Page 65 - The Signs Leading to Faith

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…