that is something i struggle with- the Quran says a number of times that there are men and women who will simply not believe in God- they wish for the stars to realign themselves and spell out a clear message, when the Quran indicates that the natural world, human intellect, ect. are clear enough signs for those who wish to consider Allah. there are also examples of those who argue "if God wanted us to believe in Him, we would!" and i used this argument for a long time myself. Arnold, i really like your explanation of Rahman...