Landmarks in Paris, Berlin and London. Suggested reading: What Can a Quarter of Unaffiliated US Population Find in Islam?
Written and collected by Zia H Shah MD, Chief Editor of the Muslim Times
According to the Pew Research Center, majorities in most countries agree with the idea that they have a soul, including seven-in-ten or more in Portugal (80%), Finland (73%) and Norway (70%). Sweden and the UK are exceptions; roughly four-in-ten Swedes (39%) and about half of British respondents (49%) say they believe they have a soul. Smaller, but still substantial shares across the region (median of 46%) feel a connection to something that cannot be seen or measured scientifically.
Two statements about spirituality were framed affirmatively – “I have a soul as well as a physical body,” and “I feel a connection to something that cannot be seen or measured scientifically.” And two were framed negatively, giving respondents the opportunity to agree with statements rejecting spiritual concepts: “There are NO spiritual forces in the universe, only the laws of nature,” and, “When people die, that is the end; there is NO life after death.” A similar approach was used to probe feelings about religion (see below).
At the same time, negative statements about spirituality also find some resonance in the region. A median of 48% – including most Belgians (61%) – say there are no spiritual forces in the universe, only the laws of nature. And a median of 40% say there is no afterlife.
Here is what I propose for the 40% that don’t believe in a soul or afterlife.
If our universe is an accident and that is your world view then there is no soul and no aferlife. But, if you are amazed at the beauty and organization of our universe as Albert Einstein was, then the converse is true according to the Quran. In this article, I present, some of the verses of the Holy Quran, arguing the case for hereafter. In the following verse, Allah cites gravity and planetary motion as a pointer, towards His creativity and eventual hereafter:
Allah is He Who raised up the heavens without any pillars that you can see. Then He settled Himself on the Throne. And He pressed the sun and the moon into service: each pursues its course until an appointed term. He regulates it all. He clearly explains the Signs, that you may have a firm belief in the meeting with your Lord. (Al Quran 13:3)
The Quran offers only one line of reasoning for the second creation, namely the first creation. Allah argues that one who has created this complex and awe inspiring universe and all the life forms on our planet earth, should be able to recreate human life and of course the individual humans.
The Holy Quran discusses reincarnation in greater detail in the following verses in the chapter Yasin, adding the domain of biology to that of astronomy as the argument is built further, from the first creation:
Does not man see that We have created him from a mere sperm-drop? Yet lo! he is an open quarreler! And he coins similitudes for Us and forgets his own creation. He says, ‘Who can quicken the bones when they are decayed?’ Say, ‘He, Who created them the first time, will quicken them; and He knows every kind of creation full well. He Who produces for you fire out of the green tree, and behold, you kindle from it. Has not He Who created the heavens and the earth the power to create the like of them?’ Yea, and He is indeed the Supreme Creator, the All-Knowing. Indeed, His command, when He intends a thing, is only that He says to it, ‘Be!,’ and it is. So Holy is He, in Whose hand is the kingdom of all things. And to Him will you all be brought back. (Al Quran 36:78-84)
Several additional verses with similar emphasis are quoted in the comment section of the original posting of this idea, as the first creation being a proof for the second creation or afterlife, and these sum up my case for hereafter and human accountability.
Below I link a few articles to argue that our universe is not an accident and demands a Transcendent Creator.
I have also counted the first verse that is common to all but one surahs, Bismillah, “I begin in the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful,” as well. If your volume of the Quran does not count it please adjust the count accordingly.
Additional reading and reviewing for Deism
The anesthesia of familiarity: There should be a Creator for this universe
Albert Einstein’s search for God
Photosynthesis: deserving of our awe or ridicule?
A challenge for Dawkins: Where did carbon come from?
Human Soul: The Final Frontier?
Suggested reading for atheism versus Christianity and Islam
If Atheists and the Christians Debate, Islam Wins!
Video: How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee
It is not unreasonable to think we have a soul. We can feel it inside of ourselves. We are humans and we make up stories about everything. We see people, but we can’t see inside. They may not have a soul, but we each know that we do. So what? There is only a dream that the “soul” is anymore than our feelings of having a conscience. Everything dies and the delusion of an eternal soul is just magical thinking.
Neither the atheists nor the theists have returned from death. So we don’t have eye witness accounts but we have a lot of circumstantial evidence in favor of after life. The whole of our universe is evidence for it as outlined in the above article. Peace and Love!
If you really want to know the existance of God, go “‘SUBUD”
This is my experience it is real power that I can feel or those who join “ Subud” ( pls Google Subud) will feel the power of God.
God say in Al Quran: if some one ask where is God at? Tell them God is in your body. But you do not feel that. But if you join “Subud” you feel the power of God. This is the true fact.
All love ❤️
A wise man always look at to himself, but a foolish man always blame others. Proverb David