By Siti Sarah

‘Do you not see that Allāh drives clouds? Then He brings them together; then He makes them into a mass, and you see the rain emerge from within it. And He sends down from the sky, mountains [of clouds] within which is hail, and He strikes with it whom He wills and averts it from whom He wills. The flash of its lightning almost takes away the eyesight.‘
Quran 24:43

Looking back at the lessons learnt during the ”Why Islam?” course. I truly valued how timeless the information learnt which could be applied to our daily lives. I would say that the main logical lesson and argument we learnt which is applicable at any point is the Argument from Contingency (AFC) which has the basic principle of:

The universe exists contingently.

Everything that exists contingently needs a necessary being to make it exist.

Therefore, the universe needs a necessary being to make it exist.

Keep the above argument in mind as I continue. One of the topics within the course that struck a chord in me was the topic of Science and God which also addressed the topic of “Cause and Effect”. I am someone who loves science. Therefore it just blows my mind when I think about the complexity behind things happening.

During this session, it pushed me to think deeper about the real doer behind everything?

“Who is it really that causes something and/or produces the effects?”

Before I continue, bring into attention the AFC! So an example was given about sending out a message from your phone or computer. The device that is in front of us right now. Think about the various elements that is required. The light emitting from the screen pixels, the electrical signals and wires running around allowing the information to travel, the electromagnetic waves, the energy required for all of that to happen.

Where is it truly coming from?

We can continue talking a long time about stored energy in the cells, electric energy, potential energy, materials required, etc. But it has to end at some point.

Therefore, we will have to go back to the argument from contingency (AFC).

Fact 1: The lights in the smartphone’s pixels, the electrical signals in its integrated circuits, and the electromagnetic waves that leave its transmitter all exist contingently.

Fact 2: Everything that exists contingently needs a Necessary Being to make it exist.

Therefore: The lights, the electrical signals, and the electromagnetic waves need a Necessary Being to make them exist.

Let’s also look at another explanation, Ivan Pavlov’s Theory of Classical Conditioning which showcases that one thing coming after another doesn’t mean that one caused the other.

In Pavlov’s experiment, initially, he and his assistants were measuring the saliva production of dogs when presented a variety of non-edible and edible items. However, he noted that the dogs would begin salivating despite the absence of food and smell. His observations led to an understanding that it was the white lab coats of his assistants which had come to be associated with the presence of food. Later on, Pavlov continued the experiment with the use of a metronome and food which yielded a similar result of the dogs salivating when hearing the metronome.

Even though the dogs started salivating after seeing the assistants’ white lab coats and metronome without food, the cause in this experiment was actually the presence of food. Thus, this shows that just because the salivation happened after the lab coats and metronome were present, it does not mean that it was the lab coats and metronome causing the salivation of the dogs.

Going back to my initial point, a cause that we think we observe everyday is actually not the actual cause. Rather, these various elements are actually dependent on the necessary being.

Do dependent things depend on each other ? Then, the chain is non-stop which does not make sense. That is why the chain MUST stop at some point.

We were also introduced to the diagram below which just clicked for me.

Something that is contingent or dependent will have to ultimately end up relying on the necessary being which is independent.

During the fasting month, it also kept reminding me that food is dependent on something causing it to be produced. So it is not the food that I should be relying on for sustenance and energy. Rather the necessary being is The One who allowed the food to fill my stomach and provided the energy to carry out my daily activities. The concept of Barakah (Divine Blessings) is therefore more easily understood and appreciated with the above information too.

I honestly could go on and on about how dependent we are when I think about how your body moves, your heart beating, your eyesight and more, to think who is causing all of that to happen in every single moment of your day. But I hope you get where I’m coming from and it gives you another perspective to think from. Because for me, it really made me ponder a lot and feel so much more grateful for the endless blessings that I used to neglect.

May Allah grant us light in our hearts to perceive Him. Ameen.