Universe not a product of chance
Fatwa No: 33504

Question

How can we refute the claims of those who say that the universe is the product of chance?

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

 

The theory that the universe is the product of mere chance has been postulated for ages up to the present day. This is not only incorrect, it is also illogical. The person who first put this idea forward should be described as either insane or senile. Having quoted this saying, Waheed ud-Deen Khan explained that this idea is completely false. Until today, every realm of science has denied the idea that any valuable object that has added anything beneficial to the universe came into being through mere chance.

He also said that mathematics is the field of knowledge that tells us about chance itself and this subject proves the impossibility that the world was formed by mathematical chance. As an example, Khan cited the American scientist, Christi Morison who supported the idea that it is impossible that the world came into existence by accident. He said,

“If you have ten Dirhams, you will find that each one has a number written on it from one to ten. Put them inside your pocket and mix them up, then try to draw them in order from 1 to 10. You must also put each Dirham in your pocket after you have drawn it out. The possibility of taking out the Dirham numbering one in the first attempt is 10 % but the possibility of drawing the Dirhams numbering (1,2,3,4 …) in sequence from 1 to 10  is one out of ten billion. Therefore, try to imagine the period of time it would have taken for the construction of the universe if it were constructed by mere chance. If you calculate this in the same way as the Dirhams, it makes the whole prospect unbelievable and impossible to count or even to imagine."

Another example is cited by Dr. ‘Abd Al-Majeed Ad-Dimirdaash who explained that if we have a large box full of thousands of alphabetical  letters, the possibility of putting these letters in order so that they form a prolonged poem or a letter sent by a son to his father, is miniscule, if not impossible.

Scholars have calculated the possibility of gathering the atoms that form one molecule of amino acids, (the basic element from which proteins are formed). They found that such a process would need millions of years to take place and that it depends on a substance that the whole vast universe can never form – not even a single minor molecule of it. All this is only to assemble one tiny molecule! Try to compare that to the bodies of different organisms including plants and animals as well as the other countless sophisticated compounds. Also, try to imagine the construction of the whole world and the kingdom of the heavens and the earth.

It is logically impossible for this to happen accidentally or haphazardly; rather, this has to be the work of an Ever-Knowing, All- Aware, Ever- Innovating Creator who decreed everything, then guided every creature to all that benefits it.

Allaah Knows best.

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