Allaho Akbar
‘Allaho Akbar (Allah is great).’
Five times in 24 hours the call comes from the minarets of the mosques: Allaho Akbar. It is adhan, meant to announce the time of prayer. Right at the call of adhan, Muslims are expected to gather in the mosques. It is a matter of pride that we are called by God to his audience. It shows his love towards His creatures that He has provided us with an opportunity to communicate with Him. He has opened His house for us, let us not be late or absent from His presence.
Adhan begins with the phrase - Allaho Akbar (Allah is great); it ends with the phrase - La Ilaha illallah (None is to be worshipped but Allah). It begins with the name of Allah; it ends in the name of Allah. We are reminded that Allah is the beginning and Allah is the end. Between these two phrases the Muadhdhim bears witness to the unity of God; and to the apostle ship of Muhammed (s.a.w.), the Holy Prophet. Then he exhorts the believers: Come for prayer; Come for prosperity (in this world and in the life hereafter; and thus it goes on till the end.
Adhan is not just a symbol. It is a sermon in clear words. It not only calls a man for prayers; it also explains why he should pray, and to whom should he pray. It reminds the hearers about God; and about man's obligation towards Him. And after these explanations, it exhorts the believers to offer their humble prayers, with full knowledge and understanding, in the presence of God.
Allah is Great! Nothing else matters. Allah is calling you. Leave aside your worldly affair. Forget your business arrangements. Do not miss this golden opportunity. Go and pray in the presence of God. He is great! Our problem, our worries, our difficulties - all will be solved in the best way, if we ask our loving Allah to solve them for us. Not only that. Our joy, our achievement, our success - nothing actually matters. Allah only is great. Let us communicate with him. Only his benevolent love and care can bring us to prosperity in this world and in the life hereafter.
How can we prove that God exists?
From among us out there, we have people who think. And among those thinkers, there is no difference in opinion that the world has a self-first-cause. The materialists type of thinkers call it matter, while the religious thinkers call it Allah. Now, it is very important to know the existence of the first-cause.
Therefore, we should come to know that causes and effects do not go on forever, where we will get to a cause which is not the effect of any other cause (the first-cause). For example, if I am wearing pants and I want to sit on a wet chair. I sit on the wet chair, and my pants become wet. The effect was my pants becoming wet, and the cause was that I sat on the chair. Therefore a cause usually has an effect. For something to move, it needs a mover. For something to be done, it needs a doer. So if the first-cause has no cause had no cause or effect, it is then considered an unmoved mover, which is always self-existing. For religious thinkers, it's Allah. Allah can neither be created nor destroyed. For the materialists thinkers, it's matter. Matter can neither be created nor destroyed. So to summarize all this to one, every effect starts from a cause, which leads us to the first-cause. According to the religious thinkers, it's Allah, while for materialists, it's matter.
Now without the first-cause, there would be no effect or any other causes and effects. What does this lead us to? Nothing but to a blind and false explanatory proof. Therefore, there had to be a first-cause. We can go on piling cause upon cause and effect upon effect, only to find still another cause and effect staring you in the face. For example, what use is it to put zero after zero when the result is zero. So the only way to get out of this zero confusion and cause and effect, it all has to go back to the self-sustaining, existent, first-cause.
The only common belief between the materialist thinkers and religious thinkers is that both their first-causes, matter and Allah, is that they both believe it's eternal and existent. However, the difference is whether the first-cause has knowledge and intellect or not. The is the real point of difference.
The materialists believe that the first-cause doesn't have any intellect. They believe that the first-cause is matter, which lacks intellect or knowledge, whereas the believers in Allah as the First-Cause believe that Allah is the First-Cause of the Universe which Has limitless knowledge, wisdom, and rationality.
Now the confusion might be left at, "What is the first, real, existent, eternal, knowledgeable, intellectual, cause: matter or Allah?" How can we prove that the first-cause has intellect? And if we prove that the first-cause has intellect, then it cannot be matter, therefore the materialist thinkers are wrong, in which they believe matter which is the first-cause does not have intellect.
Now to prove that the first-cause by the religious thinkers is Allah and has intellect, why don't we start with the human body. And if we prove that the first-cause has intellect, then it cannot be matter, therefore we are left with the real and right choice, Allah.
Keep these in mind as we go through the human body.
-something made, needs and maker.
-something with knowledge, needs something knowledgeable.
-something that creates, needs a creator.
-something that exists, needs someone (a creator) that exists.
1.) Does not the formation of the human eye, and the way the lenses, retina, and various layers of it being fixed, show that its maker is fully well-known with the physical law concerning the reflection of light and working of lenses and the mirrors?
2.) Does not the formation of the human blood with plasma and other types of corpuscles with fixed proportions that the lightest change in it disturb the whole biological system, clearly show that the maker of the blood knew the chemical composition and properties of all ingredients of blood fully well? For example, if I combined the elements Hydrogen and Oxygen and reacted them together, the product as a result would be water (a liquid). Water, which is needed to live and helps the human body in many ways. However, if I combined the elements Carbon and Oxygen and reacted them together, the product as a result would be Carbon-dioxide (a gas). Carbon-dioxide is a poisonous gas, which is very harmful to the human body, even deadly. Overall, one is a pure liquid, while another is a poisonous gas. One can help you, while another can kill you. Don't you think that the maker knew the chemical composition and properties of all ingredients of help and harmful, metallic, and non-metallic element fully well?
3.) Does not the putting together formation of the living human being, animal and plant cells in such a complex and mysterious way, but at the same time, in an elegant and accurate way, know that the job has been performed by a Being who had full knowledge of all the laws connected with the human, animal and plant physiology?
4.) Does not the special construction of the Solar System and the specific math between the size, distance, and speed of each planet of this Universe, prove that the maker of this machine if fully aware of all the details of the law of gravitation and the effects of the rotational motion in producing forces?
In short, the special construction and formation of all that exists in the Universe from the smallest particles or sub-atoms to the biggest galaxies and the accurate arranged systems of their working, bear witness to the fact that the first-source, the first-cause has full knowledge of all the connected laws and systems? So how can it be that we, with such a partial knowledge, should become scholars and compute scientists, but the first-source who brought the whole universe into existence should have no knowledge, intellect, or existence?
Therefore, the First-Cause, the First-Source has to be Allah, because He has the fullest knowledge and intellect which also makes logical sense, while the materialist believers think that the first-cause, the first-source is matter in which they also believe and admit that it has no knowledge or intellect.
Overall, If all these proofs discussed above need a cause for it's beginning, then the Cause is proved and therefore justified as Existent (If Allah brought this world into existence, the He Himself Exists).
The Science of Physics tells us that it the lifeless matter it static, it tends to remain static unless it its moved by some external force, and if it is in motion, it continues to move unless it is stopped by some external factor. So either way, it needs external force only.
Yet, another scientific law tells us that the matter forming the Universe tends to disintegrate and assume a simpler form with the passage of time. Mechanized matter changes into simple matter; atoms if they remain as they are, automatically disintegrate. Bright stars tend to lose their brightness.
Therefore, within the lifeless matter, there exists no factor which may push it forward to evolution. On the other hand, it tend to disintegrate automatically. Therefore, again, it must be admitted that evolution and life have come from outside, for within the matter, there exists no such tendency.
One story that relates to the existence of Allah, is traditionally told as the following. Once, there lived a minister who was very strong and powerful in his age. He had taken control of most of the power and no one opposed him. One day, he entered a meeting in which a group of religious scholars were present. He turned to them and said, "For how long will you continue to say that God exists? I have many reasons to prove otherwise."
He said this with special pride. As the scholars who were present knew that he was not a reasonable or logical person and the power and strength has made him so proud that no words of truth would affect him, they ignored him and remained silent, a meaningful and humble silence.
This event passed. After a time, the minister insulted someone. The ruler of the time had him arrested and thrown in jail. One of the scholars who was present at the gathering thought to himself that the time to awaken had come. Now that he has gotten off the horse of pride and the curtain of self-interest has moved away for his eyes, and the sense of accepting the truth was awakened in him. If he contacts him and gives him words of advice, it may produce good results. He received permission to visit him and he went to the prison. As he came closer to him, he saw that he was in a room all alone, walking back and forth, thinking and recalling a poem which said, "We are all like drawings or paintings of a lion which are painted or drawn on a flag. When the wind blows, it moves and perhaps even attacks, but in reality it has nothing from itself. It's strength is the wind which gives it power. We, also, as we gain more power, have nothing from ourselves. It is God who has given this strength to us and whenever He wills, He can take it from us."
The scholar still there, listening, saw that under this condition, that not only does this man deny the existence of God, but he has become ardently aware of God. After greeting him, he said, "Do you recall how you said you have many reasons for the non-existence of God? I have come to answer those many reasons with just one response, ‘God is He, Who, with such ease, took your power away from you." He hung his head in shame and did not answer because he knew that he had been wronged and saw the light of God within himself.
This source of information was taken from:
1. Allama Ibrahim Amini, Allama Muhammad Mahdi Asifi, Allama Murtaza Mutahheri, and Allama Nasir Makarim Shirazi. Rationality of Islam. Published by Cultural and Guidance Section. Al-Khoei Foundation. Pakistan, 1977.
2. Sayyid Saeed Akhtar Rizvi. Inner Voice. Published by Dar Rah-e Haq (Islamic Institute). Qum, Iran, 1980.
