 I begin in the name of the Almighty God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. The One who has created everything in utmost perfection. And may the peace and blessings of the Almighty God be upon His pure and beloved Messenger. May the peak of His creation, the symbol of humanity, the Holy Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alayhi wa ala, Allahumma salli ala Muhammad. And may God's peace and blessings be upon the pure family of the Prophet, the Ahl al-Bayt peace be upon them, especially the leader of our time, the awaited saviour, al-Imam al-Mahdi, adjara allahu ta'ala, farajah. May Allah hasten His reappearance and make us all amongst His sincere and dedicated servants. Allah subhanahu ta'ala states from the Holy Quran, Bismillahir rahmanir raheem. Sadaq Allahul Ali al-Azim illuminate your hearts and minds with a very loud salawat. One of the challenges that many of our youth are facing nowadays is the rise of atheism that we are witnessing around the world. Now atheists would like to portray this rise as a huge rise around the world, as this global phenomenon where they come forward and they tell you that, see, most people, most intellectuals, most educated people are heading towards atheism, which proves that all these religions are wrong. We cannot say that there is a global phenomenon, but to an extent, yes. There is a gradual rise in atheism, and many of our youth these days are impacted by this rise of atheism. What is the source of this rise in atheism? If you know someone who is struggling with his religion, with the existence of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, how is it that we can help our youngsters, the youth or anyone in society who is suffering from this phenomenon? How can we help them and explain to them that the religion of God is the correct religion, that you have a Creator who created you? Do not fall into the traps of these atheists because many of their arguments are based on fallacies, are based on ignorance, are based on arrogance. In tonight's discussion, the point is not to simply prove the existence of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala using scientific evidence, because in past discussions, we have dedicated many points, many arguments, in establishing the existence of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. In our discussion tonight and tomorrow night, we will examine ten common factors that lead to atheism. What are the most common reasons why people resort to atheism or agnosticism? You see people are moving away from organized religion. Some people these days are coming forth and doubting the existence of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. What are some common reasons or factors that lead many of these people to atheism? Tonight we will discuss and examine five of those factors and by the will of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tomorrow night we will examine another five. Let's begin by the first factor and I believe it is probably the most common factor why people resort to atheism and reject the existence of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Modern science has taught us a lot about the natural world around us. Today we know much more about how the world works than in the past. So many scientific breakthroughs, our technology has enabled us to discover fine aspects of this universe which were hidden from us centuries ago, millennia ago. However, despite all of this technological advancements, you see that atheists fail to understand something very important with all this science and all this knowledge out there. They have realized, they have failed to realize a very basic fundamental point. And this point is that why is it that the Almighty God has created us? Why are we here? What's the purpose behind this life? Most atheists do not know the answer to this question. They are aimless, they are clueless, they have no clue why they are here in this world. They think some accident happened billions of years ago, some big bang happened coincidentally due to an accident and that's it. Life on earth also somehow accidentally happened and they're the result of some accident. They have no clue why they are here in the first place. Last year after the month of Ramadan, after having the honor of serving this community, I was on my way back home from Halifax and I was connecting through Toronto. When I was on the plane from Halifax going to Toronto, a Canadian woman saw me on the plane and she saw my religious attire. So that sparked an interesting conversation about the religion of Islam. She asked me, what does this represent? To which religion do you belong? And we had a very interesting conversation. Now she told me that my parents are Christians, they're devout Christians, they go to church, they believe in God. But I stopped believing in God. I have doubts about the existence of God. I no longer believe in God. When she told me that I asked her, do you mind sharing with me why you stopped believing in God? What happened? Did a certain incident happen in her life? What drove you to reject the existence of God? She said, sure, I'll share with you. I'll tell you why I reject God. When I see all the evil that is happening around the world, all the violence, all the bloodshed, especially in the Middle East and elsewhere, when I see babies, infants born with birth defects, a pure innocent child is born with a mental condition, with dementia, with a mental illness, with a chronic disorder. All of this causes me to doubt the existence of God. Because I tell myself, if there is a God who's watching over all of this and he can stop it, but he's not stopping it, that's not God. Isn't God supposed to be merciful? Isn't he supposed to be more merciful than our own parents? So where is he when he's seeing all this bloodshed? Where is he when he's seeing these babies born with all these defects and they have to live a life of suffering and they cause suffering for their parents as well, for their relatives and family members. I don't see God in the equation. Immediately I realized why she had rejected God. And this, I believe, is the most powerful factor that drives many people to reject the existence of God because they have failed to understand the philosophy behind our life, the philosophy behind our creation. They have no clue why you were here in the first place. If you know why you're here in the first place, then you will not make such an objection. So after she explained to me her position, I told her, okay, would you like to hear my perspective? Because I have some things to say. Would you like to hear what my religion says, what my Qur'an says, what my Prophet says about this dilemma which you're experiencing? She's like, absolutely, let me hear your perspective. So I gave her an example. I told her, let me begin by giving you an example. Have you ever taken a multiple-choice test, a multiple-choice exam where there's a question and there are several answers to choose from? She's like, oh yes, absolutely. When I went to college, I took those tests. I told her how many answers are correct and how many answers are wrong in that multiple-choice exam. She's like, well, usually there's just one right answer and the others are wrong answers. I told her wrong answers are a type of evil, right? Because anything that's not the truth is evil, it's wrong, it's incorrect. She's like, yeah, you can say that. I told her, who put these evil answers in the test? These wrong answers, who put them in this test? It's like, it's obvious the professor put them in the test. I told her, oh my God, these evil professors every day and thousands of colleges and universities, they're putting evil. They're feeding you evil and they can stop it. They're the ones who put that evil and they could have stopped it, but yet they exposed you to that evil. Immediately when I gave her this example, she was smart. She was intelligent. She immediately saw where I was going with this. She's like, you know what? This is the first time I hear it this way. I told her the world is like this multiple choice exam. There's one correct answer and that's what? Asrat al-Mustaqeen, one path, the straight path. And there are millions of other wrong answers. It's a lifelong test. The world that we live in represents a multiple choice test. Just like the one which you took in college or university. She told me this is the first time that I've ever heard this. Imagine a person living in the West having access to information to the internet. She's gone to college and if I remember correctly, she said she had a PhD and she travels all around the world. She was coming back from the UK connecting here in Halifax and going to Toronto. Yet, she did not understand this basic reason why Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala has created us. I told her that in this life when you see all these difficulties, don't say God doesn't exist. Ask why? Why would the Almighty God subject us to such difficulties? Why does he not stop the evil when he can stop the evil? That's a correct question. But for you to come and say, you know what? I doubt the existence of God just because there's evil in the world. That's not right. I gave her another example. I told her when my oldest daughter, she was six months old, I had to take her to get her vaccinated. Now she was cute and you know, she had this chubby child and you take her to get vaccinated and I as a parent who loves my child, I can't even see her cry or get hurt. I myself had to make the effort to make schedule an appointment, take her to get vaccinated. And believe me, it was a very emotional scene. Those nurses, they grabbed her legs and they took that shot and they inserted in her legs and she was screaming. I couldn't take that scene. I told this Canadian lady on the plane, I told her, am I a cruel parent for doing that? She was like, no, you did the right thing. You're a merciful father. In fact, if you don't care about your child, you don't take her to the doctor, you don't have her vaccinated, then you're cruel. I'm like, but my child suffered. She suffered. She was in pain and funny me screaming. So how am I merciful? She's like, no, you're still merciful because you did the right thing. You wanted to protect her. You did what's in her interest. I told her exactly. All of this evil that we see in the world is in our interest because we are being tested. Life is all a test. Who created death and life for what reason? Why did God create life and death? To test you, who has the best actions? There are many reasons why the Almighty God tested us in this life. Sometimes it could be that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is elevating your status. God wants you to have the best hereafter. So God might afflict you with a problem, with a tragedy. You know what the hadith says? On the day of judgment, when a believer sees and witnesses how much reward he received for sleeping one night with fever. And you know fever is not the end of the world. There are many illnesses worse than fever. We can all handle fever. You slept one night in this life and you had fever. It's painful, right? But if you're suffering, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will give you such a huge reward on the day of judgment such that you will wish on the day of judgment that you were sick your entire life when you see the reward of one night of illness. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is elevating our status. That's number one. Number two, sometimes Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is giving us the opportunity to pay off for our sins. We're all sinners in this life. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is just. He holds us accountable to our sins. Sometimes I may suffer from a tragedy. Sometimes Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will present me a challenge, a problem so that I would pay off for that sin which I committed a while ago. And which one would you rather choose brothers and sisters? Pay your sins in the grave on the day of judgment with the hell of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala the fire of hell or here in the world with some problems here and there. Which one would you rather choose? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is to His mercy that sometimes He gives us problems in life. It's so that we can compensate for those sins. We can expiate those sins. That's another reason. Another reason why Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allows for difficulties, for pain, for suffering to exist is so we can appreciate His blessings. When do you appreciate the rain? Not here in Halifax because you have rain year-round, right? Ask someone from the Middle East and they'll take every drop. Or ask someone in India who's, you know, desperately waiting and anxiously waiting for the monsoon because you have hundreds of millions of people whose life depends on those rains. Ask them and they'll appreciate the rain. Whenever Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala denies you the rain, then you appreciate it. Whenever Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala denies you your health for one night, then you appreciate the value of your health. We human beings take everything for granted. The minute we're denied and deprived, then we realize what a blessing Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given us. Sometimes Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will throw a problem in your way. Why? So that you can appreciate the blessings you have so you can use them wisely. Use them appropriately because most of the blessings Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given us, we abuse them. We abuse the intellect God has given us. We abuse the wealth, the health, everything that God has given us. Look at humanity. Oftentimes we abuse the bounties of the Almighty God. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala through these problems and difficulties and evil, He's preparing us. He's solidifying our faith. He's preparing us for the hereafter. All this is from the Rahmah of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. She was mind boggled when she heard this perspective. She's like, I've never heard this. This is interesting. And it really does make sense. Now I understand why God would create us and allow for evil to exist in our lives. It makes a lot of sense. And then I told her something else because I know many of these atheists, they're afraid to believe in God. You know why? Because the minute they believe in God, they are told, okay, now you have to go and follow the Pope because the Pope is the one who represents God. Or now you have to go and follow ISIS because ISIS, what do they do? Every time they conduct a terrorist act, they mention God's name. And this scares many atheists. You know what? I don't want to have anything to do with this God whom the Pope follows or ISIS follows or whoever follows. So I told her, I understand you have this concern but let me tell you, the Pope does not claim God. He does not own God. Neither does ISIS, neither does anyone else in this world. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is closer to you than your own jugular vein. And let me give you an example. If you want to discover and find out where God is because you think God is distant. He's far away. He's detached from my life. Let me give you an example. We were on the plane, so going from Halifax to Toronto. I told her, imagine God forbid, right now we run into turbulent weather and let's say God forbid something happens with the plane and the plane is diving down. We only have a few seconds. Do you feel deep down in your heart that you have hope in this powerful supernatural power and this force which can help you? Do you feel that or no? She thought for a moment, she's like, yes, I can feel that. If I was told right now, the plane is going to crash and these are your final moments, you're going to die. I have hope in a divine being. Who can save me? I told her that's Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. You don't need to go far. Trust me, you don't need to go to any pope or any person to know who God is. God is right there in your fitrah and your nature and your heart. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has created the fitrah for you so you can always find Him. She was puzzled at this example. She's like, where did you get this from? I told her from the Holy Quran. Back then there weren't planes so the Quran did not use the example of the plane. The Holy Quran used the example of what? A ship. The Quran gives us the example of a ship where people who don't believe in God or they ascribe partners to God, they're on a ship. As the ship is about to drown, they turn to God. They find Allah. But then what happens? When Allah gives them survival and He saves them to the land, what do they do? They go back to their old ways. I told her the Quran mentions this example. The moment where you're now certain you're going to die, you have this hope in a Creator and that's Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And finally at the end of the conversation, I mentioned her an argument which I mentioned to her an argument which Imam al-Sadiq, alaihi salam, used with one of the leading atheists of his time. The Imam alaihi salam presented to him all the arguments but he was stubborn, he rejected. The Imam told him one thing. He told him, look, imagine that you're right and there is no God, which is not true but let's just say for the sake of argument that there is no God. I lived an entire life worshiping God, fulfilling my religious obligations and you lived your life rejecting God. At the end when we die and let's say there is no God, what happens to us? That's it. We die, we're annihilated, we no longer have any existence, we become dust, we become part of the ground. Is there any difference between you and I? Is there any difference? At the end we're the same. Even if I spent my entire life worshiping God, I become dust and now you're dust. So you have no leverage over me. You have nothing that distinguishes you from me, right? She's like, yeah, that's correct. The Imam alaihi salam then tells that atheist that I was using the same argument with this atheist on the plane. Then the Imam told the atheist, however, if there is a God, imagine there is a God. It's impossible for there to be God. So one percent chance there is a God, okay? It's like, yeah, of course there's a possibility that there is a God. She admitted that there is a possibility that there is a God. I told her if there is a God and I spent my life worshiping God, satisfying God, obeying God, what happens to me? It's like, well, you're supposed to go to paradise, supposedly. I told her, and what happens to the one who did not? Brothers and sisters, Allah is the witness. When she realized the depth of this argument, which Imam al-Sadiq alaihi salam used with that atheist, subhanallah, the Imam used an argument, you can use it 14 centuries later on a plane from Halifax to Toronto. This is the miracle of our Imams. The minute I shared with her this argument, she started shaking. It profoundly impacted her. And the tears came down from her eyes. She's like, well, if that's the case, then I'm in deep trouble. Another word. I'm in deep trouble. If there is a God and I die and I discover there is a God and I have rejected him my entire life, I'm in deep trouble. So I told her then, what does your intellect tell you? Right now, what does your intellect tell you? She firmly said this. We have an atheist woman here. She said, I can firmly say that my intellect tells me believe in God. It's the safest way. It's the safest path. Subhanallah, these are the beautiful teachings of Ahlul Bayt. So this is the first factor, brothers and sisters. The most important factor that drives some of our youth to reject the existence of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala or at least to doubt the existence of God because some people, they don't come out and openly say I reject God. But sometimes they confide in you. Some people come to me, say you die, really have doubts, help me. If you ever see one of our youngsters, a youth or any person in society, it could be an elderly person who is struggling with the existence of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala realize that this person has not understood why he's been created. He has failed to understand the philosophy behind this life. Once that becomes clear like this Canadian woman who realized that there's a purpose behind this creation that everything else will be fine. This is the first factor. The second factor, brothers and sisters, that drives many people to atheism is arrogance. You see one of the byproducts of our science and technology is arrogance. Because with all this knowledge that we have, with all this technology that we have, with all the sciences that we have, we feel invincible. We feel powerful. We feel like we can control the universe. We become arrogant. I want to be in control. I decide what happens. I decide how the world is managed. And unfortunately you see many people becoming arrogant. And hence they reject the existence of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. They don't want to submit to the Almighty God. Who's God? Who is this Lord that I have to submit myself to? I'm a strong human being. I have all the science and technology. I don't need to worship God. It's those people in the past who were ignorant who didn't have all these sciences. They had no clue how the universe was working and running. They needed God to explain a lot of the things which now we can explain through science. I don't need God to explain the world around me. Science is enough. And we see this evil arrogance which destroys the human being and causes the human being to reject Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. You don't want to submit to God? Look how weak you are. Every single minute, thousands of physical laws are governing you. Can you defy gravity? You can't defy gravity. Now you think you can defy Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. Look at the laws around you. Can you stay awake for 24 hours very early? And then you fall down. You have to sleep. Can you control your bowels for a full day? You cannot. Look how weak the human being is. And some of these atheists come out and tell you who is this God that I have to be subjected to? And I have to worship him. I don't need God. This is the peak of arrogance. Subhanallah. Imam Ameer al-Mu'mineen, Salamullahi alaihi. Ennahj al-Balaghah. He has a beautiful hadith. He says, The children of Adam, the people? I feel bad for them. Mas'akeem. Mas'akeem al-Ibn Adam. Maktum al-ajal. Number one, He does not know when he will die. Death can strike him any moment. Is this strength or weakness? When you don't even know when you're going to die. Aren't we so vulnerable? Can a human being here in this world come out and say, I know exactly when I will die? I have 20 years, 30 years, 40 years? No. You can't protect yourself from death. When death comes it will strike you. That's number one. Maknoon al-Ailal. He does not even know what happens in his own body. Even though we have all the technology and the science today. There are thousands and thousands of diseases, illnesses, viruses, cancerous cells that we don't know how they work. We don't know how to treat them. We don't know what causes them. Maknoon al-Ailal. And then the Imam al-Ailal says, Tu'zeehil baqqah. A small mosquito can harass you. Yes. You think you're so strong and tough? A small mosquito can harass you, can make you not sleep well at night. You think you're so strong? Tu'zeehil baqqah. Wa taqtulu sharqah. You're drinking water or you're eating food and you choke. A few drops of water they go into your lungs and they cause you to suffocate. You're strong? A drop of water can kill you. Wa taqtulu sharqah. You know you perspire and sweat and that causes a bad odor to originate from you. Look at how low you are. And therefore you want to challenge Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala with your arrogance. Instead of allowing all this science, all this technology, all this knowledge to humble you when you see the complexity of the universe. You should say subhanallah. Glorious is Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala the one who created this. But unfortunately we see many people today. Instead of having this knowledge humbling them, it's making them more and more arrogant. You can't control anything. A hurricane can come and destroy an entire city like New Orleans and the most powerful nation on earth, the US. An earthquake can kill thousands and thousands of people. You can't even protect yourself from death. This is all in this worldly life. What about the Akhara? What control do you atheists have on the Akhara after you die? What's all this arrogance about? So if you see someone who's struggling with this idea, try to figure out if it's arrogance. See if this person is acting arrogantly and that's why they're doubting the existence of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. This is the second factor, the third factor. And this is related with the science and the knowledge that we have today. The third factor is the theory of evolution, what is it sisters? We briefly mentioned the theory of evolution last night in our discussion. One of the most important factors today that is driving people to reject the existence of God is the theory of evolution. Atheists are using it as their holy scripture. If an atheist tells you, I don't believe in any holy books, no Habibi, you have a lot of holy books out there. One of them is the theory of evolution because you use this just like a Christian uses a Bible to proselytize other people, right? To propagate their faith or like a Muslim would use the holy Quran. They're using the theory of evolution to invite others to reject God and embrace atheism. They're actually trying to proselytize many people through the theory of evolution. They tell you that the theory of evolution gives me an alternative. I don't have to believe in God. There's another thing that created us and that's called the process of evolution. That's how we came into existence. And this is the peak of ignorance, brothers and sisters, because number one, a few points to share with our youth regarding the topic of evolution. Number one, evolution is simply a process. It's not a creator. It's simply a mechanism, a process that you have in which a being, a biological being, an organism, an organic being is able to advance and adapt. That's it. That's all what evolution is about. It's not a creator who can create. An atheist makes it appear so. That evolution is this creator who can create everything. It's only a process. Let me give you an example. Imagine we create the software which has artificial intelligence. And then after a while, this software begins to evolve. It becomes more and more intelligent. And scientists are actually working on this. You know, they're creating smart computers and they're trying to see if the computer can actually evolve and become smarter. More intelligent. Now imagine if you see a software or a computer which has artificial intelligence. And then after a while, it becomes more intelligent. Someone comes to say, oh, okay, I figured it out. This software has no creator. It created itself because it became more intelligent. It created its own self. Isn't this absurd? Wouldn't you laugh at that? What does the process of evolution have to do with this software not having a creator? We still have a creator. Allah ﷻ is our creator. And evolution is simply a process. Evolution cannot create itself. It needs a structure. Let me share an anecdote with you. They say there was a man in Mashhad who wanted to win the raffle or the lottery. Halal lottery. So he goes to Imam Al-Ridha, and he prays to Imam Al-Ridha. He prays of course to Allah ﷻ, but through Imam Al-Ridha. Oh Imam, please ask Allah ﷻ for me to win the lottery. It's an anecdote. So after he did his du'as, that night he slept and he saw the Imam in his dream. He told him, oh Imam, please help me with the lottery. The Imam told him in the dream, Habibi, go and buy the lottery ticket first, participate in it. And then I can help you with it. The problem with many of these atheists, they deal with evolution as if it's something which it created itself. And it supervises its own self. It's an intelligent being. It needs a structure. Just like a lottery needs a structure. You can't just win the lottery randomly without participating in it. Can someone say, you know what? I will use the laws of mathematics and probability to win the lottery, but I won't participate in the lottery. Let it just happen naturally. It's not going to happen. You need a structure. A lottery needs a structure. You need someone who designed the lottery, right? You need someone who made it. It's a system. It cannot create its own self. It's the same with evolution. So that's number one to keep in mind. Some of our youth are asking, you know what? If evolution is proven, then that's if it's proven. Because the way that atheists are talking about evolution, that's not scientific. It's all postulation, brothers and sisters. They have not been able to prove that a kind can change a kind of species. Yes, within certain species, we have what's called adaptation. A species becomes more advanced, develops features to adapt to the environment. But for one species to turn into another completely different species, evolution has not proven that yet. But assuming that this has been proven, just assuming for the sake of argument. Some of our youth are asking, why would God do that? Doesn't this doubt the existence of Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala? If Allah is the all-powerful, and the Qur'an tells us if he wants something, what does he do? Kun fayakun. Be and it is. Why does Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala use a process of evolution? A few answers here. Number one, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala teaches us through his actions. And this is from his Rahmah. Through his actions, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is teaching us that everything has a process. Why did Allah create the universe in six stages or days? Why? Some of our scholars, exegetes of the Holy Qur'an, they say so the human being learns that everything should be in steps. Don't jump and try to achieve something, and try to arrive at conclusions. Many people, unfortunately, their life revolves around shortcuts. They want a shortcut to everything. Everything has a process. You have to gradually achieve it, even for those who want to become religious, because I know some youth, they decide to become religious, and suddenly, in an instant, within a night, they want to be Wali min awliya Allah, the best believer out there, and the next day they expect miracles to happen for them. It doesn't happen that way. It's a process. Take small, gradual steps, and then you'll see the miracle of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It doesn't happen overnight. Allah's teaching us, maybe through evolution, everything has a process. Everything can take millions of years. Don't try to make huge steps and demanding instant results. No. You don't get instant results in this life. You have to work for the results. It's a process. It teaches us patience, and that's a lesson for us to learn from. Number two, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala could have created the process of evolution to invite us to use our intellect and our mind in order to discover the natural world around us, because if everything was created instantly, instantaneously, you couldn't figure out how it was created, right? But when there's a process, when there's evolution, you could do reverse thinking. You can examine something and see how it came to this point. How was it created? And this is amazing. This invites you to look at the greatness of Allah's creation. فلا يتفكرون في خلق السماوات والأرضهالي قرآن invites us to think how the universe was created. Well, if everything was created instantly, and there was no process, no evolution whatsoever, then there's no way for you to realize how it was created. So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is actually giving us an opportunity to use our brains to discover the natural world around us. And when there is a process and you figure out that process, then you can figure out the natural world around you. This is from the rahmah of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Therefore, in no way does the theory of evolution cast any doubt on Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. In fact, when I examine evolution, or what has been proven about evolution, brothers and sisters, it only serves to remind us that there is a Creator. Evolution cannot occur without a Creator. And it points us to the knowledge of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala because it's a very complex system and the complexity of evolution reminds us of the amazing power of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Next time you look at evolution, see that as a sign that points you towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It should strengthen your faith and iman and Allah, not weaken it. So this is the third factor. The fourth factor that leads to atheism, brothers and sisters is this verse which Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has mentioned in the Holy Quran. If after showing them all the signs, they don't respond to you, they don't accept, then realize that these people who are rejecting, they are following what? Their own desires. They're following their own whims. Is there someone who's more misguided than the one who follows his desires without any guidance from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? The problem of many atheists, and this is a fundamental point, they want to impose their opinion on God. They come out and say, well, if God was there, then why is the universe this? Why this? Why that? Why is the universe the way we see it? Why did this happen? In essence, they want to run the universe. They want to impose their opinion on God. And that's the peak of ignorance and arrogance, brothers and sisters. Who are you to dictate to God what he should do? You don't like something? You come and say, oh, God doesn't exist because I don't like how life is. This is the peak of ignorance. We should learn from the Holy Quran. Why does the Holy Quran share with us the story of Prophet Adam, and Iblis, the devil? Because when he refused to do sujood, to prostrate to Adam, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala kicked him out from his mercy. It was the first act of arrogance. The lesson that we learned from this act of arrogance is that we worship God the way he wants, not the way we want. Atheists, they'd like to worship God according to their whims and desires. If it suits their desires, they'll accept it. If it doesn't, no, they won't accept it. And this is our challenge. Our greatest jihad and challenge, brothers and sisters, is to worship the Almighty Allah the way he wants, not the way we want. Unfortunately, most of us we pick and choose. Whatever suits us, we take us. When it comes to certain things, oh, we are the best mu'mineen. We are the best believers. We become awliya'Allah. Some people, when it comes to certain things, you'll find them there. You know, you don't see them throughout the entire year. And then, some nights throughout the year, they come and they want to read the dua. It's so much khushu'ah. They're the most believers in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Habibi, when it comes to donating, when it comes to supporting your community, when it comes to helping brothers and sisters in society, when it comes to being a good business partner, where you honor the rights of your partner, where's your deen, where's your religion? Suddenly vanished? Only alayla tulqad, when you're holding the mic, that's Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. That's the religion? Alhamdulillah, we have a wonderful community here, but sometimes in some other communities, you see this. And this is unfortunate. Worship God the way he wants, not the way you want. And these atheists, they want to dictate to God. Look at history. And you'll see, and we'll talk about this tomorrow night, you'll see that the most repressive regimes that came in history were atheistic or communistic regimes. You can't even run your own society. You want to run the universe. You want to teach Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala how to run the universe. So this is the fourth factor. The fifth and the final factor briefly, why many people these days, they are resorting to doubting Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is because they want an easy way out. They want an easy way out, because the minute you accept there is a God, Allah has laws. It's not easy to become a pious individual to abide by the laws of God. Some of them, they do know God exists, but they don't want to admit God exists because they want an easy way out. They want to be free. I don't want to pray fast, not do ghiba, not drink alcohol, not do this. I want to have fun in this life, and this drives them to reject Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And this is very unfortunate. Yes, it's very difficult to be pious. Imam Al Baqir, alaihi salam, in one hadith states, Al jannahu mahfoofatun bil makari was sabr. You want to go to paradise? It's not easy. It's not free. It's surrounded with difficulty and patience. Wannaru mahfoofatun bil ladhati wa shahawat. And hellfire is surrounded with temptation, with desires. That's the reality. It's not easy, but at the end of the day, realize one point, that there is no easy way out. Even if you stay in atheists, you think, what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will not test you? Life will not have its own complications and difficulties? Absolutely not. Because in one hadith, Imam Al Qadim, alaihi salam, tells his student and his companion, Hisham, he tells him, oh Hisham, let me share something with you. The aqil, the one who has the intellect. You know who's the aqil? The one when he looks at this life, he realizes if you want to be successful in life, you have to work for it. It doesn't come for free. And when he looks at the hereafter, he realizes you have to also work for it. It doesn't come for free. You want the world, you have to work for it. You want the Akhirah, you have to work for it. At the end of the day, you have to work for it. So which one does the aqil choose? The aqil chooses the one that lasts, not the one that's going to finish. And that's the Akhirah. Even if you're an atheist, you think, you're going to have an easy life, you will not have an easy life. You think it's an easy way out, you will just suffer more and more by resorting to atheism. Gradually, you'll develop psychological problems and depression will strike you before you live in this world. So these are five factor brothers and sisters that lead us, that lead many of our youth to atheism. Let us be aware of these important factors so we can help many people in our society. Realize that Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala is close to us. Especially in this holy month of Ramadan. If anyone asks about me, say that I am close. I am the close one. We ask Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala to open our hearts to him in this holy month. May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala bless you brothers and sisters. And let's end with reciting Surah Al-Fatiha. May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala bless you brothers and sisters. Let's end with reciting Surah Al-Fatiha for our beloved brother who has passed away. Let's recite a loud salawat followed by Surah Al-Fatiha.