The message of Abraham enters the tower. It’s a modern structure with a steel skeleton and glass facade. It’s late at night, and the message slips past the guard and into the high speed elevator. It whizzes over one hundred stories of office space in less than a minute, arriving at the temple on the top floor. The temple has a marble floor with traditional pews in the nave and tall windows throughout. It’s dark and the entire night sky can be seen through the windows. To the right and the left of the nave are the lesser gods of nature. Each one possesses a unique shape. Some have animal forms and some represent plant life. Molecular and celestial bodies are present as well. The iconoclast message does what it has for centuries. It’s mere presence smashes each one as it passes through the nave. The message arrives at the main idol in the front of the temple and considers it closely. The materials and image are new. The lie is the same. This one is constructed in some sort of plexi-material, cleverly made in the shape of a scientist. The scientist’s expression is serious. Between his hands is an atomic structure that appears to be afloat. The plexi-god glows beautifully in the moonlight amidst the ruins of the lesser lies. The message smiles at the icon’s absurdity and leaves quickly through the back window, but not before leaving it’s mark.
The executives of the tower return the next morning. They are the upper echelon of society, rich, anxious, brilliant, lost, well connected, lonely, powerful and addicted. Imagine their shock to see their temple vandalized. Who dared to do such a thing? The answer was before them, written in red letters on the plexi-god, “I did it, so ask them if they can talk.” For the briefest of moments, they returned to their true selves, and a small voice within each of them spoke. “I have wronged myself.” In a moment of honesty they declared to one another, “You, yourselves are truly the wrongdoers”. They knew the idols could not talk, much less create anything of benefit nor of harm. They returned to their arrogance, infuriated and unwilling to submit. How could they accept that everything they worked so hard for was a lie. “I did it! I made it! It’s all mine! Nothing was given to me”. How they wished to set fire to the message to calm their rage, to destroy it, shut it out, and make it go away. Don’t they know that no fire can burn the truth. How can fire lie to itself? The One that made the fire is the Truth.
Secular materialists, those who reject God, a conscious Creator with absolute power, idolize nature and science. They say, “I believe in science” or “Nature did it”, without ever explaining how ‘nature’ or ‘science’ is creating anything. This material world view simply cannot answer fundamental human questions. What is the source of my existence? What is the source of the world that I experience? What is my purpose in this world?
Can the Abrahamic message help me to answer these questions? If I am able to understand the source of my existence, will it benefit me in some way? Will it help me understand my purpose for existing? The conversation starts with the Abrahamic message. Let us journey through the verses of the Quran to see if the Abrahamic message and arguments are still valid today.
Quran: chapter 6, verse 74:
‘And remember when Abraham says to his father, Azar, “Do you take idols as gods? It is clear to me that you and your people are entirely misguided” 1
The conversation begins at home. Abraham defies his father. He is unable to accept that idols, constructed with materials such as stone or clay, possess divine power. It’s clear to Abraham that a created thing cannot be God. He not only rejects his father’s world view but in an act of greater defiance, declares his entire community misguided. The message to the reader is clear. Belief is not based on your family’s nor your community traditions. Belief must be based on human reality, truth and personal conviction. Simply put, it must make sense to the individual.
6:75 We also showed Abraham the wonders of the heaven and earth, so that he would be sure in faith.2
While Abraham defies his father, and the community’s traditions, his faith is still not on firm ground. He knows what God is not, stone idols, but not sure who or what God is. He embarks on a spiritual journey. This is reassuring to anyone who is unsure and making a sincere effort to look for answers. Part of the Abrahamic journey is the search itself. Abraham observes the way that things come into existence in the world around him in an attempt to understand the source of existence of things. Here, the Quran shows the reader that by observing the world around us, we may come to a greater understanding of reality and truth.
6:76 When the night grew dark around him, he saw a star and said, “This is my Lord!” But when it set, he said “ I do not love things that set.” 3
The Quran is teaching its readers how to utilize the creation in order to have a certain basis for understanding of their existence. It is giving us an example of Abraham’s journey in realizing his Creator and demonstrates how Abraham paid attention to a star. He assumes that if this star can be his lord, it may be the one that creates him and takes care of his needs. When the star sets, he sees that the star is not acting independently. It is subject to an order within space. He realizes immediately that anything that is dependent and cannot act out of its own will, cannot be his lord. If the star cannot maintain its position in the universe, how could it possibly maintain the universe itself. The lord, that which maintains and provides, and therefore possesses authority, must be independent.
Not only does reason reject this assumption but human feelings are also not satisfied with it. Thus, the Quran through Abraham’s experience teaches its readers that while they are reasoning they should not ignore also consulting their human qualities like consciousness, sense of love or dislike etc.
6:77 Then when he saw the moon rising, he said, “This one is my Lord!”, but when it disappeared, he said, “If my Lord does not guide me, I will certainly be one of the misguided people.” 4
Abraham takes notice of the moon and declares it to be his Lord. But the night ends and the moon is gone, demonstrating that it is subject to the will of the One that subjugates everything under It’s will. He knows that the Lord, that which is maintaining the world, cannot simply disappear from sight. Like the star, the moon is dependent. It disappears during the day and reappears at night. The world around him is still functioning although he can no longer observe the moon. A true Lord must be ever present and not subject to time and space. After this realization, now struggling to understand, Abraham makes a plea. He cannot figure this out alone. He needs guidance from the real Lord of everything, although he doesn’t fully understand what that is. Here we see, that Abraham also recognizes another quality of his Lord; consciousness. Abraham, representing a conscious human being, understands that whatever made him, must also possess consciousness. This conclusion is logical, if consciousness exists in the world, if I am aware of my existence, whatever made me must also be conscious. The simple lesson for the reader is to ask for guidance in your spiritual journey, even if unsure who you are asking. Without it, you are lost. Trust that whatever gives you consciousness, and that whatever gives you the ability to question, will guide you to the answers.
6:78 Then when he saw the sun shining, he said, “This must be my Lord-it is the greatest!” But again, when it set, he declared “Oh my people, I totally reject whatever you associate with God in worship.” 5
Abraham notices the glory of the sun, brighter than the stars and more grand than the moon. This must be it. To his disappointment, it sets as well. He realizes that he is in the same error of the townspeople, idolizing the sun, moon and stars, and thereby worshipping beings that need to be created. The sun is existentially no more worthy of worship than the stone idols of his father. He declares out loud that he will not associate any created thing with his Lord and not fall into the same mistake as his community.
6:79 I have turned my face towards the One who has originated the heavens and the earth-being upright-and I am not one of the polytheists. 6
Abraham arrives at pure belief. The Absolute, originator of the sun, moon and stars is called God. Allah is His proper name, as used in the Quran. Abraham’s journey has taught him the qualities of his Lord. Unlike the sun, moon and stars, God must be independent of time and space, and therefore absolute. The Lord that creates, owns and maintains the entire universe, must have full authority over it. God must be conscious and is the giver of consciousness. Finally, God cannot be defined within the conditions of what He is creating. Because human beings can only operate in the created world, seeing God, is not possible. We can observe His signs in the world around us to learn about His qualities as Abraham does in his journey. Abraham declares his new found clarity, he is not one who associates creation with its Creator. Abraham’s journey presents the Islamic creed. By understanding what God is not, he learned what God is. There is no god, but Allah. That is, nothing observable in this universe possesses divine qualities in and of itself except the Source, the Absolute Creator. There is no other way to explain what I see in the world around me.
Abraham returns to his people, where he presents the belief in the absolute God, Allah. The narrative of the his iconoclasm commences.
21:51 And indeed we have granted Abraham sound judgement early on because we knew him well to be worthy of it.7
Abraham, sure in his faith, a prophet, is selected by God as one worthy to bear and convey the message.
21:52 Remember when he questioned his father and his people, what are these statues to which you are so devoted?
21:53 They replied, “We found our forefathers worshiping them.”
21:54 He responded, “Indeed you and your forefathers have been clearly led astray” 8
Dogma, whether religious or secular, is not acceptable. It is the right of every person on the journey to truth to ask questions. Abraham did not impose his beliefs on his family and community, nor did he insult their religion. He approached them with a simple question. “What are they?” He gave them the opportunity to explain their world view. His people, unable to answer the question, responded by saying that they found their ancestors doing it. In modern language, you will hear, “It’s just what you do” or “everyone is doing it”. In ancient times as in modern times, the majority of people are doing what everyone else is doing without questioning. If they are asked about why, they simply cannot answer. “It’s just what you do.” Abraham, employed by God to teach his people, is not afraid to disagree with them. The Quran guides readers to think critically, question, and challenge false ideas.
21:55 They asked, “Have you come with the truth, or is this a joke?”
21:56 He replied, “Your Lord, is the lord of the heavens and the earth, Who created them both, and to that I bear witness.” 9
His people rightfully ask Abraham for an explanation. If Abraham declares their religion to be a lie, what does he have to offer? Or is he wasting their time? Without hesitating, Abraham declares the conclusion of his spiritual journey, a description of the absolute Creator. Lordship is that which owns everything and therefore has authority over everything. He uses the words “your Lord”, God has authority over you, addressing his community, whether you accept Him or not. Abraham also bears witness that everything that he experiences in the heavens and the earth are signs that point to an absolute God.
21:57 “Then he said to himself, “By Allah! I will surely plot against your idols after you have turned your backs and gone away.”
21:58 So he smashed them into pieces, except the biggest of them, so they might turn to it for answers.10
Abraham’s iconoclasm is not a destructive act, but meant to teach his people a much needed lesson. He demonstrated that nothing of this universe has any ability to choose, to create, or to preserve its existence by its own quality. The largest idol is left intact.
21:59 They protested, ‘Who dared do this to our gods? It must be an evildoer!”
21:60 Some said, “‘We heard a young man, called Abraham, speaking i ill of them.”
21:61 They demanded, “Bring him before the eyes of the people, so they may witness [his trial].”
21:62 They asked “Was it you who did this to our gods, O Abraham?”
21:63 He replied [sarcastically}, “No, this one -the biggest of them- did it! So ask them if they can talk.” 11
Abraham gets the reaction he hopes for, as his entire community gathers to confront him. He now has a full audience to address. He answers their absurd question with an equally absurd response. How foolish to ask an idol a question! If we can speak, how can we worship a god that lacks speech? How can it be struck and destroyed with our own hands? How can it lack consciousness if I possess consciousness?
“Nature did it” is a lie as much as “This stone idol did it”. The modern idol of ‘nature’, just like stone idols of the past, must be created. Like stone idols, nature does not spontaneously exist. Nor does ‘nature’ whatever they mean by it, consciously create itself. There is no evidence for this. Anything that needs to be created, cannot possess divine, creative power. It is dependent, and the Divine must be utterly independent. Neither ‘nature’ nor stone idols possess consciousness. How can the made up notion of “nature as a source of existence” explain my own consciousness? How can the materialist scientist explain human consciousness or human feelings, such as guilt, shame, joy, or peace? Even human feelings must be created.
21:64 So they came back to their senses, saying to one another, “You yourselves are truly the wrongdoers!” 12
They are unable to refute Abraham’s argument. In a brief moment of raw honesty, their humanity cannot help but admit their wrongdoing.They themselves are just as dependent as the false idols that they worship.
21:65 They quickly regressed to their [original] mindset. “You already know they cannot talk.”
21:66 He said “Do you then worship -instead of God-what can neither benefit you nor harm you in any way?”
21:67 Shame on you and whatever you worship instead of God! Do you not have any sense?13
They confess their faulty world view; “You know they cannot talk”. The leaders of the community, quickly return to their old way of thinking. Why? Did they not just admit wrongdoing? What is the psychology of modern idolators? Why do they obstinately refuse to accept an unseen God?
By making up a modern idol, ‘nature’ or ‘science’, as mute as the pagan idols, then I can do as I please. I need not concern myself with accepting and being thankful to any authority above me. With pure arrogance, I can use and exploit all of creation to my egotistical satisfaction.
Abraham challenges them further. If they can’t even speak, how can they be worthy of worship? Simply by being honest about my reality and thankful to the Owner of the entire universe does no harm to me. On the contrary, it benefits me with spiritual satisfaction and thereby benefits society.
21:68 They concluded “Burn him up to avenge your gods, if you must act.14
Unable to present a logical counter argument, the leaders of the community become emotionally charged. Are they too proud to yield to Abraham in this moment when all eyes are on them? What if the townspeople begin to believe his message? Will they lose their political power, their wealth, their influence? They must act. They will make an example of Abraham, so no one dares to challenge them in the future. Not only will they execute him, but torture him. Are they avenging their gods, or their own wounded pride?
21:69 We ordered “O fire, be cool and safe for Abraham.”15
The fire that exists by leave of its Creator, is ordered to be cool for Abraham. How can the fire burn the truth of the message of God? It, too, exists by the command of God. Lies, like the stone idols, are easily destroyed. Truth is not.
That same fire burns today. It represents the powerless lies of the secular material idols. “Nature did it” or “I believe in science as the source of my existence” is helpless against the truth of Abraham’s message of belief.
21:70 They had sought to harm him, but we made them the worst of the losers.16
A faulty world view, a Godless world view, presents an utter loss. How? Neither nature nor science can explain the source of existence. Nature itself needs to be created. Science is the study of the created world. Neither can explain the source of the existence of this universe. The statements, “Nature did it” or “I believe in science” are as nonsensical as asking a stone idol to speak. Without confirming the source of existence, there is no meaning to life. Human beings are reduced to a bodily existence by both ancient and modern paganism. A pleasure seeking life may be attempted, but to what end? Death, sickness, and old age are on the way. Without connection to the Creator, coping with hardship in a healthy way is impossible.
Consider a negative event in the life of a believer. I believe that what happened to me was consciously created by an absolute God. I may get upset, but I know these feelings are also made by Him. I can express them freely. I can reflect on the situation. Why was this created for me? What is the lesson here? What is the wisdom behind it? Do I need to do things differently? Do I need to see things differently? If the event was created by the One that possesses absolute power and wisdom, I must look for a way to understand my reality and the reality of this transient universe. I know that full justice will be delivered by a just and merciful God in due time. There are no accidents. I am a precious being endowed with all qualities needed to get to know my Creator. Everything I experience is an opportunity to know my Owner better. I understand from the way that I am created that I am loved by this Being that made me. Without belief, the only option is to find the fastest way to distract and numb my pain. Without belief, precious life turns into meaningless existence and is thus wasted.
The Abrahamic message is the bedrock of belief, the conclusion of my spiritual journey. I am free to have that journey just as Abraham did. I can explore my world, seek help, ask critical questions, and make mistakes on the way. Belief springs from the conclusions I make from my journey. The Abrahamic journey presents the Islamic creed, There is no divine being, except God, who is called in the language of the Quran, “Allah.” From this firm starting place, we can begin to build belief within ourselves to address our problems and set ourselves free. When we experience inner peace that comes from belief , we can share it with those around us. Have we fully reflected on and understood Abraham’s message? Are we ready to learn from the teachers that come after him to guide us further as they are presented to us as perfect examples in the Quran?
- Mustafa Khattab, The Clear Quran, (FIQE 2015), 137. ↩︎
- Khattab, The Clear Quran, 137. ↩︎
- Khattab, The Clear Quran, 137. ↩︎
- Khattab, The Clear Quran, 137. ↩︎
- Khattab, The Clear Quran, 137. ↩︎
- Khattab, The Clear Quran, 137. ↩︎
- Khattab, The Clear Quran, 326. ↩︎
- Khattab, The Clear Quran, 326. ↩︎
- Khattab, The Clear Quran, 326. ↩︎
- Khattab, The Clear Quran, 326-327. ↩︎
- Khattab, The Clear Quran, 327. ↩︎
- Khattab, The Clear Quran, 327. ↩︎
- Khattab, The Clear Quran, 327. ↩︎
- Khattab, The Clear Quran, 327. ↩︎
- Khattab, The Clear Quran, 327. ↩︎
- Khattab, The Clear Quran, 327. ↩︎
Evidence Based Belief 