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| Cecil Roth, in his book, The House of Nasi:
“Dona Gracia, mentions that the treatment of the Jews at the hands of the Ottoman Caliphate attracted Jews from all over Western Europe. “The land of Islam became the land of opportunity. Jewish physicians from the school of Salanca were employed in the service of the Sultan and the Viziers (ministers). In many places glass making and metalworking were Jewish monopolies, and with their knowledge of foreign languages, they were the greatest competitors of the Venetian traders.” |
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How can Muslims say that God definitely exists?
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The book that Muslims refer to for guidance, the Quran, encourages thought, reflection and investigation.
“Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the alteration of night and day, these are indeed signs for men of understanding.” (Quran chapter 3, verse 190)
This includes reflecting upon and reasoning whether or not God exists! It prompts us to study and examine anything and everything in the Universe – from the smallest sub-atomic particle to solar systems; from the complexity of an insect to the seemingly mundane such as the clouds and the rain. From reflecting on such things we can reason that everything in the universe has a cause.
Were this not true, it would mean that the Universe had no beginning, no start point or point of origin; that it would be infinite. The famous mathematician David Hilbert stated that “The infinite is nowhere to be found in reality. It neither exists in nature nor provides a legitimate basis for rational thought.” [1] So, infinity is a theoretical idea that we cannot sense in the real world. Those who apply it as an attribute of things in the Universe have departed from reason and are irrational.
Everything we can sense, however different in nature, share certain qualities: they are limited, finite and dependent on other than themselves. The earth may be very large, but it still has shape, mass and volume that are of a limited size. The same can be said of all planets and indeed stars, solar systems and galaxies. All are limited and all, without exception, are subject to a system of natural laws from which they cannot escape.
The nature of all these finite and limited things is that they are dependent on other things. They are neither self-sustaining nor independent. The water cycle is dependent on the sun, which is dependent on the gravitational laws and the energy produced by nuclear fusion, and so on. Men – and all creatures - have needs that require satisfaction in order to survive. Nothing is self-subsistent. So things exist, but do not have the power of self-existence, nor can they control when they die, change to become something else, or cease to exist.
If everything in the Universe, which is made up of lots of limited parts, has a start point and is dependent upon other things, then what is everything dependent upon for its existence? The proposed “Big Bang” would have been preceded by something. What is that something? Another universe? If so, then what was before that? The chain would continue until a true “beginning” was found.
So the beginning could only be caused by something else - a creator. But, if that creator shared the same properties as the Universe - being limited and dependent - then that creator would also require a creator, as this is the case with every limited thing. So the Creator, which originated everything, must be different - uncaused or eternal, unlimited and independent. This Creator is what we call God, or Allah  .
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| | [1] David Hilbert, "On the Infinite", in Philosophy of Mathematics, ed. with an Intro. by Paul Benacerraf and Hilary Putnam (Prentice-Hall, 1964) p. 151. |
| Because infinity cannot be multiple. Since there would have to be a certain point where one infinity ends and another begins. |
| Categories: An Invitation to Think…,
| Tags: Faith,
proof,
rational,
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The following articles are also linked to this article: | rational: The Quran’s Challenge “And if you doubt any part of what We have revealed, upon Our servant [Muhammad], then produce a surah of its like, and call upon any other than Allah to bear witness for you - if what you say is true... |
| rational: To believe in a Creator is perfectly rational “And He has made the night and the day and the sun and the moon subservient [to His laws,so that they be of use] to you; and all the stars are subservient to His command: in this, behold, there are me... |
| chapter: Can the Quran be translated? The Quran was sent down in the Arabic language from Allah to Muhammad with the angel Jibreel (Gabriel) as the messenger. It is the direct speach of Allah , so it cannot be considered Allah's wor... |
| rational: Belief through thinking Each religion has its own position regarding how one comes to believe and, as such, instructs its followers to come to believe according to this way as the optimum way.Islam also directs people on thi... |
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