Page 65 - The Signs Leading to Faith
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Islamic Scholars And The Signs Leading To Faith
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                    they rise and set continuously and without mistake; and to the
                    Sun and the Moon. Consider their regular movements that will
                    continue until the Day of Judgment, as well as their orbits that
                    will never deviate, and take lessons from them! Think about the
                    great number of stars, their shapes and colors. Look at the

                    movement of Sun within a year. Without its rising and setting,
                    there would be no day or night. If there were no difference be-
                    tween them, there would be no seasons. ... Examples are legion.
                    Every entity in the universe has many purposes. If the universe
                    were a house, the heavens would be its roof. 6





                    Al-Imam Al-A`zam Abu Hanifa
                    Abu Hanifa (d. 767), founder of the Hanifa sect and

               known during his own lifetime as “al-Imam al-A`zam” (The
               Great Scholar), strove to communicate the message of Islam
               and teach people God’s commandments. The signs leading to
               faith constituted the most important method he used to spread

               Islam and prove God’s existence. As an example of just how
               much importance this great scholar attached to these signs,
               consider the following dialogue with an atheist (a naturalist or
               materialist who does not believe the Hereafter):

                    When  Abu Hanifa, who lived on the opposite shore of
                    Baghdad, failed to take his place at the hour for debate, various
                    questions arose in the mind of the atheist and the crowd.
                    Everyone wondered: “Why hasn’t he come? Will he really not
                    come? Is he afraid? Has he been unable to find any proof?” and

                    so on. Al-Imam al-A`zam arrived shortly after the appointed
                    time. The atheist had been encouraged by this, and his arro-
                    gance and pride had grown…
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