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Islam Answers Atheism
£7.10
This unique work is a result of multiple engagements and debates in universities, mosques, private gatherings and elsewhere. The author, Asrar Rashid, takes on the more difficult questions taking us through a labrynth of Kalām, philosophy, logic, epistemology, science, the Qurʾān, Ḥadīth and Sharīʿa. The book covers in depth the proof for God, His divine attributes, the problem of evil, freewill and divine knowledge, the most difficult philosophical and scientific objections against Islam, as well as objections to Sharīʿa law, the Qurʾān’s historical preservation, the historicity of the Ḥadīth, slavery, Jihād, women’s rights and a host of other complex issues. This book is a must for all who are learning about Islam, Muslims and non-Muslims, apologists and detractors.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Rigel Publishing (23 Dec. 2022) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| File size | 2075 KB |
| Text-to-Speech | Enabled |
| Screen Reader | Supported |
| Enhanced typesetting | Enabled |
| X-Ray | Not Enabled |
| Word Wise | Enabled |
| Sticky notes | On Kindle Scribe |
| Print length | 361 pages |
by Shazad A.
Islam Answers Atheism is a 2021 book, the debut of Islamic scholar Sheikh Asrar Rashid. I’ve been following Sheikh Asrar for a number of years now, he’s fast become someone I’m very admirable of and greatly appreciate, my go-to Islamic scholar, with his lectures on a wide range of Islamic sciences and studies being informative, eye opening, and taught in an intellectual structured manner, usually without emotive arguments being made, something which can’t be said for many Islamic scholars, as well as his courage in covering topics many of his contemporaries avoid, for various reasons. Telling it like it is has become a cliché for someone speaking in a manner that fits with your own agenda, but this guy really does tell it straight.
In particular, the Sheikh has become well known for interlocking in organised debates, often in universities or community centres, sometimes with other Muslims on Islamic disputes, sometimes with Christians and sometimes with Atheists. The last of which I have found very interesting, because these two ways of life, Islam and Atheism, if for the sake of discussion we can call atheism a way of life, are perhaps the two most rational one can follow, given both make arguments for themselves in the realm of rationality and science. As someone who has gone on a journey of discovery of sorts and ended up a Muslim with firm conviction in his belief, I have found that in today’s age, and in the anglosphere we live in, Atheism is the only real threat and contender with Islam when it comes to dogma and belief. Other religions stumble on many hurdles and fundamentally do not make sense, like with the concept of trinitarianism in Christianity, and Islam and Atheism sit above the faiths, and I always find it interesting to read books on the subjects or watch debates on them.
So when Sheikh Asrar announced that the UK’s covid lockdown gave him some free time to write a book on Atheism, in particular Islam’s response to the New Atheism movement, you bet I was interested, and I bought it as soon as it became available.
I’ve watched many debates and lectures from Muslims making arguments against Atheism, and arguing for the existence of God, the contingency argument, the fine tuning argument and the design argument some of the strongest cosmological arguments for the existence of God, for example, but as far as I’m aware, apart from The Divine Reality by Hamza Tzortzis, which approaches the discussion from more of a philosophical outlook, there isn’t really an English Islamic book that addresses atheism in great detail, until now. In Islam Answers Atheism, Sheikh Asrar does just that, by addressing the arguments of the likes of Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchins, Sam Harris and Lawrence Krauss for Atheism and their contention with Islam, deconstructing and analysing their views whilst forwarding an accurate Islamic argument, and in addition, highlighting the inaccuracies of the mainstream media’s interpretation of Islam and well as extremist groups such as Isis.
The book is extremely detailed, covering an incredible amount of bases, from atheism, to feminism, to human rights and liberalism, and yet it feels concise and is an easy read, providing you have a dictionary nearby and your brain is able to handle chapter two. With Islam being the only mainstream religion that demands proof from, not its detractors, but its own followers, for believing in it, and the intellect and knowledge highlighted as the cornerstones of faith as opposed to some wishy washy notion of FEELING that something is true, I find this book to be a very important one.
As someone familiar with Sheikh Asrar’s lectures, it was quite cool to see many references to real life instances that I recognised, and it’s these meetings and debates that he’s used to draw his arguments from. Far from a bore, the book, almost hilariously, contains pop culture references that you would not at all expect from a work concerning such grand philosophical and scientific discussions, such as a poignant reference to Alfred Hitchcock’s classic thriller Rope.
Chapter one gets the conversation going with a general overview of Islam’s relationship with New Atheism, the role of reason and the intellect in the Islamic faith, the dangers of blind conformity, the early development of rational theology and the Kalam science in the Islamic world, religious hypocrisy in belief
Chapter two is a detailed look at the epistemology of the kalam methodology, how one derives knowledge and arrives at certainty, explaining things like rational judgements, empirical judgements, and fallacies in the art of debate and argumentation.
Chapter 3 unravels the scepticism of God, such as the famous Russell teapot analogy, and then moves to the proofs for God’s existence, and not just that but the evidence behind the Islamic attributes of God, things like His mercy, his power, his everlastingness, his will etc
Chapter 4 takes a look at some of the more interesting questions regarding God and religion, from the Islamic point of view and told with such sharpness and clarity. Things included are the age old question of, if God is all powerful, why is there evil and suffering in the world, do all non-believers really go to hell for eternity and why, why does God need our worship, what is the purpose of human life, how can there be Divine Will and human free will at the same time, and it also has a very intriguing baby Hitler thought experiment.
Chapter 5 is a response to claims made on Islam’s position on science, and scientific objections to Islam, such as miracles like the splitting of the moon and the Buraq. Things like the evolution theory are looked at in great detail as are scientific paradigm shifts and the illusion of scientific dogmatism.
And the final chapter takes a stronger focus with the Quran, Hadith and Sharia Law. Essentially, it’s a long list of widely debated subjects and the kind of objections you often see launched against Islam, and a satisfyingly brilliant answer for each, such as the preservation of the Quran, Jihad, slavery in Islam, capital punishment, homosexuality, polygamy, the marriage of Aisha and the Hijab.
Islam Answers Atheism is a stunning piece of work, a kind of book I’ve longed for and yet which didn’t seem to exist until now, a fitting service for Muslims, non-Muslims, apologists and detractors in addressing the rising tide of Atheism. Using the Ash’ari theology and rational argumentation, Sheikh Asrar makes easy work of dismantling the absurdity of modern day atheism, and also exposes the simple fact that the arguments forwarded by the New Atheists are not new at all, just repackaged for a more receptive, susceptible, and impressionable public in today’s age of widespread Islamophobia. This book can actually make you a Muslim, and if not then at the very least is food for thought and presents an Islamic response to Atheism that is rooted in knowledge and intellectualism, as opposed to some of the straw man assumptions made on behalf of religious people that they blindly follow whatever their priest or Imam tells them. In fact it actually highlights an ironic inverse, in that we live in an age where the average joe blindly follows whatever is the latest thinking in mainstream science without scepticism and critical thought.
I knew this wasn’t going to me some kind of bloated pamphlet on how amazing, wonderful and lovely Islam is, because I’m aware of the author’s more grounded and rationale-based approach, even still I was impressed with what I found to be an intellectual goldmine.
A masterpiece of modern day Islamic academia, Islam Answers Atheism comes highly recommended
by TrueCritic
The book is very coherently written and flows nicely. The arguments presented in the book makes sense and and are easy to follow
by Asad
I’ll admit it, I was expecting a bloated pamphlet about “how Islam is so good”. Sad to say but that has been the level of discourse from Muslims over the past few years.
Not anymore! This was, infact, a thorough intellectual gold mine, the more you dug through the more wisdom you found. The author insists near the start to read the whole book, absolutely agreed. This needs to be read from cover to cover to really appreciate the fundamentals discussed.
The highlights are definitely the section on the problem of evil, the author sympathises with logic and argument rather than drill through a counter narrative leaving this a soothing read. I also appreciated the repeated references to more modern arguments, to atheist “popes” Dawkins or philosophers like David Hume.
by Waqar Ali
Best read on the topic.
by TrueCritic
We thank the author for this tremendous work. Really useful for the young generation. Many question/objections answered.
by A Hussain
This book does great work in putting it’s points across. It is well written. Great job on this I expect a 2nd volumne.
by Asad
I don’t normally get excited about books but this one is exceptional. It was on Amazon’s 4th best seller and I had to wait two months to get hold of a copy.
Physically: it is a hardcover and well bound. Excellent quality from a British publisher.
The style of writing is clear and not overwhelming with Islamic terminology (which are explained). It’s clear the author’s born in the U.K with quintessential British references to musicians and television programmes. This is a rather “unorthodox” style of writing on a “dry subject” which makes it interesting to read.
Who is this book for:
Non-Muslims:
-who’re having a hard time countering the new age atheists. The author explains in great detail the difference between the “old atheists”, who were respectful by in large, than the NWA who are out to offend and provoke.
-those who want to understand Islam without the political correctness.
-answers all the modern day accusations and questions on Islam in great detail.
Muslims:
-who don’t have the time or the knowledge to go to the scriptures for answers.
-for those who’re confused about the nuances of certain hadith and verses.
-this book is a ‘one-stop’ knowledge on countering atheism.
by Osama Dar
Great piece of work. Especially for a uk national being presented with rational arguments. I do feel like chapter 6 was trying to address a lot of issues- maybe too many all at once but absolutely fab work. Going to recommend the book to family and friends. Highly recommend it