BUSHRA—Have you got any more questions to ask?
MARY—Yes, Auntie! I have a question. It has two parts: (i) Did God create the universe or did it happen by chance? (ii) Is God Eternal?
BUSHRA—Let me answer them in this way. If there is no Creator of this universe, which is well organised and well disciplined, then we have to believe that the entire universe is eternal with all its complexities, intricate laws and the most wonderful organisation. But we know very well that the universe is not eternal. Hence the assumption, that there is no Creator of this universe, has no legs to stand upon.
Another thing which we should consider seriously in this regard, is the fact that because we find evidence of perfect harmony and organisation in the universe and because a lot of wisdom has gone into its making, we come to the natural conclusion that there is a Creator, Who is also very Wise.
So the question simply breaks down to this: What is eternal, the universe or its Wise Creator? One of them has to be eternal because something cannot be born out of nothing.
In the light of what I have just said, we are convinced that it is the Wise Conscious Being, the Creator of the entire universe, who is Eternal.
To sum up, we can say that if there is any form of existence, it must fall into one of the two categories, eternal or created. If it is not eternal then we have to believe that there is an external Being Who created it.
As Muslims, we believe that God is Eternal, while all finite objects have been proved to have a beginning at one time or another. Scientific evidence clearly points to this fact.
For example, the discovery of the existence of the Black Hole and the study of physics regarding the age of particles, clearly indicate that no form of matter is eternal. Even protons, which were considered some decades ago to be everlasting and indestructible, have been discovered to have a time scale for their existence. This means that there has to be a time when they did not exist. In the distant future there will be a time when they will cease to exist in their present form. The right conclusion would be that there is nothing that can make the universe eternal. I therefore reiterate that this phenomenon proves beyond any doubt that there is an outside Eternal Being who created the whole universe and controls it.
BARBARA—Did God create the universe on His own or did He get help from anyone else?
BUSHRA—God is Self Subsisting, Self-Sufficient and All Sustaining. Everything else is mortal and is dependent on Him all the time. He is Independent and does not need any help or support from anybody. He has no son or daughter. He does not need any. He is Allah, the One, with no equal or partner. He lives today as He lived in the past and will continue to live forever. He speaks to people as He spoke in the past. He listens to the supplications of the supplicants and responds accordingly to whomsoever He pleases just as He did in the past.
All His attributes are Ever Lasting. But you should remember that He sees without physical eyes and hears without physical ears and speaks without a physical tongue.