Last week, poet and lyricist Javed Akhtar and Islamic scholar Mufti Shamail Nadwi engaged in a high-profile public debate titled “Does God Exist?” at the Constitution Club in New Delhi.
Moderated by journalist Saurabh Dwivedi, the dialogue explored the tension between religious faith and rational atheism.
Key Arguments and Points of Contention
Akhtar, a self-declared atheist, argued that those claiming God’s existence bear the burden of proof. He cited Bertrand Russell’s “teapot” analogy to suggest that skeptics do not need to disprove the existence of a deity.
Akhtar questioned how an omnipotent and benevolent God could allow intense human suffering, specifically citing the casualties and deaths of children in modern conflict zones.
Human Free Will
Mufti Shamail countered that suffering and cruelty result from human choices rather than divine intent, arguing that God bestowed mankind with free will.
In response to Akhtar’s question about what God was doing before creation, Mufti Shamail argued that time itself began with the universe.
After watching this debate I realised why we should respect out ulmas and why a aalim is considered an asset of a nation. May Allah protect our ulmas and bless them ❤️#MuftiShamailNadwi #JavedAkhtar pic.twitter.com/jJhpcbVcEI
— Sheikh Aamir (@Aamir_Niyaz) December 21, 2025
He characterized the question as a logical fallacy, asserting that “before” is a temporal concept that did not exist prior to the creation of time.
Public Reception
The debate went viral on social media, with viewers divided based on their personal beliefs.
Many followers of Mufti Shamail praised his structured, philosophical defenses of faith.
People complain about Maulanas being weak in English, but Javed Akhtar couldn’t understand “contingency”. 😁🙂
He was there to deliver emotional lecture, crack lame jokes, kept speaking out of topic.
Everytime he spoke on topic, got cooked.#MuftiShamailNadwi #JavedAkhtar pic.twitter.com/68b02P6WCr
— Abu Zaid Sarooji (@Sarooji_) December 20, 2025
Atheist/Rationalist Perspectives
Supporters of Akhtar appreciated his use of logic and historical philosophical analogies to challenge religious dogma.
Here’s the video where #JavedAkhtar slapped some sense into a senseless maulana.
Brainless idiots & Islamists like @_sayema are praising the maulana despite his senseless arguments. 😂 pic.twitter.com/f7obciHR4B— Sanjay yadav (@sanj_onhunt) December 20, 2025
Observers noted that despite the deep philosophical divide, both participants maintained a civil and respectful tone throughout the nearly two-hour discussion.
