Once some men of learning came to Sayyidina Ali (RA), the fourth Caliph of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) who was his cousin as well as his son-in-law. They were neither Muslim nor Christian scholars, but philosophers. They were asking Sayyidina Ali (RA) questions, and he was answering them. Finally, they spoke out and said ‘There is no God.’ He said, ‘I cannot give you an answer here, let us go to the seashore.’
They went to the Red Sea in Jeddah. Sayyidina Ali (RA) was sitting on the seashore, and those philosophers were with him. He looked across to the horizon and saw a ship making its way to the shore.
He said ‘O, I am astonished! There is no captain on that ship and no crew, and that ship is coming by itself to shore. What miraculous power!’
‘Are you crazy? Are you saying that ship has no captain and crew to make it come to land?’ said the philosphers.
‘Yes- because I am not seeing either a captain and crew for that ship. so it is apparent to me that the ship is coming ashore by itself’ said Sayyidina Ali (RA).
‘We thought you were a wise man. It turns out that you are not wise at all.’
‘Why are you jumping to this conclusion? Wait until the ship arrives. If there is indeed a captain and a crew, then you may say that I am not wise.’
Since this was a reasonable condition, the philosophers agreed to wait. After several hours the ship reached port. Out of the ship emerged the captain and crew.
The philosophers looked at Sayyidina Ali (RA) and said ‘Didn’t we say that you are not wise? You said that ship was coming here by itself and now you see this crew and this captain?’
He said, ‘Yes I saw’.
They then said ‘But you said before that ship has no captain or crew.’
Sayyidina Ali (RA) said ‘For that ship, you accept that there has to be a captain and an entire crew of men. But to govern this universe, you are not accepting even one Lord’.