Introduction

 O man! Know that there are certain statements people use that imply unbelief. Even believers sometimes use them without realizing their implications. We shall explain three of the most important of them.

The first statement: Causes bring everything into existence.

The second statement: Everything forms itself; everything comes into existence by itself.

The third statement: It is natural; nature produces everything.

Indeed, since existence cannot be denied or ignored, and since everything that exists comes into being with complete wisdom and artistry, you, as an atheist, must claim that a being—such as this animal—either comes into existence through the coming together of causes, or forms itself, or exists as a result of the influence of nature, or is created through the power of Qadīr-i Dhul-JalālAllah, Who has power over all things and Whose greatness and majesty are boundless..

Since, rationally speaking, there are no other possibilities besides these four paths, once it is decisively proven that the first three are impossible, irrational, and invalid, the necessity of the fourth path—the path of Divine Unity—becomes undeniable and certain.

The First Path

This is the claim that everything is formed and brought into existence through the coming together of causes. We shall mention only three of its many impossibilities.

The First Impossibility

Imagine a pharmacy containing hundreds of jars and bottles, each filled with different substances. A remarkable, vital, living medicine is required to be produced from these substances.

When we enter the pharmacy, we find many examples of such living compounds and medicines. We examine each one and observe that its ingredients have been taken from various jars and bottles in precise and exact proportions: one ounce from this jar, three from another, seven from the next, and so on. If even the slightest amount were added or removed, the compound would lose its life and fail to produce its intended effect. 

Although there are more than fifty jars and bottles, a different quantity has been taken from each one, as though every ingredient had been measured according to a unique standard. 

Is it conceivable that these jars and bottles, containing different substances in different amounts, could have been overturned by a strange coincidence or a storm, causing exactly the required quantities to spill out, gather together, and form that living medicine? 

Can anything more superstitious, impossible, or absurd be imagined? Even the most irrational person would refuse to accept such madness.