‘PM Modi Is Better’: Javed Akhtar Gets Into Heated Argument With Islamic Scholar Mufti Shamail Nadwi Over Existence Of God

A poet-lyricist Javed Akhtar and Islamic scholar Mufti Shamail Nadwi academic debate on the existence of God attracted a large crowd in the Constitution Club in New Delhi on Saturday and soon grew beyond the hall, causing various commentators to split into believers, agnostics, rationally inclined and morally upright.

Two-hour discussion on Does God Exist? 

The presence of Saurabh Dwivedi, editor of The Lallantop, was a unique instance of a Godless versus Godly debate between a professed atheist and a religious scholar, who presented their cases based on logic, ethics, and experience, before a moderator.

Akhtar is a person with a mouth to speak but grounded his case in human suffering and moral contradictions that he perceives in the concept of an all-powerful God. He used the war in Gaza where he claimed that over 70,000 Palestinians have lost their lives to challenge the belief in an all-powerful and a merciful God.

And this, you see, says, should you be all-present, all-powerful, then you must be there, too, in Gaza, you must have seen the children being shredded, and you still want me to believe in you? he said.

Relative to that, our Prime Minister is a better person, kuch to khayal karte hai (at least he is taking care of us), the screenwriter remarked.

Javed Akhtar Questions Faith

Throughout the discussion, Javed Akhtar was able to revert many times to the concept of violence being perpetrated under the banner of religion.

Why, why, he asked, does it stop at this conception of God? Why should we put to a stop all inquiries? And what sort of a God does not permit children to be blown to smithers? And he may not, even in case he exists and permits that.

Mufti Shamail Nadwi responded by putting the blame squarely in the human hands.

He said the creator has created evil though he is not evil. The fault is on those who use their free will in a bad way. He argued that things like violence or rape are not created by God but by man.

Key Takeaways from Javed Akhtar–Mufti Shamail Nadwi Debate

Starting with the discussion, the Mufti Shamail Nadwi with a considerable follower base on the internet stated that neither science nor scripture could be used as a yardstick in the God debate.

Science, he said, is limited to the physical world whereas by definition God lies above it. He added that scripture cannot persuade people who do not believe in revelation as part of knowledge.

He did not accept the argument that the scientific explanations do away with the need of God. Nadwi claimed that the reason of existence is not the how, but the discoveries in physics or biology answering the question of how the universe works.

On one occasion, he informed Akhtar that, without knowing, you should not say that God does not exist.

Javed Akhtar replied that it was in fact his stand to recognize that he was ignorant. No philosopher or scientist, he said, makes himself out to have complete knowledge. He thought that human beings should defy ultimate solutions, whether religious or otherwise.

One of the main contradictions was the opposition between belief and faith. Faith, Akhtar replied, is based on evidence, reason and witness. Faith on the contrary requires belief without evidence.

There is no evidence, no logic and no witness, and you are still expected to believe, that is faith, he said, and it is discouraged.

Morality and justice were also the subject of the debate. Javed Akhtar made an argument that morality is not a natural quality but entirely man-made.

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