A debate on the Existence of God

This is a beautiful story which I took from the book titled "Devotional Stories" compiled by Dr. Habib Siddiqui.

********************************************************************************

 

A debate on the Existence of God.

A debate over the existence of God was arranged between  Imam Abu Hanifa (ra) and an atheist. But Imam Abu Hanifa (ra) arrived late for the debate. The atheist enquired why Imam Abu Hanifa (ra) had arrived late. Imam Abu Hanifa (ra) explained, “ I live on the other side on the river and when I reached the river, no boatman was to be found. They had all come to witness the debate”. The atheist asked, “All the boatmen have been here, how did you cross the river?”

Imam Abu Hanifa (ra) replied, “I was standing worried when all of sudden a tree on the side of the river fell and all by itself turned into planks from which a boat was suddenly shaped. This boat, without boatman, all by itself came to me and brought me to the other side.”

The atheist protested, “All this contrary to nature! How could a tree fall on its own accord, how can it turn into planks when there is no one to cut them? How could these planks turn into a boat when there is no one to assemble them and how could you cross the river without a boatman!”

Imam Abu Hanifa (ra) replied, “If a simple boat cannot be made on its own accord and its structure is dependent upon a craftsman then how possibly could this entire universe exist and run without a creator? The whole universe system runs according to rules and system”.

**********************************************************************************

More stories to come..