❖ Introduction
This reflective article by Muzzammil Sheikh Bismil addresses a common philosophical objection:Are beliefs—particularly belief in God—merely the result of upbringing and education?
Modern secular minds often argue that had a child not been taught about God from a young age, he or she would never have believed. This idea seeks to reduce divine faith to a psychological imprint rather than a truthful conviction. This article responds with calm reasoning and rational insight.
❖ The Claim: "Belief in God is Indoctrination"
Some claim:“All beliefs stem from childhood conditioning. If a child were not taught about God, he would never believe. Therefore, God's existence is not real—just taught.”
This argument falsely assumes that education creates reality, rather than introduces one to it.
❖ The Analogy of the Duckling and the Ball
Ethologist Konrad Lorenz demonstrated that:- A duckling, once hatched, instinctively follows the first moving object it sees.
- Even if it’s not its mother—say, a ball—it still forms a bond and follows it.
This shows that attachment is based on imprinting, not necessarily truth or essence.
But does that mean the duckling has no mother?
Clearly not.
❖ The Fatherhood Analogy
Similarly:- A child who has never met or known his father may feel no emotional connection.
- Yet this absence of emotion does not negate the biological reality of fatherhood.
The father exists regardless of the child’s awareness or perception.
❖ The Logical Leap: From Perception to Existence
This leads to a critical distinction:
Teaching a concept does not invent the reality behind it. Absence of awareness does not prove absence of existence.So, if a child is not taught about God, and grows up ignorant of Him, it doesn’t mean God doesn’t exist. It only means the child remained unaware of a pre-existing reality.
❖ The Eternal Reality of God
The Islamic position is firm:“God’s existence is not contingent on human recognition.”
- Whether taught or not, believed or not, accepted or rejected—
- God was, is, and will always be.
The absence of a feeling or personal connection to God does not challenge His ontological reality.
❖ Conclusion
✔ Belief in God may be nurtured, but that does not mean God is man-made.✔ Upbringing may determine awareness, not existence.
✔ Just as a duckling follows a ball or a child grows up unaware of a father, absence of knowledge does not negate truth.
✔ God’s existence remains an eternal, unchanging fact—regardless of human perception.
وَاللهُ أَعْلَم، وَعِلْمُهُ أَحْكَم!
