Short answer
Look into it properly, and start now. Being unsure is an honest place to begin, but it is too big a question to leave open. Putting it off is also a choice, and if God (﷾) is real you will have chosen without looking. Looking costs little. Read the reasons, test the claims, and ask for guidance in your own words. Islam says the same. In the Qur'an a believer at Pharaoh's court reasons about a messenger. If he is lying, the lie is on him. If he is truthful, some of what he warns of will fall on them. The Qur'an also promises guidance to those who make the effort (29:69).
Full explanation
Not deciding is still a way of living
Being unsure is not a place where nothing is at stake. You may pray or not, give an hour to the question or not, and treat your life as answerable to someone beyond yourself or not. Each is a choice. Each fits one answer better than the other. The question also has a deadline that no one controls. The 17th-century French mathematician Blaise Pascal made a version of this point in the fragment that holds his wager. The wager is the argument that a person should bet on God (﷾) because of what is at stake. His reader says he would rather not wager at all. Pascal replies that he must wager: it is not optional, because he is already on board.
“Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is.”
Looking costs little, and the stakes are not small
Set the two sides against each other. If there is no Creator, having looked seriously costs some reading, some hours and some honest thought. If there is a Creator who made you and gave your life a purpose, never having looked costs far more. That lopsidedness is a reason to look. It is not a proof that God (﷾) exists, and this page does not offer it as one. Pascal's wager has the same shape. He says that if you gain, you gain all, and if you lose, you lose nothing. This page claims less. It does not say that following Islam costs nothing, because Islam asks for prayer, fasting and giving. It says only that reading, asking and examining cost little.
“Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is.”
The stakes say why to look, and tests say what to believe
On its own, an argument from stakes fits every religion that warns of a loss. The French writer Denis Diderot made this point against Pascal, writing that an imam could say as much. But his point does not remove the stakes. It adds claims to test, and a reader warned by several messages has more reason to look, not less. So the stakes are used here only to show why the question should not be left alone. Choosing is the work of tests that anyone can apply to any message. Does it contradict itself? Does it reach us through people we can name? Does it describe one eternal Creator, the one the reasons point to? This site has a page on how to test a scripture. The Qur'an itself invites such a test (4:82). Diderot's imam is the very claim this site asks the reader to test.
Answering Pascal's wager, Diderot notes that Pascal said you risk nothing by believing your religion true and everything by believing it false, and adds that an imam could say as much as Pascal. His point is that the argument from stakes serves every religion alike, so it cannot tell a reader which to choose.
“Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is.”
“Do they not consider the Qur'an (with care)? Had it been from other Than Allah, they would surely have found therein Much discrepancy.”
Belief is not a switch, but looking is a choice
No one can make himself believe by wanting to. That is true of every belief. What a person can choose is what he reads, whom he asks and whether he turns to God (﷾). Belief follows the reasons he finds, and Islam adds that guidance is God's (﷾) gift to the one who asks. Some advise a doubter to act as if he believed until belief comes. That is not the Islamic route. Islam does not ask anyone to act out a belief he does not hold or to quiet his reason. It asks him to use it, and to ask.
“Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is.”
Islam says the same: the believer at Pharaoh's court
The Qur'an records a believer from Pharaoh's people who had hidden his faith. He speaks to men who want to kill Moses for saying that his Lord is Allah (﷾). He begins with the fact that Moses has come with clear signs. He then reasons that if Moses is lying, the lie is on him. If he is truthful, some of the calamity he warns of will fall on them (40:28). A second verse asks those who reject the revelation to consider this. If it really is from Allah (﷾) and they reject it, who is further astray (41:52)? Both weigh what rejection risks if the message is true. The first begins with the clear signs Moses brought, so the stakes follow the evidence and do not replace it. Neither asks anyone to believe without looking. This is Islam's answer and not the proof, so a reader who does not accept the Qur'an loses nothing the argument above needs.
“A believer, a man from among the people of Pharaoh, who had concealed his faith, said: "Will ye slay a man because he says, 'My Lord is Allah'?- when he has indeed come to you with Clear (Signs) from your Lord? and if he be a liar, on him is (the sin of) his lie: but, if he is telling the Truth, then will fall on you something of the (calamity) of which he warns you: Truly Allah guides not one who transgresses and lies!"”
“Say: "See ye if the (Revelation) is (really) from Allah, and yet do ye reject it? Who is more astray than one who is in a schism far (from any purpose)?"”
Islam's answer: search, and ask
The Qur'an promises guidance to those who make an effort for God's (﷾) sake (29:69). It says that God (﷾) is close to those who call on Him and listens to the one who calls (2:186). Islam adds that guidance itself is God's (﷾) gift to the one who asks. It teaches that no one is punished before a messenger has reached him (17:15). It adds that after the messengers mankind should have no plea against God (4:165). So Islam gives an unsure reader three steps. Read the reasons, starting with the pages on how we know God (﷾) exists. Test the claim of a revelation by its contents and its record, not by the crowd around it. Ask, in your own words, for guidance to the truth. Even a prayer as plain as "if You are there, guide me" is a beginning. In Islam this is the first step into a whole way of life, with belief, worship and character together.
“And those who strive in Our (cause),- We will certainly guide them to our Paths: For verily Allah is with those who do right.”
“When My servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them): I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calleth on Me: Let them also, with a will, Listen to My call, and believe in Me: That they may walk in the right way.”
“Who receiveth guidance, receiveth it for his own benefit: who goeth astray doth so to his own loss: No bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another: nor would We visit with Our Wrath until We had sent a messenger (to give warning).”
“Messengers who gave good news as well as warning, that mankind, after (the coming) of the messengers, should have no plea against Allah: For Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise.”
The replies answered
Diderot, Addition aux Pensées philosophiques, LIX
Answering Pascal's wager, Diderot notes that Pascal said you risk nothing by believing your religion true and everything by believing it false, and adds that an imam could say as much as Pascal. His point is that the argument from stakes serves every religion alike, so it cannot tell a reader which to choose.
Cited for
The wager works for every religion. As Diderot put it, an imam could say as much as Pascal, so it cannot tell me which one to pick.
The response
Stakes alone do not pick, and this page does not use them to. But more warnings mean more to test, not less reason to look. The stakes say why the question should not be left alone. The tests of a message, which anyone can apply, say which claim deserves belief. Diderot's imam is the claim this site asks you to test.
Where it lands — The stakes set the urgency, the tests choose between religions, and Islam asks to be tested.
Blaise Pascal, Pensées, fragment 233 ('Infinite--nothing'), W. F. Trotter translation (1910; text as in Project Gutenberg #18269)
“Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is.”
Cited for
Pascal, whom this page cites, wrote against Islam elsewhere in the same book.
The response
He did. Pascal wagered for his own church. This page takes nothing from his conclusion, only the point that the question cannot be left alone. The claims of his church and of Islam face the same tests.
Where it lands — Only the shape of the wager is used, and every religion's claims are weighed by the same tests.
Blaise Pascal, Pensées, fragment 233 ('Infinite--nothing'), W. F. Trotter translation (1910; text as in Project Gutenberg #18269)
“Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is.”
Cited for
Belief held to avoid a loss is not real belief. No one can believe because it pays.
The response
That is true of belief, and this page does not ask for a purchased belief. The stakes are a reason to read and to examine. If belief follows, it rests on the reasons found. What is chosen is the looking.
Where it lands — The page asks for a search, and any belief that comes from it rests on reasons and not on the reward.
Blaise Pascal, Pensées, fragment 233 ('Infinite--nothing'), W. F. Trotter translation (1910; text as in Project Gutenberg #18269)
“Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is.”
Cited for
I cannot make myself believe, however much I would like to.
The response
No one can do it by an act of will alone. But you can choose to read, to weigh the reasons, to put your questions to people who know the faith, and to ask. Those are acts of will, and belief follows the reasons that come from them.
Where it lands — What cannot be chosen is belief on demand. What can be chosen is the search.
Blaise Pascal, Pensées, fragment 233 ('Infinite--nothing'), W. F. Trotter translation (1910; text as in Project Gutenberg #18269)
“Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is.”
Cited for
Pascal says you lose nothing by believing. But a believer gives up years, pleasures and freedom if there is no God.
The response
This page does not say that following a faith costs nothing. It says that looking costs little: some reading, some time, some asking. Islam asks real things of a Muslim, namely prayer, fasting, giving and character. Whether they are worth it depends on whether its claims are true, and finding that out is what looking is for.
Where it lands — The page claims only that looking is cheap, and leaves the cost of living a faith to be weighed against its truth.
Qur'an 17:15 — Surat al-Isra (The Night Journey), verse 15
“Who receiveth guidance, receiveth it for his own benefit: who goeth astray doth so to his own loss: No bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another: nor would We visit with Our Wrath until We had sent a messenger (to give warning).”
Cited for
If a just God exists, He would reward honest doubt. He would punish only those who go against the evidence, so I am safe where I stand.
The response
Islam does not call honest doubt a lie, and God (﷾) judges each person with full knowledge of his heart. No one is punished before the message has reached him (17:15). But Islam makes no promise that standing still is safe. Its promise is to the one who keeps looking and asking: he will be guided (29:69). The search lasts as long as life does.
Where it lands — Islam promises guidance to a search that continues, not safety to one that has stopped.
Qur'an 40:28 — Surat Ghafir (The Forgiver), verse 28
“A believer, a man from among the people of Pharaoh, who had concealed his faith, said: "Will ye slay a man because he says, 'My Lord is Allah'?- when he has indeed come to you with Clear (Signs) from your Lord? and if he be a liar, on him is (the sin of) his lie: but, if he is telling the Truth, then will fall on you something of the (calamity) of which he warns you: Truly Allah guides not one who transgresses and lies!"”
Cited for
Anyone could say this of any messenger, true or false. Pointing to a calamity if he is right proves nothing.
The response
The believer in the verse does not stop at the stakes. He begins with the fact that Moses has come with clear signs, and the stakes follow. The same order holds today. The message and its record come first, and the stakes explain only why waiting is unwise.
Where it lands — In the verse the signs come first and the stakes second, so it is an argument for examining a claim.
Qur'an 41:53 — Surat Fussilat (Explained in detail), verse 53
“Soon will We show them our Signs in the (furthest) regions (of the earth), and in their own souls, until it becomes manifest to them that this is the Truth. Is it not enough that thy Lord doth witness all things?”
Cited for
If God exists He could make it obvious, so I will wait until He does.
The response
Waiting for a sign that removes every doubt is a decision to leave the question closed. The Qur'an says that signs will be shown to people in the world and in their own souls. They will keep coming until the truth becomes plain (41:53). The evidence on this site is open to anyone now. The page on why God (﷾) does not make Himself obvious takes up the rest.
Where it lands — The search is open now, and the Qur'an promises that signs will keep being shown to those who look.
Qur'an 102:1-2 — Surat al-Takathur (Competition), verses 1-2
“The mutual rivalry for piling up (the good things of this world) diverts you (from the more serious things), Until ye visit the graves.”
Cited for
I already believe in God. I just have no time to look into what He wants. Life is busy, and He knows I am a good person.
The response
Believing that a Maker exists, and never asking what He wants, leaves the biggest question unanswered. The Qur'an names what keeps people busy. The race to pile up more distracts them until they reach the graves (102:1-2). It asks, "Did ye then think that We had created you in jest"? (23:115). He does know you. Being good is a start, but only He can say what He asks of you, and the next step is to learn it. Looking costs little, and He promises to guide those who strive for Him (29:69).
Where it lands — Believing in God (﷾) opens the question of what He wants. A busy life is a reason to look now, not later.
Perspectives
Atheist and agnostic: the wager cannot choose a religion, and belief cannot be bought
Pascal argued that one should wager that God is, because the gain is unlimited and the loss nothing. Critics answer that the same reasoning serves any religion, as Diderot said of an imam. And they say no one can believe just because it pays.
The wager proves too much. An imam, or a priest of any religion, can make the same argument, so it cannot tell a reader which religion to choose.
Rebuttal
Stakes alone do not choose a religion, and this page never uses them to. Rival warnings add claims to test, not reasons to stop looking. Tests of a message can choose (4:82; 2:23).
No one can believe by deciding to, and a belief taken up to avoid a loss is not belief at all. Pascal's own fragment records the reply that the reader is so made that he cannot believe.
Rebuttal
True, and this page does not ask for a belief bought for profit. Reading, examining and asking are choices, and belief follows the reasons found.
The stakes are a reason to look, not a way to choose
Being unsure does not remove the question, and looking costs little against what is at stake if there is a Creator. The stakes show why to look. Tests that anyone can apply decide what to believe.
Not deciding is still a way of living, so being unsure does not make the question go away.
Reading, examining and asking cost little. Not having looked costs far more, if there is a Creator who gave life a purpose.
An argument from what is at stake fits every religion alike. So tests that anyone can apply to a message must decide which claim deserves belief.
The Islamic perspective
Islam asks the unsure person to examine the message before rejecting it, to make an effort and to ask God (﷾) for guidance. It teaches that God (﷾) is close to the one who calls on Him.
The Qur'an records a believer at Pharaoh's court. He argued from the clear signs of Moses, and then from what was at stake if Moses was truthful.
The Qur'an asks those who reject the revelation to consider what follows if it really is from Allah (﷾).
The Qur'an promises that God (﷾) will guide those who make an effort for His sake.
The Qur'an says that God (﷾) is close to those who call on Him and answers the one who calls.
Islam teaches that no one is punished before a messenger has reached him. It adds that mankind will have no plea against God (﷾) after the messengers.