According to the Holy Quran: “As for those who believe and do good deeds, He shall give them their reward in full, and give them more out of His grace. But, to those who spurn and show arrogance, He shall give a painful punishment, and they shall find for themselves neither a friend other than Allah, nor a helper. O people, a proof has come to you from your Lord, and We have sent down to you a vivid light. Now those who believe in Allah and hold on to Him - He shall admit them into Mercy from Him, and Grace, and shall lead them to Himself through a straight path.” (Surah Nisa, Ayat 173 – 175)

Thus, the consequences of not believing in Allah SWT will be very dreadful in the Hereafter. Whereas believing in Allah SWT, obeying Him, and doing good deeds will be full of rewards. Thus, we must make the right decision regarding our belief in God, that is, Allah SWT. Pascal’s Wager is one way to convince atheists to make the right decision to believe in God. It was formulated by French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal (1623 – 1662 AD). He applied elements of game theory to show that belief in God is rational. Pascal’s Wager analysis goes as follows:

• You can be uncertain about God's existence.

• There are two options for you. You can either believe in God (wager for God) or you can disbelieve in God.

• If God exists and you believe (wager wins), you will get infinite rewards in the form of paradise, eternal happiness, etc.

• If God exists and you do not believe (wager loses), you will get infinite punishment in terms of hell, eternal suffering, etc.

• If God does not exist and you believe (wager loss), you will face finite losses in terms of sacrifices of some pleasures due to religious beliefs.

• If God does not exist and you do not believe (wager win), you will gain finite gains in terms of enjoying all worldly pleasures freely.

• Pascal's Conclusion: Given the potential for infinite rewards and minimal downsides to belief in God, a rational person should wager on God. It is the safer bet, even if the odds of God existing are unknown. Pascal states, “Let us weigh the gain and the loss in wagering that God is. Let us estimate these two chances. If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation that He is.” 

Pascal's Wager is much like a thought experiment rather than an argument for God. That is why I did not include it in the chapters presenting arguments for God in my book. Nevertheless, Pascal's Wager offers a unique perspective on faith. It remains a debated topic in the philosophy of religion, as it has many criticisms as well. I think Pascal’s Wager can be of only limited use. No one can be convinced (by heart) regarding the existence of God by using Pascal’s Wager. However, it can be used as the final tool for a person who is already convinced to some extent but is finding it difficult to decide whether to believe in God. This actually happens to some people as mentioned in the following story of Professor Dr. Harish Kumar.  

Professor Dr. Harish Kumar belonged to a Hindu family from India. He went to the UK for his studies and earned a Ph.D. degree in physics. He did not like his Hindu religion. In the UK, he thus became an atheist under the influence of lectures by Stephen Hawking. Later, he occasionally used to debate with scholars of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism regarding God. No one was able to convince him, not even the world-renowned Islamic scholar, Dr. Zakir Naik. One fine morning during his 2005 vacation, his doorbell was rung by a Muslim vegetable vendor. He used to buy vegetables from that Muslim vendor. Dr. Kumar offered him a cup of tea and then started to debate the vendor regarding God. The discussion lasted for about thirty minutes. Dr. Kumar was impressed by him as he worked with honesty. At the end of the discussion, the vegetable vendor said the following to Dr. Kumar:

“You yourself said that for about 6,000 to 10,000 years, the stories of prophets have been going on in human history, and all of them speak of One Allah, Paradise, and Hell. And science cannot answer the situation after death. So now there are only two possibilities: Allah does not exist, or Allah does exist. If Allah does not exist, then after death, we will be equal. But if Allah is present, you will be caught in the long run. Then, who would gain in both cases? You decide on your own. Therefore, it is better to obey Allah and follow his commandments. His Qur'an says to follow the straight path.”

Professor Dr. Harish Kumar says that he had been delivering probability lectures to people for a long time, but he failed to think of such a probabilistic analysis for believing in God. He then started to explore different religions to find the truth. He already knew much about various religions at that time. During a lecture by Dr. Zakir Naik, he heard that for 1,400 years, the whole Quran is preserved without a single change. He confirmed this statement of Dr. Zakir Naik from the Christian Missionary Institute in the UK. Dr. Kumar later was convinced that Islam is the true religion of Allah SWT. He and his whole family converted to Islam. He even changed his name to Abdul Ahad after accepting Islam.