In the name of Allāh, ar-Raḥmān (the most merciful), ar-Raḥīm (the bestower of mercy).
This is the third part of a series of articles regarding Atheism. The articles are an edited translation of the following book, authored by our Shaykh Salih Ibn AbdulAziz as-Sindhi, entitled:
الإِلْحَـــاد: أَسبَابُهُ ومَخَاطِرُهُ وسُبُلُ مُوَاجَهَتِهِ
“Atheism: Causes, Dangers, and Strategies to Counter It”
Read the 1st Article: Introduction
https://madeenah.com/atheism-causes-dangers-strategies-1st-article/
3rd Article: What is Atheism?
The Arabic word for Atheism [1] is “ilḥād”.
In the Arabic language, this word refers to: “Deviating away from what is correct and upright”.
The technical definition of the word “ilḥād” is: “To deny the existence of Allāh – the true Creator, blessed and most-high”.
Atheists, therefore, are people who do not believe in his existence, never mind his Lordship and sole right to worship. They argue that creation came into existence without a creator; thus, creation is a timeless existence, with no beginning, wherein everything is the creator and the creation at the same time. For this reason, they reject the existence of messengers and the validity of any religion.
Broadly speaking, Atheists can be classified into two groups:
- 1st group: Atheists, who firmly disbelieve in the existence of God
- 2nd group: Agnostics, who do not know or assert whether there is a god or not. [2]
The common denominator in both groups is their shared absence of belief in the Creator; however, the first group bases their disbelief on a firm assertion and certainty, whereas the second group bases their disbelief on doubt.
Research has shown that most thinkers who have announced their atheism do not believe in “positive” [3] atheism, i.e. they do not base their rejection of the Creator on any scientific theories; rather, they believe in “negative” atheism, meaning their belief is restricted to not being convinced by the evidence proving the existence of Allāh.
For this reason, the French philosopher Maurice Blondel said: “There is no such thing as an Atheist in the strictest sense of the term…” [4]
Not far-fetched from the above notion is a group from the philosophical Atheists who actually affirm the existence of a Creator of the universe; however, they then claim that he abandoned creation or disappeared after creating the universe – glorified be Allāh above what they claim:
{وَقَالُوا اتَّخَذَ الرَّحْمَٰنُ وَلَدًا ۗ لَقَدْ جِئْتُمْ شَيْئًا إِدًّا ۖ تَكَادُ السَّمَاوَاتُ يَتَفَطَّرْنَ مِنْهُ وَتَنشَقُّ الْأَرْضُ وَتَخِرُّ الْجِبَالُ هَدًّا ۗ أَن دَعَوْا لِلرَّحْمَٰنِ وَلَدًا} مريم: ٨٨-٩١
{And they say, “The most-merciful has taken [for himself] a son”.You have brought an atrocious thing. The heavens almost rupture therefrom, and the earth splits open, and the mountains collapse in devastation, that the most-merciful would [ever] claim a son…} [19:88-91]
The above āyāt condemn those who ascribed a son to Allāh; how severe would the condemnation be for those who absolutely deny the existence of Allāh?!
Footnotes
[1] In English, the word “Atheism” refers to the belief in the absence of god(s), creator(s) or supreme being(s). It originates from the ancient Greek word: “Atheos” meaning “without god(s)”.
Modern-day Atheists argue that atheism is not a belief in the absence of god(s), rather it is a lack of belief. This is to emphasise their assertion that atheism is not a belief system, doctrine or indeed a religion, and therefore there is no burden of proof upon them.
[2] Agnosticism is the absence of any firm belief regarding the existence or non-existence of God. They argue that man cannot scientifically disprove the existence of God; therefore, his existence or non-existence cannot be firmly asserted. The word originates from two ancient Greek words: “A-“ meaning ‘without’, and “gnōsis” meaning ‘knowledge’.
[3] Anthony Flew, born in 1923, was a strong advocate of Atheism; he taught in Oxford and Keele, amongst other universities. He categorised Atheism into two: Positive Atheism and Negative Atheism. Negative Atheism is based upon the lack of evidence proving the existence of God as opposed to any evidence proving Atheism. He argued that “The existence of God should properly begin from the presumption of Atheism… I want the word to be understood not positively, but negatively… in this interpretation, an atheist becomes: not someone who positively asserts the non-existence of God; but someone who is simply not a theist.”
[Anthony Flew; The Presumption of Atheism and other Philosophical Essays on God, Freedom, and Immortality, 1976]
It is worth noting that Flew later changed his position and accepted the existence of God.
[Anthony Flew; There is a God: How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind, 2007]
[4] Oliva Blanchette; Maurice Blondel: A Philosophical Life, 2010
