My attention was brought to an article written by one Olarewaju Akanni who thought he had a response to Imam Abu Hanifah’s refutation to Atheists. He wrote:

“Shaykh al-‘Uthaimīn mentioned a version in his “Sharhu al-‘Aqeedatil Wāsitiyah”. According to this account, Abu Hanifah was invited to debate atheists but intentionally failed to appear on the scheduled day and the day after. On the third day, he arrived, and the atheists asked him why he was late. Abu Hanifah replied, “When I was traveling here, I came across a deep valley with no bridge. I waited for a long time but couldn’t find a way to cross. The next day, the situation remained the same. However, today, as I was approaching the valley, a sturdy, well-designed bridge appeared all by itself, allowing me to cross safely.” The atheists laughed and said, “This is impossible! The bridge must have been built by someone.” Abu Hanifah responded, “If a bridge cannot exist without a builder, how can a universe with its complexities exist without a designer? There must be a creator, and that is God.”

To refute the above, he wrote:

“To illustrate this, consider the following: if you were to lay out sand, concrete, and cement to build a bridge or house, would these materials construct the structure on their own without any direct intervention from a sentient maker? The answer is no. Hence, it’s impossible for bridges, houses, or ships to build themselves without a sentient designer.

However, consider a different scenario: imagine placing an onion or a dead body, allowing it to decompose. During this process, it’s likely that complex sentient beings, such as maggots, can develop from it through natural processes and environmental influence. The development of these sentient beings doesn’t require a direct designer; nature can facilitate this process on its own.”
My Response
Olarewaju’s Maggot argument is a misconception called “Spontaneous Generation” which was debunked centuries ago. Whether it is an onion or a dead body, life still comes from life. Maggots are the larval stage of flies, typically houseflies or blowflies. Female flies lay eggs on organic material, such as decaying meat, and these eggs hatch into maggots.
In the 17th century, an Italian Scientist, Francesco Redi, conducted an experiment where he placed meat in two jars: one uncovered and the other covered with gauze. Maggots appeared only in the uncovered jar because flies could lay eggs on the meat, while the covered jar remained free of maggots.

Likewise, Louis Pasteur’s experiment in 1861 disproved the idea of spontaneous generation and confirmed that life arises only from pre-existing life. He used flasks with long, curved necks (swan-neck flasks) filled with nutrient broth. He boiled the broth to sterilize it, killing any existing microorganisms. The swan-neck design allowed air to enter but trapped dust and microorganisms in the neck, preventing them from reaching the broth.

In flasks with intact necks, the broth remained clear and free of microorganisms, even after weeks. However, in flasks where the necks were broken, the broth became cloudy due to microbial growth. This proved that microorganisms came from the environment (dust and air), not spontaneously from the broth. Pasteur’s work established the principle of biogenesis and laid the foundation for modern microbiology.

It is such a shame that a so-called intellectual that bring up centuries long arguments in 2025.

All life come from pre-exisiting life with the orign of life as an exception. Abiogenesis which is the natural process by which life arises from non-living matter, such as simple organic compounds is not fully understood as at this time. There is a Designer and we hope it won’t be death that will make that clear to you.

Bashir Lucas Samson Lukman

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