The Atheist: Who Is He?
The atheist is a person who rejects belief in Allah, the unseen, spirits, and the afterlife. He denies the foundation of religions and their interpretations of the universe - rejecting them in totality and detail. Instead, he bases his convictions on what he calls a scientific view of the universe, derived from theories and findings of material experimental science. The atheist's philosophy is a “materialist philosophy”, which seeks to undermine religious values, dismantle them, and divert people from living by or believing in those values.
What Is Materialism?
Materialist philosophy is a perspective rooted in experimental science. It claims that the universe is purely matter. (Matter is defined as what is perceivable by the senses or the mind within this tangible universe in which we live.)
Materialism posits that the universe consists solely of matter and the laws governing its motion and transformation. This philosophy is in open and unrelenting conflict with all spiritual concepts that transcend matter, whether these concepts appear in the guise of religious doctrines or as idealist philosophies (as materialists often mockingly and dismissively label them).
According to the materialist perspective, nature (matter) evolves to reach its highest forms - including life and the thinking mind - through inherent causes within it and its laws, without any external forces or causes beyond it.
Materialist philosophy has existed for a long time, but it reached its peak under Marx and Engels, who developed what is known as “dialectical materialism.”
This is atheism, and the following is its materialist philosophy, summarized briefly but hopefully without losing its essence.
In materialist philosophy, matter, as perceived by the senses and understood by the mind, is considered the origin, while the mind is its effect - matter precedes, and minds follow. Naturally, this is correct to some extent; matter did emerge into existence long before the human mind. However, what would materialists think if we informed them that matter is preceded by the Grand Intellect (Al-‘Aql Al-Kulli) - The Ultimate, Divine Mind, of which the human mind is merely an imitation, striving to follow its path to transcend its limitations and approach the infinite comprehension of that Grand Intellect?
Materialists often discuss the laws governing the motion and transformation of matter. But are not laws, in essence, products of intellects? Did not Aristotle define law as “reason untouched by desire”? Or would they dismiss this as merely an idealist philosophy?
Is Materialism Scientific?
No, definitively not! Materialism is not scientific, even by the standards of contemporary experimental material science. This science has loudly proclaimed that matter, as perceived by the senses and the intellect, does not exist in its tangible form. Upon deeper analysis, matter is revealed to be energy, whose properties may be known, but whose essence remains elusive.
Moreover, the scientific nature of contemporary experimental material science itself is not fully “scientific.” We discussed this in concise yet sufficient detail in the introduction to our book Religion and Social Development, which negates the need to repeat it here. For further exploration, readers may refer to that text.
The simplest critique of materialist philosophy is that, when confronted with its inability to comprehend the unseen, it turned this incapacity into a virtue by outright denying the unseen. However, denying the existence of what one does not understand has never been - and will never be - a scientific approach. Instead, such denial is rooted in ignorance, coupled with an arrogance that dishonors any rational mind.
A truly scientific intellect does not deny what it cannot comprehend. Rather, it suspends judgment while continuing to investigate, believe provisionally, while exercising patience. It researches and examines until its denial or affirmation is built upon knowledge gained through humility, discipline, persistence, and the patience required for thorough inquiry.
It is astonishing that materialists assert the precedence of matter and the recent emergence of intellect, yet they have proceeded to pass judgment on the timeless use of the newly emergent. They make these judgments with unshaken confidence, applying them universally without hesitation.
Is this, in itself, a scientific approach?
