Ahmadiyyat or The True Islam — Page 123
123 what proof have they in support of that assertion? None! Their claim is based only on a negative assumption. If God is not the Creator of this universe, who is? An atheist has the same data before him. He is, however, a more diligent student of the laws of nature. His world and his religion are a study of these laws and he arrives at the conclusion that this universe goes on of itself and is not controlled by any outside power or agency. When, therefore, those who make nature a life study obtain no guidance from it, how can nature produce certainty in the hearts of those who are mere laymen? The utmost that nature suggests is that there ought to be a Creator of this universe. This is, however, a mere inference and cannot be a substitute for faith and certainty. Experience teaches us that often when we discover the cause of a phenomenon, of which we were not previously aware, it turns out to be something en- tirely different from what we had imagined it to be. Is it not, therefore, possible that our belief, that over and above the laws of nature there ought to be a Creator and Regulator of this world, may be due to our ignorance of the nature, properties, and action and reaction of matter? It may be that matter possesses energy and properties which are unknown to us, and which render it independ- ent of any outside control in its working. In view of such possibilities how can we be comforted by the mere inference that there ought to be a Creator of the uni- verse? We need proof which should carry us from the stage of ought to be to the stage of is and should remove all doubts and misgivings. This is possible only if we are able to observe the working of the attribute of