخْلِ مِن طَلْعِهَا قِنْوَانٌ دَانِيَةٌ وَجَنَّاتٍ مِنْ أَعْنَابِ وَالزَّيْتُونَ وَالرُّقَانَ مُشْتَبِهَا وَغَيْرَ مُتَشَابِةٍ أَنظُرُوا إِلَى ثَمَرِهِهِ إِذَا أَثْمَرَ وَيَنْعِهِ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكُمْ لَآيَاتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ

“He is the One who sent down water from the sky, and through it We brought out the growth of every thing. Then We brought out from it greenery, from which We bring out layered grain. From the palm trees, from their spathes, come low hanging clusters. And gardens of grapes, olives, and pomegranates, similar and not similar. Look at their fruit when they bear fruit and at their ripening. Indeed, in that there are surely signs for people who believe.” (al Anʿam: 99)

Allah, Most High, says:

وَهُوَ الَّذِى يُرْسِلُ الرِّيَاحَ بُشْرًا بَيْنَ يَدَى رَحْمَتِهِ، حَتَّى إِذَا أَقَلَّتْ سَحَابًا ثِقَالًا سُقْنَهُ لِبَلَدِ مَيْتٍ فَأَنزَلْنَا بِهِ الْمَاءَ فَأَخْرَجْنَا بِهِ مِن كُلِّ الثَّمَرَاتِ كَذَلِكَ تُخْرِجُ الْمَوْتَى لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ

“He is the One who sends the winds as glad tidings before His mercy, until, when they carry heavy clouds, We drive them to a dead land, then We send down water through them and bring out through it every kind of fruit. In this way We bring out the dead, so that you may remember.” (al Aʿraf: 57)

Allah, Most High, says:

اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَأَنزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَأَخْرَجَ بِهِ مِنَ الثَّمَرَاتِ رِزْقًا لَّكُمْ وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمُ الْفُلْكَ لِتَجْرِي فِي الْبَحْرِ بِأَمْرِهِ وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمُ الْأَنْهَرَ

“Allah is the One who created the heavens and the earth, sent down water from the sky, and brought out through it fruits as provision for you. He made the ships subservient to you, so that they sail through the sea by His command, and He made the rivers subservient to you.” (Ibrahim: 32)

Allah, Most High, says:

أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا إِلَى الْأَرْضِ كَمْ أَنْبَتَنَا فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ زَوْجٍ كَرِيمٍ

“Have they not looked at the earth, how many noble kinds We have caused to grow in it?” (al Shuʿaraʾ: 7)

Allah, Most High, says:

أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا أَنَّا نَسُوقُ الْمَاءَ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ الْجُرُزِ فَنُخْرِجُ بِهِ، زَرْعًا تَأْكُلُ مِنْهُ أَنْعَمُهُمْ وَأَنفُسُهُمْ أَفَلَا يُبْصِرُونَ

“Have they not seen that We drive water to barren land, then through it We bring out crops from which their livestock and they themselves eat? Will they not then see?” (al Sajdah: 27)

Although the Noble Qur’an mentions in many places that Allah, Most High, created these heavens and this earth, the Noble Qur’an did not make knowledge of Allah, Most High, dependent on this particular matter. Rather, in every visible thing there is a sign pointing to Allah, Most High. A sign is that which points to the very thing being indicated. For this reason, the verses of the Noble Qur’an do not only show that there must be a Necessary Existent. Rather, they show one particular Necessary Existent, eternal, knowing, wise, willing, merciful, and other attributes of perfection. For this reason, they are signs.

An example of that is the saying of Allah, Most High:

أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا أَنَّا نَسُوقُ الْمَاءَ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ الْجُرُرِ فَتُخْرِجُ بِهِ. زَرْعًا تَأْكُلُ مِنْهُ أَنْعَمُهُمْ وَأَنفُسُهُمْ أَفَلَا يُبْصِرُونَ

“Have they not seen that We drive water to barren land, then through it We bring out crops from which their livestock and they themselves eat? Will they not then see?” (al Sajdah: 27)

The barren land is the dry, coarse land in which there is no plant growth. Its root comes from their saying: a devouring she camel, when it eats everything. Likewise, barren land is land upon which nothing remains except that it ruins it, like the devouring she camel eating everything it finds. From this also is their word for a person who eats much: devourer. (See Jamiʿ al Bayan fi Taʾwil al Qur’an, al Tabari (d. 310AH), 20/196.)

What the Noble Verse Shows

The noble verse shows several matters.

• First: Driving water to dry, coarse land so that crops come out through it for animals and people to eat is a wise action. It does not happen by mere agreement and chance. Therefore, there must be a doer of this action. So the noble verse shows that there must be a doer.
• Second: The doer either acts by nature or by will. The visible matters of universal care, like what is mentioned in the noble verse, show that the doer of these things is a doer by choice and will.
• Third: Driving water to dry, coarse land shows that the doer of this is wise, without doubt, because He provides for His creation through this action, so people and livestock eat.
• Fourth: This action also shows that this doer is merciful, without doubt, because He has mercy upon people and creatures by driving water to their land so that they may eat.

These are four matters. Through them it is established that this visible action must have a doer who is knowing, willing, wise, merciful, providing, and has other attributes that are established by the Book and the Sunnah.

Knowledge of the precision and mastery in what He has made shows that He is knowing. The specification found in them shows that He is willing. The benefit found in them for creation shows that He is merciful. The praiseworthy ends found in them show that He is wise. Meaning: this is affirmation of the God of Islam, the Magnificent. This is contrary to the madhahib that strayed from the sound, straight path, such as the Peripatetic philosophers and others among the Ashʿari philosophers, who interpreted some of those attributes, such as the attribute of wisdom and others. For this reason, the noble verse points to the very thing being indicated. This is why it is called a sign.

For this reason, Shaykh al Islam Ibn Taymiyyah criticised that proof from possibility, not because it is false, but because it is not enough to affirm a specific Necessary Existent, who is the God of Islam, the Magnificent.

For this reason, Allah says: “As for our saying, every possible thing must have a preponderator, and every originated thing must have an originator, it only points to an originator and a preponderator. This is a universal description that can have shared application. For this reason, rational analogy does not point to a specific thing. It only points to the unrestricted universal. So specification is therefore necessary.” (Majmuʿ al Fatawa, 2/11.)

The intended point here is that reasoning for the Creator, Most High, is not restricted to the origination of the universe. Rather, reasoning by any visible originated thing in the universe is closer and easier, such as reasoning from the origination of the human being. These visible created things and originated occurrences must have a willing and wise doer. It is not possible that they came about by chance and agreement, without knowledge, wisdom, and will.

Shaykh al Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, says: “Reasoning for the Creator through the creation of the human being is extremely fine and sound. It is a correct rational method, and it is also revealed.

The Qur’an has pointed to it, guided people to it, made it clear, and directed people to it. It is rational because the very fact that the human being is originated after not existing, born and created from a sperm drop, then from a clinging clot, is not known merely through the report of the Messenger ﷺ. Rather, all people know this by their intellects, whether the Messenger ﷺ informed them of it or did not inform them. But the Messenger ﷺ commanded that it be used as proof, used it as proof, clarified it, and argued by it. So it is a revealed proof because the Lawgiver used it as proof and commanded that it be used as proof. And it is rational because its soundness is known by the intellect.

“Many of those who dispute about knowledge, whether it is gained through revelation or through reason, do not take this path.

“It is rational and revealed. The same applies to other proofs in the Qur’an, such as reasoning from the clouds and rain. It is mentioned in the Qur’an in more than one place, and it is rational and revealed, as Allah, Most High, says:

﴿أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْا أَنَّا نَسُوقُ الْمَاءَ إِلَى الْأَرْضِ الْجُرُزِ فَتُخْرِجُ بِهِ زَرْعًا تَأْكُلُ مِنْهُ أَنْعَلَمُهُمْ وَأَنفُسُهُمْ أَفَلَا يُبْصِرُونَ﴾

“Have they not seen that We drive water to barren land, then through it We bring out crops from which their livestock and they themselves eat? Will they not then see?” (al Sajdah: 27)

“This is seen with the eyes.

“And Allah, Most High, says:

﴿سَنُرِيهِمْ آيَاتِنَا فِي الْآفَاقِ وَفِي أَنفُسِهِمْ حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ لَهُمْ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ ، ثم قال : أَوَلَمْ يَكْفِ بِرَبِّكَ أَنَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدٌ﴾

“We will show them Our signs in the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth.” Then He said: “Is it not enough that your Lord is Witness over everything?” (Fussilat: 53)

“So the signs that He shows people, until they know that the Qur’an is true, are rational signs. The intellect reasons through them that the Qur’an is true. They are also revealed, because revelation pointed to them and commanded them. The Qur’an is full of rational signs through which the intellect reasons, and they are revealed because revelation pointed to them and directed to them.” (al Nubuwwat, 1/293.)

From that also is reasoning through the intrinsic neediness of created things. Ibn Taymiyyah says: “The possible thing that accepts existence and non existence is only ever nonexistent at one time and existent at another. So created things themselves are needy of the Creator by their very essences, and their need for the one who gives effect is an essential matter that does not need a cause. Not every ruling established for essences needs a cause, because that would lead to an endless sequence of causes, and this is false by agreement of the ulama. Rather, among rulings are those that are necessary for the essences, cannot be separate from the essences, and do not need a cause. The fact that everything besides Allah is poor before Him and always in need of Him belongs to this category.” (Darʾ Taʿarud al ʿAql wa al Naql, 3/10.)

Therefore, the method of the Qur’an differs from the kalam method. Allah, Most High, commanded worship of Him, which is the perfection of souls, their rectification, their goal, and their final end. He did not restrict the matter to mere acknowledgement of Him, as is the goal of the kalam method. So they did not agree with it, neither in the means nor in the aims. We have already pointed out that the Qur’an based means is natural, close, and leads to the very intended matter. That method is analogical and distant, and it only leads to the type of the intended matter, not to the very matter itself. (Majmuʿ al Fatawa, 2/11.)

The intended point here is that even if we did not establish the origination of the universe, this would not be a denial of the existence of Allah, Most High. The matter of the origination of the universe is like the matter of the origination of other visible occurrences within the universe. Every possible thing within the universe is needy of an originator for it.

Likewise, affirming the Creator, Most High, is not dependent on affirming origination from nothing without any preceding matter. Rather, creation from matter may be clearer in showing neediness for a Creator, because it is neediness for a Creator described with the attributes of perfection. This is because the blind matter from which the human being is formed does not possess the attributes of perfection found in the human being. So the creation of the knowing, willing, intelligent human being from blind matter that has no hearing, sight, knowledge, or will, may be clearer in showing power than the creation of the knowing, intelligent, willing human being without any preceding blind matter. So reflect.

The originated thing, then, is not only what occurs without any preceding matter. The human being is originated, even though he has occurred from materials before him. There is nothing in that which means that the human being is not in need of an originator.

The same applies to the sun, the moon, and other heavenly bodies. Supposing that modern empirical science establishes that they came to exist from materials before them through a specific mechanism and mathematical expressions that describe that mechanism, is there anything in that which denies the need of the sun and the moon for a maker? Of course not. That is because the sun is not itself the very materials from which it was created, and the moon is not itself the very materials from which it was created.

The mechanism by which the sun and the moon came to exist also contains no denial of their need for a maker. Knowledge of the mechanism that was followed in writing the code of a program does not mean that the program has no need of a programmer. Knowledge of the source code of a program does not show that the program has no need of a programmer who made it, even though the programmer did not make his program from pure nothing, without any preceding matter.

There are countless examples like this. A computer must have a maker, even if it was made from matter that preceded it. Rather, it must have an intelligent and knowing maker. A car must also have an intelligent maker. My knowledge of the mechanism by which the computer was made does not deny the computer’s need for a maker. My knowledge of the mechanism by which the car was made does not deny the car’s need for a maker. So consider.

Based on this, creation from matter does not deny neediness for a Creator. This applies to any making, whether it is beneficial or harmful, organised or unorganised. So what if it is a beneficial and organised making, in which intelligence, will, and precise order appear for the benefit of a particular group of existents, meaning the human being? Then it must have a Creator described with will, knowledge, wisdom, mercy, and other attributes of perfection.

For this reason, Allah, Most High, says:

قُلْ أَرَوَيْتُمْ إِن جَعَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمُ الَّيْلَ سَرْمَدًا إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ مَنْ إِلَهُ غَيْرُ اللَّهِ يَأْتِيكُم بِضِيَاءٍ أَفَلَا تَسْمَعُونَ قُلْ أَرَهَيْتُمْ إِن جَعَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمُ النَّهَارَ سَرْمَدًا إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ مَنْ إِلَهُ غَيْرُ اللَّهِ يَأْتِيكُم بِلَيْلٍ تَسْكُنُونَ فِيهِ أَفَلَا تُبْصِرُونَ

“Say: Have you considered, if Allah made the night continuous over you until the Day of Resurrection, what god other than Allah could bring you light? Will you not then hear? Say: Have you considered, if Allah made the day continuous over you until the Day of Resurrection, what god other than Allah could bring you night in which you rest? Will you not then see?” (al Qasas: 71–72)

This is among the important problems into which those responding to contemporary atheism fell, from the Ashʿari philosophers and others, and from the Christians who support the kalam proof from origination, such as William Lane Craig.

Masʾalat Ḥudūth al ʿĀlam Bayna Ibn Taymiyyah wa al Falāsifah wa al Ittiḥādiyyah al Muʿāṣirah by Aḥmad ʿIṣām al Najjār 1/193–200