CHAPTER 2
GOD AND HIS CREATION PLAN
If there is a God, who created God?
The answer to this question is in what the French philosopher Rene Descartes had said, ‘I think, therefore I am.’ To prove God’s existence, I extend this logic to say, ‘If I am, therefore, God is.’ This is because a human being is like a mini-god, one who possesses all divine qualities in a smaller magnitude. If a mini-god’s existence is possible, the Almighty God’s existence is possible too. The choice before us is not between ‘a universe with God’ and ‘a universe without God’, the real choice instead is between ‘a universe with God’ and ‘no universe at all’. The rationale is that when there is no option for you, the available option becomes the only choice.
Creation cannot be traced back endlessly. At some point, we will have to agree that there is someone who has brought creation into existence. If we do not accept this, the phenomenon of creation would be rendered endless and hence non-workable. Somewhere, we will have to put a full-stop, and agree that there is one all- powerful Creator.
What should be the right prayer that we should make to God?
In this world, every person is born to lead a different life, each with its own set of opportunities and challenges. Hence, one cannot follow a ‘one-prayer-fits-all’ policy in life.
A believer may pray to his Creator regarding anything, without any constraints. However, the manner in which the prayer is answered shall be governed by divine will. At times, prayer is answered instantly and at other times, there passes a long time before one’s request is fulfilled. A verse in the Quran gives us the prayer of the virtuous in these words:
Our Lord, grant us good in this world as well as good in the world to come, and protect us from the torment of the Fire. (Quran 2:201)
The essence of a true prayer is patience. A believer must submit to the divine will and entrust his matters to his Creator. He should pray to God for guidance and sustenance. Prayer is not the mere repetition or usage of specific words, rather it is the expression of the believer’s deep sentiment, entreating divine succour. The Quran mentions several expressions of prayers through which divine guidance is sought.
Can I ask God for death?
No, this is completely forbidden according to Islamic teachings. This has been alluded to in the following hadith:
Sad ibn Ubaid narrated that the Prophet once said, ‘None of you should long for death, for if he is a good man, he may increase his good deeds and if he is an evil doer, he may stop the evil deeds and repent.’ (Sahih al-Bukhari, hadith no. 7235)
Hence, the longer you live, the more opportunities you get to do good deeds, or repent if you have committed any bad ones. Keeping this wisdom in mind, one should always pray for well-being and happiness and not anything negative. According to the creation plan of God, the hour of death for every individual has been appointed by God Himself. We should accept our natural time of death, as God knows what is best for us.
Why did God allow Satan to tempt us when He knew Satan could tempt us into Hell?
This is a negative approach to the subject. In reality, Satan is a source of struggle for human beings. If there were no struggle, there would be no development at all. The development of a person’s mind is a result of his response to challenging situations. If there were no Satan, there would be no field of struggle left for an individual, his mind would not unfold and he would not be able to tap into his potential.
Satanic temptations give a person the opportunity to develop resilience and patience by not succumbing to them. According to a verse of the Quran, man is asked to seek refuge from the temptation caused by both Satan and man’s own soul. The verse is as follows:
Say, ‘I seek refuge in the Lord of people, the King of people, the God of people, from the mischief of every sneaking whisperer, who whispers into the hearts of people, from jinn and men.’ (Quran 114: 1-6)
Why does everyone talk about fearing God?
We do love God. He is our supreme benefactor, the most gracious and the most merciful. Piety in human beings is a manifestation of the love they have for God. Having fear of God is not in the same sense as having fear of a ferocious animal. Rather, fear of God is positive fear and can be understood in the context of obedience to God. While God is compassionate and benevolent toward human beings, He is also very just. Thus, fear of God is a result of the realization that God has the ability of punishing wrongdoers for their evil deeds. God is all-knowing and nothing is, or can be, hidden from Him. A person who has fear of God constantly lives with the sense of being accountable to Him. Even if his fellow human beings do not have the power to implicate him for his wrongful actions, a person who has fear of God knows that in the Hereafter he will surely be answerable to the Almighty for his actions, big or small. It is this that causes a believer to naturally fear God, a concept which serves as a source of reform in his life.
How do we understand God’s omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience?
God is omnipresent on the basis of His knowledge of things. It does not mean that God is physically present everywhere but that nothing escapes his knowledge. This also explains his omniscience. His being omnipotent means that he has set the laws of nature and without any exception, every human being is bound by it. No one can eliminate or alter these laws, we can only discover them and work according to the principles God has set for this world. His being omnipotent also implies that it is only He who can truly reward, punish or forgive us for our actions.
Will all Muslims eventually go to Paradise, even if they temporarily have to go to Hell?
This is not true. According to the Quran, after the creation, God Almighty settled man on the planet earth. The planet earth is a selection ground. Here man is constantly under divine watch, and God Almighty will select those men and women, on the basis of merit, who prove to be deserving candidates for Paradise.
Being a candidate for Paradise is not a matter of being a ‘Muslim’. When we use the term ‘Muslim’, it connotes a person who is a member of a certain community. According to Islam, the selection for Paradise depends completely on an individual’s personal record and not on his or her being a member of a particular community.
A common misconception is that those who are not practicing Muslims, God shall temporarily keep them away from Paradise and later wipe out their sins. Eventually, they too shall be made to enter into Paradise. I, however, do not subscribe to this notion, as it is not validated from the Quran. Some unauthentic traditions are the basis of this misconception.
The Jewish community also held this misconception during the time of the Prophet Muhammad, in which context God sent the following revelation:
They say, ‘The Fire is not going to touch us, and [even if it does], it will only be for a few days!’ Say [to them], ‘Have you received a promise from God—for God never breaks His promise—or do you attribute something to God which you do not know?’ Truly, those who do evil and are encompassed by their misdeeds, shall be the inmates of the Fire. Therein they shall abide forever, but those who believe and do good works are the heirs of Paradise; there they shall abide forever. (Quran 2:80-82)
These verses of the Quran clarify this misconception held by many Muslims.
The sole concern of Islam is to inculcate piety and God-realization in human beings. It is this that will qualify them in the category of those deserving of the eternal abode of the Hereafter. There is no exception to this rule, even for one who is born in a Muslim family. God Almighty shall judge all human beings with the same yardstick.
What is the Islamic concept of Paradise?
Paradise is the name of the ideal world, the desire for which is lodged in the hearts of every man and woman. Paradise is a place where people will have no sorrow. It is Paradise where the personality of a human being shall achieve fulfilment in the complete sense.
Paradise is that world in which a creation such as man attains his complete fulfilment, where he thinks the way he wants to think; where he sees what he desires to see; where he listens to the sounds that give pleasure to his ears in the real sense; where he has the company of those people who make his life highly meaningful.
Paradise shall be a world that would have everything that a person can think of and more. It would be a world devoid of limitations, disadvantage, illness and unfortunate circumstances. The same concept of Paradise is also found in the Bible.
Who is God? Why do we pray to Him?
God is the Creator. When I see my existence, it is but natural for me to think how this existence came into being. The renowned French philosopher Rene Descartes said, ‘I think, therefore, I exist.’ Following this dictum, I would say, ‘I exist, therefore, God also exists.’ Because when there is a creation, a Creator is also bound to exist. Modern science tells us that our universe is vast, proportional and continuously expanding. It is an intelligent universe, but a right approach would be to say that the universe is the work of an Intelligent Creator.
In order to better understand the idea of creation, let us also reflect on the development of human knowledge. Human knowledge has two different phases—the pre-Einstein period and the post-Einstein period. In the pre-Einstein period, knowledge was confined to the macro world, which was observable and measurable. It was believed that matter was eternal and had not been created. But, in the post-Einstein period, with the development of quantum physics and discovery of the phenomenon of the Big Bang, this thinking changed.
When the atom was split, the world of logic underwent a colossal change. Splitting of the atom revealed the micro world. It came to be known that subatomic particles, which constitute matter at the most fundamental level, cannot be observed even by the most powerful microscope. The question is when we cannot see then, how do we believe that they exist? They cannot be visually seen, but every scientist believes in their existence, for the reason that although we cannot see these things directly, we can measure their effects. We believe in the existence of all of these things, not by observation but by the effects they produce. In other words, the existence of these unobservable particles of the micro world can be proved by way inferential argument – they cannot be seen, but can be known by way of their effects. And if inferential argument is valid with regard to the unseen elements of the micro world, it is also valid with regard to the existence of God or the Creator.
Moreover, scientific studies of today tell us that about 13 billion years ago there occurred a big bang in space. After this, our universe came into existence. Scientists have found evidence to believe that in the beginning there was what they call a cosmic ball. All the particles now present in the universe were tightly bound to each other in this cosmic ball in a highly compressed and dense state. Then, according to astronomical studies, this cosmic ball suddenly exploded. The compact particles scattered outwardly and as they were moving away they started interacting and the present universe as we see it (galaxies, stars, etc.) came into existence. This was the beginning of matter, but the question was which external source caused the intervention so that the compact particles scattered outwardly?
Worship
Worship means acknowledgement. It is inherent in human nature to acknowledge the Benefactor. Our Creator is our biggest benefactor who brought into existence the entire universe, which is custom- made to human needs and has a life support system to ensure our sustenance. How can we then not acknowledge the greatest of all Benefactors? Man, as a creation, has his limitations; no human being is all-powerful. When a person seeks to do something, he often finds out that he has limitations. It is this helplessness which leads him to pray to and seek help from God.
How can I converse with God when it seems that all the doors are closed?
I would say that those who are engaged in table talk cannot converse with God. If you are really serious about it, then you will have to pay a price, that is, you will have to become very keen on what you want. Let me give you an example. At a very young age, I had some problem with my eyesight and for this I visited several eye specialists – from Sitapur to Rome to the United States – I consulted doctors everywhere but I never became comfortable with any doctor.
For the first time, I became comfortable with Dr. Choudhary who had a clinic in Noida, India, but he recently passed away. I was quite worried and I prayed to God. When Mr. Jawaharlal Nehru was the Prime Minister of India, he had kept the portfolio of Kashmir to himself instead of placing it under the Home Minister (which was the protocol). On being asked the reason for his action, he replied that the issue of Kashmir was very complex, and that he alone could deal with it. With this reference point in mind, I prayed to God:
O God, You alone can deal with my problem, so please take my problem into your Hands!
Then situations took such a turn that I was introduced to an able eye specialist, Dr. Safeena Tabassum, my current doctor from Ajmer, who has shifted to Delhi. I am fully satisfied with her treatment. God helped me. So, a believer can certainly have a conversation with God, but only when he is very keen and serious about it. There are many things in your life that will work out if you are dedicated and keen. God provides for His creation.
How do people reach atheism?
Becoming an atheist is more an outcome of being against theism than a self-discovery of the non-existence of God. Atheism was earlier backed on scientific validation, however, it has now lost its foundations and has become anachronistic in nature. For those who still claim scientific backing for atheism should learn about what some of the authorities in science have said about the topic.
Once Einstein was asked if he was an atheist. He said:
You may call me an agnostic, but I do not share the crusading spirit of the professional atheist whose fervor is mostly due to a painful act of liberation from the fetters of religious indoctrination received in youth. (Sept. 28, 1949 letter to Guy Raner Jr.)
This means scientists are not in a position to say that there is no God, they can just take a sceptical stand on the existence of God. This is because the accepted base for belief in something in the intellectual world is scientific, but since there is no scientific discovery about the non-existence of God, this is still subject to interpretation.
Towards the end of the 19th century, there was a strong wave of what was popularly called ‘scientific atheism’. The argument often offered to negate the existence of God was His being invisible. But new scientific investigations carried out at the beginning of the 20th century started turning the tide against the credibility of this position, it becoming accepted that there are many aspects of nature that are invisible yet they exist. One of the books written on this new world discovered by science is Science and the Unseen World by Sir Arthur Eddington.
At the beginning of the 20th century Sir James Jeans declared that the universe which had been discovered by modern science was not compatible with the mechanical interpretation that had gained ground since past several decades. The age of quantum mechanics has established that nothing is fully observable. Contrary to previous belief, it was not the atom that was the last fundamental particle that constituted matter, rather there were unobservable subatomic particles that served as the building blocks of atoms. In a book published in 1988, entitled A Brief History of Time, Stephen W. Hawking (one of the foremost physicists of present times) explains the Big Bang Theory, according to which the universe is constantly expanding. After working out the relevant mathematical equations, Hawking has reached the conclusion that the expansion of the universe is taking place according to a well-calculated scheme. The initial rate of expansion must have been fixed with great accuracy so that it would always be less than the critical rate, i.e. the rate at which the universe would begin to collapse again. This view cannot be explained unless it is accepted that the rate of expansion of the universe has been determined with the utmost precision. Stephen Hawking writes:
It would be very difficult to explain why the universe should have begun in just this way, except as the act of a God who intended to create beings like us. (p. 127)
One of the most amazing qualities of the universe is that there is no interpretation or explanation of it, other than that which allows for God’s existence, despite the fact that the best brains in every age have attempted to unravel its mysteries. It has been claimed that the universe has always been in existence in its present form. It has also been claimed that it came into being on its own and that it goes on on its own. Cause and effect have been said to have created everything, and attempts have also been made to prove the law of evolution to be the creator of the universe; which however can be only a process of nature, but never its creator. The more a man learns about the universe, the more absurd do these theories appear to him; the stranger does it seem that something, or some being other than God Almighty should be the Lord and Master of the Universe. The universe, by its very existence, testifies to the fact that God is its Creator. I find other claims to be without concrete foundation. Whatever arguments or opposing opinions have been expressed to propagate this theory have proved erroneous by the knowledge acquired to date through human research.
One of my early works on this subject include the book God Arises: Evidence of God in Nature and Science. It establishes the existence of God according to modern scientific findings. It has been translated into several languages.
What is actually within man’s control?
Natural laws will always remain as God has ordained them. These are laws which God has defined. They are every physical law known to man, and man cannot alter them. What a human being does have is the freedom of choice. This is our test. For example, a person cannot change the natural laws governing water. But he can choose whether or not to drink water. It is not within a person’s control to remove the cloud between him and the sun, but he would be held accountable for the choices he made in life, something entirely in his control.
The Quran says that those who dwell in Paradise would say that in Paradise what we got was similar to what we received in the world. (Quran 2:25) What does this mean?
We should be a seeker of Paradise in this world and we should be able to discover Paradise in everything we have here. We are sitting here – around us is pleasant weather, green meadows, nice people – a small sample of Paradise can be seen by us here in this world itself. When you have this realization in the present world, it would make you a deserving candidate for Paradise. If you live in this world with complaints, you will risk your entry to Paradise. Everything in this world gives you a glimpse of Paradise. A person must understand that he has to discover Paradise before he can be settled in Paradise. Complaining, stooping to negative thinking and developing hatred are not simple matters. By doing all of this, you are risking Paradise in the world Hereafter. The Quran says about those who will find a place in Paradise:
He will admit them into the Garden He has already made known to them. (Quran 47:6)
If in this world you discover only negativity, then you are risking Paradise.
I want to develop strong conviction in God, but find myself lacking in it. How can I develop it?
There is just one formula – save yourself from distraction. People remain engaged in and distracted by other-than-God and at the same time desire to attain conviction in God. Till the time you do not steer yourself away from distractions, you will not be able to focus on God.
After doing wrong, the power of repentance becomes low. How should we repent?
This is against the nature of a human being. It is interwoven in human nature that when a person does a wrong, his conscience calls out to him. The power of repentance only becomes stronger in such cases.
How can we regain our enthusiasm towards something?
This is not a problem. Fluctuation in enthusiasm is part of human nature and will surely happen. The feeling that my enthusiasm has fallen low re-energizes the mind and strengthens the incentive to carry on the work.
How important is it to convey the message of God to humanity?
Without conveying the message of God, faith remains incomplete. This is because a believer is to be a well-wisher, so, a true believer who has discovered that entry to Paradise will be for those who believe in God will not be able to remain silent. His sense of well- wishing and desire that others also enter Paradise will undoubtedly cause him to make God’s message known to people.
What is the best act to thank God?
According to the Quran,
Those who believe love God most. (Quran 2:165)
What is love? Love is a result of discovery. When you discover that God has already given me great reward in this world in the form of His numerous bounties, you become immersed in a sea of gratitude for Him, which in turn produces love for God.
How should the creation plan of God be conveyed without giving an impression that it is some sort of propaganda?
You should not aim to do everything in one sitting. This work is a process. You should discuss with the audience only as per their ability to accept. For the remainder, you should share books. During discussion, often a person’s ego comes to the fore, while when he is reading a book, he is able to absorb a lot more. So, there are two aspects to presenting the creation plan of God to a person: one aspect is through discussion and the other aspect is conveyed through giving of books.
How do we discover God’s powerfulness?
The secret of this discovery lies in comparison. We should compare God’s power of bringing about rain with our powerlessness and inability to bring about rain, grow grain and make the sun shine. And if a person cannot do it, he should think how all this is happening on a universal level? If I could not put in place the life support system, how did it come about? If we make this comparison, then on the one hand we will discover that we are all powerless and that God is all-powerful. If you become sick, you should not become a victim of frustration, rather discover that I am powerless and there is a Creator above me who is powerful. Then you will discover both the Creator and yourself.
Is being too optimistic in life a bad idea?
There is no ‘more’ or ‘less’ when it comes to optimism. Being optimistic is a part of life. You must always live in hope; this is a teaching of Islam. Optimism is a part of nature and a part of the creation plan of God.
What is the Plan of God for the mentally disabled people?
As a young person when I started working, I used to see often see written in places ‘For Disabled Persons’, but now we come across the words ‘Differently-abled persons’. It has been found out that disability is not disability alone, rather one who is disabled in a certain way is abled in a different manner. Louis Braille, who invented the Braille system of writing for the visually impaired, was blind. When John Milton wrote his magnum-opus Paradise Lost, he too was blind.
There are newer ways of providing education for the mentally- challenged children. The parents of such children should be aware of the world they are living in. Parents only know of pampering; they should rather discover the quality their children possess and should nurture that particular quality. And if a person is disabled on one account, he is super-abled on other accounts.
Why should the Quran be distributed to all mankind?
The Quran is not a religious book in the limited sense of the term. It is a Book that tells people about the creation plan of God, and the scheme of things of the One who has created the entire Universe. This is not a matter of religion alone. For example, the Quran has a verse:
Surely, with every hardship there is ease. (Quran 94:6)
This means that if a problem befalls one, one should not get hassled; rather one should do peaceful planning. Nations like Germany, for example, could enjoy success because they planned on the basis of what remained with them and not on what they had lost. Similarly, the Prophet Muhammad had lost Makkah, but gained Madinah – so he planned on the basis of Madinah and not on the basis of Makkah.
The Quran is not a book of jurisprudence or a book of dos and don’ts about rituals. The Quran informs people about the laws of nature. It is not a book of Muslims, it is a Book of God. So, it becomes imperative that it be taken to all mankind.
What is honest repentance?
When a person does something wrong, he feels guilty. We make a mistake as a result of succumbing to emotions. But emotions do not last for long. When emotions subside, conscience emerges and when this happens, one must not neglect to pay heed to one’s inner voice.
The Creator has placed a special feature in human psyche—and that is what is called ‘repentance’. Repentance is a wonderful means of mercy for human beings. For those who repent, the Quran says:
God will change the evil deeds of such people into good ones. (Quran 25:70)
The transformation that this Quranic verse refers to takes place if sincere repentance wells up inside a person after he does something wrong. A positive aspect of repentance is that it engenders a strong determination in a person to reform himself, and, after having done something wrong, to firmly walk on the path of goodness thereafter. It is this positive enthusiasm that follows from repentance that changes an evil deed into a good one.
If you make a mistake that arouses anger in another, but then you repent and say, ‘Please forgive me, I was wrong,’ this will certainly cause the aggrieved person to undergo a change of heart. Such an apology will, on the one hand, inculcate positivity in your soul and, on the other hand, it will promote a culture of love among people you are living with. In family life as well as social life, untoward events are unavoidable. Such happenings sour relations and create distance between people. The best solution is to repent sincerely. Do not wait for others to take the lead.
If, after doing an evil deed, one chooses to continue on the same path, it makes a person even more inclined to evil. On the contrary, engaging in introspection would cause him to make up his mind not to indulge in evil again. If he does so, the evil deed he commits becomes a cause of leading him to goodness.
Repentance is an instrument of self-correction, initiating a process of self-assessment. This process is vital, as it enhances your intellectual calibre and leads to spiritual development. Repentance is an inner spirit, a readiness to atone for every kind of mistake.
The source of repentance is one’s conscience (zameer). It is not possible that a person does something wrong and that his conscience does not get affected by it. The only condition is that a person should be honest with his conscience so that he does not neglect the voice of his conscience. Gandhi used to say, “Thus my inner sight speaks”, and when this inner sight speaks, one must pay heed to it. There is no other criterion for sincere repentance.
How do we see God as most-kind, most-merciful, most-powerful and most-loving, given the current state of the world?
This is a very old question. I feel it is a very short-sighted approach to look at some events transpiring in the world and formulate an opinion based on them. We should first develop an understanding of the creation plan of God and then evaluate events in the light of this Plan.
History shows that difficulties and hardships have also played a vital role in the progress of many countries and have been their maximum contributor. For example, one of the greatest calamities to have hit the human race was the dropping of atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But the aftermath of this event had a great lesson for humanity, that is, the discovery of the principle of positive planning. The Second World War had created a compulsion for Japan as its defeat in the war was so grave that Japanese were left with only one way to plan for their future, and that was, to plan on the basis of what remained with them. The Japanese had no resources to forcibly retrieve what they had lost and as a result, they were compelled to plan on the basis of what was left with them. Thus, Japanese adopted a diligent program of nation-building and worked hard towards it to emerge as a global leader. Today it is a nation known for its most dedicated and ethical work culture in the world. The tragedy, consequently paved way for Japan to develop its prowess as a global giant in the area of innovation and technology. Another example of such intense nation- building is Germany, which revived its strength to become the most powerful European country.
The negative events of the Second World War culminated in setting successful examples of re-planning. It taught people the way forward after having incurred losses and defeat. Any disadvantageous situation creates a compulsion, which leads to new and positive developments. I can cite my own personal example. My ancestral land in my home village of Azamgarh was unjustly taken away by a person. Due to this usurpation of my property, I had nothing left to do in the village. This was when I was compelled to shift to Delhi. It was here that I was able to initiate my mission of peace, which has now spread across the whole world.
God creates compulsions to guide people in the right direction for people to learn and take heed. Many communities have risen to great heights starting from utter distress.
Another point often raised in this issue is that innocent children become victims of natural disaster, which is plainly unjust and abhorrent. As far as Islam is concerned, children who die in youth age will be rewarded with Paradise in the Hereafter. The prayer read at the funeral of these children is:
O God! Cause this child to become a means of salvation for us and cause him to become a means of reward and recompense for us [in the Hereafter]. (Mishkat al-Masabih, hadith no. 1690)
The prayer means that in the Hereafter when these children see their parents, they will come towards them and hold on to them. Thus, the prayer is an invocation to God to make these children – to whom Paradise has already been granted – a means to take their families also to Paradise.
What is the meaning of prayer?
Why should I pray to God?
Prayer is the compensation of a person’s helplessness. An individual, again and again, experiences helplessness and prayer is his response to such occasions. He calls out to a Being that is above and beyond him.
The Second World War was fought between the Axis Powers and the Allied Powers. During the war, there was a time when it was not sure who would win. The victor side became clear after the atom bomb was dropped. In the famous Yalta Conference, heads of three countries, Russia, Great Britain and the US, had gathered to find a strategy to contain the Axis Powers. Joseph Stalin was representing Soviet Russia. He was given to read the draft of the strategy and after reading it, he exclaimed suddenly: ‘May God prosper this undertaking!’
At the point where man feels helpless, his nature is bound to call out to the One who is beyond human beings. Therefore, though there is no scientific proof of prayer, it is undoubtedly the experience of every person to call out to the Supreme Being when he feels utterly helpless.
In the sea, when a ship is on voyage and a storm strikes, there is nothing that a person sees except huge waves of water ready to engulf the ship any moment. It is in such times of helplessness that one spontaneously calls out to God. I had once read that a Russian pilot, who was an atheist, was as usual flying a plane. When his plane got stuck in thunderstorm, he was heard saying, ‘Peter, save us!’
Is there a positive aspect of the phenomenon of death?
Yes, the positive aspect of death is the sense of urgency that it creates in a person. That is, the thought of death makes a person realize that whatever needs to be done should be done at the present moment. Whether or not a person believes in religion, the concept of death would still instil a sense of urgency in him.
