This is from the book “Islamic Thought”
Many people on the face of the earth, particularly in the West, have conviction in Allah (SWT) and believe Him. However, their conviction and belief are based on the fact that Allah (SWT) is a thought and not a truth. Such people consider the belief in the existence of a god is belief in the existence of the idea of deity, an idea which they say is nice. This is because, as long as man imagines it and believes in it, and submits to its power, then he alienates himself from evil and gets close to goodness by the incentive of this idea. It is thus an internal deterrent that has more influence than the external deterrent. That is why they advocate that man must believe in Allah (SWT) and they view the necessity of encouraging this belief, so that people remain righteous and motivated, which they call ‘the religious restraint’ (al-wa’azi ad-deeni).
Such people are easy to be drawn to atheism, and close to apostate from their belief once the mind indulged in thinking to perceive the existence of this idea. If man did not perceive its presence and did not realise an effect for this presence, he would deny the existence of a god and thus disbelieved in Allah (SWT). Moreover, belief in that Allah is an idea and not a truth makes the goodness also just an idea and not a truth and makes evil also just an idea and not a truth. What led these people to this type of belief (eeman) is that they did not use the mind (‘aql) to reach belief (eeman) in Allah (SWT), and nor they were guided to solve rationally the great problem that results from the natural questions about the universe, man and life, about what is before the worldly life and what is after it, and its relationship with what is before it and what is after it.
The solution was rather taught to them according to the wish of their instructor, so they accepted this solution and continued to believe in it without having real perception of the existence of that which they believed in. Many of them tried to use their mind, but they were answered that the religion is beyond the mind and forced to silence.
That which is right is that Allah (SWT) is a truth and not an idea; and that His (SWT) existence is touched and conceived, though His (SWT) essence is impossible to be realised. Don’t you see man can hear the sound of the plane in the sky without seeing it because he sits inside his room? However, he realises its existence from sensing its sound though he did not see it and did not sense its essence. Thus he believes in the presence of a plane in the sky from hearing its sound. In other words, he believes, certainly and definitely, in the existence of the plane. Thus, comprehending the existence of the plane is a matter different to comprehending its entity. Comprehension of its entity does not happen because of the absence of the senses of its entity; while the comprehension of its existence is definite from the sensation of its sound. So, the existence of the plane is a truth and not (only) an idea. This is the case of the comprehended and sensed things. Their existence is definite for they are observed and sensed. Their need for other than them is also definite, because it is observed and sensed. The celestial bodies are in need for the system; and the fire is in need for the one who uses it in order to burn. This is the case of every comprehended and sensed thing in being in need of other than itself. The needy thing can’t be eternal, for if it was eternal it would have not needed for other than itself. The fact that it is needy/dependent means that it is not eternal. Therefore, the fact that all the comprehended and sensed things are created is definite. This is because that which is not eternal (azali) means it is created by a Creator. The sensation of these created things, as well as the sensation of the sound of the plane, is definite. Similarly, the existence of the Creator of these created things (objects) from which they come is like the existence of the plane from which the sound came; it is a definite matter. Thus, the existence of the Creator of these created things (objects) is a definite matter. Accordingly, man comprehended the created things (objects) through his sensation and mind; and he comprehended from his sensation of them the existence of their Creator, definitely. Thus, the existence of the Creator is a truth which man has touched its existence through sensation; and it is not an idea which man imagined in his mind.
Rationally, this Creator must be eternal (azali). Had it not been eternal, then it would be dependent, thus it would be created. Since nature is not eternal, because it is in need to function in accordance with specific determined ratios and situations, it can’t but to be bound by them, then it is in need of these ratios and situations. Since matter is also not eternal, because it is dependent, for it can’t transform from one state to another except through a specific proportion and specific ratios; and it is bound by these ratios and this proportion. Thus it is needy. Accordingly nature is not creator, for it is not eternal and pre-existent; and matter is not also creator, for it is not eternal and pre-existent. It thus only remains that the Creator is Allah Ta’aala. In other words, the Creator is that eternal (azali) and pre-existent (qadeem) which people call it Allah or God or Ilaheen or the like of names which all indicate one designated thing, that is Allah (SWT), i.e. the eternal and pre-existent Creator.
Thus, Allah (SWT) is a truth whose existence is sensed from the existence of His creatures. When man fears Allah (SWT) he fears an entity which truly exists, and Whose existence is conceived by sensation. When man worships Allah (SWT), he worships an entity which truly exists and Whose existence is conceived by sensation. When he seeks the pleasure of Allah (SWT), he seeks the pleasure of an entity which truly exists, and Whose existence is conceived by sensation. Accordingly, man would be afraid of Allah (SWT), worshipping Allah (SWT) and seeking the pleasure of Allah (SWT), with certainty that is not subject to any doubt.
