Does Fire Burn?

Abraham brought the truth and threatened to disrupt the establishment.

Even though he brought clear truth — he was considered too powerful and heretical; the leaders of his community sought to burn him alive.

قَالُوا۟ حَرِّقُوهُ وَٱنصُرُوٓا۟ ءَالِهَتَكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ فَـٰعِلِينَ ٦٨

قُلْنَا يَـٰنَارُ كُونِى بَرْدًۭا وَسَلَـٰمًا عَلَىٰٓ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ ٦٩

“They said, ‘Burn him and avenge your gods, if you are going to do the right thing.’

But We said, ‘Fire, be cool and safe for Abraham.’” — Qur’an 21:68-69

Abraham was saved, the fire didn’t burn him, in fact it was cool around him and a place of peace for Abraham.

When we put paper in a fire it’s common to assume that fire burns. People often conjoin the cause and the effect to assume that all fire always burns.

Cause and effect are not linked like this however.

Fire burning, isn’t a logical certainty. It’s possible to conceive of a fire that doesn’t burn, and burning that isn’t caused by fire…

It is all in God’s plan — when a fire is lit, it has no innate property of burning. God acts at every moment to cause the fire to burn.

Simply put, fire doesn’t burn innately, God creates burning at the same time as there is fire.

God reinforces these common causes and their effects to help us make sense of the world and for our convenience.

If God wanted he could choose for any fire to be cool and peaceful. Anytime we use a knife to cut fruit, it is God that enables the knife to cut, not an innate property of the knife.

This is all very philosophical and arguably just academic — but in short we should be grateful for everything around us at all times.

Anytime we cut fruit or cook food, we should thank God that he allowed the knife to cut, that he allowed the fire to cook and that he provided us and nurtured us with sustenance and tranquility.

All things we link with a cause and effect, at any given time we should thank God for continuing to sustain them and continuing to maintain the universe for our ease and pleasure.

All things are a sign of Him, God, most exalted.

Read more here: https://seekersguidance.org/answers/islamic-belief/the-islamic-conception-of-causality-and-scientific-progress/