CERTITUDE ABOUT THE EXISTENCE OF ALLAH 1

CERTITUDE ABOUT THE EXISTENCE OF ALLAH

Praise be to Allah. We praise Him, seek His help, and ask
Him for forgiveness; we seek refuge in Allah from the
wickedness in our souls and from our evil deeds; whoever Allah
guides, none can misguide; and whoever Allah misguides, none
can guide; I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship
except Allah, alone, with no partner; and I bear witness that
Muhammad is His servant and Messenger; may Allah's peace and
blessings be upon him and his family and Companions!
To proceed:
O servants of Allah, fear Allah as is due and heed Him in your
secret and hidden affairs.
O Muslims,
having knowledge about Allah is indeed a great status. The
highest degree of faith is to attain certitude about Allah and His
Messenger and religion by possessing firm knowledge deep
within one's heart that may not be weakened by suspicions or
affected by trials. Certitude to faith is like the spirit to the body.
Ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Certitude is
faith altogether." The foremost certitude is that about the Lord, as
the messengers told their peoples:

‫ﲢﲣﲤﲥﲦﲧ‬
{Can there be any doubt about Allah, the Creator of the
heavens and earth?} [Surat Ibrāhīm: 10]
In other words, you know and acknowledge that there is no
doubt whatsoever about the existence of Allah and His oneness.
The people with the highest status are those who possess certitude.
When Allah wanted to boost the belief of His close Messenger
Ibrāhīm (peace be upon him), even though his faith was strong, He
showed him the dominion of the heavens and earth, so that he
could reach this very high rank. Allah Almighty says:
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‫ﱑﱒﱓ ﱔﱕﱖﱗﱘﱙ‬
{Thus We showed Abraham the dominion of the heavens and
earth, so that he would be of those who have certain faith.} [Surat
al-An‘ām: 75]
Ibn Kathīr (may Allah have mercy upon him) said: "That is
We make him see how their creation points to the oneness of
Allah, Exalted be He, in His dominion and what He has created
and that there is no god or lord other than Him." Worship along
with certitude, even if the worship is little, it elevates one's rank.
Bakr ibn ‘Abdullāh al-Muzani (may Allah have mercy upon him)
said: "Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) did not surpass
them by a lot of prayer or fasting, but through something that
deeply settled in his heart." From among all humankind, Allah
Almighty particularly describes the people of certitude as guided
and successful. In the Qur'an, He says:

*‫ﱖﱗﱘﱙ ﱚﱛﱜﱝﱞﱟﱠﱡ‬

‫ﱣ ﱤ ﱥ ﱦ ﱧﱨ ﱩ ﱪ ﱫ‬
{And those who believe in what has been sent down to you [O
Prophet] and in what was sent down before you, and in the
Hereafter they believe with certainty. It is they who are upon
guidance from their Lord, and it is they who are successful}
[Surat al-Baqarah: 4-5].
And they are those who benefit from pondering the signs and
proofs. In another verse, He says:

‫ﲍﲎﲏ ﲐ‬
{On earth there are signs for those who are certain in faith.}
[Surat adh-Dhāriyāt: 20]
If a person possesses certainty in his heart, the acts of worship
of the heart, like fear, hope, reliance, etc., become complete
CERTITUDE ABOUT THE EXISTENCE OF ALLAH 3

therein. Allah likes those acts to be done in the most proper way.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy upon him) said: "Faith is
the heart and core of Islam, and certitude is the heart and core of
faith." Allah Almighty created people with innate knowledge and
acknowledgement of Him. And His lordship entails His divinity.
Indeed, every created being finds a necessity within himself to
acknowledge the existence of Allah, believe in His oneness, and
worship Him as the Deity. Allah, the Exalted, says:

‫ﲣ ﲤ ﲥ ﲦﲧ ﲨ ﲩ ﲪ ﲫ ﲬ ﲭﲮ‬

‫ﲯ ﲰ ﲱ ﲲﲳ ﲴ ﲵ ﲶ‬
{Adhere sincerely to the true religion in all uprightness. This
is the natural disposition with which Allah has created mankind.
There is no change in Allah’s creation. This is the straight
religion, but most people do not know.} [Surat ar-Rūm: 30]
Allah Almighty urges us to ponder the signs pointing to Him.
He says:

‫ﱸﱹﱺﱻﱼﱽ‬
{Say: "Look at what is in the heavens and earth."} [Surat
Yūnus: 101]
There are countless ways for knowing Allah and finding
proofs for His existence and His worthiness of worship. He has a
sign in everything, and all that is in the universe points to His
existence. In the Qur'an, He says:

‫ﱫﱬﱭﱮ ﱯﱰ‬
{And He explains the signs in detail, so that you may be
certain of the meeting with your Lord.} [Surat ar-Ra‘d: 2]
Among the strongest proofs of His existence is His creation.
There is nothing in the universe except that Allah is its Creator.
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Indeed, sound minds and natural dispositions have the firm

conviction that created beings cannot create themselves and
cannot exist without someone bringing them into existence.

*‫ﱚﱛﱜﱝﱞﱟﱠﱡ‬

‫ﱣ ﱤ ﱥ ﱦﱧ ﱨ ﱩ ﱪ‬
{Were they created by none, or were they the creators [of
themselves]? Or did they create the heavens and earth? Rather,
they are not certain in faith.} [Surat at-Tūr: 35-36]
A mosquito with its tiny size and the heavens with their
magnitude point to the greatness of Allah Almighty.

‫ﱩﱪﱫﱬﱭﱮﱯﱰﱱﱲ ﱳ‬
{Allah is not ashamed to give a similitude of a mosquito or
even something less [significant].} [Surat al-Baqarah: 26]
His numerous creatures are marvelous signs that clearly point
to His existence and the perfection of His attributes and actions.
He originated the creation from nothingness, endowed them
with their traits, moved them through their different stages, and
managed their affairs.

‫ﱑﱒﱓﱔﱕﱖﱗ ﱘﱙ‬
{And in your creation and the living creatures that He spreads
out, there are signs for people who are certain in faith.} [Surat al-
Jāthiyah: 4]
He made the change in their conditions visible to people.

‫ﱹﱺ ﱻﱼﱽﱾﱿﲀﲁ ﲂﲃ‬

{Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and earth and the
alternation of the night and day are signs for people of
CERTITUDE ABOUT THE EXISTENCE OF ALLAH 5

understanding.} [Surat Āl ‘Imrān: 190]

He created an earth that is stretched out and suitable for
walking and traveling therein. He fixed it with firm mountains
that prevent it from tremor and spread therein all kinds of
creatures. He sends down from the sky fine kinds of plants, like
grains, grapes, olives, and pomegranates, as well as gardens and
fruits. They are all irrigated with the same water, yet they have
different colors and tastes. And there are wondrous and strange
kinds of livestock, satisfying their eaters, carrying their riders,
and enriching their owners.

‫ﱤﱥﱦﱧﱨ ﱩﱪﱫﱬ‬
{Allah is the One Who made the livestock for you, so that you
may ride some and eat others.} [Surat Ghāfir: 79]
And they give pleasure to those who see them.

‫ﲲﲳﲴﲵﲶﲷﲸ‬
{There is beauty for you in them when you bring them home
to rest and when you take them out to graze.} [Surat an-Nahl: 6]
And they carry loads and transport people from one place to
another. Their skin is used as clothing, their wool provides
warmth, and their hair serves as adornment.

‫ﲸﲹﲺﲻﲼ ﲽﲾﲿﳀ‬
{This is Allah’s creation. So show Me what others beside Him
have created.} [Surat Luqmān: 11]
The seas are truly amazing: they are full of food, treasures,
pearls, and jewels. And their surfaces carry ships loaded with all
kinds of items. Waves hit the seas from all sides, and they are
like lofty mountains. Upon seeing them, one proclaims the
oneness of Allah.
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‫ﲷﲸﲹﲺﲻﲼﲽﲾﲿ‬
{And you see the ships cleaving their way through its waves,
so that you may seek His bounty and so that you may give
thanks.} [Surat an-Nahl: 14]
And the sky, which Allah Almighty raised and adorned with
planets and stars; they serve as marks that help people know their
directions and times, and they guide those lost in the darkness of
the land and sea. And a massive sun, whose heat is beneficial to
all creatures, and a bright moon that illuminates the night, pleases
those who look at it, and guides those who lose their way. And
within the soul of a person lies the strongest proof of the
existence of his Creator. He created him from nothing, from a
worthless fluid, and fashioned him into flesh and bones and a
new created being that can hear and see, speak and remain silent,
give and take, and go here and there. He gave him knowledge
after he had known nothing, made him self-sufficient after he had
been needy, endowed him with reason, guided him to what is
beneficial, provided him with good appearance, elevated his
status, and subjected all that is around him for his service.

‫ﲽﲾﲿﳀﳁﳂﳃﳄﳅﳆﳇ‬
{We will show them Our signs in the universe and in their
own selves, until it becomes clear to them that this is the truth.}
[Surat Fussilat: 53]
As He created, Allah Almighty perfected and beautified His
creation and took the interests of His servants into consideration
in whatever He created. His care about His creation is manifest in
their due proportion and the integration of their kinds.

‫ﳟﳠ ﳡﳢﳣﳤﳥ‬
{The One Who gave everything its form then guided it.}
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[Surat Tāha: 50]

Among the manifestations of His existence is the order of the
universe He created and the fact that it is running according to
unchanging laws - no frivolity, no chaos, no disturbance, and no
flaws.

‫ﳍ‬
‫ﳎ‬ ‫ﳃﳄﳅﳆﳇﳈ ﳉﳊﳋﳌ‬

‫ﳏﳐﳑﳒ‬
{It is not for the sun to catch up with the moon, nor for the
night to outstrip the day. Each is floating in its own orbit.} [Surat
Yāsīn: 40]
No order in the universe is more delicate and perfect than the
one He laid down for His creation and willed for His servants. He
created opposing things to integrate benefits and combined
opposites to reveal His wisdom: the night and day, heat and cold,
and darkness and light. Nonetheless, everything is given due and
accurate measure, without imperfection or contradiction.

‫ﱞﱟﱠﱡﱢﱣ ﱤ‬
{You will not see any imperfection in the creation of the Most
Compassionate.} [Surat al-Mulk: 3]
Allah Almighty divided sustenance and endowed the creation
with senses, faculties, minds, and knowledge, and guided all
beings to what sustains their life and sets it aright.

‫ﲔﲕﲖ* ﲘﲙﲚ‬
{Who created and fashioned in due proportion, and Who
determined [the creation] then guided them.} [Surat al-A‘la: 2-3]
Every day, birds go forth hungry in the morning and return
with full stomachs in the evening. Deep within the sea, whales do
not miss their sustenance. And bees eat all kinds of fruits and
8 CERTITUDE ABOUT THE EXISTENCE OF ALLAH

take houses in the summits of mountains. And in their holes, ants

store the best food. Allah's sustenance even reaches embryos in
the wombs of their mothers and beasts in the remote areas of
wilderness. No one else is capable of doing Allah's actions or
takes part in them. He gives life and causes death, and He brings
the living out of the dead and the dead out of the living. It is He
Who cleaves the daybreak and made the night for rest. He
challenged those who disbelieve in Him to contend with Him in
His creation or oppose His actions, thus exposing their weakness
and helplessness.

‫ﱆﱈﱉ ﱊﱋﱌﱍ‬
‫ﱁﱂﱃﱄﱅ ﱇ‬

‫ﱎ ﱏ ﱐ ﱑ ﱒ ﱓﱔ ﱕ ﱖ ﱗ ﱘ ﱙ ﱚ ﱛﱜ‬

‫ﱝ ﱞﱟ‬
{O people, a similitude is set forth, so listen to it: those whom
you invoke besides Allah can never create even a fly, even if they
all come together for that. And if a fly snatches something away
from them, they cannot retrieve it. How feeble is the invoker as
well as the invoked!} [Surat al-Hajj: 73]
He also challenged them to bring forth anything like His
speech, and they could not.

‫ﲱﲲﲳﲴﲵﲶﲷﲸ ﲹﲺﲻﲼ‬

‫ﲽﲾﲿﳀﳁ ﳂﳃﳄ‬
{If you are in doubt concerning that which We have sent
down upon Our slave, then produce a chapter like it and call
upon your helpers other than Allah, if you are truthful.} [Surat al-
Baqarah: 23]
Everything in the universe, moving or still, apparent or
hidden, and great or small, is a proof of the existence of its
CERTITUDE ABOUT THE EXISTENCE OF ALLAH 9

Creator, and it points to His perfect knowledge and power,

flawless production, comprehensive wisdom, and vast mercy.
The effects of the attributes of His majesty and beauty loudly
proclaim His existence and perfection in all things and in all
aspects of life. His lordship over His servants manifests in their
need of Him. Everything that exists apart from Him was brought
into existence by Him, and everything that happens was caused
by Him to happen.
One of the things that inspires certitude in Allah Almighty is
to reflect upon His Shariah which He has made so perfect and
which comprises the truest information and the fairest rulings.
The stories of the prophets' lives also increases certitude in
Allah's existence, as they all called for noble manners and
virtuous deeds. All their teachings accord with sound minds and
sound natural inclinations. The interests they came to achieve are
beyond people's ability to understand. All goodness and kindness
in the world is but a result of the teachings and rulings they
received from their Lord. Allah, Exalted be He, supported every
prophet with an amazing miracle that subdued people's will.
These were proofs that guided people to their Creator and proved
the prophets' truthfulness. The prophets would ask Allah to grant
them certitude and make them firm in that.

‫ﱁ ﱂ ﱃ ﱄ ﱅ ﱆ ﱇ ﱈﱉ‬

‫ﱊ ﱋ ﱌﱍ ﱎ ﱏ ﱐ ﱑ ﱒ‬
{And [remember] when Abraham said: "My Lord, show me
how You give life to the dead." He said: "Do you not believe?"
He said: "I do believe, but just to reassure my heart."} [Surat al-
Baqarah: 260]
Al-Baghawi (may Allah have mercy upon him) said: "That's
to let my heart rest assured through seeing and watching. He
10 CERTITUDE ABOUT THE EXISTENCE OF ALLAH

wanted to obtain the knowledge of certitude and the observance

of certitude. This is because hearing something is not like seeing
it." Mūsa (Moses) (peace be upon him) debated with Pharaoh
when the latter denied the lordship of Allah and attributed it to
himself. So, he refuted his argument.

*‫ﱝﱞﱟﱠﱡ‬

‫ﱣ ﱤ ﱥ ﱦ ﱧ ﱨﱩ ﱪ ﱫ ﱬ‬
{Pharaoh said: "What is ‘the Lord of the worlds'?" Moses
said: "The Lord of the heavens and earth and all that is between
them, if only you had sure faith."} [Surat ash-Shu‘arā’: 23-24]
The noblest of all messengers and the one who came with the
most comprehensive message and strongest proofs is our Prophet
Muhammad (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him). He
who learns about his life and good traits and deeds will know
with certitude that he was a Prophet supported by the Almighty
Creator, and that the Qur'an revealed to him comprises the best
arguments and its verses are the greatest material of certitude.

‫ﲟﲠﲡﲢ ﲣﲤﲥﲦ‬
{This is an insight from your Lord, and a guidance and mercy
for people who believe.} [Surat al-A‘rāf: 203]
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy upon him) said: "If we
wanted to grasp the wonders in the prominent verses of Allah and
the signs contained therein that affirm that no one is worthy of
worship except Allah and that no one is like Him, greater than
Him, or more perfect, more kind, or more gentle than Him, we,
along with the former and later generations, would fail to know
an iota of this." People are prone to temptations, and Satan
endeavors to trigger doubt in their hearts and shake their
certitude. Adh-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy upon him) said:
"The earlier scholars would give this warning. They saw that
CERTITUDE ABOUT THE EXISTENCE OF ALLAH 11

hearts are weak and suspicions can seize them abruptly."

Allah Almighty put joy and pleasure in certitude and
contentment and placed distress and grief in doubt and
discontent.
Whoever doubts the existence of his Lord Who created him or
obstinately rejects the innate certitude about His lordship, his
chest will become tight and constricted as if he was ascending
into the sky. Whoever denies the lordship of Allah does actually
reject what his heart is certain about.

‫ﱁﱂﱃﱄﱅﱆ‬
{They denied them wrongfully and arrogantly, although their
hearts were convinced that they were true.} [Surat an-Naml: 14]
A person is responsible for his religion and should guard it by
turning away from those who ridicule it. Allah Almighty says:

‫ﳆﳇﳈﳉﳊﳋﳌﳍﳎﳏﳐﳑﳒ‬
{When you see those who ridicule Our verses, turn away from
them until they engage in another discourse.} [Surat al-An‘ām:
68]
Among the ways for holding onto certitude in the Almighty
Lord is to engage a lot in obedience and worship Him,
accompany righteous people, keep away from sins, ask Him for
forgiveness, seek useful knowledge, and ponder Allah's names
and attributes and observe their impact on people's souls and in
the universe. The combination of all of this is to recite the noble
Qur'an, act upon its verses, and always stand in need of our
Creator. Whoever meets Allah while believing with certitude in
His oneness will enter Paradise. The Prophet (may Allah’s peace
and blessings be upon him) said to Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be
pleased with him): "If you meet anyone outside this garden
who testifies that no one is worthy of worship except Allah,
12 CERTITUDE ABOUT THE EXISTENCE OF ALLAH

being certain of it in his heart, give him glad tidings of

entering Paradise." [Narrated by Muslim]
A last word, O Muslims!
The Lord is the Truth about which there is no doubt. His name
is the Truth, and the Truth is His attribute. And His existence is
the most established truth. He says in the Qur'an:

‫ﲙﲚﲛﲜﲝﲞﲟﲠﲡ ﲢﲣﲤ‬
{That is because it is Allah Who is the Truth and whatever
they invoke besides Him is falsehood.} [Surat al-Hajj: 62]
Certitude in the core of faith is one of the requirements of
"there is none worthy of worship except Allah". There is no true
faith along with doubt or hesitation.
People have varying degrees of certitude. We are always in
pressing need for increasing and affirming our certitude, and this
is more so in the face of suspicions.
The believer is accountable to himself. He should check and
examine his soul if doubts arise. If he perceives a weakness in his
certitude, he should rush toward what makes it stronger and
firmer.
A person can perceive his knowledge and certitude as he
perceives all other actions and traits. Whoever is endowed with
certitude would not abandon his religion or be discontented with
it, and he would increase his servitude until he reaches the
highest ranks.
I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan

‫ﲟﲠﲡﲢﲣ*ﲥﲦﲧﲨ‬
{This is indeed the truth of certitude. So glorify the name of
your Lord, the Most Great.} [Surat al-Wāqi‘ah: 95-96]
May Allah bless for you and for me the noble Qur'an!
CERTITUDE ABOUT THE EXISTENCE OF ALLAH 13

THE SECOND SERMON

Praise be to Allah for His benevolence and all thanks to Him
for His help and favors! I bear witness that no one is worthy of
worship except Allah, alone, with no partner, in glorification of
Him; and I bear witness that our Prophet Muhammad is His
servant and Messenger; may Allah's peace and blessings be upon
him and upon his family and Companions!
O Muslims!
The base of faith does not establish or bear fruit unless the
believer is keen to reform and foster it. A person would not reach
true faith until he is free from doubts, has firm belief in the
trueness of the messages, possesses certitude about the perfection
of the Almighty Lord and worships Him alone, apart from
anyone else, and is certain about the resurrection after death.
Indeed, all divine messages do revolve around these
fundamentals.
And finally, I would like to remind you that Allah Almighty
commanded us to invoke His peace and blessings upon His
Prophet...
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