12: Who Designed the Designer? – Why Islam is True with Shaykh Hamza Karamali
Atheists object to the argument for God’s existence from design by asking the question, “Who designed the designer?” This objection is, in fact, a sound objection because the design argument in its common formulation by Christian theists is, in fact, flawed. But it is not a valid objection to the inferences that Muslim theologians make from design because they make a different argument. “Why Islam is True” is a series of 40 short presentations that analyze the claim, “Islam is true,” by dividing it into a series of sub-claims and then evaluating their truth by examining the evidence for them, as well as the evidence against them. As they do this, the presentations explain the relationship between Islam and science; the fallaciousness of the arguments of contemporary atheists; the relationship between Islam and other faith-traditions; the role of prophecy in human history; the nature of life, death, and the human soul; and the purpose of human existence. While the presentations are all grounded in the traditional Islamic sciences—particularly the sciences of Islamic theology (‘ilm al-tawhid), Islamic logic (mantiq), Qur’anic exegesis (tafsir), and legal theory (usul al-fiqh)—their goal is to answer the questions that any open-minded and thinking graduate of a contemporary high-school or university—Muslim or not—would ask about Islam. The conclusion of this series of presentations is that God does, in fact, exist; that the Prophet Muhammad (God bless him and give him peace) was, in fact, His messenger; that He did, in fact, teach us the purpose of our existence on earth; and that we will, in fact, be resurrected after our deaths to stand before and be judged by God. Shaykh Hamza Karamali is one of the teachers at SeekersGuidance Global. Visit (http://www.seekersguidnace.org/courses) to register for one of his courses. All courses are free. You could also watch this series on YouTube with a slide presentation on this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4mTEQpP9b5FBA1EtS22ev2Zm_KWEMfpE .
11: Science Reveals God’s Unrestricted Agency – Why Islam is True with Shaykh Hamza Karamali
Modern science has revealed that God can do anything. We have always discerned purposes in the universe--the purpose of our eyes is for us to see and the purpose of our ears is for us to hear. But modern science has delved deeper than ever before into these purposes to reveal a unimaginable, unfathomable, undeniable intricacies in a way that God made the universe. These intricacies incontrovertibly reveal that God can do absolutely anything. While the presentations are all grounded in the traditional Islamic sciences—particularly the sciences of Islamic theology (‘ilm al-tawhid), Islamic logic (mantiq), Qur’anic exegesis (tafsir), and legal theory (usul al-fiqh)—their goal is to answer the questions that any open-minded and thinking graduate of a contemporary high-school or university—Muslim or not—would ask about Islam. The conclusion of this series of presentations is that God does, in fact, exist; that the Prophet Muhammad (God bless him and give him peace) was, in fact, His messenger; that He did, in fact, teach us the purpose of our existence on earth; and that we will, in fact, be resurrected after our deaths to stand before and be judged by God.
10 – God is a Volitional Agent
People have historically believed in two kinds of necessary being. Non-religious philosophers such as Aristotle and Avicenna argued for the existence of a necessary being who is the necessary and volitionless cause of the universe. Religious believers, on the other hand--Muslims, Christians, and Jews--have held that the necessary being who made the universe is someone who freely chose to create it, that He is alive, and that He has knowledge, will, and power. This presentation gives evidence for why the religious believers are right and why the non-religious philosophers are wrong. “Why Islam is True” is a series of 40 short presentations that analyze the claim, “Islam is true,” by dividing it into a series of sub-claims and then evaluating their truth by examining the evidence for them, as well as the evidence against them. As they do this, the presentations explain the relationship between Islam and science; the fallaciousness of the arguments of contemporary atheists; the relationship between Islam and other faith-traditions; the role of prophecy in human history; the nature of life, death, and the human soul; and the purpose of human existence. While the presentations are all grounded in the traditional Islamic sciences—particularly the sciences of Islamic theology (‘ilm al-tawhid), Islamic logic (mantiq), Qur’anic exegesis (tafsir), and legal theory (usul al-fiqh)—their goal is to answer the questions that any open-minded and thinking graduate of a contemporary high-school or university—Muslim or not—would ask about Islam. The conclusion of this series of presentations is that God does, in fact, exist; that the Prophet Muhammad (God bless him and give him peace) was, in fact, His messenger; that He did, in fact, teach us the purpose of our existence on earth; and that we will, in fact, be resurrected after our deaths to stand before and be judged by God. Shaykh Hamza Karamali is one of the teachers at SeekersGuidance Global. Visit (http://www.seekersguidance.org/courses) to register for one of his courses. All courses are free. You could also watch this series on YouTube with a slide presentation on this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4mTEQpP9b5FBA1EtS22ev2Zm_KWEMfpE . Checkout all of the SeekersGuidance podcasts by visiting seekersguidance.fm
09 – God Did Not Begin to Exist
The beginning of the universe is evidence for the existence of a being that did not begin to exist, just as the contingency of the universe is evidence for the existence of a being that is not contingent. In this short episode, Shaykh Hamza recaps both of these arguments and concludes a series of presentations (Episodes 2 to 9) that show that the universe is evidence for the existence of a being who is necessary and beginningless. “Why Islam is True” is a series of 40 short presentations that analyze the claim, “Islam is true,” by dividing it into a series of sub-claims and then evaluating their truth by examining the evidence for them, as well as the evidence against them. As they do this, the presentations explain the relationship between Islam and science; the fallaciousness of the arguments of contemporary atheists; the relationship between Islam and other faith-traditions; the role of prophecy in human history; the nature of life, death, and the human soul; and the purpose of human existence. While the presentations are all grounded in the traditional Islamic sciences—particularly the sciences of Islamic theology (‘ilm al-tawhid), Islamic logic (mantiq), Qur’anic exegesis (tafsir), and legal theory (usul al-fiqh)—their goal is to answer the questions that any open-minded and thinking graduate of a contemporary high-school or university—Muslim or not—would ask about Islam. The conclusion of this series of presentations is that God does, in fact, exist; that the Prophet Muhammad (God bless him and give him peace) was, in fact, His messenger; that He did, in fact, teach us the purpose of our existence on earth; and that we will, in fact, be resurrected after our deaths to stand before and be judged by God. Shaykh Hamza Karamali is one of the teachers at SeekersGuidance Global. Visit (http://www.seekersguidance.org/courses) to register for one of his courses. All courses are free. You could also watch this series on YouTube with a slide presentation on this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4mTEQpP9b5FBA1EtS22ev2Zm_KWEMfpE . Checkout all of the SeekersGuidance podcasts by visiting seekersguidance.fm
Supporting Scholars and Students in Need – A Message from Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Through the SeekersGuidance Global Islamic Scholars Fund, SeekersGuidance Global has been able to help numerous scholars and students of knowledge in need to continue to study and serve their communities. Help is still urgently needed for a number of ongoing cases to help scholars and students of knowledge in need. Please donate today for this ongoing charity. Donate now at seekersguidance.org/donate. All donations are zakat-eligible and are tax-deductible in the US and Canada.
08 – Infinity is an Imaginary Concept
The strongest objection to the “Kalam Cosmological Argument” hides behind the seemingly complex uses of various kinds of infinities in modern mathematics. In this episode, Shaykh Hamza explains the history and nature of modern mathematics, numbers, set theory, mathematical infinities, and the philosophy of mathematics, all in terms that anyone with a good high-school education can understand. The straightforward conclusion of the explanation of these concepts is that modern mathematical infinities are completely unrelated to the “Kalam Cosmological Argument”. Not only that, but the explanation also reveals several additional arguments that make the “Kalam Cosmological Argument” even stronger. This presentation is significantly longer than the other presentations in this series. “Why Islam is True” is a series of 40 short presentations that analyze the claim, “Islam is true,” by dividing it into a series of sub-claims and then evaluating their truth by examining the evidence for them, as well as the evidence against them. As they do this, the presentations explain the relationship between Islam and science; the fallaciousness of the arguments of contemporary atheists; the relationship between Islam and other faith-traditions; the role of prophecy in human history; the nature of life, death, and the human soul; and the purpose of human existence. While the presentations are all grounded in the traditional Islamic sciences—particularly the sciences of Islamic theology (‘ilm al-tawhid), Islamic logic (mantiq), Qur’anic exegesis (tafsir), and legal theory (usul al-fiqh)—their goal is to answer the questions that any open-minded and thinking graduate of a contemporary high-school or university—Muslim or not—would ask about Islam. The conclusion of this series of presentations is that God does, in fact, exist; that the Prophet Muhammad (God bless him and give him peace) was, in fact, His messenger; that He did, in fact, teach us the purpose of our existence on earth; and that we will, in fact, be resurrected after our deaths to stand before and be judged by God. Shaykh Hamza Karamali is one of the teachers at SeekersGuidance Global. Visit (http://www.SeekersGuidance.org/courses) to register for one of his courses. All courses are free. You could also watch this series on YouTube with a slide presentation on this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4mTEQpP9b5FBA1EtS22ev2Zm_KWEMfpE . Checkout all of the SeekersGuidance podcasts by visiting SeekersGuidance.fm
07 – The Kalam Cosmological Argument
Muslim theologians formalized general Qur'anic arguments for the fact that the universe began to exist into precise philosophical arguments. Their arguments, historically unknown in the West, have only recently been introduced into contemporary philosophical discourse as the "Kalam Cosmological Argument". In this episode, Shaykh Hamza explains the Qur'anic context of the argument and then unpacks the argument according to the clear, intuitive, and easy-to-grasp approaches of traditional Muslim theology. “Why Islam is True” is a series of 40 short presentations that analyze the claim, “Islam is true,” by dividing it into a series of sub-claims and then evaluating their truth by examining the evidence for them, as well as the evidence against them. As they do this, the presentations explain the relationship between Islam and science; the fallaciousness of the arguments of contemporary atheists; the relationship between Islam and other faith-traditions; the role of prophecy in human history; the nature of life, death, and the human soul; and the purpose of human existence. While the presentations are all grounded in the traditional Islamic sciences—particularly the sciences of Islamic theology (‘ilm al-tawhid), Islamic logic (mantiq), Qur’anic exegesis (tafsir), and legal theory (usul al-fiqh)—their goal is to answer the questions that any open-minded and thinking graduate of a contemporary high-school or university—Muslim or not—would ask about Islam. The conclusion of this series of presentations is that God does, in fact, exist; that the Prophet Muhammad (God bless him and give him peace) was, in fact, His messenger; that He did, in fact, teach us the purpose of our existence on earth; and that we will, in fact, be resurrected after our deaths to stand before and be judged by God. Shaykh Hamza Karamali is one of the teachers at SeekersGuidance Global. Visit (http://www.SeekersGuidance.org/courses) to register for one of his courses. All courses are free. You could also watch this series on YouTube with a slide presentation on this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4mTEQpP9b5FBA1EtS22ev2Zm_KWEMfpE . Checkout all of the SeekersGuidance podcasts by visiting SeekersGuidance.fm
06 – The Universe Began to Exist
The Qur’an cites the universe as evidence for God’s existence for two reasons: (1) because it is contingent (this was explained in Episodes 2, 3, 4, and 5) and: (2) because it began to exist. In this episode, Shaykh Hamza explains the scientific evidence for the beginning of the universe and concludes with a brief explanation of why that is such compelling evidence for God’s existence. “Why Islam is True” is a series of 40 short presentations that analyze the claim, “Islam is true,” by dividing it into a series of sub-claims and then evaluating their truth by examining the evidence for them, as well as the evidence against them. As they do this, the presentations explain the relationship between Islam and science; the fallaciousness of the arguments of contemporary atheists; the relationship between Islam and other faith-traditions; the role of prophecy in human history; the nature of life, death, and the human soul; and the purpose of human existence. While the presentations are all grounded in the traditional Islamic sciences—particularly the sciences of Islamic theology (‘ilm al-tawhid), Islamic logic (mantiq), Qur’anic exegesis (tafsir), and legal theory (usul al-fiqh)—their goal is to answer the questions that any open-minded and thinking graduate of a contemporary high-school or university—Muslim or not—would ask about Islam. The conclusion of this series of presentations is that God does, in fact, exist; that the Prophet Muhammad (God bless him and give him peace) was, in fact, His messenger; that He did, in fact, teach us the purpose of our existence on earth; and that we will, in fact, be resurrected after our deaths to stand before and be judged by God. Shaykh Hamza Karamali is one of the teachers at SeekersGuidance Global. Visit (http://www.SeekersGuidance.org/courses) to register for one of his courses. All courses are free. You could also watch this series on YouTube with a slide presentation on this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4mTEQpP9b5FBA1EtS22ev2Zm_KWEMfpE . Checkout all of the SeekersGuidance podcasts by visiting SeekersGuidance.fm
05 – God and Science
Atheists frequently claim that the only reason why people have historically believed in God was that they feared natural phenomena, and that by giving scientific explanations for those phenomena, scientists have rendered that belief obsolete. In this episode, Shaykh Hamza explains that this is a straw-man argument that misrepresents the facts (a) that belief in God has historically been based on evidence and (b) that belief in God coexists (rather than conflicts) with science. It concludes by explaining that contradictions between religion and science prove that those religions are man-made, not that God does not exist, and that because Islam is not a man-made religion, modern science corroborates its truth rather than conflicting with it. “Why Islam is True” is a series of 40 short presentations that analyze the claim, “Islam is true,” by dividing it into a series of sub-claims and then evaluating their truth by examining the evidence for them, as well as the evidence against them. As they do this, the presentations explain the relationship between Islam and science; the fallaciousness of the arguments of contemporary atheists; the relationship between Islam and other faith-traditions; the role of prophecy in human history; the nature of life, death, and the human soul; and the purpose of human existence. While the presentations are all grounded in the traditional Islamic sciences—particularly the sciences of Islamic theology (‘ilm al-tawhid), Islamic logic (mantiq), Qur’anic exegesis (tafsir), and legal theory (usul al-fiqh)—their goal is to answer the questions that any open-minded and thinking graduate of a contemporary high-school or university—Muslim or not—would ask about Islam. The conclusion of this series of presentations is that God does, in fact, exist; that the Prophet Muhammad (God bless him and give him peace) was, in fact, His messenger; that He did, in fact, teach us the purpose of our existence on earth; and that we will, in fact, be resurrected after our deaths to stand before and be judged by God. Shaykh Hamza Karamali is one of the teachers at SeekersGuidance Global. Visit (http://www.SeekersGuidance.org/courses) to register for one of his courses. All courses are free. You could also watch this series on YouTube with a slide presentation on this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4mTEQpP9b5FBA1EtS22ev2Zm_KWEMfpE . Checkout all of the SeekersGuidance podcasts by visiting http://SeekersGuidance.org/podcasts/
04 – Response to a Materialist Objection
A widespread objection to the argument for God's existence, is that positing God as the solution to the problem of contingency is an arbitrary solution, and that one could just as well replace God with the physical universe or with the Big Bang. In this episode, Shaykh Hamza shows that this is a hasty and fallacious objection that does not take the time to understand the meaning of the conclusion that God exists. “Why Islam is True” is a series of 40 short presentations that analyze the claim, “Islam is true,” by dividing it into a series of sub-claims and then evaluating their truth by examining the evidence for them, as well as the evidence against them. As they do this, the presentations explain the relationship between Islam and science; the fallaciousness of the arguments of contemporary atheists; the relationship between Islam and other faith-traditions; the role of prophecy in human history; the nature of life, death, and the human soul; and the purpose of human existence. While the presentations are all grounded in the traditional Islamic sciences—particularly the sciences of Islamic theology (‘ilm al-tawhid), Islamic logic (mantiq), Qur’anic exegesis (tafsir), and legal theory (usul al-fiqh)—their goal is to answer the questions that any open-minded and thinking graduate of a contemporary high-school or university—Muslim or not—would ask about Islam. The conclusion of this series of presentations is that God does, in fact, exist; that the Prophet Muhammad (God bless him and give him peace) was, in fact, His messenger; that He did, in fact, teach us the purpose of our existence on earth; and that we will, in fact, be resurrected after our deaths to stand before and be judged by God. Shaykh Hamza Karamali is one of the teachers at SeekersGuidance Global. Visit (http://www.SeekersGuidance.org/courses) to register for one of his courses. All courses are free. You could also watch this series on YouTube with a slide presentation on this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4mTEQpP9b5FBA1EtS22ev2Zm_KWEMfpE . Checkout all of the SeekersGuidance podcasts by visiting http://SeekersGuidance.org/podcast/
03 – What is a “Necessary Being”?
In this episode Shaykh Hamza unpacks the meaning of “necessary being” in order to show that it is not a mysterious philosophical concept. Rather it is exactly what religious believers mean when they speak about God. “Why Islam is True” is a series of 40 short presentations that analyze the claim, “Islam is true,” by dividing it into a series of sub-claims and then evaluating their truth by examining the evidence for them, as well as the evidence against them. As they do this, the presentations explain the relationship between Islam and science; the fallaciousness of the arguments of contemporary atheists; the relationship between Islam and other faith-traditions; the role of prophecy in human history; the nature of life, death, and the human soul; and the purpose of human existence. While the presentations are all grounded in the traditional Islamic sciences—particularly the sciences of Islamic theology (‘ilm al-tawhid), Islamic logic (mantiq), Qur’anic exegesis (tafsir), and legal theory (usul al-fiqh)—their goal is to answer the questions that any open-minded and thinking graduate of a contemporary high-school or university—Muslim or not—would ask about Islam. The conclusion of this series of presentations is that God does, in fact, exist; that the Prophet Muhammad (God bless him and give him peace) was, in fact, His messenger; that He did, in fact, teach us the purpose of our existence on earth; and that we will, in fact, be resurrected after our deaths to stand before and be judged by God. Shaykh Hamza Karamali is one of the teachers at SeekersGuidance Global. Visit (http://www.SeekersGuidance.org/courses) to register for one of his courses. All courses are free. You could also watch this series on YouTube with a slide presentation on this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4mTEQpP9b5FBA1EtS22ev2Zm_KWEMfpE . Checkout all of the SeekersGuidance podcasts by visiting http://SeekersGuidance.org/podcasts/
02 – God Exists
If Islam is true, then it would make sense for God to have communicated evidence of His existence to us. In fact, He did. In this episode, Shaykh Hamza unpacks a key Qur’anic verse that argues that the contingency of the universe is evidence that God exists. “Why Islam is True” is a series of 40 short presentations that analyze the claim, “Islam is true,” by dividing it into a series of sub-claims and then evaluating their truth by examining the evidence for them, as well as the evidence against them. As they do this, the presentations explain the relationship between Islam and science; the fallaciousness of the arguments of contemporary atheists; the relationship between Islam and other faith-traditions; the role of prophecy in human history; the nature of life, death, and the human soul; and the purpose of human existence. While the presentations are all grounded in the traditional Islamic sciences—particularly the sciences of Islamic theology (‘ilm al-tawhid), Islamic logic (mantiq), Qur’anic exegesis (tafsir), and legal theory (usul al-fiqh)—their goal is to answer the questions that any open-minded and thinking graduate of a contemporary high-school or university—Muslim or not—would ask about Islam. The conclusion of this series of presentations is that God does, in fact, exist; that the Prophet Muhammad (God bless him and give him peace) was, in fact, His messenger; that He did, in fact, teach us the purpose of our existence on earth; and that we will, in fact, be resurrected after our deaths to stand before and be judged by God. Shaykh Hamza Karamali is one of the teachers at SeekersGuidance Global. Visit (http://www.SeekersGuidance.org/courses) to register for one of his courses. All courses are free. You could also watch this series on YouTube with a slide presentation on this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4mTEQpP9b5FBA1EtS22ev2Zm_KWEMfpE .
01 – What is Islam?
“Islam” means many different things to many different people. In this episode, Shaykh Hamza surveys some of the common meanings that are given to “Islam” and then clearly defines what these presentations mean when they say that “Islam” is true. “Why Islam is True” is a series of 40 short presentations that analyze the claim, “Islam is true,” by dividing it into a series of sub-claims and then evaluating their truth by examining the evidence for them, as well as the evidence against them. As they do this, the presentations explain the relationship between Islam and science; the fallaciousness of the arguments of contemporary atheists; the relationship between Islam and other faith-traditions; the role of prophecy in human history; the nature of life, death, and the human soul; and the purpose of human existence. While the presentations are all grounded in the traditional Islamic sciences—particularly the sciences of Islamic theology (‘ilm al-tawhid), Islamic logic (mantiq), Qur’anic exegesis (tafsir), and legal theory (usul al-fiqh)—their goal is to answer the questions that any open-minded and thinking graduate of a contemporary high-school or university—Muslim or not—would ask about Islam. The conclusion of this series of presentations is that God does, in fact, exist; that the Prophet Muhammad (God bless him and give him peace) was, in fact, His messenger; that He did, in fact, teach us the purpose of our existence on earth; and that we will, in fact, be resurrected after our deaths to stand before and be judged by God. Shaykh Hamza Karamali is one of the teachers at SeekersGuidance Global. Visit (http://www.SeekersGuidance.org/courses) to register for one of his courses. All courses are free. You could also watch this series on YouTube with a slide presentation on this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4mTEQpP9b5FBA1EtS22ev2Zm_KWEMfpE .
