IMAM JAFFER AL-SADIQ (AS) AND ATHEIST

Ibne Abi Al Auja, an atheist came in the Masjid-e-Nabavi in Madinah and challenged the companion of Imam Jaffer al-Sadiq (AS), Mufaddal Ibne Umer, about the existence of God. When he could not thoroughly convince the atheist, he came to the Imam. The Imam explained in minute details of creation of human beings, animal kingdom and the outside world. In this article, we shall restrict ourselves to the “human body”.

The Imam said: “A human being is conceived within three dark coverings of the mother.

His mother’s menstrual flow is diverted to serve as his nutrition. After the birth, the same fluid is directed towards her breasts to feed him for growth. (This very miracle of mother’s blood first is consumed to make bones, flesh, skin and different delicate body parts and after birth, the same blood is converted to milk! should be sufficient).

As he moves about and needs harder food to build up a strong body, his molars appear to masticate food material to facilitate digestion. He carries on with such nutrition till he attains puberty. The male grows hair on face as sign of manliness. A female keeps her face clean, lovely and hairless. Can you imagine the manner in which man, through these stages, are lead and perfected, can take place without a Designer and a Creator? One can imagine the disastrous result of any abnormalities.

Just see the advantages that accrue to the children from weeping. There is a fluid in the child’s brain which, if not drained off, may cause trouble or illness, even the loss of an eye. The discharge of the fluid leaves it healthy and brighter eyes!

The saliva dripping from the mouths of children may cause serious derangement if not allowed to flow. The excess flow result in mental idiocy, foolishness even paralysis.

Just consider the conditions of various organs, the functions each one is required to perform and the perfection of design. Hands are meant to handle business, both feet are meant for locomotion, the eyes are to see with, the mouth is to take in food, the stomach is to digest it, the liver is to extract its nutrition for distribution to the various parts of the body after manufacturing same into blood, bile, lymph, and phlegm, the orifices of the body are meant to eliminate waste of the body. What we say is all things are created by One, who is The Master of Knowledge and Power. They say that there is no Creator and yet admit that nature had this by ingenuity and plan. It is obvious that action emanates from an Omniscient Creator, Who has laid down a method among His Creation through His Omniscience, which these people call nature.

For instance, a seed needs water to sprout- no rain no corn; a child is born by the union of man and woman, and without this process of union and insemination, no child can be born: water evaporates to cause a cloud, the cloud is moved about by air to give rain; there can be no rain without such a process. These atheists took these causes and nature as the real Creator, denying the existence of the Creator above all these. This is manifest error, seeing that water is lifeless, and unless it is enlivened by the Life-giver, how can it produce corn? And how can the sperm which is without intelligence, develop into an infant, unless energized by the Omnipotent to create a head out of one part, hands and feet from other parts, bones from yet another part and heart and liver from another part. Other forms of creations can be considered accordingly.

Now consider the nutrition supplied to the body, and the ingenious plan underlying it.

Just note that on the arrival in the stomach, the food is processed into chime of the physicians and the extract is transferred to the liver by fine capillaries forming a network in that organ. The stomach is constituted as a rectifier for transfer of material to the liver in rectified form, to prevent injury to that delicate structure. The liver then takes up the extracts of the nutrients taken in, and by an inscrutable ingenuity, changes it into blood to be pumped by the heart to all parts of the body by means of blood vessels, in the manner of irrigation channels seen in gardens and fields supplying water to any place. All waste products and toxic waste is carried off to organs designed to eliminate them, e.g. the gall bladder, the intestines, the sweat glands of armpits and thighs. The bile matter goes to the gall bladder, some matter goes to the spleen and the moisture goes to the bladder.

Just consider the ingenuity that goes into the building up of the body! How well these organs are co-coordinated! How the vessels, the intestines and the bladder etc are organized to collect the waste products of the body so as to prevent them to cause disease.

Glory is then to Him Who created these organs according to a remarkable plan and design. All praise is due to Him, Who is worthy of it.

Similarly, the parts of body are either single or double. Head is one while hands and feet are two and so on. Think of the ingenuity of these systems.

The parts involved in the production of voice-larynx, tongue, teeth and lungs resemble the musical parts in a bagpipe. The tongue is forged to distinguish between the varied tastes of foods. The teeth masticate the foods to make it soft enough for digestion. Imagine the importance of teeth to a person who have lost his teeth. The lips help to suck in water or other fluids.

The skull protects the brain which is wrapped in membranes for protection. The skull is covered with hair safeguarding it against heat or cold. Who then, except Almighty Allah, made these extraordinary protections for the most important part of the body? Just consider the eye-lid, how it is fashioned as a screen for the eye, with the eye-lashes like the strings for raising and lowering the screen. Who has concealed the heart within the breast and covered it with a membrane? Who has arranged for its protection by means of the ribs, the muscles rind flesh? Who has shaped the two holes in the throat; one for food and the other called wind-pipe? And who has placed a flap on the wind-pipe so as to protect food particles entering it which may cause obstruction and even death? Who has shaped the sphincters, controlling the outlets of urine and stool? Who has given the resilience to the muscles of the stomach to digest coarse foods? Can you imagine all these can be performed by inert nature? Certainly not. All this is the planning of Almighty Omnipotent  Designer, Who has the fullest knowledge and has the perfect Omnipotence in advance of creation. He is Allah, the Al-knowing, Almighty.

Who endowed man with intellect? Surely He Who made reward and chastisement as essential for him. He would not need intellect if he were not to be responsible for reward and punishment. The Almighty Creator endowed him with intellect to distinguish between good and evil, and after his decision between good and evil, to get the reward for goodness and chastisement for evil. Just consider what has been explained (condensed) above. Can there be such orderliness and method in the absence of planning? Certainly not! Allah Almighty is far exalted above what these (atheist) say.

Similarly, Allah has provided the knowledge which is essential for his life but denied him certain knowledge like his life span in the world. One can realize the pros and cons of this Divine decision.

On the same lines the benefits of memory and dreams. Some dreams are true but most of them are untrue!

As for the general human needs; man needs water more than bread. Hence Almighty has provided immense supply of water free but for bread he has to plan and make efforts which will keep him busy.

Birds and animals are all same without distinction but no two men are same. They have been made different to do business in life. If two animals are the same it is not harmful to them but if two men are the same, you can imagine the problems involved. Who then has provided such niceties and perfections which stagger imagination? Surely He Who created all these, Whose grace extends to all things.