Argument Based on Creation and the Operational System of the Universe

Now I take up the most renowned of all logical arguments. In fact, this is the only argument upon which the belief of most people is based. As far as the reach of human reason alone is concerned, one cannot think of a more enlightening and impactful argument than this. We should note that we are not discussing the arguments and evidence that descend from heaven and establish the existence of God with utmost certainty, and which not only point towards God but actually make one see Him and reach Him. But rather, here we are referring to the logical arguments that do not lead us beyond the ‘ought to be’ stage of belief. Of these arguments, the one I would like to present is indeed extremely brilliant. It is due largely to this argument that, despite being totally devoid of the knowledge of God, the world is saved from completely denying His existence. This is the preliminary argument which has always been used in scriptures to awaken the oblivious, and the Holy Quran, too, has used it extensively and repeatedly.

This is the evidence of cause and effect. Academically speaking, it is actually a combination of two arguments. According to one generally well-known argument, the existence of creation as a whole is put forward to prove the existence of a Creator. Due to its simplicity, this argument appeals better to the general masses. According to the other, the study of the universe and its organisation is cited to prove the existence of a Creator, Designer, and Sustainer of the universe. This argument is further divided into several other arguments. For brevity and simplicity, these two arguments will be discussed in a combined form.

The first part of the argument, that creation leads to the existence of a Creator, is very simple in its apparent form. For instance, I am at present staying at a friend’s home on Mansuri Hill and writing this treatise. I see many items lying on the table before me, and each one of these teaches me something by its existence. I see paper, a pen, ink, blotting paper, a beautiful paperweight (which prevents papers from flying away). In this room, I have a chair, a table covered with an attractive table cloth to keep the table neat, and some reference books for my use. The mere presence of these things give me the conviction that someone must have made them. Moreover, the room I am in has four walls, a roof, windows, doors, curtains, a rug, and many other objects on the floor. I see these things and I am convinced that they did not come into existence by themselves, but are the fruits of some workman’s efforts. If someone tries to convince me that all of these things have come into existence by themselves, I would never believe them; in fact, no one else would be prepared to believe it either. Sadly, however, there are hundreds of thousands of people in this world who would have us believe that this earth, the heavens, animals, vegetation, inanimate objects, heavenly bodies, the earth, and the human body are not created by any Creator but have existed by themselves from eternity. How can I believe them?

I have, before me, a statement by an Arab Bedouin. Someone inquired from him as to what evidence he had for the existence of God. He replied: When someone passing through a jungle sees camel dung, he concludes that a camel must have passed this way; when he sees the footprint of a man in the desert sand, he infers that some wayfarer must have passed this way. Now, looking at this earth, with all its wide tracks, and this heaven, with its sun and the moon and the stars, does it not make one think that these must have a Maker?

What an unpretentious statement that is full of wisdom! Glory be to God! The words of an illiterate Arab Bedouin, the profoundness of which is not understood by the philosophers of Europe and America despite their wisdom and logic!

Concerning the creation and organisation of the universe, the Holy Quran says:

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That is, are you in doubt concerning Allah, Maker of the heavens and the earth? That God who brought into being the earth and the heavens from nothingness.

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Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and in the alternation of night and day, and in the ships that sail in the sea with that which profits men, and in the water which Allah sends down from the sky and quickens therewith the earth after its death and scatters therein all kinds of beasts, and in the change of the winds, and the clouds pressed into service between the heaven and the earth are indeed Signs for the people who understand.

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And also in your own selves there are signs. Will you not then see?

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Have they not looked at the sky above them, how We have made it and adorned it with different heavenly bodies, and that there are no flaws in it? We have spread out the earth (despite being round), and placed therein firm mountains; and We have made to grow therein every kind of beautiful species; as a means of enlightenment for those who would ponder and as a reminder to every servant that turns to God.

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To Allah submits whosoever is in the heavens and the earth [willingly or unwillingly], and cannot overstep the bounds of the law laid down for it by God.

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All of them float in an orbit, separately without colliding with others.

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Look at the milk-producing animals, for in them too there is a lesson for you. We provide you with a drink out of that which is in their bellies; that is, from betwixt the faeces and the blood We provide milk pure and pleasant for those who drink it.

Look at the bee as well. Your Lord directed the bee saying: Make thou houses in the hills and in the trees and in the trellises, and suck the juice of fruits and follow the ways appointed for thee by thy Lord in submission. There comes out of the bellies of the bees honey of various hues, possessing healing qualities for people. Surely in that is a sign for people who reflect.

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Now let man look at his daily food. We pour down water from the sky in abundance; then, We cleave the earth a proper cleaving, then We cause to grow therein grain, grapes, vegetables, the olive and the date-palm, walled gardens thickly planted, and fruits and herbage, as provision for you and your cattle.

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Blessed is He in whose hand is the kingdom and He has the power over all things, who has created death and life that He might try you—which of you is best in deed; and He is Mighty, the Most Forgiving, who has created seven heavens in harmony. Do you see any flaw in the creation of the Gracious God? Look all around you: Do you see any disparity? Look again, and yet again: thy sight returns to thee frustrated and fatigued.

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Do all these things not guide you to God?

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Ruin seize man! How ungrateful he is!

These verses, quoted from different parts of the Holy Quran, point to the existence of God by referring to the creation and organisation of the universe with such unparalleled eloquence that it needs no further explanation. Indeed, for those who wish to ponder, everything in this world points to God. The perception of God gets sharper and more well-defined as one makes progress in knowledge and understanding of the universe and the properties of matter. Take the tiniest particle in the world and contemplate upon it. You will realise that even the most insignificant looking particle operates within a most magnificent and judicious set of laws and it incorporates such arrangement and profound reason that it is simply baffling. The arrangements and purpose of even the smallest particles pose an insoluble enigma for the human mind. The Promised Messiah(as) says:

Man cannot make even the foot of an insect;
How then can it be easy for him to create the Light of Truth?

Look at a housefly. Even this minor insect is a great miracle of God’s magnificent powers. If one spends all his life in researching just the fly and its organs, he will see that his life will come to an end but his research will remain incomplete. Look at the human body itself. Ever since the world was created, hundreds of thousands of the world’s best minds, throughout the ages, have occupied themselves with research into its structure and the set of judicious laws that control the function of different human organs, such as the heart and the brain, the kidney, the lungs, the liver, the stomach, the eyes, the ears, the nose, etc. But how much of this God’s apparently small treasure have they been able to discover and present to the world? Surely the world will come to an end but the treasures of this miniature universe will not be exhausted.

Take the wild flower that springs up along the edge of your pathway and often gets crushed under the feet of some merciless and unaware wayfarer and disappears permanently from the eyes of the world. In its tiny leaves there are hundreds of veins spread out in the form of a network and each one of these veins is a cosmos in view of its function and system. To acquire the perfect knowledge of this intricate system, even Nuh’s [Noah] age may not be enough! Cast a glance at the insignificant and scarcely visible seed: hundreds of thousands of which can be held in a fistful, but when sowed in the soil, it grows into a magnificent tree before our eyes and thousands of people may rest under its shade. And have you studied human life? There was a time when man was a part of his father’s body in the form of a tiny microscopic sperm, which might not be agreeable for a delicately disposed person to even look at, and then it develops into a handsome and attractive being, who is equipped with the highest faculties of heart and mind.

Let us now look toward the sky. What a scene do the sun, the moon, and the stars present before you. Take the sun: Do you know how far it is from the earth? Its distance from the earth is approximately ninety-three million miles. And let it be no surprise when I say that the sun is one of those stars that is comparatively nearer to the earth. Some of the stars are so far away from the earth that your language does not even specify the numbers to express that distance. Do you know the volume of the sun? Let me inform you of this too. We take pride in the earth’s vastness; due to its great vastness it looks flat in spite of being round; it has a diameter of 7,900 miles. By comparison, the sun has a diameter of 865,000 miles. Let it not be surprising when I say that there are many planets in space which are vastly bigger than our sun; there cannot be a comparison between these—not even as much as the robin compares with the eagle.

So much for the physical form of the celestial bodies; but if we study the magnificent system, in accordance with which trillions of these bodies orbit in space, the mind boggles. To top it all, each planet orbits along its own circuit in accordance with its own rules and it is impossible for one to collide with the other or leave its own orbit to enter another. This rule does not apply to the celestial bodies alone; everything on earth is also bound within its own sphere and cannot break free to enter into another. Fire is designed to burn; water to put it out; the tree stands erect at one point on the earth; birds are made to fly in the air; man is designed to walk on the earth and fish to swim in water; the cow is fashioned to eat grass and the lion to feed on other animals. These are a few simple examples; otherwise, everything is bound within its sphere in accordance with its qualities, capabilities, and function, and none has the power to trespass its bounds. Everything serves its particular objective and purpose.

Now contemplate, has this magnificent all-encompassing system of the heavens and the earth come into existence by itself ? This judicious and most wise set of laws we see operating on its own in everything—is it without any control by a Higher Being? Are the earth with its innumerable creatures and the heavens with its innumerable celestial bodies their own creators and masters? At this stage, set aside the question, ‘If there is a God, who and where is He?’ Answer just this: Is your heart content with the notion that this universe and its system exists by itself, without any creator, lord, master, or governor? I am not asking whether you believe in a god or not. My question is only this: Can you honestly declare that the heaven, the earth, animals, vegetation, inanimate matter, celestial bodies, and geological strata came about by mere chance? Is this magnificent system—which has closely knit billions of things in this world into one system— running mechanically without any creator and administrator? I cannot believe that any of the sons of Adam who has a [sensible] heart and mind can be satisfied with the idea that this universe, the compendium of varied wonders, came into existence by itself. To summarise, this universe with its entire judicious and most wise organisation is such strong evidence for the existence of God that no wise person can deny it.

Thus far, I have considered various things and their components in this world individually, and have explained that each thing in itself is such a wonderful entity and operates within such a judicious and most wise system that man is compelled to attribute the creation of the universe to an All-Knowing, All-Powerful, Wise, and All-Governing Being. This conviction becomes even stronger when we study the relationship between different parts of a particular thing or interactions between different things. Let us take the camel, for instance: Suppose we agree that it acquired long legs in accordance with some hidden and unknown law of chance; the question then arises, how did this blind law know that this creature with long legs should also have a long neck, so that its mouth can reach the ground easily. This judicious rule is operational all over the world, not only in camels but in all other animals too; those with long legs have long necks and those with short legs have short necks. It can be argued that this body form has evolved after a long period of adaptation; i.e. because of long legs, necks also lengthened gradually. However, this stance is incorrect as the history of zoology presents no evidence that long-legged animals initially had short necks that grew longer with the passage of time. Moreover, how did the long-legged animals survive when they had short necks? Anyhow, this is a very simple example, but if we ponder, it will become very clear that the different parts of everything have been put together proportionately and appropriately with mind-boggling precision.

Ponder further and we observe an amazing and fascinating spectacle. Can a blind law of nature produce sperm in a man, create a desire in the man and a woman to unite and transfer the sperm into the dark recesses of a woman’s womb? Then, this blind law further helps develop one of these sperms into a beautiful child possessing numerous faculties over a period of nine months. Somehow, this blind law then managed to have this baby delivered of the mother’s womb. That is to say, all the internal changes in that sperm took place as a chance event. If so, then for God’s sake explain to me, how come this blind law could precisely coincide the production of mother’s milk with the delivery of the baby, so that the baby’s sustenance is ready as the baby arrives in this world. The mother’s breasts are not a part of the baby’s body. Then how come a mother’s breasts started filling up with the milk for the sake of her child. [Holy is Allah!].

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They esteem not Allah with the estimation that is His due.

Furthermore, consider this: the earth came about by itself; the things moving about in it came into existence by themselves; man came into existence from nothing by himself; his nose, ears, and eyes all appeared by themselves. In short, all this happened by chance. Then, how come a magnificent lamp was lit more than ninety million miles away from the earth for the light to facilitate human eyes to see? A tree grew on the earth. It produced seeds, and the seeds were made to fall on the earth and sown therein. However, who determined that water is required for the seeds to sprout, and who arranged for sunlight to fall upon the ocean and carried therefrom billions of tons of water on the winds to the scorched land and caused these clouds to rain? If all of that is brought about by this random force of nature—and that is the force which is the Creator, the Master, the Lord, the All-Knowing, Omnipotent, and Wise Governor, the Guardian that contemplates and considers the appropriateness of circumstances, who arranges for the fulfilment of the needs He causes to arise—we do not care by what name you call it, that is our God and to Him we submit with love and devotion. In short, whichever way we look at this, we cannot but believe that this universe and its judicious and most wise organisation all point to a Being who is the Creator, the Master, the Wise, the All-Knowing, the Omnipotent and the Governor; i.e. He bears all those characteristics that religion attributes to God.

One must remember here that to avoid intellectual jargon and complexities, I have presented the argument in a simple manner so that the young among our dear ones may understand it easily. However, this argument can also be presented in an academic manner. Very briefly, the study of nature reveals that in the innumerable different things in this world, individually or collectively, there exist three things. First, an extremely elaborate and perfect law operates in everything in this world that controls it, as well as its relation to other things. This is termed the Law of Nature. If studied properly, this law constitutes a very strong and clear argument for the existence of a Creator of the universe. Regrettably, some people, out of their short-sightedness, have made this very law a stumbling block for them.

Second, in everything in this world and in this judicious and most wise law [of nature], not only individually but also collectively, there is a definite format and arrangement otherwise known as a design or plan, and no wise person can attribute this to chance.

Third, everything in the world, with its law and design or plan, is working with a definite purpose. That is to say, everything in this universe has a definite purpose. This doctrine, known as teleology, is very compelling evidence for the existence of God. In short, by studying the universe, one is strongly led to the view that it did not come to be by mere chance, but was brought about by the mighty hands of a Conscious and All-Powerful Being.