FIRST VOLUME, 230th LETTER

This is a long letter. At one place it says: Greek philosophers argue that “Nonexistence will not come into existence. And something which exists will not cease to exists.” [Today’s science imitators say so, too. Not only is this view incompatible with Islam, but these people call those who hold this view ‘progressive people’. And they call Muslims ‘regressive people’ because they say that “All things were nonexistent. Allâhu ta’âlâ created all of them from nothing.”] What these science imitators say is only a product of their fancy and imagination. It is quite easy for Allâhu ta’âlâ, who is almighty, to create all things from nothing or to annihilate the existence. When Lavoisier (Antoine Laurent, 1743-94), French chemist and physician, who was executed by the French revolutionary leaders in 1209 (1794 A.D.), observed that substances did not cease to exist during chemical reactions, he said, “Nothing in nature ceases to exist, and nothing comes into being from nonexistence.” He said so because he thought everything was dependent on chemical reactions. The irreligious science imitators, who call themselves ‘illuminated modernists’ and Muslims ‘fuddy-duddies’, exploited Lavoisier’s theory as a document and clamoured that nothing had been created from nonexistence, thus misleading many a Muslim student of science. Einstein (Albert, 1879-1955), German-American physicist, (developed the theory of relativity and) proved that matter ceased to exist by turning into energy. The dumbfounded progressive impostors of science, whose

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idiotic notion of Allâhu ta’âlâ had been confined to chemical reactions, stopped vociferating and began fumbling around for other ploys to undermine Islam.]

All heavenly religions concur in the fact that the entire existence was created from nothing, and deniers of this fact are ‘unbelievers’ in their credal nomenclatures. The sixty-seventh âyat of Maryam sûra purports: But does not man call to mind that We created him before out of nothing? Qâdî Abdullah Baydâwî, whom the scholars of Tafsîr (exegesis, expounding of the Qur’ân al-kerîm) hold as their most beloved master and guide, makes the following observation in his book of Tafsîr entitled Anwâr-ut-tanzîl: “Allâhu ta’âlâ created man from nothing.” To theorize that creation of all new beings from nothing is not a constant process would mean to imply that Allâhu ta’âlâ has no more to do (with the new things’ coming into being) and therefore His power is no longer effective. Allâhu ta’âlâ creates all substances from nothing and then every moment keeps each and every one of them in existence. Therefore, matter cannot cease to exist from itself. Objects come into being from substances. Their attributes change continuously. Allâhu ta’âlâ is the only maker of all these material transfigurations and attributive changes. Allâhu ta’âlâ and His Attributes are the only beings which remain in existence eternally and never change. Neither they were created from nonexistence, nor will they cease to exist.

’Âlam, i.e. the entire existence, existed in the ’ilm-i-ilâhî (Allâhu ta’âlâ’s knowledge) as it was (materially) nonexistent. What existed in the ’ilm-i-ilâhî has been termed a’yân-i-thâbita; that state of existence has been termed thubût-i-eshyâ; (material state of) existence in the outside has been termed wujûd-i-eshyâ (by the scholars of Islamic science called Kalâm).

’Abdiyyat, i.e. being a slave of Allâhu ta’âlâ, requires believing in Him and loving Him. Obeying the Sharî’at and avoiding bid’ats are symptomatic of this belief and love. As we observe, all things, nonexistent as they were, have been created in a perfectly calculated order. For instance, all the human organs are created in ultimate neatness, each representing immaculately well-planned sketches. These utterly admirable phenomena indicate that everything has been created by an owner of endless knowledge and power.

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