The Meaning of His Saying, "Or were they created from nothing, or are they the creators?"

The Shaykh : Then Allah the Exalted said: This means: Were these people created without a Creator, or are they the ones who created themselves? This is the rational, demonstrative proof that they have a Creator, who is Allah (Mighty and Majestic). It is called the proof of elimination and division. This is because we say: Are these people who are addressing the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) the ones who created themselves, or were they created without a Creator? What do you say? Neither this nor that, because they are not the ones who created themselves, for they were non-existent before they came into being, and non-existence is not present, so how can its opposite come into being? Were they created without a Creator by chance? Absolutely not, because this creation must have a Creator. The rational, theoretical principle is that every new occurrence must have a creator. I believe if a person told you that there is a palace built, with rivers flowing in it, tree branches swaying in it, and all the furnishings, vessels, and other things that complete it, and if someone said to you that this palace created itself and brought itself into existence, you would say that this is a type of madness. And if you said that this palace came into existence by chance without a builder building it, it would also be said that you are a madman. How can this palace be of this type or description and be built without a builder? This is absolutely impossible. When a group of atheists came to debate Abu Hanifa (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding the existence of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), saying, "Allah the Exalted does not exist. Do you have any proof to convince us?" He said, "Let me think." They left him to think, and then he said: There was a ship that came to the Tigris River loaded with provisions, and it docked at the port, and these provisions were unloaded on the shore without a sailor and without porters to unload these provisions. These people said to Abu Hanifa, "This is impossible; this is not logical." He said to them, "If this ship, which is nothing compared to the sun, the moon, the stars, the sky, and the earth, cannot come by itself, or carry the goods by itself, or unload them by itself, how is it possible that these great creations were created without a Creator?" For this reason, it was said to an Arab, "How did you know your Lord?" He said: "The trace indicates the traveler, and the dung indicates the camel. Does not a sky with constellations, an earth with wide paths, and seas with waves indicate the All-Hearing, All-Seeing?" Glory be to Allah, an Arab spoke with this rational eloquence, which if the philosophers spoke about it in volumes, they would not produce anything like it. The trace indicates the traveler. If you found footprints on sandy ground, is it possible that these feet were there without someone walking on them? It is impossible. If you found dung, is it possible that this dung was there without a camel? It is impossible. So, the great sky with its great constellations, which are the high stars, the earth with its wide paths, including the mountains, valleys, and other things, the great seas with their waves—who created them? Allah (Mighty and Majestic). They indicate the All-Hearing, All-Seeing. Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says here: What is the answer? Neither this nor that. So, who created them? Did their chiefs create them? Did the human being create his mother and father? So, there must be a Creator behind this creation, and that is Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Al-Jabir ibn Mut'im (may Allah be pleased with him) was one of the prisoners at Badr, and he heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) reciting this verse: His heart almost flew away from the intensity of the persuasion and the clear argument he saw, and faith entered his heart from that moment until he eventually became a Muslim (may Allah be pleased with him). So, we use this noble verse as a rational proof that this universe has a Creator, who is Allah (Mighty and Majestic).