Page 422 - Islam and Far Eastern Religions

420

stupidity and illogicality. However, "magic" is the only possible expla-
nation for people from all over the world believing that unconscious
and lifeless atoms suddenly decided to come together and form a uni-
verse that functions with a flawless system of organization, discipline,
reason, and consciousness; a planet named Earth with all of its features

so perfectly suited to life; and living things full of countless complex
systems.
In fact, in the Qur'an Allah relates the incident of the Prophet
Moses (pbuh) and Pharaoh to show that some people who support athe-
istic philosophies actually influence others by magic. When Pharaoh
was told about the true religion, he told the Prophet Moses (pbuh) to
meet with his own magicians. When the Prophet Moses (pbuh) did so,
he told them to demonstrate their abilities first. The verses continue:
He said: "You throw." And when they threw, they cast a spell on the
people's eyes and caused them to feel great fear of them. They pro-
duced an extremely powerful magic. (Surat al-A'raf: 116)
As we have seen, Pharaoh's magicians were able to deceive every-
one, apart from the Prophet Moses (pbuh) and those who believed in
him. However, his evidence broke the spell, or "swallowed up what
they had forged," as revealed in the verse:
We revealed to Moses: "Throw down your staff." And it immedi-
ately swallowed up what they had forged. So the Truth took place
and what they did was shown to be false. (Surat al-A'raf: 117-118)

As we can see, when people realized that a spell had been cast up-
on them and that what they saw was just an illusion, Pharaoh's magi-
cians lost all credibility. In the present day too, unless those who, un-
der the influence of a similar spell, believe in these ridiculous claims
under their scientific disguise and spend their lives defending them,
abandon their superstitious beliefs, they also will be humiliated when
the full truth emerges and the spell is broken. In fact, world-renowned

Islam And Far Eastern Religions