Answer
Salam Dear Saleem,
Thank you for your question and for contacting Ask About Islam.
It is one that many of us struggle with when trying to guide others who do not have a clear understanding of Allah and His existence.
Many find it difficult to believe in Allah’s existence because He is not physically visible to the naked eye. Or else because He does not speak directly to us so we can hear Him. As the Quran tells us, no eye can behold Him, yet He sees all.
{Vision comprehendeth Him not, but He comprehendeth (all) vision. He is the Subtile, the Aware.} (Al-An`am 6:103)
Not being able to see or hear something does not mean that it does not exist. We cannot see our soul, but we are pretty sure that we have one. We cannot see concepts such as love, pride, honesty, and others, but they do exist. We cannot see pleasure and pain, but we do experience them nonetheless.
The Quran is full of verses that compel us to reflect on God’s existence, especially those of us who question or reject it. The best words we can find to prove Allah’s existence are His Words, the Quran itself. The Quran says what means:
{Nay, here are signs, self-evident in the hearts of those endowed with knowledge, and none but the unjust reject Our signs.} (Al-`Ankabut 29:49)
Many believe (as Allah teaches us in the Quran) that we have only one life and nothing can destroy it but time. If we reflect on this attitude a bit, some problems may arise.
If we cease to exist after death, then have we ever really existed at all? Compared to eternity, the length of a human life, even the longest one, amounts to nothing. Perhaps those without any belief in Allah should attempt to prove their own existence first, rather than try to reject His.
Another way that Allah demonstrates His existence is through the infinite signs He creates in His creation. The vastness of the universe, the miracle of birth, and the wide variety of life forms around us are just a few examples. The Quran says what means:
{Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth; in the alternation of the night and the day; in the sailing of the ships through the ocean for the profit of mankind; in the rain which Allah sends down from the skies, and the life which He gives therewith to an earth that is dead; in the beasts of all kinds that He scatters through the earth; in the change of the winds, and the clouds which they trail like their slaves between the sky and the earth; (Here) indeed are signs for a people that are wise.} (Al-Baqarah 2:164)
Those who use the theory of evolution as an explanation for their existence and the things around them, need to study this theory closely to find its many flaws. If all life on earth started from a single-celled organism that formed in water millions of years ago, what was the force behind it that started it all and continues to repeat it over and over again?
Why does an apple tree, for example, produce a sweet tasting, healthy food around its seeds, when it could just form bare seeds that fall to the ground as other trees do? How do fruit trees benefit from this? Or is it us who benefit by Allah’s divine will and mercy?
With respect to Heaven, and of course Hell, it is very clear from the Quran and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad, (peace and blessings be upon him), that they are not only real, but that they will affect both body and soul. The Quran says what means:
{And he makes comparisons for us, and forgets his own (origin and) creation: He says: “Who can give life to (dry) bones and decomposed ones (at that)?” Say: “He will give them life Who created them for the first time! For He is Well-versed in every kind of creation!”} (Ya-Sin 36:78-79)
It would be arrogant of us to assume that we are better than we are. Allah has created us from flesh, bone, and spirit and will raise us up again on the Day of Judgment. We are His servants in the beginning and in the end. Out of His mercy He created us and has provided us all we need to succeed in this life and in the next. It is up to us to choose our destiny.
In the end He is the only one Who will guide those who seek guidance. Those who refuse to accept the truth about their existence and that of Allah cannot be reached by our words and actions because they do not want to be helped.
I hope this has been helpful to you. May Allah assist and guide you in your efforts to spread His word and may He guide us all to what pleases Him.
Thank you and please keep in touch.
Salam.