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“Some people argue that why Allah despite being most merciful, does not end suffering and evil. Charles Darwin also had problem with understanding why there is evil. We know Allah by His attributes, which are informed to us by the divine scriptures. Even if one does not believe in the divine scriptures, one has to refer to the scriptures to understand the religious viewpoint. Allah is merciful as well as just and He is consistent in His attributes. The hardships people go through in this world are not necessarily a punishment in response to disobedience only. The blessings that we enjoy in this world are also not necessarily in response to virtuous actions alone. The endowment inequality in this world is a way to test thankfulness and patience in us. The test concerns the choices we make with free will and Allah will reward the quality of actions and sincerity of intentions in afterlife.”

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“The sufferings which some people go through in this world are in some cases a result of morally indifferent behaviour. Lack of social justice, unequal opportunities, extractive socio-economic institutions, socio-political injustice and outright wars have resulted in loss of millions of lives in the modern scientific age. Religion compels pro-social behaviour to avoid sufferings as far as possible and even if the sufferings do occur without human interventions, then religion urges moral action to help the needy and exemplify self-less spirit in dealing with catastrophes. If we leave the faith altogether, then science alone cannot provide any solace and meaning to the people who live their lives in unfair circumstances and who die in vain unjustly.”

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“have an opportunity to exercise free will. Approximately, more than 150,000 human beings die every day. Natural catastrophes just bring isolated deaths together at one point in time and space. These events act as a reminder of death and fragility of life. It provides a chance for reflection and introspection. These circumstances sometimes test compassion in those who remain unscathed. If life in this cosmos happened by chance and will end for no other consequences beyond this life, then this life ends both for the rich and for the poor, for the outlaws and for the victims of injustice and for the honest as well as the dishonest. A faith-based worldview which has been outlined above makes the life of everyone meaningful as well as accords due justice to everyone.”

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“Furthermore, it is often asked that sometimes we see people dying in accidents even in holy places. In addition to that, people including children often do not have normal capabilities to enjoy life to the fullest and even to exercise free will. The answer from the faith viewpoint is that those who are not able to exercise free will are not going to be held accountable for something in which they did not have an opportunity to exercise free will. Approximately, more than 150,000 human beings die every day. Natural catastrophes just bring isolated deaths together at one point in time and space. These events act as a reminder of death and fragility of life. It provides a chance for reflection and introspection. These circumstances sometimes test compassion in those who remain unscathed. If life in this cosmos happened by chance and will end for no other consequences beyond this life, then this life ends both for the rich and for the poor, for the outlaws and for the victims of injustice and for the honest as well as the dishonest. A faith-based worldview which has been outlined above makes the life of everyone meaningful as well as accords due justice to everyone.”

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“In addition to that, a question is sometimes raised that if Allah knows and has power over all things, then why He does not stop the evil actions before they cause suffering. In reflecting on this, it is important to understand how the faith-based worldview explains life in this world. Human life in this world is a trial in which if we remain faithful and morally conscious individuals in carrying out all normal duties of life, then we will be rewarded in life hereafter. If we do otherwise and live immoral lives, then we will not escape divine justice in the afterlife. Since the trial nature of this life requires the exercise of free will, that is why, Allah does not intervene to provide absolute justice in this world. However, faith-based teachings in Qur’an urge and compel moral and pro-social behaviour. The knowledge of perfect accountability boosts hope and aspiration and reduces despair of worldly misfortunes and temptation towards unrestrained material pleasures.”

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“There is profound thinking and conviction with which people hold onto their beliefs. Monotheist religions differ in their details, but not in Who the One and Only God is. They believe in the same God. Since the religious scriptures were meant to be read by general public and were revealed in human language, the name maybe different in different languages. The important thing is the concept no matter whether we name pull of gravity as ‘Kashish-e-Saql’ in Urdu language or by any other name in another language.”

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“In fact, almost half of all scientists believe in some form of Deistic God as confirmed by a survey conducted by Pew Research in 2009. Among most of them who believe in God, they conceive of God as a singularity. Knowledge of Big Bang where everything originated from singularity also provides credence to the idea of a single Ultimate Creator.”

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“Historical and archaeological records also tell us a lot about the past. The universe is expanding and the galaxies are moving away from each other at an ever accelerating speed. Future telescopes would only rely upon historical records to see the universe we are able to see at a special time. Else, the modern telescopes of future taking the latest pictures and filming reality even with increased capability will find and show darkness in space. Qur’an reminded Arabs, Jews and Christians about their history and historical records present with them and which provided them a clear chance to affirm truth and evaluate it. People like King Najashi (also known as Armah, the ruler of the Kingdom of Aksum) and Warqah Ibn Nawfal knowing their historical records and their reference in Qur’an were able to affirm the evidence of Prophet Hood of Muhammad (pbuh) through their own historical scriptures instantly.”

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“It is correct that not all beliefs are true. Some are mere superstitions. A belief can be true or false. If we cannot prove or disprove God from scientific method alone, then we need to evaluate a belief by using other faculties other than physical senses, such as logic and philosophy. If a concept dates back to history, then we ought to evaluate history and archaeology. If the concept is written in a book and millions of people attribute their held views to that book, then one is ought to read and evaluate information in that book. Curiosity demands this continuous probing from a person who is interested in seeking reality, knowledge and truths.”

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“From the perspective of science, take the unprovable proposition that there exist unobservable fairies beneath the garden. When the human rationality would understand that this is an unobservable proposition, it would employ other faculties to probe it further rather than relying on experiments or physical senses. For instance, ask who believes that fairies exist beneath the gardens. If none, then we do not need to find an answer to an irrelevant hypothetical belief as to whether it is true or false. If someone does believe in unobservable fairies beneath the garden, we need to see what question it answers for him/her and what is the source of this answer? This kind of logical probing will be done to all kinds of beliefs, whether it is existence of unicorn or tea pot orbiting around some distant planet. It should be clear that how probing unobservable claims can be debunked through logic and rationality, whereas science on its own cannot resolve unobservable absurdities definitively.”

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“When we see an orderly thing and reflect on its origin or existence, the questions like who created it, how it was created and why it was created come to mind. Atheists want to replace the question of who with chance for primordial matter and skip the question of why. How something comes about is an important part of reality. It comes under the domain of science to seek answers to that. But, that does not mean that the answer to ‘how’ alone tells us the complete story and also answers ‘Who did it’ and ‘Why’.”

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“For validation of knowledge about something, seeing something is not necessary. We use inference to know about things we have not seen, but which nevertheless are considered as true by inference. We would infer that someone put book on table if it was lying in cupboard when we last saw it. If we see an infant crying in a stroller in park and is unattended, we would immediately search for the parent or attendant who would have accompanied the infant to this place. Inference can be used to derive valid knowledge about unseen concepts whose physical manifestations can however be observed like gravity, for instance. We know that dark energy and dark matter, detectable only because of their effect on the visible matter around them, make up most of the universe. We knew black holes exist even before we observed them through a visible image in 2019.”

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“Science has made us truly amazed at how we exist through fine- tuned balance in numerous variables. The natural question is for what purpose? Can aspiration of getting a due reward for right conduct is possible for everyone? Can absolute justice ever be established? Is everlasting happiness achievable? Can the outlaws responsible for genocide be brought to justice ever? Can the honest and truthful people who suffer unjust lives be duly compensated, if ever?”

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“Big bang proved the premise scientifically that the universe began to exist. Everything that begins to exist cannot create itself. It cannot create itself while not in existence. So, it cannot be existing and non-existing at the same time. It has to be created by something that is not ‘it’. The creator has to be independent of the universe itself. So, the constraints of this universe do not apply to that Creator since the Ultimate Creator is not part of the universe. It is the author of both the universe and its laws.”

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“The Ultimate Creator has to be uncreated since it is necessary for the universe to be created in the first place. We find cause or creator for something that is created and that begins to exist at some finite point in time like the universe which came into existence 13.7 billion years ago. The Ultimate Creator did not come into existence at some finite point in time. It is ever-existing. This God is not the ‘scientific conjecture of god of the gaps’ which fits in the novel for pages that are not found in the novel. This God is the author of the whole novel and the programmer of nested loops within loops. He is not the pixel of the painting or a brush or a colour or the painting itself. It is the painter. It is not the laws of physics or theorems of mathematics alone. It is the source of these laws and theorems. Isaac Newton aptly said that gravity explains the motions of the planets, but it cannot explain who sets the planets in motion.”

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“Even many of the scientists who present themselves as atheists or agnostics are comfortable with a non-intervening concept of deity which brought the laws of physics and primordial inputs in existence in the first place. It is the concept of god espoused by William Paley, Voltaire and Spinoza. Nonetheless, this line of thinking is inconsistent with human curiosity. If we believe that there is a God, then we should seek Him. As a matter of fact, God has communicated to us through His messengers and the last two messengers, Jesus (pbuh) and Muhammad (pbuh) have lived in the daylight of history. Qur’an is the God’s words with us which explains the purpose of creation. Instead of assuming God as a watchmaker, mathematician, master equation and a pilot who starts engine but turns the machine to autopilot, it is important for us to be consistent with our curiosity to seek God. We should not avoid it simply because of not willing to have responsibility.”

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“As per monotheistic religions, Allah, the Supreme Being, created all living and non-living things in the universe. This universe had a beginning and this is a fact which is endorsed by physics. This universe cannot be its own creator since it began to exist at some point in time. It cannot create itself into existence while being in existence already at the same time. As part of the cosmos, are we our own creators? James Clarke Maxwell who formulated the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation is quoted to have said: “Science is incompetent to reason upon the creation of matter itself out of nothing. We have reached the utmost limit of our thinking faculties when we have admitted that because matter cannot be eternal and self-existent, it must have been created.”

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“The question of who created the Ultimate Creator is not valid since the Ultimate Creator is not a creature and needs not to be created. For someone to be the Ultimate Creator, He has to be someone beyond the constraints of this world and nature. If the premise is that the Ultimate Creator created everything and nothing exists independent of His will, then, the logical conclusion would be that He has to be an independent personality outside of the universe and have no constraints of laws governing this universe.”

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“As per the faith of Islam, human beings are created for a test by Allah and we live in His universe under finely tuned life-supporting systems. Our success in this test depends on moral excellence in matters involving free will. The nature of the test examines human actions made with free will. The wish to see absolute justice around us and to achieve everlasting happiness would be possible in afterlife provided we use our free will in choosing moral actions in this life. Success in this test is possible even for those who suffered injustice throughout their lives. Failure is also possible for the richest, powerful and outlaws who nonetheless might be able to evade law enforcement all their lives in this world.”

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