Ismail Adham

Ismail Ahmed Adham ( Ismā'īl Aḥmed Adham; 17 February 1911 – 23 July 1940) better known as Ismail Adham was an Egyptian writer, and atheist. He is known primarily for his work (Why Am I An Atheist?), in which he declared his atheism in 1937.

Career

Why Am I An Atheist? (1937) In his article he declared himself an atheist for social, psychological, and scientific reasons, the last of which he set out to expound. There then follows a shallow, quasi-scientific exposé in which he argues that the world is subject to the all-embracing law of chance (qanun as-sudfa or at-tasaduf ash-shamil). That meant that the world could be compared with a printing-office with millions and millions of pieces of type. If one combines these pieces haphazardly for an infinite length of time, Adham argued, one can expect one day to see this article, or the Quran for that matter. Einstein, Adham said, found only one element in a book that remained unclear to him, and that element he called the intellect of the author. But, Adham concluded, in this Einstein overlooks the law of chance which, in the end, can be held responsible for the coming into existence of everything.

He declared in this booklet that he is happy and content with atheism, just as a believer in God feels happy and at peace.

From The Sources of Islamic History (1936) A book in which he disputed the authenticity and the historical reliability of hadith. He sent 100 free copies to the religious scholars at Al-Azhar. This enraged the Rector of Al-Azhar Muhammad Mustafa al-Maraghi, who complained to the Ministry of Interior, and within few days the book was banned.

He ended the book with two conclusions:

The Hadith originated later than the era of the Companions of the Prophet who knew Muhammad well. The Hadith originated from the spirit of civilization brought to Islam by the new Muslims who wanted to know what Muhammad said and did. He has been accused by some of plagiarism from the works of Orientalists Ignaz Goldziher and Leone Caetani.

Death Adham apparently suffered from depression, and fueled his melancholy by reading Schopenhauer and Kierkegaard.

On the evening of July 23, 1940, the body of Ismail Adham was found floating on the waters of the Mediterranean coast, off Gleem Beach, In his coat, the police found a letter from him to the chief prosecutor informing him that he had committed suicide due to his asceticism in life and his hatred for it, and that he recommended that his body not be buried in a Muslim cemetery and requested that it be burned and his skull to be crushed.

Publications Adham, Ismail Ahmed (1937). Why Am I An Atheist? (PDF).

Adham, Ismail Ahmed (1936). From The Sources of Islamic History (PDF).