Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad.
The noble Sharia mandates that those accountable must have a certain and firm knowledge of Allah based on sound rational evidence, as stated in His saying {of what means}:"So know that there is no deity except Allah" [Muhammad, 19]. The necessary knowledge of Allah in Islam is to believe in the implications of the two testimonies of faith (The Shahadah: "I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger"). This means affirming Allah with the understanding of His attributes of perfection and recognizing what is impossible for Him regarding deficiencies, as well as accepting what has been conveyed by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) with submission and compliance.
The affirmation of Allah’s existence through doubt, suspicion, or conjecture does not constitute knowledge of Him; it does not qualify as true understanding of the Divine. For someone who doubts or conjectures cannot be considered knowledgeable. If we were to suppose that, an accountable individual affirms Allah's existence based on suspicion or doubt, such affirmation would not be acceptable and would not fulfill the required belief. Allah says {what means}: “Their messengers said, ‘Is there doubt about Allah, Creator of the heavens and the earth? He invites you to forgive you of your sins and to delay you for a specified term’” (Ibrahim: 10). He also states {what means}: “And most of them follow not except assumption. Indeed, assumption avails not against the truth. Indeed, Allah is Knowing of what they do” [Yunus, 36].
The truth that is agreed upon by the Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama‘ah and many groups of Muslims is that affirming the existence of Allah is not impossible; rather, it is a feasible belief that can indeed be established through rational evidence. This is in contrast to some philosophers and modernists. As Sayyid al-Jurjani said, “The possibility of knowing Allah is a branch of the knowledge gained through rational inquiry.” Al-‘Attar remarked, “(His statement: what is established among them)... is a reference to those who deny that knowledge can be obtained through reasoning at all, such as the Sufis, or who claim it is only useful in geometry and arithmetic, like the mathematicians, or those who believe it does not help in knowing Allah, such as the atheists.”
It should be noted that the Sharia does not require an accountable individual to know Allah through detailed examination of evidence and issues; rather, it only necessitates a general consideration, which is something that all laypeople among the accountable individuals naturally possess. Everyone reflects within himself or herself—whether or not they articulate it verbally—on the existence of Allah according to their understanding and capability. Even if there were a person who never examined the evidence at all and merely followed tradition, they would still be considered deficient in some of the obligations imposed upon them. Thus, they would be classified as a sinful believer. Al-‘Ujd al-Iji pointed out the sufficiency of a general understanding, stating, “Whoever truly believes is knowledgeable about all these matters, even if they have not thoroughly examined and articulated the evidence, as this is not a condition for knowledge or a means of moving beyond mere imitation”
Therefore, Islam requires that an accountable person must firmly and certainly believe in Allah in order to be considered a true believer. Mere speculation, uncertainty, or a heart-felt conviction lacking a solid basis is not acceptable, even if it is accompanied by a commitment to ethics, noble character, and righteous actions on the surface. And Allah the Almighty knows best.
