What is our response to the atheists who cast doubts about Islam, including the claim that the universe created itself and then evolved into its current state, citing the fact that
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The questioner : You know, may Allah guide you, that the atheists have been spreading their doubts about Islam and advocating for their corrupt ideas since a long time ago. Among those ideas is the claim that the universe created itself and has continued to evolve until it is as it is now. They have cited microorganisms and parasites that form in decaying things without any origin as evidence for this. So, what is our response to this group to refute their false argument and their invalid doubts? May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : We respond to these people with what Allah the Exalted mentioned in Surat al-Tur:[At-Tur 52:35-36] So we first ask them: Are they existent after non-existence, or are they existent from eternity to eternity?
The answer, without a doubt, is that they will say, "We are existent after non-existence," as Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Insan 76:1] If they say, "We are existent from non-existence," we say, "Who created you?"
Did your father or your mother create you? Did you come into being like this without a Creator? They will say, "Our father and our mother did not create us," because Allah the Exalted says:[Al-Waqi'ah 56:58-61]
If they say, "We came into being without a Creator," say, "This is impossible in reason, because there is no occurrence without a Creator. Therefore, it is necessary that their coming into being is by a Creator, who is Allah Mighty and Majestic, the One whose existence is obligatory."
The same is said regarding the heavens and the earth. We say: Who created the heavens and the earth?
It is Allah Mighty and Majestic. But the heavens and the earth were water under the Throne, as Allah Blessed and Exalted is He said:[Hud 11:7] So Allah Mighty and Majestic created the heavens and the earth from this water. Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Anbya 21:30] Meaning, We separated what was between them: [Al-Anbya 21:30]
This is our response to these atheists. If they refuse anything other than what they were upon, they are stubborn, and the saying of Allah the Exalted regarding the family of Pharaoh applies to them:[An-Naml 27:14]
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : We respond to these people with what Allah the Exalted mentioned in Surat al-Tur:
(35) Or were they created by nothing, or were they the creators [of themselves]? (36) Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Rather, they are not certain.
أَمْ خُلِقُوا مِنْ غَيْرِ شَيْءٍ أَمْ هُمُ الْخَالِقُونَ * أَمْ خَلَقُوا السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ بَل لا يُوقِنُونَThe answer, without a doubt, is that they will say, "We are existent after non-existence," as Allah the Exalted said:
Has there [not] come upon man a period of time when he was not a thing [even] mentioned?
هَلْ أَتَى عَلَى الإِنسَانِ حِينٌ مِنَ الدَّهْرِ لَمْ يَكُنْ شَيْئًا مَذْكُورًاDid your father or your mother create you? Did you come into being like this without a Creator? They will say, "Our father and our mother did not create us," because Allah the Exalted says:
(58) Have you seen that which you emit? (59) Is it you who creates it, or are We the Creator? (60) We have decreed death among you, and We are not to be outdone (61) In that We will change your likenesses and produce you in that [form] which you do not know.
أَفَرَأَيْتُمْ مَا تُمْنُونَ * أَأَنْتُمْ تَخْلُقُونَهُ أَمْ نَحْنُ الْخَالِقُونَ * نَحْنُ قَدَّرْنَا بَيْنَكُمُ الْمَوْتَ وَمَا نَحْنُ بِمَسْبُوقِينَ * عَلَى أَنْ نُبَدِّلَ أَمْثَالَكُمْ وَنُنْشِئَكُمْ فِي مَا لا تَعْلَمُونَIf they say, "We came into being without a Creator," say, "This is impossible in reason, because there is no occurrence without a Creator. Therefore, it is necessary that their coming into being is by a Creator, who is Allah Mighty and Majestic, the One whose existence is obligatory."
The same is said regarding the heavens and the earth. We say: Who created the heavens and the earth?
It is Allah Mighty and Majestic. But the heavens and the earth were water under the Throne, as Allah Blessed and Exalted is He said:
And it is He who created the heavens and the earth in six days - and His Throne had been upon water
وَهُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ فِي سِتَّةِ أَيَّامٍ وَكَانَ عَرْشُهُ عَلَى الْمَاءِHave those who disbelieved not considered that the heavens and the earth were a joined entity, and We separated them
أَوَلَمْ يَرَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَنَّ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ كَانَتَا رَتْقًا فَفَتَقْنَاهُمَاand made from water every living thing
وَجَعَلْنَا مِنَ الْمَاءِ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ حَيٍّThis is our response to these atheists. If they refuse anything other than what they were upon, they are stubborn, and the saying of Allah the Exalted regarding the family of Pharaoh applies to them:
And they rejected them, while their [inner] selves were convinced thereof, out of injustice and haughtiness
وَجَحَدُوا بِهَا وَاسْتَيْقَنَتْهَا أَنْفُسُهُمْ ظُلْمًا وَعُلُوًّاThe questioner : May Allah bless you.