Will an atheist who is stuck in a difficult situation say Allah?

- What is the meaning of the Quranic verse 6:40?
- How should we understand these verses: 6:40, 10:22, 17:67?
- In times of difficulty, for example on a sea voyage, when idolaters faced difficulties, they would put aside their idols and pray to Allah, but let us say a Hindu would pray to Krishna or Ram, a Christian would pray to Jesus. An atheist would not pray to any God.
- How should we understand those verses?

Dear Brother / Sister,

The events mentioned in those verses are not imaginary assumptions, but events that have taken place or will take place when informed by Allah, who knows everything with His infinite knowledge. For example;

“He it is Who enableth you to traverse through land and sea; so that ye even board ships;- they sail with them with a favorable wind, and they rejoice thereat; then comes a stormy wind and the waves come to them from all sides, and they think they are being overwhelmed: they cry unto Allah, sincerely offering (their) duty unto Him saying, “If thou dost deliver us from this, we shall truly show our gratitude.” (Yunus, 10:22)

That fact is underlined in the verse above.

Firstly, the addressees of those verses are Arab polytheists who believe in Allah rather than atheists. And the events mentioned in the verses have been repeated over and over again and have become common in the society.

Secondly: Today, there are also many examples of atheists taking refuge in Allah in times of distress.

a) Once, we read the following in Saçak magazine:

A professor (name withheld) was asked if he was an atheist and he replied: “I am old now; I am going to get older, and I feel lonely; so, I would rather be happy by saying that God exists than be unhappy by saying, ‘there is no God’...”

b) The anchor (istinat) point in conscience

Anyone who does not satisfy this point, which is embedded in the human nature and conscience, cannot find peace.

When Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq was arguing with an atheist, the following dialog took place:

Imam Ja’far asked: “Have you ever traveled on the sea?”

The atheist replied: “Yes.”

Imam Ja’far asked: “Have you ever encountered an event that terrified you?”

The atheist answered: “Yes, once a great storm broke out and tore the ship apart. The captain and crew were drowned. I clung to a piece of the ship, which swam through the great waves and threw me ashore.”

Thereupon, Imam Ja’far said: “It seems that you trusted the ship and the captains beforehand. After the storm, you relied on a part of the ship and finally you were saved. In the face of these dangers, you lost the ship, the crew and everything. After losing all that, did you think you would drown and die, or did you have hope that you would survive?”

“I always hoped I would be saved.”

“And what was the source of your hope?”

The man remained silent. That is to say, he accepted the truth in accordance with the maxim, “Silence gives consent.”

Then Ja’far as-Sadiq said: “The source of the hope you carry in your conscience for salvation is the one who created you. In that most troubled moment, your conscience set its hopes on Him and it was He who saved you from drowning!” And then, the man became a Muslim. In this incident, Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq showed the unbeliever the point of istinat (anchor-refuge) and istimdat (logistic support) in his conscience. His conscience showed that he bore witness to the Creator.

c) According to a narration that supports this reality, the Prophet (pbuh) asked al-Husayn, the father of Imran, who was still a polytheist: “How many gods that you worship do you have today?”

The man said: “I have seven gods, six on earth and one in the sky.”

The Prophet (pbuh) asked: “Well, which deity do you pray when a calamity, a misfortune, a hardship befalls you?”

The man said: “I pray the deity in the sky.” [It is known that the Arab polytheists believed in the existence of Allah, but they still associated partners with Him.]

Thereupon, the Prophet (pbuh) said: “If you become a Muslim, I will teach you two useful words.” When the man became a Muslim, he taught the man this prayer: “O Allah, show me the straight path and protect me from the evil of the soul.” (Tirmidhi, Daawat, 3483)

According to another narration, the Prophet (pbuh) said to him: “If only one deity meets your needs, it means that there is no god for you except Allah!”

This shows that the conscience is equipped with a sense of servitude to God as part of its creation. (see Niyazi Beki, 55 Lisanla Tevhidin işaretleri, pp. 41-43)

Questions on Islam