National Tabligh Department, UK
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Remains a search
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It is not ‘blind belief’; it is a rational belief after having
contemplated the existence that cannot be comprehended
by our basic senses
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Still a search, even after belief is established
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Personal relationship with God needs to be established
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Until nafs-e-mutmainah is acheived
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Tabligh is about helping our needy brothers
and sisters
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We must not think of them as ‘bad’
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No religion
15% (2001) – 25% (2011)
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Christian faith
72% (2001) – 59% (2011)
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Practicing Christians
65% (2001) – 45% (2011)
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Muslims 5%, others 4% (2011)
Ref - Office of National Statistics, UK, 2011
Simple - ?
All what we see in the creation must have come from a source. All this
functions well and in accordance with some laws.
Hard - ?
Where did the Creator come from? How did all this begin? How can we
relate to this Being?
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Fact of nature - no discipline , no growth
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Equally true for moral-spiritual spectrum
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Specially when used to life with self interest

Belief in God incorporates acceptance of authority of God, Who
then guides us how to live our lives

Short term gains need to be given up for the sake of more
substantial benefits to one-self and society – not easy for most

Hard work – ‘rather not believe’
Evidence consists of:
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Psychological factors
Observation of the creation
Rational deductions
At a humanistic level with social observations
Experience of individuals
What the ‘messengers’ claim
What the scriptures claim
Historical evidence

Throughout human history – including now

Existed independently in all societies

Is this just curiosity or inherent to our make-up?

Approx ¾ of world population believe
7.5b – 2.5b Christians, 2b Muslims, 1.2b Hindus,
0.6b Buddhists, others [including 15m Jews]
Pew Religious Centre’s Forum on Religion and Public Life, Global Religious Landscape, 2012
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Onus of proof on the non-believer also.
Absence of proof is not proof of absence.

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Our inner self
Our mind
Our heart
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We feel better with the good
We feel bad with evil

Evidence is inherent in our creation
Godliness – the term for goodness in a person!
An atheist doing ‘good’ is acting on the ‘God’ in him

Cant see, cant hear, cant touch – is that good enough a reason to
conclude there is no God?
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Empty room?
Eyes closed?
Need the right instruments to recognise the existence of matter or
radiation

Dark Matter – 85% of all matter in universe – still not observable directly
– recognised only through its attributes eg its gravitational impact on
light travelling from other galaxies
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Same is true to perceive God – we need the right
instrument – in our psyche

As small part of the creation, our perceptions are very limited – need
special preparation to perceive the Creator

Previously believed that universe existed from ever – ‘no Creator’

Singularity – origin of all creation including time and space –
source?
Stephen Hawking, Brief History of Time, 1988, Bantam Book Incorporation, NY, USA
Kalam Cosmological argument – anything that begins to
exist must have a cause
 That ultimate source of all creation is the ultimate
Creator (God)
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Dr Abdul Salam – two of the four fundamental forces of nature are the same
-Gravitation
-Electromagnetic
Electro-weak theory
-Weak nuclear force
Grand unified theory
-Strong nuclear force
Empirical evidence of unification of all creation

Socrates – refuting local deities, spoke of One Creator of all creation –
gave his life for this conviction
Aristotle – described the ultimate first cause of all creation that cannot be
a created thing itself

Science of entropy – loss of energy in creation of matter from matter –
resultant matter is less than parent matter – loss of energy at each step –
stopping the cycle of creation
Creation of universe created a lot of matter out of no matter – unique
form of creation
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Quran (& Bible) – origin of all creation is from ‘word’ – A vision (of the
Creator) and His will for it to happen.

Hence :
1. Origin of all creation is the Creator – and is not a created
thing
2. The Creator is infinite with no beginning, and no end

Even a small invention or task requires planning to produce positive result
- growing vegetables in your garden
- broken pottery from archaeological site implies wisdom of an ancient
civilisation

Our universe is complex, immense and continuously evolving
Flawless functioning
Lots of laws that govern its functioning

We are still discovering these laws
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Hence it must have been designed with wisdom and planning

This design requires an ‘all wise’ creator
Fred Hoyle, The Intelligent Universe, 1983
Time line of development of life on earth
Humans spread around earth
.............
Life begins
Unicellular
Multicellular
Plants Marine animals Reptiles Mammals
Land animals
Genus Homo
Neanderthals die
A J M (pbut)
______________________________________
4b
A = Adam (pbuh)
J = Jesus (pbuh)
M = Mohammad (pbuh)
2b
1b
500m 250m
2m
100k
25k
6k 2k 1.4k
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Laws of creation of life - Quantum Theory: consciousness can only
be created out of consciousness
Max Planck [Nobel Laureate] and Neil Bohr, founding physicists of Quantum Theory

Lot of conscious life exists

Hence there must be a conscious creator before life
existed

Denying existence of Creator is like denying our own
existence!
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Darwin –natural selection, survival of the fittest
Wallace – 3 stages of ‘spiritual ‘ evolution
i) creation of organic from inorganic matter
ii) creation of consciousness
iii) cognitive complexity of man

Problem: Role of ‘chance’ implies lack of planning and
atheism

Current evolutionary biologists are beginning to refute
role of chance
Probability of Chance theory = ‘wind blowing through a scrap yard
leading to making of a jumbo jet’
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Development of speech
Chance theory would mean much slower evolution of ability to speak a
language, going through numerous stages
What we observe – It appears at the human stage, not before not after
Key role in social, psychological, moral and spiritual development
No evidence of interim variable stages of speech that gradually lost
viability and survival
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Hence – planned evolution, which is evidence for
a conscious Creator

Many well known scientists – past and present have
recognised the bridge between science and religion

For example
Al-Haytham
Ibne Al-Nafis
Ibne Sina
Newton
Einstein
Kepler

Not all knowledge is derived through empirical
experimentation.
Knowledge imparted in educational institutions is accepted by
students without their own experimentation and data collection.
 Medicine prescribed by doctors is accepted by patients without
their own research on the efficiency of the medicines.
 Fathers accept their children as their own without resorting to
DNA test at birth of their child.
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Hence, trust and law of probability is a valid method
of acquiring knowledge and basing decisions.

Who are the most truthful and most trusted in any
society?
Politicians, artists, writers, sociologists, scholars, prophets

The prophets - even the adversaries recognise this

Prophets
- lived in different times
- in different parts of the world
- no direct communication with each other

All prophets had one common theme: a creator
and sustainer God
Amazing and very similar for all prophets
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Recognised as individuals with utmost moral dignity, even before claim of
prophethood
Claim to prophethood is made without any demand for worldly gains
Completely alone in the beginning
Opposition develops soon as they make this claim
Prophets are materially much weaker compared to their opposition
No vengeance against ruthlessness of opposition
Kindness and justice throughout
Ultimate victory of their mission
All prophets attribute:
-their mission to be under God’s guidance
-their success to be God’s blessing
-in success they become even more humble and thankful to God
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Prophets have received guidance according to human need of the
time
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Perfectly suited to needs of society at the time of revelation

Quran – pinnacle of Divine guidance – universally addresses
problems of contemporary society

Historical and current evidence that best solutions to our problems
are found in this guidance

All prophets claimed this guidance to be from ‘God’
Karen Armstrong; Mohammad: A Prophet of Our Time, 1991, Harper One
James Michener; Islam: The Misunderstood Religion, Reader’s Digest, 1955
Michael H Hart; The 100, A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History, 2000
Michael Balter; The Seeds of Civilisation, Smithsonian Magazine, May 2005

Prophets gave mankind knowledge about times before, concurrent and after
the time of the revelation
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Quran – contains factual knowledge about history, cosmology, biology, evolution
of life, archaeology, psychology, atomic energy, presence of extra terrestrial life,
geography, politics, future developments etc
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What is the source of this knowledge?
a.
b.
c.
d.

Knowledge is beyond human scholarship
Prophets do not claim to be the originators of this knowledge but claim that they only act
as messengers
... and that they receive it from God
We keep discovering the truth of this knowledge through our scientific learning
This provides strong evidence about the source of all this knowledge –
to be from a Being that created us and is all knowledgeable
Prof E Marshall Johnson, Professor of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Daniel Baugh Institute, Thomas Jefferson University,
Philadelphia, USA
Dr Maurice Bucaille, The Bible, The Quran and Science, The Holy Scriptures Examined in the Light of Modern Knowledge, 2003
Say, ‘Who is the Lord of the heavens and the earth?’
Say, ‘Allah.’
Say, ‘Have you then taken beside Him helpers who have no power for
good or harm even for themselves?’
Say, ‘Can the blind and the seeing be equal? Or, can darkness be
equal to light?
Or, do they assign to Allah partners who have created the like of His
creation so that the two creations appear similar to them?’
Say, ‘Allah alone is the Creator of all things, and He is the One, the
Most Supreme.’
[13:17]
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Observing evidence [God should exist - Probability]
- all creation that is known to have started about 14b years ago, particularly creation with
consciousness
- complete balance in laws of nature
- even spontaneous jungle fire leading to healthier soil & stronger genetic material for
plants, hurricane leading to adjustment of sea water temperatures thus becoming more
conducive to life
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Witnessing act [God exists - certainty, but still with possible doubt]
- prophets gaining victory over ‘mightier’ opposition despite lack of worldly resources
- life lived in accordance with God’s guidance meets better contentment and success than
one without
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Experience [God definitely exists - Conviction, without any doubt]
– personal communication with God
[acceptance of prayer, receiving revelation]

The natural quest – has a purpose
- basis for individuals to seek God and make effort towards Him

Prophets describe the method:
Refrain from pursuing the worldly gains
Live a moral life
Life with utmost truthfulness
Persistent prayer and meditation
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Such lifestyle develops the right instrument to communicate with
God - ‘psychic-radio’ to receive revelation
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Communication becomes two-sided as it develops
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Acceptance of prayer and receiving revelation are
profound evidence

How many have had their prayers accepted?
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This is evidence of immense blessings of God
on a community that lends its effort to prayer
in order to achieve growth and success
The prophet establishes unity of God in the society
Another God sent stands alone
Downfall of the nation
A just society is formed
Overtime they drift from
the original teachings
Suffering begins
Repeat of this cycle over time in human history is strong
evidence for existence of God
Richard Dawkins makes the following four arguments to suggest non-existence:
1. ‘Downside’ of religion
Downside of misunderstandings or manipulations of religious teachings are referred to eg conceptual
distortions, and not the actual teachings.
Additionally, downside of anything does not prove non-existence of the source of that thing.
2. Problems due to religion eg divisions and conflicts
Yes, such problems do exist, but again due to distortion of teachings and not when original teachings
are followed. On analysis of societies where true teachings are followed – we find peace, harmony and
tolerance.
Again, if something is distorted and there is consequent suffering, it still does not rule out existence of
creator of that thing.
3. Progress is not related to religion
Historical evidence is to the contrary. Religious principles have always been relevant to progress eg
development of empirical sciences during the Golden Age of Islam. Just societies and fair governance
by Muslims of that era has been universally accepted. Western progress of recent centuries is also
based on religious principles of honesty, diligence and accountability. While Islamic scholars at that
time applied a rational approach to religious principles and thus embraced both religion and science, at
the time of European renaissance the Christian clergy had primarily a dogmatic and irrational approach
to religion, hence the scientific approach was not seen to be linked to these principles that religion
teaches.
4. God concept is a product of human thought over time
Answer in previous slide.
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Remove water from a glass and it fills with air
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Remove the real God from our mind and it fills with other
gods
Edward L Deci and Richard M Ryan, The ‘What’ and ‘Why’ of Goal Pursuits: Human Needs and the Self
Determination of Behaviour, Psychological Inquiry, 2000, Vol 11, No 4, 227-268
‘Let us live life to its full’ – hedonism
‘It is my life’
– selfishness
‘What do I get from this?’ – materialism
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Our psychological satans become our gods

‘To insist that mysteries of that [spiritual]
world should be wholly revealed through
reason is like closing one’s eyes and insisting
that one should be able to perceive visible
objects through sense of smell.’

‘God Almighty has created humans with
great variation in their overt and covert
capabilities. For example, some possess
good vision while others are weak, or
altogether blind… People also differ in their
covert capabilities… Some have lesser
degree of spiritual development and others
have a higher degree and have received
Divine revelation. For the former to deny
the characteristics of the latter would be the
same as if a blind person was to deny the
0bservations of one with good vision…’
THE PROMISED MESSIAH
HAZRAT MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD (may peace be on him)
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Invitation to make an open minded enquiry

Not like Yuri Gagarin, the Russian cosmonaut - ‘did not find
God in space’
... or Shelley, the English poet – ‘did not find God in
underground caves’
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Enquiry as recommended by the prophets
http://www.alislam.org/allah/Search-for-God.pdf