Kayfiyyat Dawat al-Mulhidin ila Allah Taala fi Daw al-Kitab wa al-Sunna
- Author died
- 1440 AH
- Editions
- Maṭba'at Safīr
Kayfiyyat Da‘wat al-Mulhidin ila Allah Ta‘ala fi Daw’ al-Kitab wa-al-Sunnah (How to Call Atheists to God Almighty in Light of the Qur’an and Sunnah) is a treatise on Islamic propagation (da‘wah) methodology by the Saudi scholar Saeed bin Ali bin Wahf al-Qahtani (d. 1440 AH / 2018 CE), outlining concise strategies and arguments for engaging atheists in light of Islamic scripture .
Composition and Purpose
The treatise was completed on the morning of Thursday, 25 Safar 1425 AH (15 April 2004 CE) as part of al-Qahtani's series of specialized guides on calling various groups to Islam . The author designed the work to provide Islamic callers with wise, structured approaches tailored to contemporary atheism, stressing that effective outreach requires diagnosing the intellectual, psychological, and social condition of the addressee before applying the appropriate guidance, just as a physician assesses an illness before prescribing medicine .
Structure and Content
The book comprises an introduction, a preliminary chapter on understanding audience backgrounds, and five main thematic sections (mabahith):
- Preamble and Definition of Atheism: Emphasizes addressing people according to their intellect and circumstances (inzal al-nas manazilahum) . The first section defines atheism (ilhad) linguistically as deviation, injustice, or disputation, and conventionally in modern times as the denial of a Creator and Lord who governs the universe, along with the belief in the eternity of matter, chance occurrences, and purely materialistic evolution .
- Innate Proofs (al-Adillah al-Fitriyyah): Argues that human beings possess an innate disposition (fitrah) inclined toward acknowledging the Creator, citing the hadith ما من مولود إلا يولد على الفطرة ("Every child is born upon the fitrah") . It highlights that during severe hardships, dangers, and sudden natural phenomena, individuals instinctively turn to God for relief .
- Rational Arguments (al-Barahin wa-al-Adillah al-Aqliyyah): Presents seven logical avenues (masalik):
- Rational division: The universe either arose from nothing by chance (impossible), created itself (impossible), or was brought into existence by an eternal Creator, referencing the Quranic argument in Surah al-Tur ( أَمْ خُلِقُوا مِنْ غَيْرِ شَيْءٍ أَمْ هُمُ الْخَالِقُونَ ) .
- Nonexistence cannot create: What does not exist possesses no creative agency .
- Inanimate nature lacks agency: Nature lacks knowledge and will, and "one who lacks something cannot give it" (faqid al-shay' la yu'tih) .
- Blind chance cannot produce order: Illustrates the impossibility of order arising purely by chance using analogies, such as shaking alphabet letters in a box expecting a poem to emerge, or threading needles at random .
- Rational debate: Recommends sound dialectical engagement, citing historical debates such as that of Abu Hanifah with atheists .
- The principle of causality: Asserts that every effect requires a cause, citing the Bedouin's reasoning that camel droppings indicate a camel and footprints indicate travel .
- Reflecting on creation to know the Creator: Deduces divine attributes like knowledge, power, and wisdom from intricate biological structures such as human embryonic development .
- Empirical and Sensory Proofs (al-Adillah al-Hissiyyah): Divides sensory evidence into two categories: the observable answering of prayers—especially in instances of collective drought relief (istisqa')—and the sensory miracles performed by past prophets, such as Moses parting the sea, Jesus raising the dead, and the splitting of the moon during the time of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ .
- Scriptural Proofs (al-Adillah al-Shar‘iyyah): Explains that revelation combines transmitted authority with rational guidance, establishing divine existence through truthful divine reports (khabar Allah al-sadiq) and Quranic parables that direct human intellect toward cosmic signs and prophetic proofs .
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