Our God — Page 104
104 Evidence of Universal Acceptance The next argument that I would like to present is that of general acceptance. It is based on the principle that worldwide acceptance of a notion or a belief that has survived throughout the ages is evi- dence that such a notion or belief, in its essence, is based on truth. The Holy Quran states: 1 اَّمَاَف ُدَبَّزلا ُبَهْذَيَف ًءٓاَفُج١ۚ َو اَّمَا اَم ُعَفْنَي َساَّنلا ُثُكْمَيَف يِف ِضْرَاْلا That which is really useful and beneficial for the people constantly persists in the world, but a useless and unbeneficial thing never achieves that permanence. Likewise, we have the scientific principle of ‘survival of the fittest’; i. e. in the struggle for survival, only what is useful and worthy of survival prospers and the rest perishes. Our observation also suggests that only beneficial things attain real longevity and a harmful, useless, or non-beneficial thing cannot flourish world- wide indefinitely. I do not mean to say that a false or non-benefi- cial thing cannot be established in the world; rather, my point is that the existence of such a thing cannot be permanent and world- wide and that its existence is temporary and limited. When viewed according to this principle, belief in God turns out to be a doctrine that cannot be denied by any sensible person. All the nations in the world, great or small, civilised or uncivilised, educated or uneducated, all of them wherever they are, despite their innumerable differences, agree that this universe did not just 1. S u rah ar-Ra‘d, 13:18.