One of the greatest Islamic saint of the 8th century, Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq (AS) who was also said to be highly respected by both Shia and Sunni Muslims for his great Islamic scholarship, pious character, and academic contributions have provided arguments for the existence of God that are so rational, so simple and logical that would convince any person regardless of his or her culture, religion and creed.
Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq (AS) was also an astronomer, alchemist, Imam, Islamic scholar, Islamic theologian, writer, philosopher, physician, physicist and scientist. He was also a teacher of the famous chemist, Jabir ibn Hayyan (Geber). and the founder of the Sunni sect, Abu Hanifa.
In the following subsections, we will present excerpts from Imam Ja’far’s dialogue which occurred between Imam and an Indian doctor and scientist of that time. Note that this Indian scientist was an atheist and believed also that all the knowledge that comes to man is from five senses only and that this earth and universe are not created but remain as such, as we observe today, for uncountable amount of time. R1
The dialog, renown as tradition of Myrobalan Fruit (Hadith-e-Halila) reported in the form of a letter that Imam wrote to his friend, Mufaddal ibn Umar al Jaufi. Before starting the dialogue, Imam wrote to Mufaddal that:
“One of the greatest and most important favors from Him (God) is the establishment of convincing proof-deep in the Innermost heart of each human-that ‘He is’. He sent them a book which removes all the doubls and confusions from their minds.
I swear by my life that God has not left any excuse in introducing himself to the ignoarant people of this world.Thus He has secured the vow of His recognition from all of these humans. It is because every human can ponder upon the wonderful and amazing system at work in themselves and in the creation of the sky and earth. The denial of the existence of God by some is due to their ignorance in the face of all those perfect and clear proofs and signs which surround them.
The existence of an amazing and wondeful system at work within human body and in the creation of the sky and the earth is a clear evidence, beyond any doubt, of the existence of the creator of such a system.
Those ignorant from such obvious proofs should search the causes of their denial in their own creation. Such people have involved themselves fully in various sins and crimes. They seek their relief in insatiable never-ending worldly pursuits. Their sensual desire has plagued the purity of their hearts.
Due to these wrongdoings, they have given up their control to stop themselves from commiting such sins and crimes. As such they have opened for themselves a gate leading to rather a sort of severe crime. This is how God has taken their ability to reach the reality and truth.
It is amazing for me to know those people who say that God could not be recognized, even though they see in themselves a wondefully amazing creation, which dismisses any excuse to deny His existence.
I swear by my life that if these people would have pondered upon the wonderful system of creation of each and every thing and how these creatures transform from one form to another then they could easily recognize the existence of the creator of such an amazing system. It is because the structure and organization of every creation and the perfection of its design provides clear evidence to the existence of its creator with extraordinary wisdom and intellect.”
See the excerpts of the actual dialogue in the other articles. Please visit the next article in series: Principle of Risk Mitigation.
References
- Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq (`a): Reported by his companion Mufaddal ibn Umar al Jaufi and recorded by ‘Allamah Majlisi (d. 1110 AH) in Bihar al Anwar vol 3 pages 153-196