An atheist sailor once said to Imam Ja’far Saadiq , “There’s no such thing as Allah .” (Allah Forbid!).

The Imam asked him, “You’re a sailor. Have you ever endured a storm in your travels?”

“Yes, I remember such a day clearly. Our ship got caught in terrible weather.”

“And what happened?”

“The ship sank and none of my crew survived.”

“How did you survive?”

The man explained, “I got hold of a wooden board and slowly made my way closer to the shore. It was still far off when the board suddenly slipped from my fingers – and in desperation, I kicked my arms and legs violently until… somehow, I ended up on land.”

Imam Ja’far Saadiq then asked, “Then listen, when you were on the ship, you were relying on it to deliver you to land, right? And, when you only had the plank, you placed your full dependence on that piece of wood alone; but once you no longer had even that – and in that state of utter helplessness, knowing fully well that there was no one there to support you – did you hope that someone might still be able to save you if they so wished?”

The sailor replied, “Yes, I had that hope.”

“And who was that being you were hoping for to save you?”

The sailor went silent; and the great Imam finally said, “Know that at that moment, that very being you had faith in to save you was only Allah .”

These words greatly pleased the sailor, and he then accepted the deen of Islam. [Tafseer Kabeer, Vol. 1, Page 221]

Lesson: Allah exists, and His existence is clear. Our minds turn to Him even unintentionally, because believing in Him is a natural thing.