Shaykh Shabbīr Aḥmad al-ʿUthmānī: His Services in Refuting Atheism

Abstract

This article explores the theological and philosophical contributions of Shaykh Shabbīr Aḥmad al-ʿUthmānī in defending Islamic belief by systematically refuting atheistic arguments. The study centers primarily on his treatise ‘al-Islām’, written in a period of intellectual upheaval shaped by rising of materialist philosophies. Through a rational and textual approach, Shaykh al-ʿUthmānī demonstrates the incompatibility of atheism with both sound reason and innate human disposition (fiṭrah). His methodical reasoning, rich use of analogies, philosophical rebuttals, and references to both Islamic and non-Islamic sources makes his contribution a powerful intellectual response to modern disbelief.

Keywords: Atheism, Divine Existence, ʿAllāma Shabbīr Aḥmad al-ʿUsmānī, Islamic Theology, Ilāhiyyāt, Rationality, Materialism, Fiṭrah