Existence of the Creator: Using the World Itself as Evidence to Refute the Agnostics
Imām ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Nāṣir al-Saʿdī
Imām ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Nāṣir al-Saʿdī (d. 1413 AH) said:
A group of agnostics once gathered in front of one of the scholars of Islām—I believe it was Abū Ḥanīfah—they said to him: “What is the evidence of the existence of the Creator?” He replied: “Leave me as my mind is currently busy with a strange matter.” They said: “What is this matter?” He replied: “News has reached me that in the ocean, there is a massive ship laden with amazing treasures whose ingress and egress occurs without anyone physically driving it, or caring for the contents of its hull.” They said to him: “Are you crazy?” He replied: “Why would you say that?” They said: “How can an intelligent person believe such a thing?” So he replied: “Then how has your intellect allowed you to believe that this world with all the types and classifications of things it contains and awe-inspiring occurrences it houses, and this universe with its circular constantly moving orbits all occur without anyone controlling it? These celestial bodies move without anyone setting them in motion?” Thus, they turned towards themselves in blame.
Source: al-Barāhīn al-ʿAqliyyah: 27
Translated by: Riyāḍ al-Kanadī