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In Christianity it is widely accepted that belief in Jesus requires a leap of faith (i.e. belief without evidence); this act of trust is considered part of god's test.

Is the same true in Islam? I have heard some Muslims admit that their religion requires a leap of faith while others have maintained that Islam can be arrived at through logic and evidence.

Please use scripture to support your answer.

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Assalam-O-Alaykoum

In Islam you need the two options : leap of faith and evidences, actually you need the leap of faith before the evidence in most cases, imagine a Muslim in the early ages of Islam heard the Ayya 41 from Surat Ar'rad :

أَوَلَمْ يَرَوْاْ أَنَّا نَأْتِي الأَرْضَ نَنقُصُهَا مِنْ أَطْرَافِهَا وَاللّهُ يَحْكُمُ لاَ مُعَقِّبَ لِحُكْمِهِ وَهُوَ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ

Have they not seen that We set upon the land, reducing it from its borders? And Allah decides; there is no adjuster of His decision. And He is swift in account.

Here Allah give the evidence that the earth ground is not spherical but oval, how could early Muslims accept that ? knowing that this as theory is supposed by Newton in 1689, but no one reject it in the Islam course even if it is not understood yet but they accept it as an evidence from Allah, here a leap of faith is required, then when it was turned into a Fact the Muslims Faith will grow up because the evidence is more comfortable.

In other cases you will find that Allah transacts in Islam with absolute evidences like in Surat al Ghashiyah :

أَفَلَا يَنْظُرُونَ إِلَى الْإِبِلِ كَيْفَ خُلِقَتْ وَإِلَى السَّمَاءِ كَيْفَ رُفِعَتْ وَإِلَى الْجِبَالِ كَيْفَ نُصِبَتْ وَإِلَى الْأَرْضِ كَيْفَ سُطِحَتْ

Then do they not look at the camels - how they are created?, And at the sky - how it is raised?, And at the mountains - how they are erected?, And at the earth - how it is spread out?

These are evidences by the perception of the eye.

The other case you will find Allah make some unknown meaning words, to make Muslims attain the Faith in Al-Ghayb like in Surat Maryam and many Surat where Allah starts with :

كهيعص

Kaf, Ha, Ya, 'Ayn, Sad

This need an absolute Faith in Al-Ghayb (leap of faith) even if the meaning is unknown.

And Allah knows better.

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    What about fundamentals of belief? Like Tawheed and Qiayama? Are they also to be accepted by this so called leap of faith? I actually wonder how one can begin to accept anything without some compelling evidence!
    – infatuated
    Jun 30, 2014 at 13:44
  • @infatuated Yes even the fundamentals of belief apply to this, have you ever seen Angels !?, have you ever been in the hereafter or seen it !? have you ever seen Allah !?, but these are Fundamentals of Imaan in Islam, as i said above there's lot of things that accepts evidence, there's other who go from leap of faith to evidence by time and knowledge and there's some that must been accepted as a leap of faith to attain the believe in Al-Ghayb as Allah asks ... And Allah knows better ....
    – Bouzenzel
    Jun 30, 2014 at 15:31
  • We don't necessarily have to see something to accept it. There could be reasons and proofs. Also one may reach a level to be able to see angels and Allah through intuitive insight. Leap of faith could be only useful as a hypothetical state towards verification and confirmation of religious beliefs..
    – infatuated
    Jun 30, 2014 at 23:32
  • @infatuated Absolutely yes ...
    – Bouzenzel
    Jul 1, 2014 at 1:33

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