Barahin-e-Ahmadiyya Part IV — Page 320
BarĀhĪn-e-a H madiyya — Part Four 320 that, of all objects that are visible in the universe, there is none whose existence and survival is indispensable in its present form. For instance, the earth is spherical in shape and according to the estimate of some, its diameter is approximately 4,000 kose, 1 but no argument can be estab- lished as to why this shape and this bulk is essential for it, and why it is not permissible that it should be of greater or lesser mass, or a shape different from the present shape. Since no argument can be established for it, it follows that this shape and mass, the combination of which constitutes existence, are not essential for the earth. In the same way, the existence and sustenance of everything in the universe would be considered dispensable. It is not just that the exist- ence of every possible thing is dispensable in its present form; rather, in some cases, we observe that circumstances arise for many things to become extinct and yet they do not cease to exist. For instance, from the very beginning, in spite of severe famines and epidemics, the seed of everything has continued to survive. But reason permits—indeed, it demands—that on account of thousands of hardships and calamities which have afflicted the world since inception, it should have happened sometime that in consequence of severe famines, grain—which pro- vides sustenance for man—should have totally disappeared, or, at least, some form of grain might have disappeared; or, through the severity of epidemics, the human species should have totally disappeared, or some forms of animal life should have become extinct; or, by some accident, the machinery of the sun or the moon might have gone out of order; or, out of countless other things which are necessary for the proper func- tioning of the universe, some might have experienced a disorder. For, it is contrary to logic that millions of things should escape disorder and disruption and never fall victim to calamity. Therefore, the fact that the things whose existence and sustenance is not essential [in their own right], but rather, their going out of order 1. A kose is a measure of distance, the length of which is approximately two English miles. [Publisher]