Miscellaneous Articles

Pascal's Wager

Before Islam, this exact argument was also used in the Christian world during the 17th century. Christians used this reasoning to prevent people from abandoning Christianity: "Keep faith in Christianity so that if the Christian God turns out to be real after death, you'll be saved. If He doesn't, there's no harm done."
This concept is known as Pascal's Wager. The idea is that one should "wager" their life on the existence of the Christian God, so that if they face Him after death, they can avoid eternal punishment.
However, Western intellectuals completely rejected Pascal's Wager. The wager only considers the possibility of the Christian God being real, but it doesn't address what happens if, after death, it turns out that the Muslim, Hindu, or any other religion's God is real.
Therefore, if you're an atheist, you might face a "single punishment." But if you worship a false god instead of the true one, you risk facing "double punishment" because you'd be guilty of vehemently opposing the true God.
A more logical approach than Pascal's Wager might be to identify as an agnostic rather than believing in the Christian God. Agnostics don't affirm the existence of any religious gods but acknowledge the possibility that a divine force may or may not exist. This position might offer the best chance of avoiding punishment after death.
Gambling with your beliefs is inherently flawed. One should make decisions with sincerity, guided by reason and evidence, to determine what is right and wrong. Is there really a God as described by Muslims, or is this a story fabricated by Muhammad? Could a divine being truly issue commands that clash with basic human values? Could a divine God endorse the continuation of slavery? Would a divine God mandate the death penalty for apostasy? Were Muhammad's attacks on peaceful non-Muslim tribes just? Was it truly divine justice to force them to either accept Islam or face death? (Note: Only the People of the Book were allowed to pay jizya; non-believers had to either convert or face death.)
If a divine God exists, then human reason suggests that His justice should align with human intentions. For example, if someone rejects Islam after sincere reflection, then instead of punishment for apostasy, divine justice should reward their intention.
Human well-being should never depend on a gamble. If any God has created a system where well-being hinges on gambling, then both the system and the God are flawed.

An ALTERNATIVE Approach to Refute Pascal's Wager

[I am an ex-Muslim. When I began to have doubts about Islam and was in the process of leaving it, I had never encountered the concept of 'atheism' and had no interaction with other atheists. In fact, even today, it's likely that about half of the Muslim population in Islamic countries still has no understanding of what 'atheism' is. So, when Islamic preachers posed Pascal's Wager to me, I had to find my own way to counter it. I ultimately developed the following alternative approach to overcome it.]

Even after truly learning that Islam is nothing more than human revelations, I couldn't take the FINAL step of leaving it and had to remain attached to Islam for a while longer.

Especially, the last question was: "What if Allah reveals Himself after my death?" (It is another form of the same question of Pascal Wager)

I contemplated this question from every perspective before directing my last words to Allah:

"Oh Allah! If indeed You exist and You are aware of the depths of my heart, then You would see that I have earnestly sought the truth.

However, my sincere search has convincingly led me to the belief within my heart that You do not exist. It is my inherent sense of humanity that leads me to conclude that your system (Islam) is built upon hostility towards humanity.

Do You truly desire for me to become a hypocrite? Should I outwardly acknowledge Your existence despite the internal denial in my heart and mind?

And if I refuse to be a hypocrite, will You condemn me to eternal damnation, even though my heart is true? Will all the good deeds I have done for the betterment of humanity go to waste, leading me to eternal torment?

Therefore, if I am to be held accountable for my disbelief in You, then 'first,' You must answer for Your failure to provide sufficient evidence of Your existence. You must explain why I couldn't recognize You despite my genuine search for You. Why do you condemn billions of people, born into non-Muslim families by Your design, to burn in eternal hellfire simply because they did not become Muslims?

If You reject my sincere intentions, then either Your promise of 'Verily, the reward of deeds depends on the intentions' is false, or Your promise of eternal hellfire is false."

These were my last words to Allah. I never addressed Him thereafter.

These words served as a "powerful argument" for me, and they encouraged me to finally take that last step of leaving Islam.