Is the Evidence for Islam Compelling?

This article is adapted from Dr. Fahad al-Ajlan’s book, Al-Awasim: Al-Maqulat al-Dhaminah min al-Inhirafat al-Fikriyyah al-Mu’asirah, pp. 64-71.

By His Mercy and Wisdom, Allah has set forth conclusive evidence for humanity regarding the truth:

“All were messengers delivering good news and warnings so humanity should have no excuse before Allah after ˹the coming of˺ the messengers. And Allah is Almighty, All-Wise” [4:165]

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:

“There is none who is more anxious to accept the apologies of the people than Allah Himself and it is because of this that He has revealed the Book and sent the Messengers.” [Bukhari & Muslim]

Each Messenger came with substantial evidence supporting their prophetic claims, creating a moral obligation for people to follow them. The Prophet (peace be upon him) stated:

“bestowed with a sign amongst the signs which were bestowed (on the earlier prophets). Human beings believed in it and verily I have been conferred upon revelation (the Holy Qur’an) which Allah revealed to me. I hope that I will have the greatest following on the Day of Resurrection.” [Bukhari & Muslim]

The evidence brought by the Prophets was clear and definitive, guiding sincere truth seekers toward discovering the truth. However, this evidence was not compelling to the extent that rejecting it would deem one insane, nor was it as undeniable as rejecting something witnessed firsthand.

This is because it is within Allah’s wisdom to allow trials:

“He is the One Who created the heavens and the earth in six Days¹—and His Throne was upon the waters—in order to test which of you is best in deeds.” [11:7]

And to uphold the reality that there will perpetually exist both believers and disbelievers:

“when a group will be in Paradise and another in the Blaze.” [42:7]

If the evidence for Islam were so compelling that it became absolutely irresistible for anyone to reject it, then there would be no more test, contrary to one of Allah’s wise objectives.

It is for this reason that Allah did not entertain the request of the Makkah polytheists to provide more explicit signs tailored to their whims and demands:

“They challenge ˹the Prophet˺, “We will never believe in you until you cause a spring to gush forth from the earth for us, or until you have a garden of palm trees and vineyards, and cause rivers to flow abundantly in it, or cause the sky to fall upon us in pieces, as you have claimed, or bring Allah and the angels before us, face to face, or until you have a house of gold, or you ascend into heaven—and even then we will not believe in your ascension until you bring down to us a book that we can read.” Say, “Glory be to my Lord! Am I not only a human messenger?”” [17:90-93]

And:

“And they say ˹mockingly˺, “What kind of messenger is this who eats food and goes about in market-places ˹for a living˺? If only an angel had been sent down with him to be his co-warner, or a treasure had been cast down to him, or he had had a garden from which he may eat!” And the wrongdoers say ˹to the believers˺, “You are only following a bewitched man.”” [17:7-8]

Allah emphasized that even if He had accommodated their arbitrary demands, they would still have persisted in disbelief, leading to their destruction in this life:

“They say, “Why has no ˹visible˺ angel come with him?” Had We sent down an angel, the matter would have certainly been settled ˹at once˺,¹ and they would have never been given more time ˹to repent˺. And if We had sent an angel, We would have certainly made it ˹assume the form of˺ a man—leaving them more confused than they already are.” [6:8-9]

The knowledge that Allah has mandated mankind to acquire is attained through effort, even though it is clear and apparent. This allows sincere truth seekers to be rewarded for discovering the truth. This wisdom would be lost if such mandated knowledge forcefully imposed itself upon us, akin to how we unquestionably accept the existence of things we see with our eyes.[1] It is not for the creation to dictate what constitutes satisfactory evidence to Allah.

Similarly, Allah ensures that the evidence for truth is not overshadowed or dominated by false arguments. This ensures that those who sincerely exert genuine effort can be guided to the correct path.[2]

All of this illustrates that intellectual argumentation with disbelievers is an ongoing process that will never cease. The evidence for Islam is not so compelling that there is absolutely no need for any discussion.

Furthermore, the fact that there is a dispute over the strength of the evidence for Islam does not imply that the arguments for Islam are not inherently definitive or clear in their own right. Instead, there could be various deceptive arguments that need to be addressed and dispelled to prevent clouding people’s judgments. Additionally, the evidence is intended for those who are sincere truth seekers; no amount of evidence could sway those who are insincere.[3] Stubborn and insincere individuals will always find excuses:

“Had We sent down to you ˹O Prophet˺ a revelation in writing and they were to touch it with their own hands, the disbelievers would still have said, “This is nothing but pure magic!”” [6:7]

“And even if We opened for them a gate to heaven, through which they continued to ascend, still they would say, “Our eyes have truly been dazzled! In fact, we must have been bewitched.”” [15:14-15]

Recommended Reading

- Providing More Evidence for Islam Does Not Cure Insincerity

- Why Do Intelligent People Reject Islam?

- Is It ‘Reasonable’ for Individual Muslims to Ignore Arguments against Islam?

- The Illusion of Academic Objectivity

- The Rationale of Hell in Islam (lecture transcript)

- Will Your ‘Evidence’ Help Before Allah?

- Being Assured of Islam’s Truth via the Process of Elimination

- The Correlation Between Being Truly Sincere and Logical

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[1] Ibn al-Sabbagh (d. 477 A.H.) says in his al-Tareeq al-Salim ila Allah, p. 34:

العلم الذي كلفه الله تعالى خلقه إنما هو علم اكتساب، وإن كان ظهوره كالضروري، وأسبابه أقوى من أسبابه، وإنما كلفه لخلقه ولم ينته به إلى الضرورة ليثيب المفكر المنصف، ويعذب المعرض المنحرف، قال الله تعالى: هَلۡ یَنظُرُونَ إِلَّاۤ أَن تَأۡتِیَهُمُ ٱلۡمَلَـٰۤىِٕكَةُ أَوۡ یَأۡتِیَ رَبُّكَ أَوۡ یَأۡتِیَ بَعۡضُ ءَایَـٰتِ رَبِّكَۗ یَوۡمَ یَأۡتِی بَعۡضُ ءَایَـٰتِ رَبِّكَ لَا یَنفَعُ نَفۡسًا إِیمَـٰنُهَا لَمۡ تَكُنۡ ءَامَنَتۡ مِن قَبۡلُ أَوۡ كَسَبَتۡ فِیۤ إِیمَـٰنِهَا خَیۡرࣰاۗ قُلِ ٱنتَظِرُوۤا۟ إِنَّا مُنتَظِرُونَ

يقل الله تعالى: هل ينتظرون بإيمانهم أن يأتيهم بعض آيات ربك الظاهرة لهم، الموجبة للعلم الضروري، من الملائكة والعذاب على الكفار، والصواعق بهم، ثم بيّن تعالى أن مع وجود ذلك لا يكون الإيمان نافعا لهم؛ لأنهم لم يكتسبوه

[2] Al-Mu'allimee al-Yamani (d. 1386 A.H.) states in al-Tankeel, vol. 2, p. 306:

وكما اقتضت الحكمة أن لا تكون حجج الحق مكشوفةً قاهرةً، فكذلك اقتضت أن لا تكون الشبهات غالبة. قال الله عز وجل: ﴿وَلَوْلَا أَنْ يَكُونَ النَّاسُ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً لَجَعَلْنَا لِمَنْ يَكْفُرُ بِالرَّحْمَنِ لِبُيُوتِهِمْ سُقُفًا مِنْ فِضَّةٍ وَمَعَارِجَ عَلَيْهَا يَظْهَرُونَ (٣٣) وَلِبُيُوتِهِمْ أَبْوَابًا وَسُرُرًا عَلَيْهَا يَتَّكِئُونَ (٣٤) وَزُخْرُفًا وَإِنْ كُلُّ ذَلِكَ لَمَّا مَتَاعُ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةُ عِنْدَ رَبِّكَ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ﴾ [الزخرف: ٣٣ - ٣٥]

وذلك أنه لو كان كلُّ من كفر بالله خصَّه الله تعالى بذلك النعيم دون المؤمنين، لكانت تلك شبهة غالبة توقع الناسَ كلهم في الكفر

[3] Ibn al-Sabbagh (d. 477 A.H.) says in his al-Tareeq al-Salim ila Allah, p. 152:

بيّن الله تعالى أن الحجج والآيات إنما تنفع من يقصد الحق، وإذا بان له الحق واتبعه، وأما من يدفعه ويكذبه، أو يكون ذلك قصده، فإن الآيات والحجج لا تنفعه، وما يقع الاختلاف بين العقلاء في الأدلة العقلية الموجبة للعلم إلا من حيث الهوى واختلاف المقاصد، فإن من يهوى ما ألفه من الدين الذي وجد عليه أباه لا ينظر في الأدلة إذا نظر نظر منصف، بل يطلب تصحيح قوله، والميل فيه إلى اعتقاده، فتتزيّن له الشبهة حتى تصير كالحجة، وتضعف عنده الحجة حتى تصير كالشبهة