Our God — Page 131
Logical Arguments for the Existence of God 131 themselves, and deny the rest. In fact, by rejecting this principle, we cannot remain convinced of any science, because if the obser- vation and experience of Tom, Dick, and Harry—despite being truthful and sane and in the absence of any motive for them to lie—is not acceptable, then there is no reason that our own obser- vation and experience should be acceptable to us. If they can err in their observation, so can we. Thus, it is established that rejection of the principle of testimony can lead to nothing but opening the door for superstition. One might say that, at times, testimony may be false or incor- rect; and, sometimes, although the witness is not a liar, but because he is deemed to lack adequate intelligence and understanding, he cannot be accepted as a reliable witness. This notion is correct and we accept it; however, we cannot reject the role of testimony in the acquisition of knowledge solely because of this possibil- ity. The overall usefulness of medication cannot be refuted if a patient experiences ill effects by using a medicine that is of poor quality or expired. Similarly, we cannot reject the value of testi- mony because, at times, it may be false or the witness unreliable. We need to conclude that just as it is essential to avoid substand- ard medicine, we should be cautious in accepting the testimony of liars or unreliable people, as mentioned in the Holy Quran: 1 ْنِا ْمُكَءٓاَج ٌۢقِساَف ٍاَبَنِب اْۤوُنَّيَبَتَف That is, if a liar brings you any news, do not accept it without investigation, but accept it only if verified by investigation. 1. S u rah al- H ujur a t, 49:7.