GOD Arises

Book Review

Reviewer: Muhammad Nadeem/Umar Bashir

Author: Moulana Waheedudin Khan

Publisher: Goodword Books

Pages: 230

Price: N/A
ISBN: N/A

Genre: Non-Fiction

THIS BOOK, THE RESULT OF 30 YEARS SPENT BY THE AUTHOR IN EXHAUSTIVE RESEARCH, ATTEMPTS TO PRESENT THE BASIC TEACHINGS OF RELIGION IN THE LIGHT OF MODERN KNOWLEDGE AND IN A MANNER CONSISTENT WITH MODERN SCIENTIFIC METHOD.

It is not how the world is that is mystical, but that it is.－Ludwig Wittgenstein

Introduction of the Book:

Modern Science has changed the way a man thinks. However, the product of this empirical model is a Scientific Mind which rejects everything without empirical proof. Unfortunately, the main target of the bloated criticism of this scientific mind is religion and GOD (Allah). Since religion is based on unseen beliefs, modern thinkers reject it as mere dogma and consider it a set of myths and superstitions which does not fit in their scientific model/mind.

Controversial Muslim Author Moulana Waheedudin Khan calls this advancement in scientific knowledge “modern challenge” for religion and has attempted to answer the challenge in his book “GOD ARISES-Evidence of god in nature and in science”. The book is written in Urdu and has been translated into many Languages which include English, Arabic, Turkish, Malayalam, etc. The book is taught in many universities and has been widely debated and discussed.

...the debate between Religion and Science is essentially about the validity of the arguments i.e. epistemological in nature.

First published in 1966, this book is hard punch on the ugly illogical face of atheism. Unlike many other apologetic books on religion, God Arises is a blunt and brave account. This is not the Religion vs Atheism discourse but more of a Science and Nature vs Atheism argument.

This book doesn’t just peel the skin off the face of atheism and its illusions by quoting religious texts only, but author has used a huge corpus from science, logic and reason to prove how monstrous the claims of atheism are. This book reveals the stupidity and incapability of Darwinism in understanding the Divine.

The Debate/Argument:

The author has tried to build a Paradigm/Framework for rational argument in favour of (Unseen) Religious beliefs. The author has brilliantly delineated the scope of Religion and Science, the author writes: “The scope/role of religion is to discuss life and its Origin (reality) while as scope of Science is to observe/ discuss /experiment Material (external) processes/phenomenon. When Science indulges into discuss life, it also is forced to create a model or set of beliefs like religion, so that the phenomenon could be explained. For example, ‘The theory of Evolution’ is widely accepted by scientists as the basic theory/dogma about the origin of life on earth but it is unobservable and unprovable in a scientific lab. But since it fits in the Modern Scientific mind, it is accepted and rather imposed on masses, which proves the point that when it comes to prove the Origin of life both Religion & Science follow an unseen set of beliefs i.e. ‘EXPLANATION WITHOUT DEMONSTRATION.’ ”

According to the author, the debate between Religion and Science is essentially about the validity of the arguments i.e. epistemological in nature. The author writes that the basic argument of Atheists against religion is that religion is based on non-observable and un-provable beliefs (dogma) while as science follows an Experimental (demonstrative) /Empirical Scientific Model to find the reality or to understand the natural phenomenon. The author in his counter argument writes that in the scientific model, an observed fact is not in reality a fact in itself but only an interpretation/Inference of the observation. And no observation/experiment is absolute (final), thus interpretation by scientists change with every new developed experiment. Likewise, religion is not based on blind beliefs, rather driven by interpretation of ‘’Natural Evidences (Aayaat)” by intellect (Aql) but under the guidance of Revelation (Wahi).

Without taking a Creator into account, one cannot give a valid explanation of life. The Maker of the world has fashioned life in such a way that it just cannot be explained by any mechanical interpretation.

Infact, Man’s desire to find meaning (interpretation) of the universe is itself a proof that without a Creator everything is senseless. Nature is a fact, not an explanation. If we will turn down the contribution of scientists who believed in God, the scientific achievements left out will be nothing but mere absurdity. It is religion which points towards the real causes of the creation of the universe, whereas the findings of physicists are confined to determining the outward structure of this universe as it appears to exist before us:

‘Science doesn’t tell us how or why the laws of nature came into being, how or why they continue to exist or why they cause the earth and the heavens to function with such unfailing precision that, simply by observing of them, it was possible to establish immutable scientific laws.

The author quotes Cecil Boyce Hamann: “Nature does not explain, she is herself in need of an explanation.”

From a passage from ‘Clearer Thinking’ by A. E Mander, here is an another question atheists miserably fail to answer;

‘How can we be sure that there is any validity in this thought-process that we call ‘reasoning’? How can we be sure that the belief which we form reasoning is true?’

Every fact that we believe in is always, in the beginning, a simple assumption. Yet what is perceived by the eye is nothing more than an object of a certain size and certain shade of colour. And a true scientific theory merely means a successful working hypothesis (or assumption). This is what makes atheism a materialistic approach towards life. And why should we simply reject this approach, author writes:

‘Just as the Corpuscular Theory of light propounded by Newton was rejected by the twentieth-century scientists because its explanation of the phenomenon of light was found unsatisfactory, we likewise reject the materialistic theory of the universe because it does not offer a satisfactory explanation for the phenomenon of life and the universe.’

What we today apprehend as a probability; no wonder tomorrow we shall witness as a fact. Intellectual inconsistency is bound to afflict any theories conceived by man. Without taking a Creator into account, one cannot give a valid explanation of life. The Maker of the world has fashioned life in such a way that it just cannot be explained by any mechanical interpretation.

Even brilliant minds have failed to describe how law and justice could be established in society without religious and moral values. World has seen Capitalist and Communist models of economy but both have failed to maintain the economic balance in the world which is enough to conclude that humans have failed to find a code of living without religion.

Atheists believe that man is just a bag of chemicals without a soul and unable to perform miracles. Science tells us that within every few years, all of the atoms in a human body are totally replaced. It shows that man is more like a river than a mere structure of flesh and bones.

‘Man is like a river. And the human personality is like an island in it, unaffected by the ceaseless flow of the cells.’

The need of Revelation:

The author emphasizes that Wahi (Qurán) encourages humans to use intellect (Aql) and ponder over these Aayaats (Evidences/Signs) which is enough to establish that religion is not blind but a coherent system of realities. The Qur’an says:

“Soon We will show them Our signs in all the regions of the earth and in their own souls, until they clearly see that this is the truth”–41:53

The author has brilliantly underscored why Revelation (Wahi) is imperative for human civilization. He writes that advancement of material science has reached its apogee but science has failed to find the reality and purpose of life. Even brilliant minds have failed to describe how law and justice could be established in society without religious and moral values. World has seen Capitalist and Communist models of economy but both have failed to maintain the economic balance in the world which is enough to conclude that humans have failed to find a code of living without religion. And only divine guidance (revelation) can rescue humans from the crisis of modern world.

Atheism is a Hoax:

The book also highlights a less debated aspect of arguments of Atheists against Religion and GOD (Allah).The author writes that Atheistic arguments are not always based on scientific facts but modern scientific mind carries an inbuilt bias against the religion. He quotes George Herbert and explains the reason of this bias in following words:

“The modern mind always remains in this doubt that if it accepts GOD as the creator and thus the final authority, its intellectual liberty shall be jeopardized. The modern Scholars love Intellectual Liberty more than their lives and will never accept any such concept which restricts this intellectual liberty.”

Atheism, nowadays has become a fashion, a trend. As humans, we incline towards to be unique and different from the rest. As media has pictured religion as monstrous and somehow unaccepted, folks think being an atheist might bring them into lime light. But both science and nature prove atheism illogical and idiotic. Kids get fascinated by Darwin, Dawkins, Hawkins, Hitching, Nietzsche, Anton Flew and Mary Daly but miserably fail to benefit from Sina, Rushd, Kindi, Farabi, Qurtubi, Suyuti, Razi and Ghazali.

The modern mind always remains in this doubt that if it accepts GOD as the creator and thus the final authority, its intellectual liberty shall be jeopardized. The modern Scholars love Intellectual Liberty more than their lives and will never accept any such concept which restricts this intellectual liberty.

We don’t always understand art and music in order to get enchanted by it. In the same way it is not necessary Unseen and The Divine should make sense always in order to make one feel spiritual and enlightened. If you don’t believe in mind and consciousness doesn’t mean you don’t possess it.

Last Word:

The book is thoroughly documented. The author warrants praise for his research for the book. He quotes a variety of (Western) Scholars ranging from Julian Huxley to Bertrand Russell to W. N. Sullivan.The author has avoided any Metaphysical discussion in the book and his method of deconstructing the scientific arguments against religion is unique. His style of writing is also lucid and constructive.

As said in the beginning, this book does not refute atheism by religion but by nature and science itself. I urge those who consider themselves atheists to read this book with open heart and mind. The book shall certainly serve as a guide for people who are in doubt about the religious beliefs and will help them in regaining their lost faith in GOD (Allah). The book stands out among the books which call towards Allah (GOD) in this modern age and is a must read in this Modern Scientific era. I will call this book an Atheists’ Guide to GOD.

End-note: Where belief is concerned, we can lead a horse to the water, but we can’t make him drink.

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