Benarkan saya menyambung dari tempat saya berhenti dalam buku saya, ‘The Atheist Militia’… Pada tahun 1966, majalah berita Amerika Time menerbitkan laporan muka depan bertajuk Is God Dead? Alasan di sebalik tajuk provokatif ini ialah perasaan kuat bahawa sains dan kuasa penjelasannya yang lebih unggul sedang berada di puncak, yang membawa kepada pengabaian kewujudan Tuhan sebagai penjelasan bagi fenomena dan sifat universe yang sempurna. Paradoksnya ialah, walaupun sains sedang meningkat, semakin banyak kes berlaku di mana orang menyatakan keperluan mereka terhadap Tuhan – dalam kehidupan harian, kerja, dan persekitaran profesional mereka. Pada tahun yang sama, ahli astronomi terkenal Carl Sagan mengumumkan dua komponen asas bagi kewujudan sebuah planet yang boleh dihuni:

Allow me to pick up from where I left off in my book, ‘The Atheist Militia’… In 1966, the American news magazine Time published a cover story titled Is God Dead? The reason for this provocative title was a strong sentiment that the sciences and their superior explanatory powers were in the ascendency, leading to the abandonment of the existence of God as an explanation for phenomena and the masterful nature of the universe. The paradox was that even though the sciences were on the rise, there was an increasing number of cases of people stating their need for the Lord – during their daily living, work, and professional environment. During that same year, the famous astronomer Carl Sagan announced two fundamental components for the existence of a planet that is habitable:

1. Kehadiran jenis bintang yang sesuai. 2. Sebuah planet pada jarak yang sesuai dari bintang tersebut.

1. The presence of an appropriate type of star. 2. A planet at an appropriate distance from the star.

Itu sahaja. Apabila kita memahami bahawa bilangan bintang di alam semesta yang diketahui melebihi satu oktiliun (10^27 = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000), maka bilangan planet yang boleh dihuni sepatutnya berjumlah septiliun (10^24 = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000). Bilangan planet yang boleh dihuni yang sangat besar ini mencetuskan harapan besar dalam kalangan komuniti saintifik bahawa manusia hampir menemui kehidupan di suatu tempat dalam alam semesta yang luas. Oleh itu, Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) ditubuhkan, dengan jumlah wang yang besar diperuntukkan untuk projek tersebut, yang hanya dapat ditandingi oleh harapan besar untuk menemui kehidupan di seluruh kosmos. Untuk tempoh yang lama, para saintis cuba mencari sebarang tanda kehidupan di angkasa. Namun, angkasa kekal sunyi. Ia terus sunyi sehingga Kongres menutup projek itu pada tahun 1993. Syarikat-syarikat swasta mengambil alih tanggungjawab tersebut dan meneruskan pencarian mereka terhadap kehidupan di luar Bumi. Sehingga hari ini, angkasa kekal sunyi dan tidak mengeluarkan walau sepatah huruf pun. Apakah yang berlaku? Secara ringkasnya, walaupun dengan pengetahuan dan sains yang maju, kita mendapati bahawa terdapat lebih banyak komponen bagi kehidupan daripada dua unsur yang disebut oleh Sagan. Kita dapati bahawa sebuah planet yang sesuai untuk sebarang jenis kehidupan, apatah lagi kehidupan yang berintelek, adalah lebih rumit daripada yang difikirkan pada mulanya. Parameter yang diperlukan meningkat daripada dua kepada sepuluh, kemudian kepada dua puluh, kemudian kepada lima puluh... dan ia terus bertambah. Bilangan planet yang berpotensi untuk dihuni berkurang dengan ketara, dan ia terus berkurang sehingga hari ini. Peter Schenkel, seorang penyokong projek SETI, menulis perkara berikut dalam sebuah artikel yang diterbitkan dalam majalah Skeptical Inquirer, 'Usaha SETI awal ditandai dengan anggaran yang terlalu optimistik mengenai the 201

That is all. When we understand that the number of stars in the known universe is more than one octillion (1027 = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000), then the number of habitable planets should be a septillion (1024 = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000). This gigantic number of habitable planets triggered massive hope within the scientific community that humankind was on the cusp of finding life somewhere in the wide universe. As such, Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) was founded, with huge sums of money dedicated to the project, matched only by the huge expectation of finding life in the wider cosmos. For a long time, scientists tried to look out for any sign of life in space. However, space was silent. It remained silent until Congress shut down the project in 1993. Private companies took the mantle and continued their search for life beyond Earth. To this day, space remains silent and has not uttered even a letter. What happened? In a nutshell, what happened was that, in spite of our advanced knowledge and science, we found that there are more components to life than the two elements mentioned by Sagan. We discovered that a habitable planet for any sort of life – let alone intelligent life – is more complicated than was first thought. The required parameters increased from two to ten, then to twenty, then to fifty…and it goes on. The number of potentially habitable planets dramatically decreased, and it continues to decrease to this day. Peter Schenkel, a supporter of the SETI project, wrote the following in an article that was published in the Skeptical Inquirer magazine, ‘Early SETI efforts were marked by overly optimistic estimates of the 201

probable number of extraterrestrial civilizations in our galaxy. In light of new findings and insights, it seems appropriate to put excessive euphoria to rest and to take a more down-to-Earth view. Earth may be more special, and intelligence much rarer, in the universe than previously thought.' He added: 'In light of new findings and insights, it seems appropriate to put excessive euphoria to rest…We should quietly admit that the early estimates…may no longer be tenable.'362

probable number of extraterrestrial civilizations in our galaxy. In light of new findings and insights, it seems appropriate to put excessive euphoria to rest and to take a more down-to-Earth view. Earth may be more special, and intelligence much rarer, in the universe than previously thought.’ He added: ‘In light of new findings and insights, it seems appropriate to put excessive euphoria to rest…We should quietly admit that the early estimates…may no longer be tenable.’362

Ringkasnya, hari ini kita mempunyai lebih daripada 200 parameter untuk sesebuah planet dianggap boleh dihuni. Setiap parameter mesti memenuhi satu set kriteria yang ketat dengan sempurna; jika tidak, kebolehhunian planet itu akan runtuh sepenuhnya:

In brief, we have more than 200 parameters today for a planet to be considered habitable. Each parameter must perfectly meet a stringent set of criteria; otherwise the habitability of the planet would collapse in totality:

Pasti terdapat sebuah planet besar berdekatan, setara dengan Musytari, yang menarik meteor menjauh dan melindungi planet calon tersebut; jika tidak, planet calon itu akan menjadi sasaran meteor dan kehidupan akan musnah.

• There must be a large planet nearby, to the tune of Jupiter, which pulls away meteors and protects the candidate planet; otherwise the candidate planet would become a target for meteors and life would be destroyed.

• Saiz planet calon mestilah sesuai. Jika terlalu besar, tarikan graviti yang terlalu kuat akan menarik gas ammonia dan metana yang toksik, manakala jika terlalu kecil, tarikan graviti yang terlalu lemah akan memberi kesan negatif kepada jumlah air di situ.

• The size of the candidate planet must be appropriate. If it is too big, its gravitational pull would be too strong, which would pull in toxic ammonia and methane gas. If it is too small, its gravitational pull would be too weak and would negatively impact the amount of water there.

Saiz bulannya juga mesti sesuai. Bulan kita melindungi putaran dan orbit Bumi. Sekiranya tidak kerana Bulan, paksi Bumi akan condong jauh melebihi kecondongan normalnya dan kestabilan yang dikehendaki akan hilang.

• The size of its moon must also be appropriate. Our Moon protects the rotation and orbit of the Earth. Were it not for the Moon, the axis of Earth would tilt far beyond its normal tilt and the desired stability would be lost.

• Lapisan ozon planet calon mestilah sesuai. Jika terlalu tebal, ia akan memberi kesan kepada jumlah oksigen dalam atmosfera planet tersebut. Jika terlalu nipis, aktiviti gunung berapi dan gempa bumi akan kerap berlaku di permukaan planet itu.

• The ozone layer of the candidate planet must be suitable. If it is too thick, it would impact the amount of oxygen in its atmosphere. If it is too light, volcanic activity and earthquakes would frequent the planetary surface.

Fakta-fakta ini dan fakta-fakta lain telah menzahirkan bahawa kewujudan kita di planet ini sesungguhnya adalah satu mukjizat. Kemungkinan kehidupan gagal di mana-mana sahaja di alam semesta nampaknya sangat tinggi, berbanding dengan kemungkinan kejayaannya. Namun di sini kita berada; malah kita sedang membincangkan fenomena ini sekarang. Bagaimanakah itu berlaku? Adakah semua ini hanya kebetulan? Setakat manakah kita boleh bergantung pada hujah kebetulan? Bilakah kita boleh mula menganggap dengan selamat bahawa teori kebetulan tidak munasabah?

These facts and others have revealed that our existence on this planet is truly a miracle. The possibilities of life not succeeding anywhere in the universe appear to be extremely high, compared to the possibility of its success. Yet here we are; in fact, we are speaking about this phenomenon right now. How did that happen? Was it all a coincidence? To what extent can we rely on the coincidence argument? When can we start to safely assume that the coincidence theory is implausible?

Abaikan semua yang telah disebutkan sebelum ini. Kerumitan untuk memiliki sebuah planet yang layak huni tidak pernah dapat dibandingkan dengan kerumitan dalam keberadaan alam semesta itu sendiri. Semua daya kosmik (graviti, daya elektromagnet, daya nuklear kuat, daya nuklear lemah) telah diukur sehingga satu juta saat selepas Letupan Besar. Sebarang penyelewengan dalam daya-daya ini berkaitan antara satu sama lain 362 https://cdn.centerforinquiry.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2006/05/22164609/p26.pdf 202

Leave aside everything that has preceded. The complexities of having a habitable planet can never be compared to the complexities in the very existence of the universe. All the cosmic forces (gravity, electromagnetic force, the strong nuclear force, the weak nuclear force) have been measured to one millionth of a second after the Big Bang. Any foul play in these forces in relation to each other 362 https://cdn.centerforinquiry.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2006/05/22164609/p26.pdf 202

– walaupun sedikit pun – akan membawa kepada keruntuhan keseluruhan sistem alam semesta.

– even by the very slightest – would lead to the collapse of the entire system of the universe:

• Jika daya nuklear kuat dan daya elektromagnet menjadi tidak seimbang walaupun sedikit sahaja, bintang-bintang dan pelbagai unsur kimia tidak akan terbentuk. • Jika daya graviti diperkuatkan walaupun sedikit sahaja, alam semesta akan segera mengecut selepas Letupan Besar. Jika ia dilemahkan sedikit, jirim di alam semesta akan tersebar tanpa had, menyebabkan tiada galaksi, bintang, dan planet terbentuk.

• If the strong nuclear force and the electromagnetic force were to become imbalanced by even a hair’s breadth, the stars and the multitude of chemical elements would not have formed. • If the gravitational force was strengthened by even the slightest amount, the universe would have immediately contracted after the Big Bang. If it was made slightly weaker, matter in the universe would have scattered indefinitely, resulting in no galaxies, stars, and planets being formed.

Lihatlah sahaja kepada pemalar kosmologi dan ketepatannya yang amat tinggi, yang telah membingungkan semua orang – malah golongan ateis sekalipun. Minda yang tidak berat sebelah secara naluriah akan memutuskan bahawa kewujudan semua syarat ini secara kebetulan semata-mata adalah mustahil, dan bahawa terdapat satu takdir istimewa di sebalik susunan alam semesta yang menakjubkan ini. Anggapan bahawa semua data kosmik ini terhasil akibat kebetulan adalah sama seperti melambung syiling dan mendapatkan sisi kepala timbul sebanyak 10 kuintilion kali berturut-turut. Adakah ini benar-benar boleh dikaitkan dengan kebetulan? Ahli astronomi ateis, Fred Hoyle, berkata, ‘Tiada apa yang menggoncang ateisme saya seperti penemuan ini.’ Pada penghujung hayatnya, beliau menulis, ‘Tafsiran akal sihat terhadap fakta-fakta menunjukkan bahawa sebuah superintelek telah mengatur fizik, juga kimia dan biologi, dan bahawa tiada daya buta dalam alam yang patut dibicarakan.’ Ahli fizik teori Paul Davies pernah berkata bahawa ‘kelihatan rekaan itu amat ketara’. Ateis yang tegas, Christopher Hitchens, berkata, ‘Tidak dinafikan, hujah penalaan halus (fine-tuning) adalah hujah yang paling kuat di pihak lawan.’ Ahli matematik teis, John Lennox, berkata, ‘Semakin kita mengenali alam semesta kita, semakin hipotesis bahawa terdapat Pencipta…bertambah kredibiliti sebagai penjelasan terbaik mengapa kita wujud di sini.’363

One only has to look at the cosmological constant and its extreme precision that has left everyone bewildered – even atheists. The unbiased mind would instinctively rule that the existence of all these conditions by sheer coincidence is impossible, and that there is a special providence behind the astonishing orderly construct of the universe. The idea that all of this cosmic data came about as a result of coincidence is just like tossing a coin and having it come up as heads 10 quintillion times in a row. Can this really be ascribed to coincidence? The atheist astronomer Fred Hoyle said, ‘Nothing has shaken my atheism as much as this discovery.’ At the end of his life he wrote, ‘A common sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a superintellect has monkeyed with physics, as well as with chemistry and biology, and that there are no blind forces worth speaking about in nature.’Theoretical physicist Paul Davies has said that ‘the appearance of design is overwhelming’. The uncompromising atheist Christopher Hitchens said, ‘Without question the fine-tuning argument was the most powerful argument of the other side.’ The theist mathematician John Lennox said, ‘The more we get to know about our universe, the more the hypothesis that there is a Creator…gains in credibility as the best explanation of why we are here.’363

Adakah kewujudan Allah hanyalah satu andaian, sekadar penjelasan terbaik yang ada bagi alam semesta? Tentu sekali tidak. Bukti-bukti rasional yang telah disebutkan tadi adalah pasti dan muktamad. Ia menegaskan dan menzahirkan keperluan terhadap fitrah yang Allah ﷻ letakkan dalam hati hamba-hamba-Nya. Selagi manusia tidak menerima apa yang difitrahkan kepadanya dan tidak tunduk kepadanya, dia akan kehilangan segala-galanya: ilmunya, kognitinya, kehendaknya, dan malah kemanusiaannya. Tiada apa pun yang bermakna tanpa kewujudan-Nya. Manusia dan alam beserta segala isinya bergantung kepada-Nya. Tujuan diambil daripada-Nya. Tanpa-Nya, alam kita akan tenggelam dalam kegelapan tanpa tujuan.

However, is the existence of Allah merely an assumption, and simply just the best explanation out there for the universe? Of course not. The aforementioned rational proofs are definitive and conclusive. They emphasise and reveal the requirement of fiṭrah that Allah  placed in the hearts of His servants. So long as man does not accept what his fiṭrah tells him and does not submit to it, he will lose everything – his knowledge, his cognition, his will, and in fact his humanity. Nothing has meaning without His existence. Man and the world with everything in it are dependent on Him. Purpose is drawn from Him. Without Him, our universe would drown in the darkness of purposelessness.

Cahaya bulan boleh hilang. Cahaya matahari boleh dipadamkan. Cahaya di seluruh alam semesta boleh lenyap. Tetapi cahaya-Nya? Tidak sekali-kali.

Moonlight can disappear. Sunlight can be extinguished. The light across existence in the universe can die. But His light? Never.