Aroosa Akram, Slough
In Islam the Oneness of God is fundamental and Muslims believe that God created the universe. The cosmological arguments support this claim because a cosmological argument argues that there must be a God to explain the existence of the universe.
To fully understand the cosmological arguments one has to look at the 13th century philosopher St. Aquinas’ proposed ways which later became known as the Cosmological Arguments. St.Thomas Aquinas put forward a set of five ways to prove the existence of God, the first four making up the cosmological arguments in his Summa Theologiae[1], which is considered to be “one of the most influential works of Western literature”[2] The one that needs our focus is the one developed by medieval Muslim logicians and popularised in the west[3] by Dr William Craig, called the Kalam (speech) Cosmological Argument.
The Kalam Cosmological Argument was popularised by Dr Williams Lane Craig in his 1979 book The Kalam Cosmological Argument[4] in which he applied St.Aquinas’s argument to the concept of time and the origin of the universe. For example, St. Aquinas’ 2nd way is the cosmological argument for causation. This argument claims that there must be an uncaused first cause which is beginning-less for the universe to exist and claims that there cannot be an actual infinite regress of causes. However the Kalam Cosmological Argument builds off Aquinas’ basic scientific understanding of the 13th century and expands on it using modern scientific knowledge. For example, St. Aquinas used the following syllogism:
- Whatever begins to exist has a cause.
- The universe began to exist.
Therefore:
- The universe has a cause.
Dr Craig’s Kalam Argument adds another premise and conclusion:
- The universe has a cause
- If the universe has a cause, then an uncaused creator exists.
Therefore:
- An uncaused creator exists who has created the universe.
The Holy Qur’an repeatedly states that God created the universe:
‘Allah created the heavens and the earth…’ (29:45)[5]
‘He it is Who created for you all that is in the earth…’ (2:30) [6]
A major feature of the Kalam Cosmological Argument is that it takes St.Aquinas’ original argument and puts in into the context of time and has a philosophical approach to the concept of ‘infinity’. Its approach is that the universe had a beginning as the Kalam argument proposes creatio ex nihilo, which means that God created the universe out of nothing and therefore the universe had a beginning. When talking about the origin of the universe and infinity, you can have two standpoints, the universe has existed for infinity and will continue for infinity (actual infinite) or that the universe has a beginning. However, the universe cannot be in an actual infinite as it cannot be formed. The collection of all events in time has created history and the Big Bang theory also proves that the universe was brought into creation. Furthermore, from a logical standpoint, the universe must have had a beginning as opposed to it existing for infinity. This supports the theory that there was a Creator, who Muslims believe to be God. This would help disprove atheists who claim that the universe in is an actual infinite and has always existed without the need for a creator.
Another argument in favour of God is the establishment of the Unity of source. The Kalam Argument premises deduce that there was a sole Creator Who is all powerful and the first uncaused and has set off the domino of causes that have led up to this moment.
There are many who believe that this alludes to the Big Bang and the Big Bang was the first uncaused cause because that is what modern day science proposes.
However the Qur’an, 14 hundred years ago, already mentioned this theory and has explained that the One Who opened up the universe was the All-Powerful God, as mentioned in this verse:
‘Do not the disbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were a closed-up mass, then We opened them out? And We made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe?’ (21:31) [7]
Besides mentioning the Big Bang, this verse also mentions the creation of life from water which is now a well-established fact. This only shows that the many discoveries of modern science have further proven the existence of God.
Dr William Craig’s Kalam Argument[8] points towards there being a first uncaused cause at the beginning of the universe. Science and Islam have shown this Creator to be God, the first uncaused cause.
[1] Summa Theologica, Thomas Aquinas, 1485
[2] The Classics of Western Philosophy: A Reader’s Guide, Jorge J. E. Gracia, Gregory M. Reichberg, Bernard N. Schumacher (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing), 2003
[3] https://www.alislam.org/articles/is-there-god/
[4] The Kalam Cosmological Argument, William Lane Craig,(Wipf and Stock Publishers), 1979
[5]The Holy Quran, Chapter 29, Verse 45 https://www.alislam.org/quran/29:45
[6] The Holy Quran, Chapter 2, Verse 30 https://www.alislam.org/quran/2:30
[7] The Holy Quran, Chapter 21, Verse 31 https://www.alislam.org/quran/21:31
[8] The Kalam Cosmological Argument, William Lane Craig, (Wipf and Stock Publishers), 1979
Voice of British Muslim Women 
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