First Proof

In accordance with my belief that the Holy Qur’an has expounded on all the essential ways to attain spiritual progress, I shall God willing, look only to its verses when submitting proofs for God’s existence.

In view of the fact that the first sensory experience a newborn child has of the world is through sound, my opening proof will derive from aurality.

In the Holy Qur’an, God says:

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Verily, he truly prospers and succeeds who purifies himself, and proclaims the name of his Lord and who not only makes a verbal declaration but engages in worship to demonstrate his belief through his actions. But you prefer the life of this world, whereas the Hereafter is better and more lasting. And this is not an argument presented by the Holy Qur’an alone; rather this indeed is what is taught in the former Scriptures—thus the Scriptures of Abraham and Moses imparted this very same teaching to the world.

In this verse, Allah the Exalted sets forth the argument to the opponents of the Holy Qur’an that those who eschew selfish desires, who affirm the existence of God and show [themselves] to be His true servants always attain victory and success. And the evidence in favour of this teaching is its commonality among all the religions of the past.

And so, to the followers of the prevalent religions of that era—Christianity, Judaism and Meccan paganism—God makes the decisive argument that the teaching of Abraham(as) and Moses(as), which they all accept, is the exact same teaching. Therefore, the principle that [the loved ones of God always meet with success] and the unanimous agreement of all religions on this teaching and the ubiquity of this truth among all nations is presented by the Holy Qur’an as a great proof of the existence of God.

The more one reflects over this argument, the more convincing and veracious it appears. In truth, all world religions agree on the existence of a being who is the creator of the universe. While there may be differences in doctrines and beliefs because of geographical and circumstantial variances, all faiths universally accept the existence of God even if they diverge on the particulars, such as an understanding of His attributes. All major contemporary religions—Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Hinduism, and Zoroastrianism—believe in the existence of the One God, Elohim, Parameshwara, Paramatma, Satguru or Yezdan.

Archaeological evidence also shows even religions now considered extinct were [in their essential features] monotheistic; whether they were found in the far off places of the Americas, the forests of Africa, or in Rome, England, Java-Sumatra, Japan, China, Siberia or Manchuria. How did this harmony of belief arise, and who apprised the inhabitants of America about the creeds of the people of India and similarly who told the people of China about the beliefs of Africans? In the past, [means of transportation and communication such as] trains, telegrams and the post did not exist as they do now, nor were there airplanes or large ships regularly traveling back and forth. Journeys were usually undertaken by horseback or mule and the sailing vessels of the time would take months to complete voyages that now take just days. Vast swathes of the world remained undiscovered during this period. How could a consensus emerge on this particular belief among remote and distant communities of different dispositions and cultures? It is difficult enough for two people to agree on something that has been fabricated; the fact that so many nations and countries have reached a consensus on a single principle, without any means of exchanging their ideas, is proof of the veracity of this belief which has been mysteriously revealed by Islam and which in the past has been expressed to peoples of all countries and nations. Historians agree that when a claim [or a source] has been affirmed by chroniclers of different [ancient] communities, it ought to be considered authentic. Therefore, when hundreds and thousands of people have agreed on this fundamental precept, why should it not be accepted that they came to believe in it through some sort of [divine] manifestation?