A subatomic particle, although not visible, does exist. This shows that for something to exist, it is not necessary that it should be visible, says MAULANA WAHIDUDDIN KHAN

It is strange to believe that there is God, but, not to believe in Him is even stranger. Therefore, I prefer the less strange to the stranger. Believing in God is so obvious that the application of simple logic is enough for one to believe that there is God. French philosopher Rene Descartes, considered the father of modern philosophy, applied simple logic to his own existence when he said, ‘I think, therefore, I exist.’

By applying the same logic, one can say, ‘I am, therefore, God is.’ That is, one can say that when a creature exists, the application of simple logic is enough for one to believe that there is a Creator. Einstein was once asked, “Are you an atheist?” He said, “No, I am a sceptic.” When a scientist like Einstein says “I am not an atheist, but rather a sceptic,” it means he is sitting on the fence. Einstein believed in the ‘relativity model of truth’. Quantum physics took this concept further to the concept of probability. In the language of quantum physics, it can be said that ‘probably there is God.’

With the Einstein model, one did not know whether there was a God or not, but quantum physics made it possible to say that there, probably, is a God. Now it is an established fact that probability weighs less than certainty, but is more than just saying ‘perhaps.’

Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

Scientific studies took knowledge even further. It went beyond the stage of knowing that when the child is in the mother’s womb, all those things he needs are supplied to it. This supply continues for a full nine months, and then the child is born, and comes into the outer world, where he has a complete life-support system.

Scientific studies include the microworld and a strange discovery was made that it is not only the immediate world that the child finds totally favourable, but that right from the microworld to the macroworld, the universe is exactly what is required for the continued existence of human beings. A human being and the world outside of him are totally compatible. Compatibility between man and the mother’s womb, between man and the solar system, between man and the entire universe — the strangeness of this reality is such that it motivates one to find an explanation for it.

British astronomer Fred Hoyle tells us that ‘Our world is a well-designed world’. It is not a random world, but rather a well planned and well-managed world. This fact again necessitates belief in ‘pair-creation’, that is, one who has created the universe has also created human beings. If you analyse these realities, it will lead to the belief that the Creator who created human beings also created the universe. Had this not been so, both would not have been so inextricably linked with one another.

The argument used by philosophers to support the concept of existence of God is the same as the argument for grand design: where there is a design, there is a Designer. But this question remains to be answered: when God is unseen, how can one believe in His existence? This controversy has been put to end by studies about the fundamental particles of the material world, also known as subatomic particles. A subatomic particle, although not visible, does exist. This shows that for something to exist, it is not necessary that it should be visible.

This discovery has brought about a revolutionary change in the theory of knowledge: probability is also an authentic source of argument, because probability, although less than certainty, is greater than possibility.

Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, 95, is an Islamic spiritual scholar who has adopted peace as the mission of his life. Author of more than 200 books, he is known for his Gandhian views, and considers non-violence as the only method to achieve success.

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