Atheism Is A Myth – (2) The Myth of Making Disbelief to Mean Denying God's Existence
Published in October 7, 2017
Translated by: Ahmed Fathy
Introduction:
The common meaning for atheism is to deny the existence of God or to disbelieve in Allah, the Creator of the universe, whereas polytheism is to believe in God alongside with other deities/gods. This is against the Quran, as disbelief and polytheism are exact synonyms in the Quranic text; the Quran does NOT talk about atheism or about denying God's existence at all. Let us begin this story from the very beginning; i.e., the disbelief of Iblis or Satan.
Firstly: the disbelief of Iblis or Satan:
1- Iblis refused to obey God's command to prostrate to Adam; this adamant refusal out of arrogance and haughtiness was accompanied by debating and arguing with His Lord God, and this is why Iblis/Satan deserved to be cursed and expelled and described as a disbeliever: "And We said to the angels, "Bow down to Adam." They bowed down, except for Satan. He refused, was arrogant, and was one of the disbelievers." (2:34). Thus, Iblis the angel became Satan the Devil.
2- Iblis/Satan did not deny God's existence; in fact, Satan addressed God as (my Lord) and talked haughtily and disrespectfully with God by accusing Him that He tempted angels by commanding them to bow down to Adam; in fact, Satan/Iblis was the one who tempted himself by adamantly refusing to prostrate as per the divine command: "He said, "My Lord, reprieve me until the Day they are resurrected." He said, "You are of those reprieved." "Until the Day of the time appointed." He said, "My Lord, since You have lured me away, I will glamorize for them on earth, and I will lure them all away." "Except for Your sincere servants among them."" (15:36-40).
3- Iblis repel-angel was expelled from the Above Realm of Heaven and was turned into the Devil, named Satan, and he specialized in seducing the progeny of Adam who followed him in the path of sin and disobedience. In fact, those sinners who have followed Satan and allied themselves to him have taken him as a deity alongside with God/Allah. Those polytheists/disbelievers have thus covered their innate instinct/origin created inside them by God, because the faith/belief in God is ingrained in our genes and every fiber of our being. But what is the meaning of this innate origin/instinct?
Secondly: the meaning of the innate origin/instinct:
1- The Quranic verb to originate means to create out of nothingness; God has created the universe (the earth and the heavens) out of nothingness; and He has created the human beings out of nothing at all: "Has there come upon man a period of time when he was nothing to be mentioned?" (76:1). God has said to Zachariah: "...and I created you before, when you were nothing." (19:9). The prophet Hood said to his people the following: ""O my people, I ask you no wage for it; my wage lies with Him who originated me. Do you not understand?"" (11:51). Abraham said the following to his people and his father: "When Abraham said to his father and his people, "I am innocent of what you worship. Except for He who originated me, for He will guide me."" (43:26-27).
2- This innate origin/instinct created by God inside humanity is monotheism, in the sense that every human soul knows that God, the Creator of all things, exists without partners or deities beside Him. This is referred to in these verses about this situation that took place within an ethereal realm before human souls enter into their bodies on Earth: "And when Your Lord summoned the descendants of Adam, and made them testify about themselves. "Am I not your Lord?" They said, "Yes, we testify." Thus you cannot say on the Day of Resurrection, "We were unaware of this." Nor can you Say, "Our ancestors practiced idolatry before; and we are their descendants who came after them; will you destroy us for what the falsifiers did?"" (7:172-173). Thus, God in this situation ingrained inside our souls the monotheistic faith/belief in Him so as not to fall into the trap of polytheism, and God will remind all humanity of this pledge on the Last Day, and polytheists/disbelievers cannot excuse themselves for their being unaware or for their following blindly the footsteps of their ancestors; on the Last Day, God will remind them of this pledge/covenant made before they leave Barsakh to descend into the Earth: "Did I not covenant with you, O Children of Adam, that you shall not serve the Devil? That he is your sworn enemy? And that you shall serve Me? This is a Straight Path. He has misled a great multitude of you. Did you not understand?" (36:60-62).
3- This innate origin/instinct must remain alive inside our souls/hearts to believe in God and worship Him devotedly within monotheism: "So devote yourself to the religion of monotheism - the natural instinct God has instilled in the humankind. There is no removing for God's creation. This is the true religion, but most people do not know." (30:30).
4- Human beings are born with this innate origin/instinct of monotheism as pure, innocent children who poses philosophical questions about life and existence, but when they grow up, carnal lusts and appetites dominate them, leading them to forget this innate origin/instinct of monotheism and to embrace vanities of life while forgetting about the Last Day when they will stand before God; their whims/desires made them worship Satan instead, especially within devilish hadiths, false deities, and mausoleums. But once these polytheistic persons face life-threatening situations and come too near to death, they remember their innate origin/instinct that was earlier covered by whims/desires/lusts an implore God for deliverance, within piety, fear, and sincere monotheism: "It is He who transports you across land and sea. Until, when you are on ships, sailing in a favorable wind, and rejoicing in it, a raging wind arrives. The waves surge over them from every side, and they realize that they are besieged. Thereupon they pray to God, professing sincere devotion to Him..." (10:22). This devotion means they return to their innate origin/instinct of monotheism.
5- This innate origin/instinct remains inside us and no mortals or devils can ever remove it to turn it to atheism (i.e., to deny God's existence, as per the modern sense of this term in our culture of today). Yet, this innate origin/instinct created by God can be altered/changed/covered by polytheism; i.e., to believe in other deities/gods beside Allah, and this change is part of the plans of Satan: "...I will prompt them to alter the creation of God..." (4:119). This phrase in 4:119 refers to introducing polytheism to cover/change the innate origin/instinct of monotheism that cannot be removed: "... There is no removing for God's creation..." (30:30). It is silly that Sunnite fiqh scholars interpret 4:119 as a command for women not to have tattoos or change their hairdos! This is as if 4:119 were addressing women only and not all humanity!
Thirdly: the meaning of disbelief/Kufr is to cover this innate origin/instinct:
1- So, the innate origin/instinct of monotheism cannot be removed from our souls and genes; Satan and devils endeavor only to change/cover it by polytheism, to turn the monotheism of (There is no God but Allah) into polytheistic belief in god along with other deified mortals; for instance, Muhammad, caliphs, companions, and imams in the Sunnite religion, Muhammad, Ali and his household members, Hussein, Fatima, etc. and imams in the Shiite religion, Muhammad, companions, Ali and his household members, and saints as well as the deified universe itself in the Sufi religion, and Jesus, disciples, monks, clergy, saints, etc. within the Christian religion. Such polytheism is against the innate origin/instinct of monotheism created inside us by God: Allah is the Only Saint and the Sanctified Ally, as well as the Glorified One True God: "...They have no Ally apart from Him, and He shares His Sovereignty with no one." (18:26).
2- Changing this innate origin/instinct of monotheism of (There is no God but Allah) is to cover it by the belief in other gods/deities beside Him; this is polytheism/Shirk and disbelief/Kufr
2/1: We have mentioned before that (Kufr) which is the Quranic word for disbelief, means literally "covering" and this is explained in our previous article (in English) about how Kufr and Shirk and meaning of the term Taghut are exact synonyms in the Quran, on this link (http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=14342) and another article in English on this link: (http://www.ahl-alquran.com/English/show_article.php?main_id=6306). Indeed, God describes peasants as (coverers) using a derivation from the Arabic root of k/f/r (i.e., to cover) in this verse: " Know that the worldly life is only play, and distraction, and glitter, and boasting among you, and rivalry in wealth and children. It is like a rainfall that produces plants, and delights the coverers. But then it withers, and you see it yellowing, and then it becomes debris..." (57:20).
2/2: Indeed one of the derivations of the Arabic root k/f/r is used in the Quranic verb that denotes: (to atone for one's sins), and this literally means to cover the sins to save repentant sinners to make them enter into Paradise after being pardoned by God: "...It will atone for some of your misdeeds..." (2:271); "God will pardon them the worst of their deeds..." (39:35); "He will admit the believers, male and female, into Gardens beneath which rivers flow, to abide therein forever, and He will remit their sins..." (48:5); "...Whoever believes in God and acts with integrity, He will remit his misdeeds..." (64:9); "...Whoever fears God-He will remit his sins..." (65:5); "O you who believe! Repent to God with sincere repentance. Perhaps your Lord will remit your sins..." (66:8); "O you who believe! If you remain conscious of God, He will give you a criterion, and will remit from you your sins, and will forgive you. God is possessor of infinite grace." (8:29).
2/3: Thus, this (covering) of sins means to atone for them and to make God pardon the repentant sinners: "...whoever forgoes it in charity, it will serve as atonement for him..." (5:45); "...That is the atonement for breaking your oaths when you have sworn them..." (5:89); "...Or he may atone by feeding the needy, or its equivalent in fasting, so that he may taste the consequences of his conduct..." (5:95).
2/4: Kufr in the Quran means to disbelieve in monotheism and to adhere to polytheism by covering the innate origin/instinct of (There is no God but Allah) by deifying mortals, things, items, or sites (e.g., mausoleums of 'saints').
Fourthly: disbelief in terms of faith means little faith in God within polytheism and NOT to deny God:
1- This changing or covering of the innate origin/instinct of monotheism of (There is no God but Allah) means to make belief/faith devoted partially to God and some of it is dedicated to other deities/gods. Even if one dedicates 99% of belief/faith to God and 1% to deified mortals, this person is cursed for their little faith and because of the deliberate covering of the innate origin/instinct of monotheism of (There is no God but Allah). God has said the following about some of the People of the Book: "And they said, "Our hearts are sealed." Rather, God has cursed them for their disbelief. They have little faith." (2:88); "...But God has cursed them for their disbelief; they do not believe except a little." (4:46); "...In fact, God has sealed them for their disbelief, so they do not believe except a little." (4:155).
2- This little faith will avail nothing to anyone; and it will be too late for them to announce their monotheistic faith when they are on the verge of dying, as was the case with ancient nations of polytheists smitten and destroyed by God: "Then, when they witnessed Our might, they said, "We believe in God alone, and we reject what we used to associate with Him." But their faith could not help them once they witnessed Our might. This has been God's way of dealing with His servants. And there and then the disbelievers lost." (40:84-85).
Fifthly: polytheism/Shirk and disbelief/Kufr are exact synonyms in the Quran: both means to believe in God along with other deities beside Him:
1- The above points assert that polytheism/Shirk and disbelief/Kufr are exact synonyms in the Quran denoting one thing: having gods/deities beside Allah, and they NEVER denote denying God's existence. In the Quranic text, we find repeatedly that polytheists are described as disbelievers; let us quote some verses of the Quranic Chapter Nine to exemplify this: "A declaration of immunity from God and His messenger to the polytheists with whom you had made a treaty. So travel the land for four months, and know that you cannot escape God, and that God will disgrace the disbelievers. And a proclamation from God and His messenger to the people on the day of the Greater Pilgrimage, that God has disowned the polytheists, and so did His messenger. If you repent, it will be better for you. But if you turn away, know that you cannot escape God. And announce to those who disbelieve a painful torment." (9:1-3); "It is not for the polytheists to attend God's places of worship while professing their disbelief. These - their works are in vain, and in the Fire they will abide." (9:17). The believing man among the retinue members of Moses' Pharaoh in his speech to his people had linked disbelief and polytheism as the same thing: "O my people, how is it that I call you to salvation, and you call me to the Fire? You call me to disbelieve in God, and to associate with Him what I have no knowledge of, while I call you to the Mighty Forgiver. Without a doubt, what you call me to has no say in this world, or in the Hereafter; and our turning back is to God; and the transgressors are the dwellers of the Fire." (40:41-43).
2- Since polytheism/Shirk and disbelief/Kufr are exact synonyms in terms of faith inside hearts, likewise, they are so in terms of aggressive behavior and religious persecution as well as using religion to dominate over people and committing grave injustices, the way Muhammadans shamelessly commit now as we see in the news! They have fallen into utter disgrace!
Sixthly: Quranic proofs about (There is no God but Allah) and NOT about God's existence:
1- God the Omniscient knows His creation of the human beings: "Would He not know, He Who created? He is the Refined, the Expert." (67:14); this is why the Quran does NOT contain proofs in relation to God's existence, unlike philosophy books of Aristotle and the Mu'tazala thinkers; the Quran contains proofs only related to denying other deities beside Good to assert the monotheism of (There is no God but Allah): "Or, who created the heavens and the earth, and rains down water from the sky for you? With it We produce gardens full of beauty, whose trees you could not have produced. Is there another god with God? But they are a people who associate. Or, who made the earth habitable, and made rivers flow through it, and set mountains on it, and placed a partition between the two seas? Is there another god with God? But most of them do not know. Or, who answers the one in need when he prays to Him, and relieves adversity, and makes you successors on earth? Is there another god with God? How hardly you pay attention.Or, who guides you through the darkness of land and sea, and who sends the winds as heralds of His mercy? Is there another god with God? Most exalted is God, above what they associate." (27:60-63).
2- Proofs in the Quran appeal to the human logic and focus on denying the existence of other deities/gods beside Allah:
2/1: If there were gods/deities beside Him, they would have vied for control and dominance over the universe (symbolized by the Throne): "Say, "If there were other gods with Him, as they say, they would have sought a way to the Lord of the Throne." Be He glorified. He is exalted, far above what they say." (17:42-43).
2/2: Likewise, if the Lord God were to have 'sons' or 'deities' beside Him, they would have quarreled and sought independence: "God has never begotten a son, nor is there any god besides Him. Otherwise, each god would have taken away what it has created, and some of them would have gained supremacy over others. Glory be to God, far beyond what they describe." (23:91).
2/3: If there were other gods/deities beside Allah, the system/pattern of the universe would have been corrupted, ruined, and lost; the Creator of the universe is One God Who is Omnipotent: " If there were in them gods other than God, they would have gone to ruin. So glory be to God, Lord of the Throne, beyond what they allege." (21:22).
3- This Quranic dialogue using questions that are appealing to the human logic (and using the little faith inside hearts/minds of the polytheists/disbelievers as a proof against those arrogant persons) is repeated in the Quran; we quote one example here in these verses: "Say, "To whom does the earth belong, and everyone in it, if you happen to know?" They will say, "To God." Say, "Will you not reflect?" Say, "Who is the Lord of the seven heavens, and Lord of the Splendid Throne?" They will say, "To God." Say, "Will you not become righteous?" Say, "In whose hand is the dominion of all things, and He protects and cannot be protected from, if you happen to know?" They will say, "To God." Say, "Then are you bewitched?"In fact, We have given them the Truth, and they are liars." (23:84-90).