Three imams reply to the atheists

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- - > - > "Is there any proof that God exists?" was
asked, by an atheist, of Imam Abu Hanifa and he replied, "Forget it!
At themoment, I am busy thinking about this ship. People tell me there
is a big ship, it contains
different goods on board. There is no one to steer it, no one
maintaining it. Yet, this ship keeps going back and forth; it even
traverses big waves on the oceans; it stops at the locations that it
is supposed to stop at; it continues in the direction that it is
supposed to head. This ship has no captain and no one planning its
trips."
The atheist who posed the question interruptedand exclaimed, "What
kind of strange and silly thought is this? How can any intelligent
person think that some thing like this can occur?"
Imam Abu Hanifa said, "I feel sorry about your state! You cannot
imagine one ship running without some one looking after its affairs.
Yet you think that for this whole world, which runs exactly and
precisely, there is no one who looks after it, and no one owns it."
Hearing the reply, the atheist was left speechless but he found out
more about Haqq (The Truth) and proclaimed Islam.
Imam Shaa'fi replied to the question in the following way, "The leaves
of Toot (berries) are all but one. Each leaf tastes exactly the same.
Insects, honey bees, cows, goats, and deer live off of it. After
eating these the insects produce silk; bees produce honey; deer give
musk (a special kindof scent), cows and goats deliver off-springs.Is
this not clear evidencethat one kind of leaf has so many qualities,
and who created these qualities? It is the Khaliq (Creator) who we
call Allah (S.W.T.) Who is the Inventor and the Creator."
Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal reflected on the question in the following way.
He said,"There is an incredibly strong fort, it has no doors, there is
no way toget in. In fact, there is not even a hole in it. From outside
it glows like the moon and from inside it shimmers like gold. It is
sealed from all sides, matter of fact it is air tight. Suddenly one of
its doors breaks down, a living thing with eyes and ears, a beautiful
looking animalappears yelling and wandering all over. So isnot there a
creator who made it possible for life to take place in this secured
and closed fort? And is not this Creator better than humans? This
Creator has no limit." Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal was referring to an egg
which is closed from all sides but Allah (S.W.T.) The Khaliq (Creator)
puts life in it and a chick pops out.

Recognise the bountiesof Allah - story of three men

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Islamic Stories, - Once Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam related
that there were three men from the Banu Isra'eel. One of them was a
leper, the other bald, and the thirdblind. Allah Ta'ala wanted to test
them, so He sent an angel to them. The angel first went to the leper
and asked him: "What would you like best?" He replied: "I would like a
nice complexion, a beautiful skin, and that this sickness goes away
from me whereby people do not allow me to sit with them and which they
hate." The angel passed his hand over the body of that person. He was
immediately cured and anice skin and beautiful complexion appeared.
The angel then asked him: "What type of wealth do you like the most?"
He replied:"Camels." So he gave hima pregnant camel and told him: "May
Allah Ta'ala give you barakah in this."
The angel then went to the bald person and asked him: "What would you
like best?" He replied: "That my hair grows nicely and that this
sickness which people dislike goes away from me!" The angel passed his
hand over his head, he was immediately cured and beautiful hair began
to grow. He then asked him: "What type of wealth do you like the
most?" He replied:"Cows." So he gave him a pregnant cow and toldhim:
"May Allah Ta'ala give you barakah in this."
Eventually, the angel went to the blind personand asked him: "What
would you like most?" He replied: "That Allah gives me back my sight
so that I may be able to see everyone." The angelpassed his hand over
his eyes and Allah gave him back his sight. He then asked him: "What
type of wealth do you like themost?" He replied:"Goats." So he was
givena pregnant goat. The animals of all three delivered their babies.
Ina short time, the jungle was filled with his camels, his cows, and
hisgoats.
Thereafter, under the orders of Allah Ta'ala, that angel went in his
previous form to the leper and said to him: "I am a poor person. All
myprovisions for my journey are finished. Today I have no means of
reaching home exceptthrough Allah and then through your help. In the
name of that Allah who has blessed you with a nice skin and a
beautiful complexion, I ask you for a camel which I could ride and
reach my home." He replied: "Get far away from here! I have a lot
ofother commitments to fulfil. I do not have anything to spare which I
could give you." The angel said: "I think I recognize you. Were younot
a leper, for which people despised you? Were you not very poor, and
then Allah blessed you with so much of wealth?" He replied:"What are
you talking? I inherited this wealth from my ancestors." The angel
said: "If you are lying, may Allah return you as you were before."
The angel then went to the bald person in his previous form and
askedhim the same questions and he also replied in the same way. So
the angel said to him: "If youare lying, may Allah return you as you
were before."
Eventually he went to the blind person in that same original form and
said to him: "I am a traveller and all my provisions are finished.
Today I have no means except Allah and then you. In the name of that
Being who returned to you your eye-sight, I ask you for a goat with
which I could do my work and complete my journey." He replied:"Without
doubt, I was blind. It was only out of His mercy that Allah Ta'ala
gave me back my eye-sight. Take as much as you want and leave behind
as much as you want. By Allah, I will not stop you from taking
anything." The angel replied: "Keep your wealth with you, I do not
want anything. I hadonly come to test you three. Now the test is over.
Allah is pleased with you and displeased with the other two."
Lesson: Just imagine, that because of the ungratefulness of those two,
all those bounties were taken away and they were left as they were
before. Allah became displeased with them and they are forsaken both
in this world and in the hereafter. Due to his gratefulness, that
person's bounties remained intact, Allah was pleased with him, and he
is contented bothin this world and in the hereafter.

The Qur’an commands usto show affection and compassion to devout Jews and Christians

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- - > - > Muslims believe in all theProphets sent by
Allah before our Prophet (saas), and love and respect them all
equally. Similarly, they also harbor a profound love and respect for
those people who were genuinely devoted to these true Prophets and who
defended the truth with them. Verses from the Qur'an referring to the
peoples of the Prophets read as follows:
You who believe! Be helpers of Allah as Jesus son of Maryam said to
the Disciples, 'Who will be my helpers to Allah?' The Disciples said,
'We will be the helpers of Allah.' One faction of the tribe of Israel
believed and the other disbelieved. So We supported those who believed
against their enemy and they became victorious. (Surat as-Saff,14)
... There is a community among the People of theBook who are upright.
They recite Allah's signs throughout the night, and they prostrate.
They believe in Allah and the Last Day, and enjoin the right and
forbid the wrong, and compete in doing good. They are among the
righteous. You will not be denied the reward for any goodthing you do.
Allah knows those who have taqwa [fear of Allah]. (Surah Al 'Imran,
113-115)
Because Muslims behave according to the Qur'an and the Sunna of our
Prophet (saas), they also love the People of the Book. They feel
affectionfor those who remained loyal to Allah's Prophets and the
mission imparted to them. It is for these reasons that there can be no
questionof a Muslim who has faith in Allah and His Book ever adopting
an anti-Semitic line. That is because it is wrong to be anti-Semitic,
in other words to harbor enmity toward devout Jews who obeyed the
ProphetMoses (as) and his mission. It is unlawful, according to the
Qur'an, to feel anger toward thePeople of Israel because they live by
the Torah sent down by Allah to them through the Prophet Moses (as).
Such a moral conception is unbecoming of Muslims.
What matters for us is the attitude of our Prophet (saas), who always
treated Jews believing in Allah in his own day with great
understanding and justice. The People of theBook were treated with
great compassion in the time of our Prophet (saas) and the four
Caliphs who followed. These people were watched over and protected,
and their rights preserved with justice. Our Prophet (saas) both
called on them to convert to Islam but also treated them well and
allowed them to live by their own faith.
If according to the Qur'an, the attitude to be adopted toward the
People of the Book wereone of hostility, then thefirst person to do
that would obviously have been our Prophet (saas) himself. The fact
is, however, that historic documents make it clear that in the time of
our Prophet (saas) and the Caliphs who came after him, devout Jews and
other People of the Bookwho sought shelter with Muslims, asked for
protection and did not fight against them were always treated in a
loving and protective manner. (You can read more details from here. )
Allah clarifies this in these verses:
Allah does not forbid you from being good to those who have not fought
you in the religion or driven you from your homes, or from being just
towards them. Allah loves those who are just. (Surat al-Mumtahana, 8)
Those who believe and those who are Jews and the Sabaeans and the
Christians, all who believe in Allah and the Last Day and act rightly
will feel no fear and will know no sorrow. (Surat al-Ma'ida, 69)
It is for these reasons that, according to the verses of the Qur'an,
it is atheists, associaters that Muslims need to wage an intellectual
struggle against, both in the timeof our Prophet (saas) and in the
present day, and not devout believers. Our Prophet (saas) never fought
devout Jews or Christians who believed in the Oneness of Allah. The
Prophet (saas) and his companions only fought against atheists and
those pagans and hypocrites who did all they could, physically and
psychologically, to harm Muslims and prevent the spread of the
religion and stop Muslims preaching.
Looking at the battles fought by our Prophet (saas), these were always
fought for defensive purposes. In other words, the Prophet (saas)
never embarked on war against those who did not declare war on him,
and never continued fighting against those who wished to put a stop to
it or asked for terms. Our Prophet (saas)remained completely loyal to
the conditions regarding war revealed by Allah in the Qur'an. Allah
reveals this in the Qur'an on the subject:
Permission to fight is given to those who are fought against because
they have been wronged – truly Allah has the power to come to their
support – (Surat al-Hajj, 69)
But if they cease, Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Surat
al-Baqara, 192)
... Do not fight them in the Masjid al-Haram untilthey fight you
there. But if they do fight you, thenkill them... (Surat al-Baqara,
191)
Therefore, the history of Islam is full of such examples. For
instance, on one occasion the Jews of Haybar came to our Prophet
(saas) and said that their goods had been removed by certain Muslims
without their permission. At this, the Prophet (saas) gathered the
Muslims together in the mosque and told them the property of those
with whom treaties had been agreed were sacrosanct and that what they
had done was. (Musnad, IV, 89; Vakıdi, II, 691; Serahsi, Siyer, I,
133, IV, 1530) Article 17 of the Medina State Treaty our Prophet
(saas) had drawn up in his first years in the city used theexpression,
" Those of the Jews who join us willbe helped and well treated. They
will suffer no injustice and their enemies will not be helped." A
rticle 25 of thesame treaty says, "The Jews of the Beni Awf
andbelievers are one Ummah. They will live bytheir own faith, and
Muslims by theirs." Article 36 says, "There will be mutual aid,
kindness and goodness between Muslims and Jews." (Ibn Kathir, as-Sira,
II/322; Hamidullah, el-Vesaik, p. 44-45; Co-existence in Western and
Western sources, p. 285).
When Abubaqr (ra) captured Tabariyya afterour Prophet (saas), the
Christians living there were given guarantees that their churches
would not be harmed. When Umar (ra) captured Jerusalem he issued a
decree to the populace, declaring that the places of worship of the
People of the Book would not be harmed. Another decree issued by Umar
(ra) to the Christians of Medain included the principle that "No
Christian shall be forced to become a Muslim against his will". During
the capture, in the time of Uthman (ra), of Debil, an Armenian city,
the Christians living there were given a guarantee in a decree that
places of worship would be protected. Permission was always given for
damaged churches to be repaired and for new synagoguesand monasteries
to be built.