Why Test?

The core question of "Why Test?" bears similarities to the broader inquiry of "Why Creation?" This topic has proven challenging for Islamic scholars and apologists to explain, as it calls into question the underlying motivation behind Allah's choice to TEST His creation.

When this question is posed, Islamic apologists often respond with a familiar refrain:

"Mankind was created to pass the TEST."

However, this response doesn't address the core question: Why did Allah decide to TEST mankind, a decision that necessitated their CREATION in the first place?

Furthermore, the notion of a "test" primarily relates to tasks that humanity must undertake AFTER they have already been created. Consequently, the concept of a test doesn't inherently provide a reason or justification for the initial act of CREATION itself.

Ultimately, Islamists have to openly accept that:

  • Allah neither told the underlying reason/motivation for the TEST
  • Nor did Allah tell the reason for not telling it.

Islamists then fabricate new excuses on their own, such as:

  • They start insisting that Allah does not need to explain the underlying motivation for why He wants to test us.
  • Or they claim that even if Allah did explain it to us, we would not be able to comprehend it.

Why a Test of PRAISING Allah? 

One could have understood ia Test consisted of helping Humanity and doing good deeds and avoiding evils.

But why a Test of worshipping and praising Allah 5 times a day?

And this "Worship and Praise Syndrome" extends beyond humans:

  • Consider angels—they've been engaged in worshipping and praising Allah for nearly eternity, despite gaining no benefit from it, nor are they destined for paradise. Why does Allah demand their constant worship and praise? Yes, Islamists come up with the same lame excuse that Allah does not need worship and praise from angels, but it is the same as if Allah says: "I am eating food, although I don't need food", or if Allah says: "I am sleeping, although I don't need sleep."

  • But it doesn't stop with angels. According to Islam, all creatures, from animals and insects to celestial bodies like the moon, sun, and stars, as well as mountains and each and every particle in the universe is worshipping and praising Allah incessantly. Yet, this devotion will not benefit them, as none of these entities will enter paradise and have 72 houris.

Doesn't Allah's insistence on being worshipped and praised 24 hours suggest narcissism, indicating a self-centered motive for creating humankind and the universe to praise him?

Man has created Allah, which is why all human weaknesses are also found in Allah.

What does Allah gain from the constant praises of angels, animals, birds, and even every particle in the universe? Islamic apologists might say that Allah does not need all this praise ... But then it's again like Allah constantly eating food and also at the same time saying that does not need to eat. 

Allah's Test: The Greatest INJUSTICE against Mankind

There exists no Allah. But if true, then Allah's Test is the greatest injustice against mankind. 

We are born as humans only, and it is our parents who indoctrinate us into different religions. This is why 99.9999% of children raised in Christian families adopt Christianity.

Even in this modern era of communication, the conversion rate to Islam is not even 0.0001%. This implies that 99.9999% of people born into non-Muslim families by Allah's design are destined for eternal hellfire, regardless of their good deeds and humanity throughout their lives.

Is this truly Divine Justice?

Our sense of humanity clearly tells us that this is the Greatest DHULM (injustice) ever against mankind. There is no greater injustice in the universe than billions of innocent people being condemned to eternal hellfire simply because they were born into non-Muslim families by Allah's design.

Alone this injustice is ENOUGH to leave the religion, as it goes against humanity.

The Islamic god (i.e. Allah), has never appeared directly before us nor has He shown any miracles as proof of His existence. We are still demanded to feel Him indirectly. However, when we analyse these indirect issues to determine if Allah exists, we perceive the greatest injustice in this expectation. How can we ever accept such an unjust entity as God?

Islamist's Excuse: The TEST is justified while Everyone has HEARD about Islam and thus have a Chance to Accept it

An Islamist wrote:

Allah is not unjust. Even though 6 billion people are born into non-Muslim families, Islam is prevalent worldwide. They have heard about it and have every opportunity to accept Islam.

Response:

We absolutely don't agree with it.

If 99.9999% of people are unable to accept Islam after taking birth in non-Muslim families, then there is a REASON for it.

In order to accept Islam, it is not enough to just HEAR about its existence, but one has to do a Long Research to become convinced it to be the only true religion.

How strange, Islamic preachers tell ex-Muslims that they need to be an EXPERT in Islam before leaving it. But they don't put the same condition of being an expert and having a PhD degree before entering Islam. Are these not DOUBLE STANDARDS?

For example, Muhammad claimed that her mother was in hellfire:

Sahih Muslim, Hadith 976b:

The Apostle of Allah visited the grave of his mother and he wept, and moved others around him to tears, and said: I sought permission from my Lord to beg forgiveness for her but it was not granted to me (while she failed in accepting the religion of Hanif, and died as non-Mulsim).

But the question remains: what chance did a woman have in that era of ignorance to accept the religion of Hanif?

In Islam, the followers of the religion of Hanif were those who, during the pre-Islamic period of Jahiliyyah, renounced idolatry, Christianity, and Judaism. They followed monotheism and the religion of Abraham, which emphasized submission to God in its purest form.

There were barely four followers of the religion of Hanif in Mecca. Two of them later abandoned Hanifism and became apostates. She likely never encountered any of them directly.

It is nearly impossible for someone to convert to another religion merely by hearing about it. Several factors contribute to this difficulty, including:

  • Indoctrination from childhood into the family's religion, making rebellion almost unthinkable.
  • Immense pressure from family, tribe, and society against leaving the religion of one's ancestors, particularly challenging for women.

In such circumstances, where a woman is under the pressure of her family and tribe, living in the era of ignorance, perhaps herself ignorant, where instead of contemplating religions like a philosopher, the struggle for physical survival is ongoing, how can a woman in such a situation accept the true religion?

Did Muhammad's mother truly have an equal chance of becoming a Muslim compared to those born into Muslim families by Allah's design?

If you acknowledge that she didn't have equal chances, it implies an admission that Allah indeed committed an injustice against the 99.9999% of non-Muslims who were not born into Muslim families by His design.

Islamist's Excuse: The TEST is justified while Creation of the Universe is proof of Allah

Another Islamist wrote:

Allah says in the Quran: "Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the day and night there are signs for people of reason" (Quran 3:190). Thus, Allah is not unjust (ZALIM), and all people who are born into non-Muslim families have a full opportunity to accept Islam.

Response:

It's important to recognize that the claim of divine creation is not unique to Islam; virtually all religions assert that their god or gods are responsible for creating the heavens and the earth.

For an average person, determining which religious claim about creation is true, is almost impossible. Each religion's scriptures make similar assertions about their deities being the true creators, leaving a layperson with no clear way to discern which is correct. One has to do a lot of research work on all religions to determine which religious god actually created the universe. 

Moreover, the argument about the creation of the heavens and the earth pertains solely to the question of whether a god exists or not. It does not cover the answer which specific god of which specific religion created the universe. This argument does not provide definitive proof of the existence of any particular "religious god", including Allah. Furthermore, modern science offers alternative theories about the creation of the universe that challenge these religious claims.

Empirical data does not lie. It proves the notion that this creation of the universe argument fails to convince the vast majority of people born into non-Muslim families. Despite the universal presence of this argument in religious texts, 99.9999% of individuals born into non-Muslim families do not convert to Islam based on this reasoning. According to Islamic belief, this means they are destined for eternal hellfire, which raises questions about the fairness of such a system.

What will happen to the children born into non-Muslim families who die at a young age without accepting Islam?

Is there any Muslim with the courage to answer this question: What will happen to the children born into non-Muslim families who die at a young age without accepting Islam? According to Islam, a girl becomes an adult at the age of 9 and a boy at the age of 12. If they die at a young age without accepting Islam, then your Allah will make them the fuel of eternal hellfire. 

Is this a Divine Justice in any sense? 

The Background Story: Why did Muhammad start claiming that all non-Muslims are fuel of hellfire?

In reality, the underlying motivation for this doctrine was political. Muhammad's companions hesitated to engage in wars with their own Meccan relatives, causing frustration for Muhammad. Thus, Muhammad began proclaiming that disbelief in his prophethood would result in eternal damnation, regardless of one's good deeds, as a means to coerce compliance.

In the early days in Medina, Muhammad attempted to gain favor with the Jews by asserting that all Jews and Christians who do good deeds would go to paradise.

Quran 2:62:

Rest assured that whosoever from among the Muslims or the Jews or the Christians or the Sabaeans believes in Allah and the Last Day, and performs good deeds, he will have his reward with his Lord and he will have no cause for fear and grief].

However, as conflicts with the Meccans arose (who were relatives of the migrant Muslims and they showed hesitance to fight against their own relatives), Muhammad changed the message of verse 2:62. To motivate his followers to fight against their own relatives, he now claimed that despite their good deeds, those relatives would end up in eternal hellfire for not accepting his prophethood. This shift was intended to diminish any love they felt for their relatives and fill them with the necessary animosity to fight against them.

Then Muhammad started telling his companions that his mother, father, uncle Abu Talib and his grandfather Abdul Muttalib are also in hellfire (source), so that his companions started feeling hatred against their own non-Muslim relatives, and didn't feel hesitation to fight against them. 

Muhammad's Claim: The TEST is justified while all humans testified Allah is their lord BEFORE their Birth

Many people were not happy with Muhammad, when he claimed that their parents were fuel of eternal hellfire, while they died without recognising Allah as their lord. But people were unable to understand how their parents could have recognised Allah (or the religion of HANIF) when there were hardly any opportunities available hear the message of Hanif. 

Anyhow, Muhammad made the following CLAIM to justify the TEST.

Quran 7:172:

And when your Lord took from the children of Adam - from their loins - their descendants and made them testify of themselves, [saying to them], "Am I not your Lord?" They said, "Yes, we have testified." [This] - lest you should say on the day of Resurrection, "Indeed, we were of this unaware." 

Firstly, it is not an argument, but only a claim by Muhammad. No one is able to verify it if any Allah exists, and who took them out from their loins (before their birth) and let them testify that Allah is their lord. 

Secondly, this verse claims that:

  • Allah took the promise (to accept him as Lord and to worship him alone) from all humans BEFOFRE their birth
  • Then they were made to FORGET this promise when they were sent into this world
  • And then they will be reminded of this promise again, only AFTER their death (on the day of Ressurection)

Therefore, the question is, whatever happened before the birth, or whatever will happen after the death, why Allah is taking a TEST on its basis in this world?

It would only become a test if Allah had appeared in this life to all humans, and then He would have put humans to a test, whereby intentional disobedience would result in eternal fire.

For example, according to the Islamic story, Allah appeared to Iblees (i.e., Lucifer/Satan), and Iblees was not caused to FORGET Allah, but still he intentionally disobeyed Him. In such a case, one can understand why Iblees will be put in hell.

But the case of humans is totally different from that of Iblees, and it has absolutely no justification:

  • There are thousands of people who are born into non-Muslim families. Allah never appeared to them openly as He did to Iblees. Thus, under the influence of their families, 99.9999% of these people never accepted Allah and remained non-Muslims.
  • Millions of non-Muslims truthfully try to find out the real God, but Islam has so many problematic, controversial, and anti-humanity teachings that they had to reject Islam due to their true intentions.

Not to mention, there are millions of ex-Muslims who were firmly believing and practicing Muslims. But they also felt the pain of humanity. When they tried to find God with sincere hearts, their search led them to the conclusion that there is no Allah in the heavens, and Muhammad was making revelations on his own. Thus, they left Islam and Allah.

Islam claims:

إنما الأعمال بالنيات

(Verily, the reward of deeds depends on the intentions)

But here we see a clear contradiction. Instead of being judged based on their true intentions, they are called an apostate. Islam demands that they be killed in this life, and then Allah condemns them to eternal hellfire, disregarding all the good deeds they did for mankind. 

An Islamist's objection:

An Islamic preacher wrote: 

If someone says that they do not know or do not remember acknowledging Allah as their Lord as mentioned in Surah Al-A'raf, Ayah 172, this argument is not acceptable. Allah has taken all of us out of our mothers' wombs, and we do not remember what we did or saw in the womb. An atheist does not have an answer for this either.

Our Response

We do not remember being in the mother's womb today, but our mother remembers, and others have seen us in the womb. There are countless witnesses.

However, in the story where Allah took a covenant from all humans after extracting them from Adam's loins, is there even a single witness to this? Allah is unseen, the angels are unseen, and the revelation is unseen. Consequently, anyone could make such claims about their religious stories where all witnesses are 'unseen'.

Muhammad's Claim: The Test is justified while mankind itself chose it for themselves

Muhammad also tried to justify the TEST by bringing the following claim:

Quran 33:72:

إِنَّا عَرَضْنَا ٱلْأَمَانَةَ عَلَى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَٱلْجِبَالِ فَأَبَيْنَ أَن يَحْمِلْنَهَا وَأَشْفَقْنَ مِنْهَا وَحَمَلَهَا ٱلْإِنسَٰنُ ۖ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ ظَلُومًا جَهُولًا

We offered the trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they refused to carry it and were afraid of doing so; but man carried it. Surely he is a tyrant and ignorant

In Muhammad's attempt to justify why humans were subjected to the test, a significant issue arises. This argument actually places the blame on Allah Himself rather than on humans. The questions that emerge include:

  1. Why did humans agree to bear this trust?
  2. According to this verse, it is Allah who created humans as tyrants and ignorant beings, and it was the sole reason that they accepted the test.
  3. Therefore, if it was Allah who created humans as tyrants and ignorant beings, then the true culprit is Allah Himself. Humans cannot be held responsible for this, and they should not be unjustly punished.
  4. Moreover, although Allah (i.e. Muhammad) claimed in this verse that the heavens/earth/mountains were also presented with the test, but this statement makes no sense as heavens/earth/mountains have absolutely no FREE Will and they can neither succeed nor fail nor refuse nor become afraid of doing it as they would never fall in the hell or paradise. 

This highlights the complete failure of Muhammad to present a single logical argument for putting humans to the test, especially considering that the majority of them will end up in hell by Allah's Design and suffer eternal torment. How does making humans ظَلُومًا جَهُولًا tyrant and ignorant save Allah from injustice of putting majority of humankind in eternal hellfire according to his Design?

And the jinns are not even the “Best of Creations اشرفُ المخلوقات”, and their majority too will still land in the hellfire for eternity. 

Quran 7.179:

وَلَقَدْ ذَرَأْنَا لِجَهَنَّمَ كَثِيرًا مِّنَ ٱلْجِنِّ وَٱلْإِنسِ

And indeed We have created majority of jinns and men for hell

Poor jinns. But the good thing is that they don't exist except in the minds of religiously brainwashed people.