Does God Exist?

28 January, 2017
Q In the name of God the Most Gracious, Most High, I seek refuge with Allah from Satan the accursed. Please prove to me that God exists.


Asalamu Alaikum Quresh,

Thank you very much for contacting About Islam with your question.

One important point we need to understand in the first place is that the existence of God cannot be proven in the same way you prove the existence of a physical object.

This is simply because God is not a physical object.

Any physical object is subject to your five senses. In simple terms, you can see, hear, smell, touch, or taste a physical object. This is not possible in the case of God, as He Almighty is a Transcendental Being (existing on a level beyond our sensual perception).

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This led to the belief that human beings are constituted in such a way that the knowledge of reality is always unavailable to them; and so, it resulted in a renewal of attention to the everyday world of appearances.


Now think: can’t there be a way of “being” (existing), that is not susceptible of being perceived by the limited capabilities of humans through their defective senses?

I hope that the implications of the two expressions I used above (‘limited capabilities’ and ‘defective senses’) are evident to any thinking person. The claim that something does not exist, because you haven’t seen or heard it, etc. is untenable.


So, to speak of “proof” with regard to a Transcendental Being becomes irrelevant.


It is clear that logically we cannot rule out the possibility of more things existing than can be perceived by our senses or can be arrived at by our reasoning. As for the human, there are two dimensions to his or her existence: one of matter and the other of spirit.

Reduced merely to the level of material existence, humans become a machine, or a mere animal at best. But think of a machine that rebels against being a machine; or of an animal that refuses to be an animal.

That is what the human is! What is it that makes him or her rebellious, angry, disappointed, frightened or hopeful? What is his or her dimension that gives him or her imagination, artistic genius, creative urge? Why does he or she have nightmares and sweet dreams?

It is not matter that does it; evidently it is his or her spirit that makes him or her so different from animals.


The strength of Islam as a philosophy and as a way of life is that it does not separate the human being’s material life from spiritual life, and that it seeks a balance between the two dimensions of human existence.

We should understand that the human spirit is a reality incommensurable with material realities, and that it owes its existence only to God.

Thus, dear brother, if we ponder over the phenomena of the world around us and over the complexities of our own existence, we are bound to conclude that God is the Reality behind all appearances. The Holy Quran says:


That is to say the external signs we see in the universe should necessarily lead a wise person to the Ultimate Reality behind it all. And that is how we arrive at the realization that Allah Almighty is the Moving Power behind all life and all existence.

And Allah knows best.

Thank you again for your question and please keep in touch.



Where is God?

Why Can’t We See God?

What Is The Description of God in Islam? (Part 1)

What is the Description of God in Islam? (Part 2)

About Professor Shahul Hameed