The difference between 'Belief' and 'Certainty'
By: A. Mohamed
God alone knows the 'ghayb' (unseen, future, etc):
Say, "No one in the heavens and the earth knows the unseen except God." 27:65
Since we cannot see or know the ghayb (unseen, future, etc), can we say that the act of believing in God, the angels, and the Hereafter, all of which are unseen, is an act of blind faith?
To reply to this question, it is important to differentiate between blind faith and genuine belief. It is also important to differentiate between belief and certainty.
We believe in God, the angels and the Hereafter without seeing. However, our belief in God should not be called blind faith.
Blind faith is based on no justification or evidence, however, a genuine belief in God is substantiated through the following:
1- Genuine belief in God is gained through witnessing His signs and miracles.
We will show them Our signs in the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth. 41:53
2- The belief in the One God (monotheism) is instilled in every human being's DNA as an instinct:
So direct your face towards the religion as a monotheist. Such is the natural instinct that God instilled in the people. 30:30
The perfect example of belief without seeing but through signs are black holes. By their name, black holes do not emit any light, and so they cannot be seen. Since their prediction by Einstein's theory of general relativity in 1915, black holes were believed to exist through their signs but have never been seen.
Among the signs of black holes are gamma-ray bursts and gravitational waves. A tell-tale sign of black holes is also their cannibalism as they suck matter from stars close to them.
It was not until April 2019 that the Event Horizon Telescope, a planet-scale array of ground-based radio telescopes, obtained the first direct image of a super-massive black hole and its shadow. The black hole is at the centre of the active galaxy Messier 87.
And so, no matter how strong our belief may be, to attain certainty, a person has to either see with his own eyes or to witness a miracle from God that is beyond human ability. That is why some of the most noble of God's prophets asked to see proof to attain certainty.
Moses believed in God but he still asked to see God. When God manifested Himself to the mountain that crumbled, and Moses fell unconscious, he attained certainty.
When Moses came to Our appointed time, and his Lord spoke to him, he said, "My Lord, let me look and see You." He said, "You cannot see Me, but look at the mountain; if it stays in its place, then you will see Me." Then when his Lord manifested Himself to the mountain, He reduced it to rubble, and Moses dropped down unconscious. When he came to, he said, "Glory to You. I repent to You, and I am the first of the believers." 7:143
Equally, Abraham believed in God but he still asked God for proof. When Abraham saw the miracle of the fragmented birds coming back to life, he also attained certainty.
And when Abraham said, "My Lord, show me how You bring the dead to life." He said, "Have you not believed?" He said, "Yes, but so that my heart is reassured." He said, "Then take four birds and draw them close to you, then place a piece of the birds on each hill, then call them, they shall come rushing to you, and know that God is Dignified, Wise." 2:260
No human being is allowed to see God during the worldly life, and that was why God showed Moses and Abraham His miracles to grant them certainty.
The pure in heart will attain certainty when they witness God's signs and miracles (41:53).
For us today, we have witnessed one of God's greatest miracles which is the miracle of 19 in the Quran. This is called "one of the greatest" in 74:35.
The miracle of 19 has a number of roles and they are listed in 74:31. One of those roles is:
"so that those who believe would increase in faith, and so that those given the Scripture and the believers would not doubt (attain certainty)"
In contrast, those with sickness in their hearts (2:10) will never attain certainty no matter how many signs of God they are shown.
[7:146] ............ Were they to see every sign, they still would not believe in it.
[6:25] ........... And if they were to see every sign, they still would not believe in it.