The Existence of God
To deny the existence of God is to deny one’s own existence. How strange, then, that many claim to disbelieve in God, which is like denying their own existence!
The most extraordinary proof of the existence of God is the existence of man himself. It is as farfetched to believe in a being like man as it is to believe in a being of the nature of God. If we believe in man, nothing stops us from believing in God.
The Quran tells us that God breathed His spirit into man (15:29). It means that the attributes of God are manifest, in mortal form, in man. Existence, life, knowledge, power, determination, and free will are all attributes found in complete form in God. Essentially, these are all divine qualities. God has not given man a share in His attributes, but He has created man in His image; He has made man’s being a reflection of divine attributes. Man cannot, in any way, be said to be a part of God, but he is certainly a tangible proof of God’s existence. In God, these qualities are invisible and infinite; they are visible and finite in man. To find God, then, man has only to examine his being.
Man has a separate existence of his own; he can see, hear, and speak; he thinks and makes plans; he acts on his initiative; he converts primary matter into the various forms of advanced civilization; he operates spaceships by remote control; he is a conscious being, fully aware of his existence. All these attributes, which man possesses in limited form, are present in unlimited and perfect form in God.
The difference between man and God is that man is a part of creation, whereas God is the Creator. Man owes his existence to God, but God owes His existence to no other. Man is finite; God is infinite. Man’s power is an illusion, whereas God’s power is a reality. Man is mortal; God is immortal. Everything man possesses has been given to him, but that which is God’s is His very own; no one has bestowed it on Him.
To accept man’s existence is to accept the existence of one totally unlike God, and yet just like Him; it is to accept a mini-God. What is there then to stop us from believing in a great God? To believe in God is to confirm one’s existence. If one believes in oneself, there is no reason not to believe in God. For a man to accept his existence is akin to accepting the existence of God, even if he claims to be a disbeliever.
To deny the existence of God is to deny one’s own existence. Who can deny one’s own existence?
